Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose

Born: January 23, 1897

Death: Not known

Contributions

Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose was a freedom fighter of India. He was the founder of the Indian National Army. During pre-independence period Netaji had visited London to discuss the future of India, with the members of the Labor party. His sudden disappearance from Taiwan, led to surfacing of various theories, concerning the possibilities of his survival. 

Life

Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose was born on 23 January, 1897 in Cuttack (Orissa) to Janakinath Bose and Prabhavati Devi. Subhash was the ninth child among eight brothers and six sisters. His father, Janakinath Bose, was an affluent and successful lawyer in Cuttack and received the title of "Rai Bahadur". He, later became a member of the Bengal Legislative Council.

Subhash Chandra Bose was a very intelligent and sincere student but never had much interest in sports. He passed his B.A. in Philosophy from the Presidency College in Calcutta. He was strongly influenced by Swami Vivekananda's teachings and was known for his patriotic zeal as a student. He also adored Vivekananda as his spiritual Guru. 

British Professor Thrashed

After reading so many incidents about the exploitation of the fellow Indians by the British, Subhash decided to take revenge. In 1916, Subhash reportedly beat and thrashed one of his British teachers E F Otten. The professor made a racist remark against the Indian students. As a result, Bose was expelled from the Presidency College and banished from Calcutta University. The incident brought Subhash in the list of rebel-Indians. In December 1921, Bose was arrested and imprisoned for organizing a boycott of the celebrations to mark the Prince of Wales's visit to India.

Indian Civil Service

His father wanted Netaji to become a civil servant and therefore, sent him to England to appear for the Indian Civil Service Examination. Bose was placed fourth with highest marks in English. But his urge for participating in the freedom movement was intense that in April 1921, Bose resigned from the coveted Indian Civil Service and came back to India. Soon, he left home to become an active member of India's independence movement. He, later joined the Indian National Congress, and also elected as the president of the party.

Subhash with Congress

Initially, Subhash Chandra Bose worked under the leadership of Chittaranjan Das, an active member of Congress in Calcutta. It was Chittaranjan Das, who along with Motilal Nehru, left Congress and founded the Swaraj Party in 1922. Subhash would regard Chittaranjan Das as his political guru.

While Chittaranjan Das was busy in developing the national strategy, Subhash Chandra Bose played a major role in enlightening the students, youths and labors of Calcutta. He was eagerly waiting to see India, as an independent, federal and republic nation.

Dispute in the Congress

People began to recognize Bose by his name and associated him with the freedom movement. Bose had emerged as a popular youth leader. He was admired for his great skills in organization development. 

In 1928, during the Guwahati Session of the Congress, a difference in the opinion between the old and new members surfaced. The young leaders, as against the traditional leadership, wanted a "complete self-rule and without any compromise". The senior leaders were in favor of the "dominion status for India within the British rule". 

The differences were between moderate Gandhi and aggressive Subhash Chandra Bose was swelling. The state was so intense that Subhash Chandra Bose had to defeat Pattabhi Sitaramayya, a presidential candidate, nominated by Gandhiji himself. Bose had won the election but without any second thought he resigned from the party. He, then formed the Forward Bloc in 1939.

Formation of INA

During the Second World War in September, 1939, Subhash Chandra Bose decided to initiate a mass movement. He started uniting people from all over the country. There was a tremendous response to his call and the British promptly imprisoned him. In jail, he refused to accept food for around two weeks. When his health condition deteriorated, fearing violent reactions across the country, the authority put him under house-arrest. 

During his house-arrest, in January, 1941, Subhash made a planned escape. He first went to Gomoh in Bihar and from there he went on to Peshawar (now, Pakistan). He finally reached Germany and met Hitler. Bose had been living together with his wife Emilie Schenkl in Berlin. In 1943, Bose left for south-east Asia and raised the army. The group was later named by Bose, as the Indian National Army (INA).

Visit to England

During his sojourn to England, he met with the leaders of British Labor Party and political thinkers including Clement Attlee, Arthur Greenwood, Harold Laski, G.D.H. Cole, and Sir Stafford Cripps. Bose also discuss with them about the future of India. It must also be noted that it was during the regime of the Labor Party (1945-1951), with Attlee as the Prime Minister, that India gained independence.

Disappearance

Although it was believed that Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose died in a plane crash, his body was never recovered. There have so many theories been put forward regarding his abrupt desertion. The government of India set up a number of committees to investigate the case and come out with truth. 

In May 1956, the Shah Nawaz Committee visited Japan to look into the situation of Bose's assumed death. Citing their lack of political relations with Taiwan, the Centre, did not seek for the assistance from their government. The reports of Justice Mukherjee Commission, tabled in Parliament on 17 May, 2006 said, "Bose did not die in the plane crash and the ashes at Renkoji temple are not his". However, the findings were rejected by the government of India.

Maulana Abul Kalam Azad

Born: November 11, 1888

Died: February 22, 1958

Contributions

Maulana Abul Kalam Azad was a renowned journalist of his time. Disturbed by his provocative articles, the British Government decided to deport him off Calcutta. Despite of his house-arrest and imprisonment, Maulana Abul Kalam Azad continued to write against the anti-people policies of the British Government. He was elected as Congress President in 1923 and 1940. Despite being a Muslim, Azad often stood against the policies of the prominent Muslims leaders like Muhammad Ali Jinnah. Azad was the first education minister of independent India. On February 22, 1958 Maulana Abul Kalam Azad passed away. Maulana Abul Kalam Azad was posthumously awarded, Bharat Ratna, India's highest civilian honor, in 1992.

Life

Maulana Abul Kalam Azad was born on November 11, 1888 in Mecca, Islam's main center of pilgrimage. His forefather's came to India during the reign of Mughal Emperor Babar, from Heart, Afghanistan. Azads were the descendent of eminent Ulama or scholars of Islam religion. His mother was the daughter of a rich Arabian Sheikh and his father, Maulana Khairuddin, was a Bengali Muslim of Afghan origins. Khairuddin left India during the 1857 Sepoy Mutiny (Indian rebellion of 1857) and settled in Mecca, where he met his wife. In 1890, He, along with family, returned to Calcutta (now Kolkata).

Maulana Abul Kalam Azad's real name was Abul Kalam Ghulam Muhiyuddin. Maulana Azad had his initial formal education in Arabic, Persian and Urdu with theological orientation and then philosophy, geometry, mathematics and algebra. He also learnt English language, world history, and politics on his own. Maulana Azad had a natural inclination towards writing and this resulted in the great start of the monthly magazine "Nairang-e-Alam" in 1899. He was eleven years old when his mother passed away. Two years later, at the age of thirteen, Azad was married to young Zuleikha Begum. 

After his return to India from an extensive visit of Egypt, Turkey, Syria and France Azad met prominent Hindu revolutionaries Sri Aurobindo Ghosh and Shyam Sundar Chakraborty. They helped in developing radical political views and he began to participate in the Indian nationalist movement. Azad fiercely criticized the Muslim politicians who were more inclined towards the communal issues without focusing on the national interest. He also rejected the theories of communal separatism advocated by the All India Muslim League. 

In Egypt, Azad came into contact with the followers of Mustafa Kemal Pasha who were publishing a weekly from Cairo. In Turkey, Maulana Azad met the leaders of the Young Turks Movement. Azad, inspired by the works and commitment foreign leaders, published a weekly, called "Al-Hilal" in 1912. The weekly was taken as a platform to attack the policies of British Government and highlight the problems faced by the common Indians. The paper became so popular that its circulation figures went up to 26,000 copies. The unique message of patriotism and nationalism blended with religious commitment gained its acceptance among the masses. But these developments disturbed the British Government and in 1914, the British Government put a ban on the weekly. Unfazed by the move, Maulana Azad, few months later, launched a new weekly, called "Al-Balagh". Failed to put a prohibition on the writings of Maulana Azad, the British Government then, finally decided to deport him off Calcutta in 1916. When Maulana Azad reached Bihar, he was arrested and put under house arrest. This detention continued till December 31, 1919. After his release on January 1, 1920, Azad returned to the political atmosphere and actively participated in the movement. In fact, he continued to write provocative articles against the British Government.

The implementation of the Rowlatt Act in 1919 added fuel to the fire and raised the intensity of the participation of common people in the nationalist movement. Consequently, thousands of political activists had been arrested and many publications were banned. 

In the Congress

While extending his support to Mahatma Gandhi and non-cooperation movement, Maulana Azad joined the Indian National Congress in January 1920. He presided over the special session of Congress in September 1923 and was said to be the youngest man elected as the President of the Congress.

Maulana Azad emerged as an important national leader of the Indian National Congress Party. He also served as the member of Congress Working Committee (CWC) and in the offices of general secretary and president for numerous occasions. In 1928, Maulana Azad endorsed the Nehru Report, formulated by Motilal Nehru. Interestingly, the Motilal Nehru Report was severely criticized by number of Muslim personalities involved with the freedom movement. As opposed to Muhammad Ali Jinnah, Azad also advocated for the ending of separate electorates based on religion and called for a single nation committed to secularism. In 1930, Maulana Azad was arrested for violation of the salt laws as part of Gandhiji's Salt Satyagraha. He was put in Meerut jail for a year and a half.

Post Independence

During the violence that erupted following partition of India, Maulana Azad assured to take up the responsibility for the security of Muslims in India. Towards this, Azad toured the violence-affected regions of borders of Bengal, Assam, Punjab. He helped in establishing the refugee camps and ensured uninterrupted supply of food and other basic materials. It was reported that in the crucial Cabinet meetings both Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel and Maulana Azad clashed over the security measures in Delhi and Punjab.

The role and contribution of Maulana Abul Kalam Azad could not be overlooked. He was appointed as India's first Minister for Education and inducted in the Constituent Assembly to draft India's constitution. Under Maulana Azad's tenure, a number of measures were undertaken to promote primary and secondary education, scientific education, establishment of universities and promotion of avenues of research and higher studies.

Death

On February 22, 1958 Maulana Abul Kalam Azad, one of the foremost leaders of Indian freedom struggle passed away. For his invaluable contribution to the nation, Maulana Abul Kalam Azad was posthumously awarded India's highest civilian honor, Bharat Ratna in 1992.