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Netaji: Subhas Chandra Bose's Life, Politics & Struggle
The complete life story of SUBHAS CHANDRA BOSE from the pen of Krishna Bose, an eminent member of the Bose family and pioneering Netaji researcher. Featuring 95 images and letters from family albums and Netaji Research Bureau archives.
Written over six decades by an esteemed scholar and Bose family member, Subhas Chandra Bose’s Life, Politics and Struggle vividly reveals the human being alongside the revolutionary and freedom fighter, traversing Bose’s life from childhood to his mortal end in August 1945.
Krishna Bose travelled the subcontinent and the world to discover Netaji’s life. As she pieces together her findings, we gain striking new insights into Subhas Chandra Bose’s political motivations, his personal relationships, and the epic journeys and daring military campaigns he undertook to secure India’s independence. We visit the Manipur battlefields where the Indian National Army waged its valiant war, the Andamans where Netaji raised the national tricolour; Singapore, where the INA tookshape; Vienna and Prague, his favourite European cities; and Taipei, where his life was tragically cut short. We meet Netaji’s key political contemporaries – from Nehru and Gandhi to Tojo and Hitler. And we learn in gripping detail about the Azad Hind Fauj’s spirit of unity and the bravery in war of its men – as well as the women who fought as the Rani of Jhansi Regiment. Krishna Bose closely knew many personalities who feature in this book – Basanti Debi, Subhas’s adopted mother; Emilie Schenkl,his spouse; Lakshmi Sahgal, Abid Hasan and many other leading soldiers of the Azad Hind movement – who all shared vital memories that helped complete Netaji’s life story.
Drawing on Netaji Research Bureau’s archives and decades of fieldwork and interviews, this book offers an unmatched portrait of Subhas Chandra Bose – the man, his politics and his epic struggle for India’s freedom. Krishna Bose’s writings were compiled, edited and translated from Bengali by her son Sumantra Bose.
Krishna Bose’s writings were compiled, edited and translated from Bengali by her son Sumantra Bose.
Written over six decades by an esteemed scholar and Bose family member, Subhas Chandra Bose’s Life, Politics and Struggle vividly reveals the human being alongside the revolutionary and freedom fighter, traversing Bose’s life from childhood to his mortal end in August 1945.
Krishna Bose travelled the subcontinent and the world to discover Netaji’s life. As she pieces together her findings, we gain striking new insights into Subhas Chandra Bose’s political motivations, his personal relationships, and the epic journeys and daring military campaigns he undertook to secure India’s independence. We visit the Manipur battlefields where the Indian National Army waged its valiant war, the Andamans where Netaji raised the national tricolour; Singapore, where the INA tookshape; Vienna and Prague, his favourite European cities; and Taipei, where his life was tragically cut short. We meet Netaji’s key political contemporaries – from Nehru and Gandhi to Tojo and Hitler. And we learn in gripping detail about the Azad Hind Fauj’s spirit of unity and the bravery in war of its men – as well as the women who fought as the Rani of Jhansi Regiment. Krishna Bose closely knew many personalities who feature in this book – Basanti Debi, Subhas’s adopted mother; Emilie Schenkl,his spouse; Lakshmi Sahgal, Abid Hasan and many other leading soldiers of the Azad Hind movement – who all shared vital memories that helped complete Netaji’s life story.
Drawing on Netaji Research Bureau’s archives and decades of fieldwork and interviews, this book offers an unmatched portrait of Subhas Chandra Bose – the man, his politics and his epic struggle for India’s freedom. Krishna Bose’s writings were compiled, edited and translated from Bengali by her son Sumantra Bose.
Krishna Bose’s writings were compiled, edited and translated from Bengali by her son Sumantra Bose.
- GenresNonfictionHistory
394 pages, Kindle Edition
Published August 14, 2022
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October 1, 2022
Author: Krishna Bose
Edited & Translated by: Sumantra Bose
Published by Picador India (An imprint of Pan Macmillan India)
Genre: Non-Fiction
Pages: 332
MRP: Rs. 699/-
Thank you @panmacmillanindia for a copy.
This book is a collection of Articles and essays written by the late Krishna Bose and published at various spans of her life. It’s edited by her son Sumantra Bose. Krishna Bose was the wife of Netaji’s nephew, Sisir Kumar Bose, who helped Netaji flee the country in 1941. A point the editor does not let the reader forget and keeps on emphasizing.
One thing you should know before reading this review further and making a purchase decision on the book. There are various conflicts within the Bose family itself when it come to many matters such as Netaji’s demise. While the author and editor of this book believe that Netaji had indeed died in a plane crash in 1945, others in the family such as Chitra Ghosh, Netaji’s other niece and even his wife, who the author has a dedicated article in the book about and claimed to have a very good relations with. To quote Chitra Ghosh, “Sisir, his wife Krishna and their son Sugata, toes the Congress line on Netaji because of the crores the Netaji Research Bureau had received from the successive Congress Governments”. And after doing quite a bit on Netaji and reading books on him from Anuj Dhar and Chandrachur Ghose, I on a personal level believe in other versions of the story rather than the author and translator of this books. Now does that completely negate the book completely? Not necessarily, no!
Featuring 95 images and letters from family albums and Netaji Research Bureau archives, the book contains intriguing accounts of his personal relationships as well as those with his key political contemporaries – from Nehru and Gandhi to Tojo and Hitler.
While I disagree with the author on certain things, I can’t deny that many of the articles curated here have been brilliantly written. Especially the ones on his relationship with the other great revolutionary from Bengal, Rabindranath Tagore and with the Irish leader Eamon de Valera have been a revelation! Though the latter chapter felt like reading about his relation with the country Ireland but regardless.). Netaji ultimately believed that the Gandhi’s non-violence to remove the British was bull-crap and much preffered the Irish way. This particular article about this was very fascinating.(
There’s a dedicated article about his relation and singular visit with Adolf Hitler. The author (unlike several others) does not try and defend Netaji’s stance to visit Hitler and even comments about his stance on Indians , about whom he wrote in his autobiography, Mein Kampf. The article references the official transcript of the said meeting in Berlin, which was of course published by the NRB. The substantive points of discussion were three, and Hitler did most of the speaking.
The first matter was the public declaration of support for India’s independence by the Axis Powers, which Netaji had been trying to secure for over a year
The second topic was the urgent necessity of Netaji’s travel to East Asia. Here Hitler was in agreement that Netaji should go there as soon as possible and take help of the Japanese. However, he advised Netaji against an air journey as too dangerous. Instead, he suggested, Netaji should make the journey by submarine, and offered to place a German submarine at his disposal.
The third matter Netaji brought up concerned the adverse remarks Hitler had made against Indians in Mein Kampf and on other occasions, which, Netaji said, ‘had been greatly distorted by British propaganda and were being used for propaganda against Germany’. He requested the Fuehrer to say something clarifying Germany’s attitude towards India at a suitable opportunity as this would clear things up as far as the Indian Nation was concerned. Hitler was in no mood to oblige and gave a convoluted and evasive response. But it showed something to Netaji’s mettle- that he was prepared to raise the matter with the arch-racist.
The book also villainizes some other people like Sardar Patel. The author talks about one particular incident where Vithalbhai Patel made a will in which he left a large sum of money, entrusted to Netaji, to support the work of the Indian-Irish Independence League and similar organizations in other European countries. “Unfortunately”Vallabhbhai Patel disputed the will and Netaji never got the money to carry out what was apparently Vitthalbhai’s last wish. What would you as a reader have done in Vallabhbhai’s place? Netaji was also very opposed to the way of the biggies of the Indian struggle like Mohandas Gandhi and Jawaharlal Nehru. As mentioned earlier , he was very much open to violence as a means to get independence, opposed to the Gandhian way. “Tum mujhe khoon do, main tumhe Azadi dunga” was the infamous slogan by him.(You give me blood, and ill get you independence).
As this is a collection of essays and articles written over multiple years, certain sets of information does stend to repeat itself in almost every article, but that is the problem with most books which are a collection of articles by the same person. But this one could have been perhaps edited more tightly, as for one time I actually read a complete passage which seemed to be copy-pasted from a few chapters before. While information about the date of publication of some articles are provided in between the content randomly, such information about every article would have been nice at the end of every article, or perhaps a dedicated section referencing the same. As with the citations of the book, the citations are provided in an index format, which can get a little tiring while trying to fact-check things. Perhaps adding a detailed citations section would have helped.
If you decide to purchase the book, do consider purchasing from our affiliate link to help us. We get a small commission at no additional cost to you!
Link: https://amzn.to/3fyK8Vx
Edited & Translated by: Sumantra Bose
Published by Picador India (An imprint of Pan Macmillan India)
Genre: Non-Fiction
Pages: 332
MRP: Rs. 699/-
Thank you @panmacmillanindia for a copy.
This book is a collection of Articles and essays written by the late Krishna Bose and published at various spans of her life. It’s edited by her son Sumantra Bose. Krishna Bose was the wife of Netaji’s nephew, Sisir Kumar Bose, who helped Netaji flee the country in 1941. A point the editor does not let the reader forget and keeps on emphasizing.
One thing you should know before reading this review further and making a purchase decision on the book. There are various conflicts within the Bose family itself when it come to many matters such as Netaji’s demise. While the author and editor of this book believe that Netaji had indeed died in a plane crash in 1945, others in the family such as Chitra Ghosh, Netaji’s other niece and even his wife, who the author has a dedicated article in the book about and claimed to have a very good relations with. To quote Chitra Ghosh, “Sisir, his wife Krishna and their son Sugata, toes the Congress line on Netaji because of the crores the Netaji Research Bureau had received from the successive Congress Governments”. And after doing quite a bit on Netaji and reading books on him from Anuj Dhar and Chandrachur Ghose, I on a personal level believe in other versions of the story rather than the author and translator of this books. Now does that completely negate the book completely? Not necessarily, no!
Featuring 95 images and letters from family albums and Netaji Research Bureau archives, the book contains intriguing accounts of his personal relationships as well as those with his key political contemporaries – from Nehru and Gandhi to Tojo and Hitler.
While I disagree with the author on certain things, I can’t deny that many of the articles curated here have been brilliantly written. Especially the ones on his relationship with the other great revolutionary from Bengal, Rabindranath Tagore and with the Irish leader Eamon de Valera have been a revelation! Though the latter chapter felt like reading about his relation with the country Ireland but regardless.). Netaji ultimately believed that the Gandhi’s non-violence to remove the British was bull-crap and much preffered the Irish way. This particular article about this was very fascinating.(
There’s a dedicated article about his relation and singular visit with Adolf Hitler. The author (unlike several others) does not try and defend Netaji’s stance to visit Hitler and even comments about his stance on Indians , about whom he wrote in his autobiography, Mein Kampf. The article references the official transcript of the said meeting in Berlin, which was of course published by the NRB. The substantive points of discussion were three, and Hitler did most of the speaking.
The first matter was the public declaration of support for India’s independence by the Axis Powers, which Netaji had been trying to secure for over a year
The second topic was the urgent necessity of Netaji’s travel to East Asia. Here Hitler was in agreement that Netaji should go there as soon as possible and take help of the Japanese. However, he advised Netaji against an air journey as too dangerous. Instead, he suggested, Netaji should make the journey by submarine, and offered to place a German submarine at his disposal.
The third matter Netaji brought up concerned the adverse remarks Hitler had made against Indians in Mein Kampf and on other occasions, which, Netaji said, ‘had been greatly distorted by British propaganda and were being used for propaganda against Germany’. He requested the Fuehrer to say something clarifying Germany’s attitude towards India at a suitable opportunity as this would clear things up as far as the Indian Nation was concerned. Hitler was in no mood to oblige and gave a convoluted and evasive response. But it showed something to Netaji’s mettle- that he was prepared to raise the matter with the arch-racist.
The book also villainizes some other people like Sardar Patel. The author talks about one particular incident where Vithalbhai Patel made a will in which he left a large sum of money, entrusted to Netaji, to support the work of the Indian-Irish Independence League and similar organizations in other European countries. “Unfortunately”Vallabhbhai Patel disputed the will and Netaji never got the money to carry out what was apparently Vitthalbhai’s last wish. What would you as a reader have done in Vallabhbhai’s place? Netaji was also very opposed to the way of the biggies of the Indian struggle like Mohandas Gandhi and Jawaharlal Nehru. As mentioned earlier , he was very much open to violence as a means to get independence, opposed to the Gandhian way. “Tum mujhe khoon do, main tumhe Azadi dunga” was the infamous slogan by him.(You give me blood, and ill get you independence).
As this is a collection of essays and articles written over multiple years, certain sets of information does stend to repeat itself in almost every article, but that is the problem with most books which are a collection of articles by the same person. But this one could have been perhaps edited more tightly, as for one time I actually read a complete passage which seemed to be copy-pasted from a few chapters before. While information about the date of publication of some articles are provided in between the content randomly, such information about every article would have been nice at the end of every article, or perhaps a dedicated section referencing the same. As with the citations of the book, the citations are provided in an index format, which can get a little tiring while trying to fact-check things. Perhaps adding a detailed citations section would have helped.
If you decide to purchase the book, do consider purchasing from our affiliate link to help us. We get a small commission at no additional cost to you!
Link: https://amzn.to/3fyK8Vx
August 1, 2023
Krishna Bose, the daughter-in-law of Netaji's elder brother Sarat Chandra Bose, has written numerous articles on Netaji. This book is an English translation of a collection of essays Krishna Bose wrote in Bengali through several decades of exploring Netaji's life. Translated and edited by her son Sumantra Bose, this book is insightful and informative.
The book contains several photographs and handwritten letters from the archives of the Netaji Research Bureau, which is interesting. It also includes a detailed account of Netaji's relationship with a few key women and world leaders. His role in forming INA and an all-women regiment in INA is inspiring. The book also gives a detailed account of Netaji's secret escape from India in 1941, which has been recounted in almost every article Krishna Bose wrote. The book also contains stories of Krishna Bose and Sisir Bose retracing Netaji's path after he escaped from India and travelled around the world, meeting with people of great eminence to gather support for India's struggle for freedom. The book's last chapter briefly accounts for Netaji's mysterious death, which is very much similar to GOI's official account of Netaji's death.
The book is definitely informative. However, readers may find it annoying that a few details, like Sisir Bose's role in Netaji's 1941 escape from India, have been repeated in almost every chapter. Also, more than Netaji, the book seems to highlight the travels that Sisir and Krishna Bose did to retrace Netaji's path. The book also excessively mentions Netaji Research Bureau in every chapter, which goes to the point of sometimes being irritating. One must also note that Krishna Bose was a member of Congress and was three times elected as a member of parliament. So, her views are very much diplomatic and friendly to Congress. If you choose to read this book, you must also read several other books on Netaji that share a slightly different view on Netaji's relationship with Congress and the reason behind his death.
Overall, I find this book a one time read.
The book contains several photographs and handwritten letters from the archives of the Netaji Research Bureau, which is interesting. It also includes a detailed account of Netaji's relationship with a few key women and world leaders. His role in forming INA and an all-women regiment in INA is inspiring. The book also gives a detailed account of Netaji's secret escape from India in 1941, which has been recounted in almost every article Krishna Bose wrote. The book also contains stories of Krishna Bose and Sisir Bose retracing Netaji's path after he escaped from India and travelled around the world, meeting with people of great eminence to gather support for India's struggle for freedom. The book's last chapter briefly accounts for Netaji's mysterious death, which is very much similar to GOI's official account of Netaji's death.
The book is definitely informative. However, readers may find it annoying that a few details, like Sisir Bose's role in Netaji's 1941 escape from India, have been repeated in almost every chapter. Also, more than Netaji, the book seems to highlight the travels that Sisir and Krishna Bose did to retrace Netaji's path. The book also excessively mentions Netaji Research Bureau in every chapter, which goes to the point of sometimes being irritating. One must also note that Krishna Bose was a member of Congress and was three times elected as a member of parliament. So, her views are very much diplomatic and friendly to Congress. If you choose to read this book, you must also read several other books on Netaji that share a slightly different view on Netaji's relationship with Congress and the reason behind his death.
Overall, I find this book a one time read.
April 17, 2023
Netaji has always been an enigma for me. What we know about him is half-cooked knowledge that has been propagated by many historians who have derived secondary data about this mysterious hero. However, to read it from someone who is up close to Netaji's life not only through relations but done extensive research is essential for a reader in me. And hence I grabbed Netaji by Krishna Bose.
Netaji
The author and Netaji
To have an idea about how the book provides eclectic information about the unsung hero, we should know the author. An English professor with proficiency in the language, Netaji's brother's daughter-in-law; when she decided to write about the majestic person in her family, she is guaranteed to do extensive research.
Krishna Bose (1930-2020) was a Member of Parliament for three terms, elected to the Lok Sabha from West Bengal. From 1999 to 2004, she chaired the parliamentary standing committee on external affairs. In her professional life, she was a professor of English Literature. In December 1955, Krishna (nee Chaudhuri) married Dr. Sisir Kumar Bose (1920-2000), the son of Netaji’s older brother and lifelong confidant Sarat Chandra Bose. Aged twenty, Sisir was Netaji’s chief aide in his daring escape from India in 1941 and drove the escape car from the family’s mansion on Kolkata’s Elgin Road. Krishna helped Sisir build the Netaji Research Bureau at Netaji Bhawan from 1957 onwards. After Sisir’s death, she served as NRB chairperson for twenty years, until her death in 2020.
Netaji for the masses
Krishna Bose has been connected with the masses through her Bengali articles. The articles have been divided into 7 parts. The first part is about the women in Netaji's life. His mother Prabhabati Bose, his teacher C.R. Das's wife whom he lovingly calls 'ma', Basanti Debi, Bivavati Bose, his older brother's wife, and Emolies Schenkl his wife. Netaji's relationships with the World leaders have four articles that throw light on his relationship with Jawaharlal Nehru, Rabindranath Tagore, Adolf Hitler, and Eamon de Valera.
The next part Azad Hind, Netaji's epic struggle in Europe and Asia is a single article that is a priceless, firsthand witness account of Abid Hasan. This is something that we can never replace. The next part of Netaji's Soldiers is a tribute to the brilliant heroes who have been forgotten in the pages of history. Once we get engaged in the book, we forget the fact that we are reading a real story of a real hero. Because his life is more endearing than any fictional hero.
The author has gone to an end to visiting the places mentioned in the articles and acquired first-hand information from the people related to each instance. The mystery behind the Disappearance of Netaji, who accompanied him - The book is has a plethora of authentic information about Netaji.
Netaji
The author and Netaji
To have an idea about how the book provides eclectic information about the unsung hero, we should know the author. An English professor with proficiency in the language, Netaji's brother's daughter-in-law; when she decided to write about the majestic person in her family, she is guaranteed to do extensive research.
Krishna Bose (1930-2020) was a Member of Parliament for three terms, elected to the Lok Sabha from West Bengal. From 1999 to 2004, she chaired the parliamentary standing committee on external affairs. In her professional life, she was a professor of English Literature. In December 1955, Krishna (nee Chaudhuri) married Dr. Sisir Kumar Bose (1920-2000), the son of Netaji’s older brother and lifelong confidant Sarat Chandra Bose. Aged twenty, Sisir was Netaji’s chief aide in his daring escape from India in 1941 and drove the escape car from the family’s mansion on Kolkata’s Elgin Road. Krishna helped Sisir build the Netaji Research Bureau at Netaji Bhawan from 1957 onwards. After Sisir’s death, she served as NRB chairperson for twenty years, until her death in 2020.
Netaji for the masses
Krishna Bose has been connected with the masses through her Bengali articles. The articles have been divided into 7 parts. The first part is about the women in Netaji's life. His mother Prabhabati Bose, his teacher C.R. Das's wife whom he lovingly calls 'ma', Basanti Debi, Bivavati Bose, his older brother's wife, and Emolies Schenkl his wife. Netaji's relationships with the World leaders have four articles that throw light on his relationship with Jawaharlal Nehru, Rabindranath Tagore, Adolf Hitler, and Eamon de Valera.
The next part Azad Hind, Netaji's epic struggle in Europe and Asia is a single article that is a priceless, firsthand witness account of Abid Hasan. This is something that we can never replace. The next part of Netaji's Soldiers is a tribute to the brilliant heroes who have been forgotten in the pages of history. Once we get engaged in the book, we forget the fact that we are reading a real story of a real hero. Because his life is more endearing than any fictional hero.
The author has gone to an end to visiting the places mentioned in the articles and acquired first-hand information from the people related to each instance. The mystery behind the Disappearance of Netaji, who accompanied him - The book is has a plethora of authentic information about Netaji.
December 17, 2022
𝙉𝙚𝙩𝙖𝙟𝙞 𝙗𝙮 𝙆𝙧𝙞𝙨𝙝𝙣𝙖 𝘽𝙤𝙨𝙚 𝙀𝙙𝙞𝙩𝙚𝙙 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙏𝙧𝙖𝙣𝙨𝙡𝙖𝙩𝙚𝙙 𝙗𝙮 𝙎𝙖𝙢𝙖𝙣𝙩𝙧𝙖 𝘽𝙤𝙨𝙚
🎖️What comes to your mind when you hear "NETAJI", I guess the answer is Subhash Chandra Bose, right !?
🎖️The man whose death is still a mystery, worshipped by many and criticized too. The man who met the feurer himself, The founder of Indian Liberation Army during the British Raj, Who was he ? Want to know about him a bit more, this book got your back.
🎖️The book is a collective compilation of his essays and writing throughout the world. It also features some photos from family albums and Netaji Reasearch Bereau archives. Though it's authored by Krishna Bose, a family member of bose. It covers almost all his writings around the world that had been found yet, from different timelines.
🎖️It's a good fit for those who want to learn more about Subash Chandra Bose,'s life, concluding his participation in the historic events, struggles throughout his life and his political journeys and life. The pictures somehow make the reading experience more relatable to the readers. Otherwise a majority of people found reading non-fiction not interesting, though not this one.
📌After researching I've came across some ideological differences between the family resulting in a variety of point of views. Whenever this happens I keep a neutral approach towards these works and afterwards let myself choose which one to go with. So don't make some controversies cost you reading something go for it and decide for yourself.
📌If you agree with above then this might be a good fit for your bookshelf.
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#bookstagram #books #bookreview #netaji #history #subhashchandrabose #bose #indianfreedomfighter #germany #worldpolitics #panmacmillan #photography #new #reallife #writing #explorepage #explore #diabolical_nerds_bookshelf
🎖️What comes to your mind when you hear "NETAJI", I guess the answer is Subhash Chandra Bose, right !?
🎖️The man whose death is still a mystery, worshipped by many and criticized too. The man who met the feurer himself, The founder of Indian Liberation Army during the British Raj, Who was he ? Want to know about him a bit more, this book got your back.
🎖️The book is a collective compilation of his essays and writing throughout the world. It also features some photos from family albums and Netaji Reasearch Bereau archives. Though it's authored by Krishna Bose, a family member of bose. It covers almost all his writings around the world that had been found yet, from different timelines.
🎖️It's a good fit for those who want to learn more about Subash Chandra Bose,'s life, concluding his participation in the historic events, struggles throughout his life and his political journeys and life. The pictures somehow make the reading experience more relatable to the readers. Otherwise a majority of people found reading non-fiction not interesting, though not this one.
📌After researching I've came across some ideological differences between the family resulting in a variety of point of views. Whenever this happens I keep a neutral approach towards these works and afterwards let myself choose which one to go with. So don't make some controversies cost you reading something go for it and decide for yourself.
📌If you agree with above then this might be a good fit for your bookshelf.
-
Save & Share 🚀
Follow for more relatable
content🗃️
-
#bookstagram #books #bookreview #netaji #history #subhashchandrabose #bose #indianfreedomfighter #germany #worldpolitics #panmacmillan #photography #new #reallife #writing #explorepage #explore #diabolical_nerds_bookshelf
October 18, 2022
This little and easy to read book is literally a gold mine. I would recommend this highly to anybody who likes to know about one of the greatest Indians of all time, Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews