NEGLECT OF INA LEGACY
Subhas Bose was the biggest, bravest and boldest effort undertaken anywhere in human history for the liberation of any country from the foreign yoke by mobilizing diplomatic and military efforts. His life and work are a priceless legacy of the nation which the successive governments - Congress as well as non-Congress - have ignored. Even a critic of Bose, Prof. Hiren Mukherjee, concedes that Netaji and his I.N.A. were "the principal force which compelled the capitulation of imperialism."

The contribution made by Subhas for India's freedom and particularly in hastening the exist of the Britishers after the Second World War is unrivalled and has been acknowledged by the British commentators, who were far from friendly to Bose. Any doubt on this score would be dispelled by even a casual reference to contemporaneous statement of British politicians, military commanders and commentators.

In fact the top British functionaries in India and Britain conceded that the role played by Subhas Bose in wresting of India's Independence was decisive. The Commander-in-Chief, Field Marshal Sir Claude Auchinleck observed on November 25, 1945.

There is no doubt at all from the mass of evidence we have that Subhas Chandra Bose acquired a tremendous influence and his personality must have an exceedingly strong one.

Philip Mason, the Secretary to Government of India in the War Department, said,"no one can doubt the stature of the man, his intellectual scope and the passion with which he held his convictions." The Viceroy, Lord Wavell, wrote to the Secretary of State for India that Bose "had acquired a hold over a substantial number of men in the Indian Army and the consequences were quite incalculable."

In a note dated August 20, 1945, the Military Intelligence gave a candid appraisal viz. "His patriotism and achievements, even though from the wrong side of the fence…was likely to hold an important place in the nationalist mind…his influence over the I.N.A. was very considerable."

Michael Edward in The Last years of British India candidly observed that "British had not feared Gandhi the reducer of violence; no longer feared Nehru…The British, however, still feared Subhas Bose…The ghost of Subhas, like Hamlet's father walked the battlements of the Red Fort and his suddenly amplified figure overawed the conferences that were to lead to independence." Gerard H.Corr in the War of Springing Tiger says that "Bose had a lot going for him. He had the glamour, Charisma, hypnotic effect on those who met him, he could inspire total devotion among his supporters."

According to Hugh Toye:

"For most, the personality of the man was overwhling; there was a genius of enthusiasm and inspiration …By the magnitude of his conception, by the example of his magnetic, burning zeal his tenacity and personal force, by the tradition he left of sacrificial patriotism, must be measured the status of Subhas Chandra Bose.

His place in the Indian History cannot be denied. Idol of masses…his youthful daring, his panache; his reckless courage caught the imagination of India. He gave much to his country. Had he lived to see the Republic of India, he would assuredly have given much more.

Toye goes on to admit that with his remarkable personal magnetism Subhas "inspired in the soldiers he led, loyalty which…..obliterated their sentiments for the remote King Emperor", carefully fostered by the British rulers over long decades of their rule. The G.O.C.-in-C, Eastern Command, Tucker found this to be "alarming for the future…..threatening to tumble down the whole edifice of the Indian Army." The net result was the mighty British were thoroughly demoralised at the stark prospect of "chaos in the country at large and probably to mutiny and dissension in the Army culminating in its dissolution". In the words of Auchinleck, "it would be unwise to try the Indian army too highly in the suppression of their own people and as time went on the loyalty of even the Indian officials, the Indian Army and police might become problematic."

There can be no doubt that the final and fatal blow to the British rule in India was indeed inflicted by Subhas Bose. By bringing about a complete psychological transformation of the Indian Officers and men of the British armed forces - from being pro-British mercenaries to fiercely militant nationalists, who were no longer willing to be instruments of imperialism - Bose enabled India to wrest her freedom from Great Britain.