LOST WARRIORS 2 STORIES OF INDIA'S UNSUNG HEROES : 8 GREAT LEADERS OF INDEPENDENCE STRUGGLE

ARIN KUMAR SHUKLA

Copyright © Arin Kumar Shukla All Rights Reserved. This book has been published with all efforts taken to make the material error-free after the consent of the author. However, the author and the publisher do not assume and hereby disclaim any liability to any party for any loss, damage, or disruption caused by errors or omissions, whether such errors or omissions result from negligence, accident, or any other cause. While every effort has been made to avoid any mistake or omission, this publication is being sold on the condition and understanding that neither the author nor the publishers or printers would be liable in any manner to any person by reason of any mistake or omission in this publication or for any action taken or omitted to be taken or advice rendered or accepted on the basis of this work. For any defect in printing or binding the publishers will be liable only to replace the defective copy by another copy of this work then available.

Dedicated to those who live for this soil, who die for this soil. Those who live for the glory of the tricolor, and if they die, wear a shroud of the tricolor.

Contents Preface

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1. Subhash Chandra Bose

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2. Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel

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3. Bhimrao Ambedkar

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4. Bal Gangadhar Tilak

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5. Bhagat Singh

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6. Chandra Shekhar Azad

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7. Vinayak Damodar Savarkar

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8. Kittur Rani Chennamma

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About The Author

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Bibliography

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Preface Bharat... the blessed land. Indian history is one of the most traumatic, intriguing, and interesting national histories in the world. But history is written by Victor. Indian history is the history of invasions and invaders. The story begins with Macedonians, crosses Islamic conquests of the sub-continent, and finally the voyages of the British and other colonial mercenaries. After the second battle of Tarain in 1192, an era of darkness gloomed the sky of the Indian subcontinent. This era of darkness lasted for the coming 600 years. Only the faces of the invaders changed, nature and motive remained the same. As the quote goes "Weak men create bad times, bad times create strong men, strong men create good times". The dark sky was pierced by various heroes at different times. But not all were credited and sung as they deserved. Akbar was called great, Maharana was not. Mahatma Gandhi was called the father of the nation, Subhash was not. Jawaharlal was made independent India’s first Prime Minister, Sardar Patel was not. History is silent for those who sacrificed everything. The whole concept of Lost Warriors is to retell the stories of those, because of who they are breathing in a free country. In this 75th year of Independence, when we are celebrating Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav, it’s important to remember those who led us to where we are now. This book is in two parts. The first part talks about the sagas of great warriors pre-modern era. It mainly covers characters from the ancient and medieval periods of Indian history. These are those, who faded in the shadow of the "Glorious Mughals" widely celebrated by the left-wing writers. The second book deals with the stories of heroes of the Indian independence struggle who were not recognized as much as Mahatma Gandhi or Nehru. I hope that this book will help you enhance your knowledge of Indian history, and create a sense of

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PREFACE

pride in your heart.

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CHAPTER ONE

Subhash Chandra Bose ““Tum Muje Khoon Do, Mai Tumhe Azadi Dunga” - Subhash Chandra Bose”

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Subhash Chandra Bose, India’s Netaji. If nationalism had a face, it would be the face of Netaji. He is among the most towering personalities of modern Indian history. His life was a life of struggles, valor, and sacrifices he made for the freedom of this nation. He was born to Janakinath Bose and Prabhavati Bose on 23 January 1897 at Cuttack. His was an affluent family. His father Janaki Nath was a successful lawyer and advocate. He was deeply influenced by western culture and was loyal to the British Raj in India. Under his influence, Netaji attended the Baptist Mission’s Protestant European School in Cuttack. This school was an English medium school where no Indian languages were taught. The curriculum included British geography, British history, and the study of the Bible. This choice was made by Janakinath, who wanted his sons to become Englishmen speaking flawless English. But the atmosphere himself. at home was completely contrasting. Netaji’s mother Prabhavati Bose was an activist and a learned woman himself. Like Shivaji’s mother Rajmata Jijabai and Bapu’s mother Putlibai, Netaji’s mother was the architect of her son’s character. His mother worshipped Ma Durga and Kali. She taught her children lessons from the great epics of Mahabharata and Ramayana. His mother used to sing Bengali religious songs and Bhajans early morning. The upbringing of Netaji by his mother had the fragrance of Indian soil. Subhash Babu inherited the nurturing and deep nature from his mother. While his mother was an admirer of the wisdom and vision the Puranas, Mahabharata and Ramayana had to offer, his father Janakinath was an avid reader of literature by William Shakespeare, Matthew Arnold, John Milton, and William Cowper. In 1909, Netaji was admitted to Ravenshaw Collegiate School in Cuttack. Here his dimension of education increased with the study of Bengali, Sanskrit, and Hindu scriptures such as the Upanishads and Vedas. By this time, he came across a lot of literary texts

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composed by Indian authors such as Ananda Math by Bankim Chandra Chatterjee. Netaji was deeply influenced by the thoughts and philosophy of Ramakrishna Paramhansa and Swami Vivekananda. In 1913, Netaji joined the prestigious Presidency College, Calcutta. In February 1916, he was expelled from the Presidency college. Netaji was alleged to have masterminded and led the incident in which E.F. Oaten, a history professor at Presidency College, was beaten with sandals by students. This happened because Oaten made derogatory and rude remarks about Indian culture and Indians. This incident shows the feeling of respect for his nation in heart of Netaji. Later, he completed his B.A. from Scottish Church College. At the request of Janakinath, Netaji sailed to London, to get into Cambridge University and prepare for the Indian Civil Services examination. Netaji took the Open competitive exam for the Civil Services and got 4th rank. But was afterward doubtful about giving the final examination, and joining the Civil Services administered by the British. He wrote to his brother Sarat Chandra Bose:

“"But for a man of my temperament who has been feeding on ideas that might be called eccentric—the line of least resistance is not the best line to follow ... The uncertainties of life are not appalling to one who has not, at heart, worldly ambitions. Moreover, it is not possible to serve one’s country in the best and fullest manner if one is chained on to the civil

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service."

In April 1921, he took a firm decision not to give further examination to ICS. He completed his B.A. at Cambridge halfheartedly and then sailed back to Calcutta on the advice of Chittaranjan Das, with whom he was in touch for some time. After arriving in India in 1921, Bose sought to meet Gandhi, a 51-year-old nationalistic leader, who stormed the British Empire with his Non-Cooperation movement last year. In Bose’s account

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of the meeting, written many years later, he pilloried Gandhi with question after question. Bose thought Gandhi’s answers were vague, his goals unclear, and his plan for achieving them was not thought through. Gandhi and Bose differed in this first meeting on the question of means- for Gandhi non-violent means to any end were non-negotiable; in Bose’s thought, all means were acceptable to end this demonic empire in India. They differed on the question of means to freedom- Bose was attracted to totalitarian models of governance, which were not accepted by Gandhi. According to Leonard Abraham Gordon -

“"Gandhi, however, set Bose on to the leader of the Congress and Indian nationalism in Bengal, C. R. Das, and in him, Bose found the leader whom he sought."

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Chittaranjan Das had more sympathy towards extremism than Gandhi. In the year 1923, Netaji was elected as President of the All India Youth Congress. He was appointed as the C.E.O. of the Calcutta Municipal Corporation under Mayor C.R. Das the following year. Later that year, he was arrested for organizing a mass protest against the Raj and was sent to prison in Mandalay, Burma. He suffered from tuberculosis in the prison. He was released in 1927 and was assigned the task of organizing as General officer commanding (GOC) Congress Volunteer Corps. Nirad Chandra Chaudhari wrote -

“Bose organized a volunteer corps in uniform, its officers were even provided with steel-cut epaulets... his uniform was made by a firm of British tailors in Calcutta, Harman’s. A telegram addressed to him as GOC was delivered to the British General in Fort William and was the subject of a good deal of malicious gossip in the (British Indian) press. Mahatma Gandhi as a sincere pacifist vowed non-violence, did not like the strutting, clicking of boots, and saluting, and he afterward described the Calcutta session of the Congress

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as a Bertram Mills circus, which caused a great deal of

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indignation among the Bengalis.

This organization increased his stature within and outside Congress. In 1930, he was elected Mayor of Calcutta. In the mid-1930s, Netaji traveled to various European states. He closely observed the changing realities of Europe during post first world war. He learned organizational systems and closely studied Communism and Fascism. In 1938, Subhash Chandra Bose was elected as the national president of the Indian National Congress in the Haripura session. But still, he was of the view that Swaraj (Self-rule) is India’s right and any means should be used to achieve it, including the use of force. Bose babu completed his one-year term as Congress President despite differences from many Gandhian leaders of the Congress Working Committee (CWC). In 1939, Netaji stood again for the presidency despite the opposition of Gandhi and his faction. Gandhi fielded Pattabhi Sitaramayya as his candidate. The Gandhian faction tried every method possible to ensure the defeat of Netaji. But the popularity of Netaji was immense both inside and outside Congress. When results were announced, on January 29, 1939, Netaji secured 1580 Votes. Sitaramaya got 1377 votes. This was a clear mandate for Netaji by the people. But Gandhi wasn’t happy seeing his grip over congress being lost. He said -

“"I am glad of his (Subhash’s) victory….and since I was instrumental in inducing Dr. Pattabhi not to withdraw his name after Maulana Azad Sahib done so, the defeat is more

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mine than his".

The second term of Netaji as Congress President was crucial, as the situation in Europe was changing dynamically. Europe was on verge of a Second World War. Netaji was against sending Indian soldiers to fight and die for the British. But the Gandhian faction

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believed that the Brits will give them independence if Indians will help them in WWII. This divide of opinion broadened the divide between Gandhi and Netaji. At this time, Jawaharlal Nehru became close to Gandhi by opposing Netaji. After a lot of rifts, Netaji found it difficult to work any further, hence he resigned as the President of the Indian National Congress in March 1939. In June 1939, Netaji organized the All India Forward Bloc within the Congress party, to consolidate the politically left leaders. Netaji escaped the British Raj and traveled to many countries - the Soviet Union, China, Germany, and Britain. Wherever he went, he tried to consolidate and garner support for his quest for Indian independence. He organized Azad Hind Fauz and the Azad Hind Sarkar with the help of war prisoners. His provisional government was recognized by 9 countries, including Germany and Japan. It had its cabinet, currency, bank, postage stamps, and administrative organization. Netaji is said to have died on the 18th of August 1945 due to third-degree burns caused by a plane crash in Taipei. But that doesn’t end the legend of Subhash. No one knows the complete truth of what happened to Netaji. In 2016, the Narendra Modi government declassified 100 Government of India files about Bose. Among them was a letter allegedly written by the country’s first PM Jawaharlal Nehru in 1945 to former UK PM Clement Attlee. In the letter, Nehru referred to Bose as a ‘war criminal’. In the letter, Nehru wrote -

““Dear Mr. Attlee, I understand from reliable sources that Subhas Chandra Bose, your war criminal, has been allowed to enter Russian territory by Stalin. This is a clear treachery and betrayal of faith by the Russians as Russia has been an ally of the British-Americans, which she should not have done. Please take note of it and do what you consider proper and fit.” The unsigned letter ends with, “Yours Sincerely,

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Jawaharlal Nehru.”

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Netaji was never conferred Bharat Ratna by any Government, however, Nehru did not forget himself receiving the Bharat Ratna despite being Prime Minister. It was the P.V. Narasimha Rao government that tried to confer the award to Netaji, but it was declined by his family as it was too late. Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose will always remain a hero for the people. We owe every drop of our blood for the sacrifices he made for this country. And that is why he is part of our - Lost Warriors.

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