108th birth anniversary of Netaji
F “The truth behind Netaji’s disappearance must be placed before the country so that the mystery surrounding his death is resolved. The (Taihoku) air-crash story was deliberately fabricated by forces, both within and outside the country, to ensure that this great leader’s mission gets truncated,” said former HRD Minister, Dr Murli Manohar Joshi. He was speaking at the 108th birth anniversary function of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose, organised by Shiksha Bachao Andolan Samiti (SBAS) in New Delhi on January 23.
Dr Joshi said that two commissions of inquiry had tried to unravel the mystery and a third was now at work. He hoped that the latest one, set up by the NDA government, would be able to bring the curtains down on the issue finally. He said that at the present moment the nation was seized by a crisis of identity and security. He recalled Bose’s famous letters in which he had emphasised the need to instill in the minds of youth a sense of patriotism and national responsibility. “There were many leaders during his time who wanted to trip him on his path to developing a new collective national character based on self-recognition and true Indian values. The death-by-air crash theory was cooked up by them,” he added.
The former Union Minister said there were misgivings about Netaji’s ideological tilt. “There is an attempt to depict him as essentially a Leftist, but the facts are different. In essence he was a true disciple of Swami Vivekananda. This is manifested in the letters he wrote to his friends,” he said. Praising the SBAS for organising the event, Dr Joshi said that through this forum the dream of Netaji would be fulfilled. Dr Joshi also released a book on Netaji, authored by Brig. (retd.) R.B. Behl, a former Deputy Surveyor General of India.
Speaking on the occasion, senor journalist Shri Achutanand Mishra said that grave wrong had been done to the memory of Netaji by the national leadership by downplaying his historic importance and sacrifice. Earlier Shri Atul Rawat, a historian, accused Leftist historians of staging a conspiracy to belittle not only Netaji, but also all true freedom lovers in Indian history. Shri Dinanath Batra, convenor of the SBAS proposed the vote of thanks.
