Subash Chandra Bose, an American Historian and Politics A Terrible deplorable Mixture

A look at the world of politics, statecraft, diplomacy and books

The book on the right is a collection of short essays. reviews and reflections of a Historian well entrenched in the "South Asia" baliwick. A Jewish heritage amkes him natrually drift to the left of the political spectrum, but when it comes to India we find him squarely with the Congress on all key issues. His book Brothers Against the Raj was based on material found and curated in the Netaji Research Bureau and and therefore presents the lives of Sarat and Subash from a perspective that does not annoy the family. However there is one very offensive line that I eake stong exception to: "British documents of the period note the he (Subash Chandra Bose) was presumed dead. If found alive, he would have been the only civilian tried (p.385). Tried for what Mr, Gordon? The implication of this sinsiter line is that Bose was guilty of collaborating with the Germans and the Japansese on whom the British Raj had declared war. Now it is very clear that being a subject state India had no say in this decision and Indians are at liberty to use the situation created by World War II to puruse its Independence. Leonard Gordon has crossed a line in making this absurd remark. Let me bring in the analogy of General Charles de Gaulle.

After the defeat and surrender of France, Col De Gaulle deserted Ftance and set up the Fighting France and sought soldiers in Algiers to join his force. It was only the good will of Winston Churchill that made de Gaulle join the victory parade after Liberation though his Fightin France had done precious little. And France will not question this politically convenient interpretation as (a) avoided the stigma of collaboration (b) avoided the consequences of defeat in that France was rewarded a victor and got a permanent seat on the Security Council. A defeated nation that collaborated with Germany becamr free of moral and political stain and Subash Chandra Bose who like Gaulle faught for his Nation has to be "tried" as Japan was defeated. Had the tables been turned the results would have been different.

Leonard Gordon has shown how easily his "white privilege" got his easy access to the Indian political and cultural elite. When Indira Gandhi's regime refused visa, he got Jyoti Basu and Satyajit Ray sign a joint letter requesting visa and the then Chief Minster of WEst Bengal Siddhartha Shankar Ray signed it and sent it to the PMO. If this is not privilege what else can we call it. And western scholars are able to suborn Indian loyalties very easily and this unfortunate tendency is still goin on. Every week we have the same suspects joining hands with white American scholars to lambast India. Colonialism still endures,

een

The Bose Deception is germane to this discussion. There has been virulent controversy over the alleged plane crash in August 1944 in which the regime in power in India at that time and the Congress playing to the gallery declared Bose dead. As far as India is concerned the people at large refused to buy this self serving theory especially as the British Government under Clement Atlee decided to Transfer Power to Jawaharlal Nehru and his Party. Bose dead would have been very convenient to this arrangement and this explains why the Intelligence Bureau kept track of Bose and kept up very close surveillence on the family.

Subash Chandra Bose remains the only Hero of the Freedom Struggle.