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The escape route
From Calcutta to Gomo, Subhas travelled in a car. The
distance from Gomo to Peshawar was covered by train. From
Peshawar to Kabul, the journey would be an ardous one. It
fell 13 miles south of Khyber Pass and Netaji had to manoeuvre
the rough terrain before they could reach Afghanistan.
From Kabul to Germany
On July 23, 1941 two travellers, one young the other old,
entered Afghan territory. The older man, dressed as a maulvi
was wearing Malaysia cloth salwar kamiz, pathan leather jacket,
khaki kulla, a turban and peshawari chappals. The younger
person, well-versed in Pushtoo, was called Rahmat Khan Lalpure.
The older man, Ziauddin Khan Lalpure, had been suddenly struck
deaf and dumb. They were none other than Subhas Bose and Bhagat
Ram Talwar! Their excuse for being in Afghanistan: they were
going to the holy shrine of Addashareef to seek Allah's blessings
for the old man's recovery.
While in Kabul, they sought refuge at Uttam Chand's house,
an old friend of Bhagat Ram Talwar.The two had been in British
jail in the 1930's. A great admirer of Netaji, Uttam Chand
said his "first meeting with Netaji was like a windfall".
Would they succeed ?
But the daring escape plan had moments of high tension when
its very feasibility was threatened. While in Kabul, Subhas
Bose was constantly shadowed by an Afghan spy. But the matter
was settled as the spy was interested only in money. Subhas
had to part with his rolled gold watch with the number 12
in red. For him, it was a great sacrifice: the watch was a
gift from his father.
Impediments crept up from unexpected quarters. Their attempts
at contacting the Russian mission were defeated as the Russian
Ambassador refused to believe that Subhas Bose was in Kabul.
There was only one way now: To contact the German Mission.
The response was positive. They would make provisions to send
Subhas to Berlin or Rome at the earliest. The German embassy
at Moscow had been asked to arrange for a passport for Subhas
Bose.
Days flew swiftly. It was now February 17 and there was still
no word from the mission. Subhas was tense and worried. Something
had to be done, soon.
The Russian ambassador was contacted again but with no success.
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