Essay on Subhas Chandra Bose

Introduction:

Subhas Chandra Bose is seen as the symbol of courage and patriotism. He is the pride of Bengal and a great inspiration to all Indians even today. The immense self-confidence and stubbornness that Subhas Chandra Bose possessed made him stand apart from all the other freedom fighters. The slogan ‘Delhi Chalo’ (March to Delhi) used by Subhas Chandra Bose still roars in the ears of every Indian national. Subhas Chandra Bose was not only a freedom fighter but a great leader, powerful orator and also a social reformer.

Early Life, Education and Career:

Subhas Chandra Bose was born in a Hindu Kayastha family to Janakinath Bose and Prabhabati Devi on 23rd January 1897 in Cuttack. He was the ninth kid among the fourteen children of his parents. Subhas Chandra Bose was a bright student; he completed schooling in his hometown Cuttack and did his Bachelor’s degree from the University of Calcutta.

During those days his aim was to study well, secure a high official position in the government sector and serve the country. So, he went to England to do his higher studies at Cambridge University. Subhas Chandra Bose secured fourth position in the Indian Civil Services (ICS) examination and was also selected to power. But his destiny did not allow him to continue his job.

Subhas Chandra Bose was attracted by Chittaranjan Das, who was a political leader from Bengal and he accepted him to be his mentor. Even at the age of sixteen, Subhas Chandra Bose was highly influenced by the teachings of Swami Vivekananda and Ramakrishna. So he had great attachment to his religion and he never liked Indians being criticized and tortured in public. All these feelings bothered Subhas Chandra Bose. So, he resigned his Civil Service job stating that he doesn’t want to serve under a British government and returned to India.

Subhas Chandra Bose left his career and started involving actively in India’s freedom struggle.

Fearless Freedom Fighter:

As a first step towards freedom struggle and to liberate India from the British rule, Subhas Chandra Bose joined the Congress Movement. He was so determined, bold and very focused that he was elected as the President of All India Youth Congress and the Secretary of Bengal State Congress. He was also selected as the Mayor of Calcutta and later worked as the Chief Executive Officer of the Calcutta Municipal Corporation.

Subhas Chandra Bose was a mixture of brilliance and valor and so his ideologies were very peculiar. Due to this, he had differences with Mahatma Gandhi and few other Congress Leaders and so he left the Congress Party and formed his own party called the Forward Block in 1939. Although Subhas Chandra Bose’s ideas were liked by many leaders, he always chose a dangerous path and risked his own life which was not in unison with others.

Subhas Chandra Bose never feared the British army. He conducted an All India Anti-British Campaign in September 1939. He was arrested and sent to prison eleven times between 1920 and 1941. But nothing stopped Subhas Chandra Bose from fighting the British and showing his patriotism. He was even put under house-arrest but he escaped and reached Berlin, Germany where he was provided military training for two years by none other than Adolf Hitler. Subhas Chandra Bose was even promised help by the German forces to fight against British.

Founder of Indian National Army – Azad Hind Fauj:

Subhas Chandra Bose’s ultimate aim was to drive away British from India and he was ready to go to any extent to achieve this. During his stay in Germany, Subhas Chandra Bose created his own army by training the Indians who were residing in Germany and also the war prisoners from Germany, Japan and Italy. He succeeded in creating a full-fledged Indian National Army with 40,000 soldiers and this army was called ‘Azad Hind Fauj’.

Subhas Chandra Bose was the founder and commander of Azad Hind Fauj and with this army, he freed Andaman and Nicobar Islands and renamed them as Swaraj and Saheed Islands. He travelled to Japan and sought help from the government of Japan to help him in the freedom struggle.

With the reverberating slogan ‘Delhi Chalo’ and ‘Jai Hind’, Subhas Chandra Bose led his army of soldiers to wage war against the British with the support of Germany and Japan. But before the army could reach India, they heard the news of Japanese surrender to British. This made Subhas Chandra Bose to call off the war and he withdrew his army men.

Contributions:

The contribution of Subhas Chandra Bose to our country is beyond comparison. He left everything to serve his nation and to free India from the British rule. His writings in the newspaper ‘Swaraj’, inculcated patriotism and aggression in the minds of people. Besides founding an army on his own, he had also set up Azad Hind Bank in Rangoon with an initial capital of $50 million.

Subhas Chandra Bose had a great vision for India. He wanted to obtain freedom not only from the British rule but an entire freedom from all discretionary believes. He wanted equal rights for women in the society. He himself led an example to his vision by creating a powerful women wing in the Indian National Army who even involved in the guerrilla fighting in the jungles. Subhas Chandra Bose stressed upon social freedom.

The Indian soldiers in Germany fondly called Subhas Chandra Bose as ‘Netaji’ which means ‘Respected Leader’ and this title got attached to his name and people started calling him ‘Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose’.

Last Days:

When the Indian National Army was forced to return due to the surrender of Japanese army, Subhas Chandra Bose decided to return to Tokyo to decide upon the next plan of action. But, unfortunately his plane crashed near Taipei leaving Indians in utter shock and grief. Subhas Chandra Bose was just 48 years old when he attained martyrdom. But there are lot of mysteries behind his death as the dead body of Subhas Chandra Bose was not found. So, many Indians believe that Subhas Chandra Bose is still alive.

Conclusion:

Mother India has never seen such a fierceful leader like Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose. Even today, he is looked upon as a role model by many youngsters and uttering his name alone will instil courage in any person. Subhas Chandra Bose will always remain to be an exemplary leader in Indian History.