A perception has lingered on for years that the governments of free India have not been serious in solving the mystery of the disappearance of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose.

Moreover, charges have been flung at the governments that constituted the two early probes that they did not allow a fair play.

One criticism that the Shah Nawaz committee, set up a decade after the 'crash', faced was that they did not go to Formosa (Taiwan), the scene of the mishap.

By overlooking this important aspect, the Committee surely missed out on several relevant details. It was a time when a number of witnesses to the 'crash' were alive and the records were easy to locate.

Making a mention of this, the Shah Nawaz Committee noted in its report that the reason for their not visiting Taiwan was that India did not have diplomatic relations with that country.

Hindustantimes.com tried to verify this claim, but found that the then government had actually gone out of its way to stop the Committee from visiting Taiwan.

On May 18, 1956, while in Japan, Shah Nawaz Khan expressed desire to go to Taiwan and wrote to the then Ambassador of India in Japan, B R Sen, in this regard.

In return, Shah Nawaz got a reply from First Secretary A K Dhar who conveyed to him the External Ministry's advise that he should not visit Taiwan for it would not be useful. The MEA suggested that the Committee should rely solely on the help of the Japanese government, which had declared Bose dead.

In another communiqué, AK Dhar reaffirmed the MEA stand, duly approved by Ambassador Sen, but in harsher words.

The MEA said that the Government of Taiwan had put 'obstacles' in their way and would go to the extent of putting 'degrading conditions' on the Committee and as such the whole exercise might turn out to be 'politically embarrassing' and 'might lead to complicating situations'.

In his reply to AK Dhar on May 29, 1956, Shah Nawaz gave in without much protest and willingly agreed to take evidence through the Japanese Government and the British Consulate General in Taiwan.