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A page from
a letter to Shrimati Basanti Devi (1926)
Historical Context: This letter written from Mandalay in
1926 to the widow of Deshbandhu C R Das, the late Mrs. Basanti Devi,
whom Subhas treated as his putative mother.
In 1925 C R Das's sudden death changed not only the life of Basanti
Devi but also the political course the Indian freedom struggle was
taking after the non-cooperation movement which was called off in
1922 by Gandhiji. C R Das's death came at a time when Subhas was
in prison for an indefinite period in Burma.
He thus could not be of any help to Basanti Devi during the tragedy
she faced as a result of Deshbandhu's death. What was more tragic,
Basanti Devi soon lost her only son, Chiraranjan. This particular
letter of Subhas appears to have been written after he received
that another tragedy had struck Basanti Devi.
As he says in this letter, he has no words with which he could
explain the two-fold personal tragedy Basanti Devi had suffered.
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