The Indian government recently announced plans to install a grand statue of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose at India Gate as part of commemorations for his 125th birth anniversary. The government also plans to confer the Subhas Chandra Bose Aapda Prabandhan Puraskar for the years 2019, 2020, 2021, and 2022 in an investiture ceremony.
The Subhas Chandra Bose Aapda Prabandhan Puraskar
The Subhas Chandra Bose Aapda Prabandhan Puraskar is an annual award instituted to honor the invaluable dedication and selfless service rendered by individuals and organizations in India in the field of disaster management. Announced each year on January 23rd, it carries a cash prize of Rs. 51 lakh and a certificate for an institution, and Rs. 5 lakh and a certificate for an individual.
Birth and Early Life
Subhas Chandra Bose was born on January 23rd, 1897, in Cuttack, Orissa Division, Bengal Province, to Prabhavati Dutt Bose and Janakinath Bose. His birthday is celebrated as ‘Parakram Diwas.’ Bose cleared the Indian Civil Services (ICS) examination in 1919 but later resigned, influenced greatly by Vivekananda’s teachings and considering him as his spiritual guru.
Political Endeavors
Bose’s political mentor was Chittaranjan Das. He worked as an editor for Das’s newspaper–Forward and later started his own newspaper, Swaraj. Bose advocated overwhelmingly for swaraj (independence) and opposed the Motilal Nehru Report which proposed dominion status for India. He actively participated in the Salt Satyagraha of 1930 and vehemently opposed the suspension of the Civil Disobedience Movement and the signing of the Gandhi-Irwin Pact in 1931. By the 1930s, Bose was deeply involved in left politics in the Congress along with Jawaharlal Nehru and M.N. Roy.
Leadership in Congress
In both 1938 and 1939, Bose won the congress presidential elections. However, due to ideological differences with Gandhi, Bose resigned and left the Congress. Substituting Bose, Rajendra Prasad was appointed. Affected by his departure from Congress, Bose founded a new party, ‘the Forward Bloc’. which sought to consolidate the political left, especially in his home state Bengal.
Formation of the Indian National Army
Traveling to Japanese-controlled Singapore from Germany in July 1943, Bose issued his famous call, ‘Delhi Chalo’, and announced the formation of the Azad Hind Government and the Indian National Army (INA) on October 21st, 1943. The INA first comprised Indian prisoners of war from the British-Indian Army captured by Japan in the Malayan campaign and at Singapore, along with Indian civilians in South-East Asia. It grew to have a strength of 50,000 and fought allied forces in 1944 inside the borders of India in Imphal and Burma.
Mysterious Death
Bose is believed to have died in 1945 when his plane crashed in Taiwan, although many conspiracy theories regarding his death continue to circulate. His life achievements and contributions to India’s struggle for independence remain iconic, as seen in the commemorations planned in his honor.
