On June 17, National Security Adviser (NSA) Ajit Doval said India would not have been divided if Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose had been alive, while at the first Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose Memorial lecture. The event was organised in Delhi by the Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (Assocham).
Ajit Doval stated that Netaji would not have settled for anything less than complete freedom and independence. Bose said that he not only wanted to free India from political subjugation but also change the people’s political, social and cultural mindset.
Ajit Doval stated that the party (Congress), in which Netaji where served for so many years, he was compelled to resign. He said, ” Netaji was at the prime of his political career. Then he resigned, and when he came out of Congress, he started his struggle afresh”.
During his address, Doval claimed that Netaji had courage throughout his life and had the audacity to criticise Gandhi. He stated, “I am not saying good or bad, but there are very few parallels in the Indian history and the world history of people who had the audacity to sail against the current — and not an easy current”.
Ajit Doval said, “The thing which Subhas Bose has different from other leaders is audacity, he was a very audacious person and that can be seen when he was in Presidency college. He had the audacity to challenge Mahatma Gandhi when Gandhi was at his prime. When he resigned from Congress, he started his struggle afresh and was jailed and while in detention he thought let me escape from India that too in an attire of an Afghan”.
He further stated, “Getting into the attire of an Afghan was difficult for a Bengali to do, he left for Kabul and then goes to Russia, goes to Germany where he meets Hitler…. He then comes to Japan and then to Singapore and then forms the Indian National Army”.
Ajit Doval said, “Look at his courage…. The real force of might of conviction will really able to catapult you into positions where nobody can think of it” He continued, stating that Netaji was a lonely individual, with just Japan being the only nation to support him.
Ajit Doval stated, “The idea that came to his (Subhas Chandra Bose’s) mind was ‘I will fight the British, I will not beg for freedom. It is my right, and I will have to get it’. India would not have been partitioned in Subhas Bose was there. Jinnah said I can accept only one leader, and that is Subhas Bose”.
Doval said that when former British Prime Minister Clement Atlee came to India in 1956 and was asked by the then Calcutta Governor why the British had agreed to Independence in 1947 when there was no pressure to vacate, Atlee said that it was because of Netaji.
Ajit Doval further stated, “He (Atlee) said that even though Netaji was thought to have died in 1945 in a plane crash in Taipei, even after his death they were afraid of the ideas of nationalism that (Netaji ) had created, many Indians would have gone down that path”.
Ajit Doval further states, “A question often comes to mind. In life, whether our efforts matter or results matter. Nobody can doubt the great efforts of Subhas Bose, Gandhi was an admirer. But people often judge you through the results that you produce. So was the entire effort of Subhas Bose in vain?”.
Ajit Doval stated, “Even after his death – I don’t know when — we are afraid of the ideas of the nationalism that he has created, and many Indians would have gone in that path”. Doval added that history has not been kind to Netaji, “I feel very happy that Prime Minister Modi has been keen to resurrect it”.
Ajit Doval stated that the Modi Government had taken various initiatives to showcase the legacy of Netaji, such as installing a statue of Subhas Chandra Bose at India Gate in Delhi and renaming Ross Island in the Andaman and Nicobar Island as Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose Island. The country celebrates Netaji’s birthday Parakram Diwas on January 23.
During his address, Ajit Doval also stressed preparing a skilled workforce and bringing technological innovation to make India globally competitive. He said highly motivated and committed human resources are the country’s biggest strength.
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