Post-Stalin Netaji advised Soviets, had facial surgery, met Lal Bhadur in Tashkent!

Counterview Desk

In a curious Facebook post "What happened to Netaji?", former editor of the Times of India, Ahmedabad, Kingshuk Nag, who later took over the Hyderabad edition of TOI as editor, has asserted that not only did Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose didn't die in a plane crash, he went to the Soviet Union, where he served as adviser of the Soviet leaders during the post-Stalin phase.

One who has authored a Netaji book, he makes another astonishing "revelation", setting aside his Gumnami Baba theory: that Netaji, it is believed, had undergone face surgery "to change his appearance", and is "supposed to have met Indian PM Lal Bahadur Shastri when he went to Tashkent in 1966." Many wonder: Was Netaji so meek? One doesn't know...

Text:

Today is purportedly the day that Netaji died in an air crash in Taiwan in 1945. An elaborate theory of his death and the fact that his ashes were stored in Renkoji temple was created. By all accounts this is fiction.
Netaji disappeared into Soviet Union where he was looking for assistance to free India. To begin with he was kept in preventive custody as Stalin conferred with aides what to do with him. When India likely to become free in 1947, Stalin was still pondering on the use of Netaji. It was decided that Netaji would be sent to India. Netaji made two broadcasts on radio announcing that he would come to India at the head of an army. Radio technology in those days was weak so what Netaji announced was only monitored by the IB. But in the radio broadcast Netaji declared that he was aware of the trial of INA men at Red Fort. In the event however Netaji did not come. Why? There are no precise answers. But researcher and TV film maker Iqbal Malhotra believes that possibly Netaji fell foul of Stalin and was despatched to the Gulag in Siberia. This is what leading Netaji researcher Purabi Mukherjee also believes. She had lived for many years in Soviet Union and with her knowledge of Russian and contacts in the Soviet intelligence was able to unravel many hard facts. Hard labor there nearly killed Netaji but Stalin's death in 1953 led to a material improvement in Netaji's condition. He was released from the Gulag and settled in Moscow to continually advise the new rulers of USSR about India. Netaji never came back to India though many believed that this was the case (yours truly included). The Gumnami baba who lived in Faizabad near Ayodhya was an IB plant set up by B N Mallik who was an IB chief for a record twenty years. Lot of folks got taken in by the Gumnami baba tales and a Bengali movie that he was Netaji was also made. This is merely fiction.
Netaji stayed in USSR and is believed to have undergone face surgery to change his appearance. He is supposed to have met Indian PM Lal Bahadur Shastri when he went to Tashkent in 1966. Thereafter we have no clue about Netaji: but he probably died in Soviet Union a few years later. The latter half of the story obviously appears unappetizing to his relatives like his nephew Surya Kumar Bose and niece Madhuri Bose so they assert that Netaji perished in the air crash that never happened.

Comments

Bill Gates as funder, author, editor, adviser? Data imperialism: manipulating the metrics

By Dr Amitav Banerjee, MD* When Mahatma Gandhi on invitation from Buckingham Palace was invited to have tea with King George V, he was asked, “Mr Gandhi, do you think you are properly dressed to meet the King?” Gandhi retorted, “Do not worry about my clothes. The King has enough clothes on for both of us.”

Stagnating wages since 2014-15: Economists explain Modi legacy for informal workers

By Our Representative Real wages have barely risen in India since 2014-15, despite rapid GDP growth. The country’s social security system has also stagnated in this period. The lives of informal workers remain extremely precarious, especially in states like Jharkhand where casual employment is the main source of livelihood for millions. These are some of the findings presented by economists Jean Drèze and Reetika Khera at a press conference convened by the Loktantra Bachao 2024 campaign.

'Assault on civic, academic freedom, right to dissent': TISS PhD student's suspension

By Our Representative The Mumbai-based civil rights group All India Secular Forum (AISF) has said that the suspension of Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS) PhD student Ramadas Prini Sivanandan (30) for two years for allegedly indulging in activities which were "not in the interest of the nation" is meant to send out the message that students and educational institutes will be targeted if they don’t align with the agenda and ideology of the ruling regime. TISS in a notice served to Ramadas has cited that his role in screening the documentary 'Ram Ke Naam' on January 26 as a "mark of dishonour and protest" against the Ram Mandir idol consecration in Ayodhya. Another incident cited in the notice was Ramadas’ participation in the protest against unfair government policies in Delhi under the banner of the Progressive Students' Forum (PSF)-TISS. TISS alleges the institute's name was "misused", which wrongfully created an impression that

A Hindu alternative to Valentine's Day? 'Shiv-Parvati was first love marriage in Universe'

By Rajiv Shah* The other day, I was searching on Google a quote on Maha Shivratri which I wanted to send to someone, a confirmed Shiv Bhakt, quite close to me -- with an underlying message to act positively instead of being negative. On top of the search, I chanced upon an article in, imagine!, a Nashik Corporation site which offered me something very unusual.

Magnetic, stunning, Protima Bedi 'exposed' malice of sexual repression in society

By Harsh Thakor* Protima Bedi was born to a baniya businessman and a Bengali mother as Protima Gupta in Delhi in 1949. Her father was a small-time trader, who was thrown out of his family for marrying a dark Bengali women. The theme of her early life was to rebel against traditional bondage. It was extraordinary how Protima underwent a metamorphosis from a conventional convent-educated girl into a freak. On October 12th was her 75th birthday; earlier this year, on August 18th it was her 25th death anniversary.

Joblessness, saffronisation, corporatisation of education: BJP 'squarely responsible'

Counterview Desk In an open appeal to youth and students across India, several student and youth organizations from across India have said that the ruling party is squarely accountable for the issues concerning the students and the youth, including expensive education and extensive joblessness.

Why it's only Modi ki guarantee, not BJP's, and how Varanasi has seen it up-close

"Development" along Ganga By Rosamma Thomas* I was in Varanasi in this April, days before polling began for the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. There are huge billboards advertising the Member of Parliament from Varanasi, Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The only image on all these large hoardings is of the PM, against a saffron background. It is as if the very person of Modi is what his party wishes to showcase.

Following the 3000-year old Pharaoh legacy? Poll-eve Surya tilak on Ram Lalla statue

By Sukla Sen Located at a site called Abu Simbel in Nubia, Upper Egypt, the eponymous rock temples were created in 1244 BCE, under the orders of Pharaoh Ramesses II (1303-1213 BC)... Ramesses II was fond of showcasing his achievements. It was this desire to brag about his victory that led to the planning and eventual construction of the temples (interestingly, historians say that the Battle of Qadesh actually ended in a draw based on the depicted story -- not quite the definitive victory Ramesses II was making it out to be).

Poll promises: Political parties 'playing down' need to retrieve and restore adivasi land

By Palla Trinadha Rao* The Scheduled Tribes population of 10.43 crore constitutes 8.6% of the population in the country inhabiting 26 States and 6 Union Territories. Parliament elections along with Assembly elections in some states have been notified this year.

India's "welcome" proposal to impose sin tax on aerated drinks is part of to fight growing sugar consumption

By Amit Srivastava* A proposal to tax sugar sweetened beverages like tobacco in India has been welcomed by public health advocates. The proposal to increase sin taxes on aerated drinks is part of the recommendations made by India’s Chief Economic Advisor Arvind Subramanian on the upcoming Goods and Services Tax (GST) bill in the parliament of India.

Counterview

Search This Blog