Jawaharlal Nehru government spied on Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose’s family. After 67 years, Narendra Modi, the Prime Minister of India set up an inter-ministerial committee headed by the Cabinet Secretary to decide on declassification of all secret files on Netaji. The panel consisting of the Research & Analysis Wing (RAW) and Intelligence Bureau (IB) representatives will review the Official Secrets Act in connection with Netaji files. There are about 87 files linked to Bose’s mysterious disappearance lying with the government where 58 files with the Prime Minister’s Office and about 25 with the External Affairs Ministry. All the governments of independent India- Congress or and non- Congress refused to unlock these files with an excuse that “disclosure would prejudicially affect relations with foreign countries”. Recently with response to an RTI (Right to Information Act) reply, IB declassified their two such files which revealed that they mounted intense surveillance on Bose’s family in Kolkata during 1948 to 1968. Jawaharlal Nehru was the Prime Minister of India during 16 of those 20 years and IB directly reported to him. Such revelation shocked the nation and stirred up sharp controversy. Ruling BJP made it an issue. Congress blamed it as a conspiracy to malign them and finally both demanded complete declassification of all secret files on Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose.
Officially Netaji died following a plane crash in Taiwan on August 18, 1945. Indian government accepted it but no Indian believed it since then. After independence, the government of India set up three enquiry commission – Shah Nawaz Committee in 1956, Khosla Commission in 1970 and Justice Mukherjee Commission (1999- 2005). The first two accepted Netaji’s death in plane crash while Mukherjee Commission rejected it stating that Netaji faked his own death. Interestingly India government accepted Shah Nawaz and Khosla Commission reports but dismissed the third one without citing any reason.
Most of the researchers and historians all over the world discounted the theory of a plane crash as there was no direct evidence of Bose’s death.
If so, then what happened to him next?
One group of scholars are of the opinion that Netaji was captured by Soviet Russia where he was imprisoned for years and then killed with connivance of top political leaders of India.
There is another theory of the return of Netaji incognito holy man. Such stories were alive up to the 1980’s. Chain –smoker and English speaking holy man- Bhagwanji or Gumnami Baba surfaced in different parts of India from 1960’s. A large section of intelligentsia considered him as Netaji but unable to prove it. Another spiritual man “Shaulmari Sadhu” (Saint of Shaulmari), as he was living in Shaulmari in Himalayas was under the scanner of Indian Intelligence agencies for decades.
All these arguments and counter arguments can only be resolved if the entire secret files on Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose are out in public domain.
Now to see whether Narendra Modi’s government will play Netaji – card aggressively or shy away again on the pretext of maintaining foreign relation.
