Idols And Idealism: Legacies Of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose As An Indian Leader With Global Political Vision – OpEd
A high-point in Subhas Chandra Bose’s political career was his taking charge as President of the Indian National Congress. It was at the 51st session of the Congress at Haripura, a small village near Bardoli in Surat district of Gujarat, from February 19th to 22nd, 1938 when Bose spoke his heart out, paying tribute to the ‘youths of the country’, providing insights into global history and the fate of empires like the British Empire, while outlining the political strategy for the Congress in their anti-colonial struggle.
Across Asia, national idols and their idealism are being attacked and their contributions devalued, degraded, debased and often destroyed by opposing political forces. It is becoming the defining mark of our volatile age. Recent scenes of violence and arson in Dhaka, at the residence-turned-museum of ‘Bangabandhu’ Sheikh Mujibur Rehman, are yet another testimony to this onslaught; while within and outside the Parliament in India, the first Prime Minister Pt Jawaharlal Nehru is constantly being humiliated, ridiculed for domestic and foreign policies initiated in the 1950s, generations ago.
Rising above this cacophony of relentless political offensive is the much-adored highly revered figure of Subhas Chandra Bose, hailed as ‘Netaji’ (meaning ‘Leader’ in Hindi) whose aura continues to grow: in Kolkata, a museum dedicated to his life and times was inaugurated by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 23 January 2021 marking Netaji’s 125th birth anniversary; in Moirang, a one-street town in the north-eastern Indian state of Manipur, the INA War Museum and INA Martyr’s memorial complex commemorate the historic events of 1944 when the Indian National Army hoisted the tricolour flag for the first time on Indian soil during the Second World War; innumerable books, films and television serials are grabbing the attention of new generations of readers, viewers who are witness to the charismatic power of Netaji’s leadership in the 1930s and 1940s, and his global vision still so relevant, full of promise and significance.
At the same time, it is paradoxical that the political fortunes of Forward Bloc, the independent party formed by Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose in 1939, have dwindled and suffered along with a host of Left parties in Bengal. When West Bengal was governed by Left Front governments from 1977 to 2011, the Forward Bloc was a junior coalition partner in the Left Front governments for 35 long years.
Not just in West Bengal, the Forward Bloc also had a strong presence in the states of Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Bihar, Tamil Nadu, and Maharashtra. Veteran leaders, owing their loyalty to Netaji’s left-wing ideology, held sway through the 1960s to 1980s in trade unions and labour associations. In the 2006 state elections in Bengal that saw the last Left Front government in power, Forward Bloc won 23 of the 34 seats it contested; a clear demonstration of their socio-political roots which were bearing electoral gains in a fast-changing India.
With the meteoric rise of Trinamool Congress leader Ms Mamata Banerjee since 2011, the Left Front and its partners like Forward Bloc found themselves wiped out in the electoral battles; the Forward Bloc in 2025 does not have a single elected member in the State Assembly. Yet the historical legacies of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose are alive and different political parties continue to make attempts to subsume Netaji in their pantheon of nationalist leaders whose unique contributions to India’s freedom struggle can neither be belittled nor brushed aside.
A high-point in Subhas Chandra Bose’s political career was his taking charge as President of the Indian National Congress. It was at the 51st session of the Congress at Haripura, a small village near Bardoli in Surat district of Gujarat, from February 19th to 22nd, 1938 when Bose spoke his heart out, paying tribute to the ‘youths of the country’, providing insights into global history and the fate of empires like the British Empire, and outlining the political strategy for the Congress in their anti-colonial struggle.
Bose began by taking a bird’s-eye view of the entire panorama of human history, “the first thing that strikes us is the rise and fall of empires. In the East as well as in the West, empires have invariably gone through a process of expansion and after reaching the zenith of prosperity, have gradually shrunk into insignificance and sometimes death. The Roman empire of the ancient times and the Turkish and Austro-Hungarian empires of the modern period are striking examples of this law. The empires in India—the Maurya, the Gupta and the Mogul empires—are no exceptions to this rule,” he commented. “In the face of these objective facts of history, can anyone be so bold as to maintain that there is in store a different fate for the British Empire? That empire stands today at one of the crossroads of history. it will either go the way of other empires or it must transform itself into a federation of free nations. Either course is open to it. The Czarist Empire collapsed in 1917 but of its debris sprang the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics there is still time for Great Britain to take a leaf out of Russian history.” He boldly questioned: “Will she do so?”
Bose does not sugar-coat his analysis of the British Empire and its imperialistic policies highly detrimental and ruinous for India’s economy at every level. He said, “The British Empire is a hybrid phenomenon in politics. It is a peculiar combination of self-governing countries, partially self-governing dependencies and autocratically-governed colonies. Constitutional device and human ingenuity may bolster up this combination for a while, but not for ever…apart from external pressure, the empire is sure to break down under its own strain. But can the British empire transform itself into a federation of free nations with one bold sweep? It is for the British people to answer this question.”
He spelt out his perspective, “One thing, however, is certain. This transformation will be possible only if the British people become free in their own homes—only if Great Britain becomes a socialist state. There is an inseparable connection between the capitalist ruling classes in Great Britain and the colonies abroad.”
His appeal for socialism was at the core of the Haripura presidential address; also at the heart of his political ideology. He quoted V.I. Lenin, the Russian leader, saying, “As Lenin pointed out long ago, ‘reaction in Great Britain is strengthened and fed by the enslavement of a number of nations’. The British aristocracy and bourgeoisie exist primarily because there are colonies and overseas dependencies to exploit. The emancipation of the latter will undoubtedly strike at the very existence of the capitalist ruling classes in Great Britain and precipitate the establishment of a socialist regime in that country.”
Bose, like Jawaharlal Nehru his close ally, had a much wider global view of politics. On socialism in Great Britain, he said, “it should be clear that a socialist order in Great Britain is impossible of achievement without the liquidation of colonialism… we, who are fighting for the political freedom of India and other enslaved countries of the British empire, are incidentally fighting for the economic emancipation of the British people as well.”
In Haripura, the military strategist in Bose emerges strong and clear. In many ways, he was spelling out the future strategy. “The British empire at the present moment is suffering from strain…in the extreme West, there is Ireland and in the extreme East, India. In the middle lies Palestine with the adjoining countries of Egypt and Iraq. Outside the empire, there is the pressure exerted by Italy in the Mediterranean and Japan in the Far East, both of these countries being militant, aggressive and imperialist. Against this background of unrest stands Soviet Russia, whose very existence strikes terror into the heart of the ruling classes in every imperialist state. How long can the British Empire withstand the cumulative effect of this pressure and strain?”
He put his finger on the pulse of changes occurring in modern warfare, commenting, “”Today, Britain can hardly call herself ‘the Mistress of the Seas’. Her phenomenal rise in the 18th and 19th centuries was the result of her sea power. Her decline as an empire in the twentieth century will be the outcome of the emergence of a new factor in world history—Air Force. It was due to this new factor, Air Force, that an impudent Italy could successfully challenge a fully mobilised British Navy in the Mediterranean.”
The Battle of Britain was years away but Bose knew the vulnerabilities of the island-nation. He said, “Britain can rearm on land, sea and air up to the utmost limit…Air force as a powerful element in modern warfare has come to stay. Distances have been obliterated and despite all anti-aircraft defences, London lies at the mercy of any bombing squadron from a continental centre. In short, air force has destroyed the insularity of Great Britain and rudely disturbed the balance of power in world politics. The clay feet of a gigantic empire now stand exposed as these have never been before.”
Bose is conscious that in “this interplay of world forces India emerges much stronger than she has ever been before. He said, “Ours is a vast country with a population of 350 million. Our vastness in area and in population has hitherto been a source of weakness. It is today a source of strength if we can only stand united and boldly face our rulers…India is one and the hopes and aspirations of the people of British India and of the Indian States are identical. Our goal is that of an Independent India and in my view that goal can be attained only through a federal republic in which the provinces and the states will be willing partners.” The most natural reaction on reading Bose’s address is to echo his eternal slogan: Jai Hind!
