10 JANATA, November 11, 2018 Netaji Bose, Nehru and Anti-Colonial Struggle

Ram Puniyani

India’s anti-colonial struggle has his initiative. Patel regarded Nehru his religious path, but not link it to been the major phenomenon which both as his younger brother and his political and other public issues. built modern India into a secular leader. Some time ago, Modi tried to Throughout his career, he reached democracy. Many political streams propagate that Nehru ignored Sardar out to Muslim leaders, first of all were part of this movement, and all Patel and did not attend his funeral in in his home province of Bengal, to of them struggled in their own way Bombay. Moraji Desai’s biography make common cause in the name of to drive away the British. There were refutes this claim too. He says that India. His ideal, as indeed the ideal also some political streams, the ones Nehru did attend the funeral; this of the Indian National Congress, who upheld a narrow nationalism in was also reported in the newspapers was that all Indians, regardless of the name of religion, who were not a of that time. region, religious affiliation, or caste part of this movement; today, in order As far as Netaji Bose is join together to make common cause to gain electoral legitimacy, either concerned, Nehru and Bose were against foreign rulers.” they are making false claims about close ideological colleagues. The major difference between their being a part of it, or are trying Both were socialists and part of Gandhi–Nehru on one side and Bose to distort events to denigrate the the left wing of the Congress. on the other was on what should leaders of the freedom movement, Unlike the followers of Hindutva be the role of the INC during the particularly Jawaharlal Nehru. This politics, Bose was very secular. Second World War. The INC in due came to the surface yet again when Hindu nationalist leaders attacked course came to take an anti-British Prime Minister Modi was hoisting Subhas Bose incessantly as he stance and Gandhi launched the the Indian flag on the occasion of dared to reserve jobs for Muslims Quit Indian movement in 1942. 75th anniversary of the proclamation when he was elected to lead the Bose was of the opinion that an of the Azad Hind Government. On Calcutta Corporation. Bose was alliance with Germany–Japan may that occasion, Modi claimed that aware of the tremendous injustice give freedom to India. It was indeed the contributions of Bose, Patel and that Muslims faced in recruitment. doubtful whether an alliance with Ambedkar have been ignored by the Bose opposed both the Muslim and fascist forces was the right way. In ruling Nehru–Gandhi family. Hindu communalists. At the Tripuri case of their victory, India might Nothing can be farther from truth Convention of the Indian National have come under the control of the than this statement of his. One knows Congress (INC) held in 1939, Bose Japan–Germany axis which would that Ambedkar was given the task of was elected President. Gandhi have pushed India back by many being the Chairman of the drafting opposed to him mainly on the steps. While Congress opposed the committee of the Indian constitution; ground of non-violence. Bose tended British through a mass movement, he was also made a minister in the to support violent means. Due to Bose launched the ‘Azad Hind first Cabinet of India, and was asked opposition within the INC, Bose left Fauz’ (AHF). Be that as it may, Bose to draft the Hindu code bill. Sardar Congress to form Forward Block, strongly believed in Hindu–Muslim Patel was the Deputy Prime Minster, a left party, which has been part of unity and this was again exhibited looking after the Home ministry. The the left coalition in West Bengal for when he offered a Chadar on the compilation of Sardar Patel’s letters, a long time. Bose and Nehru were Mazar (tomb) of Bahadur Shah ‘Sardar Patel Correspondence’, has on the same page as far as future Zafar (the leader of 1857 uprising) been edited by Durga Das. From this of industrialisation and role of the in Rangoon, Burma, and pledged to book, it becomes clear that Nehru public sector were concerned. Bose’s bring his mortal remains to Delhi and Patel were very close, and till biographer Leonard A. Gordan and bury them in the Red Fort. In Patel was alive most of the decisions writes that Bose believed that: “Each contrast, the Hindu Mahasabha taken were with his consent or due to [person] should privately follow actively supported British war JANATA, November 11, 2018 11 efforts by urging Indians to join the British army. Savarkar urged upon The Wealthy Barely Pay Taxes: Will his followers to be part of the official the Govt Make Them Pay? war committees set up by the British; the latter in turn accommodated leaders of the Hindu Mahasabha on C.P. Chandrasekhar, Jayati Ghosh these committees. India is often mistakenly the poor are more likely to consume Savarkar also declared “No seen as a country with relatively their income or even more, while the support to armed resistance against low economic inequality. In fact, rich can save out of their incomes. British”. It is interesting that while there were always very significant Official survey data indicate that Netaji was fighting the British from economic inequalities in India, the Gini coefficient increased from across the border, Savarkar and which intersected with social and 31 per cent in 1993–94 to around Hindutva Nationalists were helping locational inequalities in complex 34 per cent in 2011–12, but this is the British army which was fighting ways. More significantly, the clearly an underestimate of even the AHF of Subhash Bose! The claims country’s inequalities widened after extent of consumption inequality. that Modi and Co. are following the internal and external economic The further limitation is that data the footsteps of Netaji is absolutely liberalisation measures from the are only available up to the last large false. The fact of the matter is that early 1990s, which attracted global sample survey that was undertaken the efforts of Savarkar directed financial investors and boosted in 2011–12. against the interests of the army economic growth considerably. Predictably, income inequality raised by Netaji. In contrast, even The estimates of low inequality estimates reveal greater inequality. though it did not agree with Netaji’s are usually based on the fact that the The India Human Development line of action, it was the Congress Gini coefficients of consumption Surveys of 2004–05 and 2011– which raised the legal support to expenditure have not been so 12, which provide longitudinal fight the cases of the personnel of high in India (although they have information on a reasonably large AHF after the war ended. Bhulabhai increased over time). The National sample of households, suggest a Gini Deasi, Kailashnath Katju and Nehru Sample Survey data on which coefficient of 55 per cent, which is himself came forward to battle in the such estimates are based tend to not only much higher than that for courtrooms on behalf of AHF. understate the extent of inequality consumption, but also similar to Today, when we are witnessing because they underestimate the tails countries generally seen as very name changing of all Muslim of the distribution, excluding the unequal, like Brazil. sounding names by the BJP rulers, very rich and the very poor. Further, these false claimants of Netaji’s legacy need to be reminded that in AHF, both Hindustani and Muslim Chart 1: Gini Coefficients of Wealth Distribution, 2018 sounding names were very common. The Provisional Government formed by Subhas Bose in Singapore was titled Aarzi-Hukumat-Azad Hind (Provisional Government of free India). The name Azad Hind Fauz is on similar lines. Several Muslims were a part of this Provisional Government. What we need today is to revive the spirit of amity, which Netaji stood for and which was being practiced in AHF. Email: [email protected] Source: Credit Suisse Global Wealth Report, 2018