On the 12th of September 1944, from somewhere in Burma, a speech echoed and resonated in the minds of every Indian then and even today. Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose, in his revolutionary tone, commented “We have resolved to create a united and free India; therefore, we shall oppose all attempts to divide her and cut her into bits.” And after almost 78 years, a statue of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose was installed at the historic India Gate and the path leading to India Gate has been recently named Kartavya Path. The path not only camouflages the iconic Subhas Chandra Bose and his vision of modern India but also instills in the minds of every Indian, the primary duty to uphold the democratic principles incorporated in the legislature, the executive, and the judiciary and to ignite the spirit amongst the countrymen that India should always be united and be a symbol of unity in diversity. The sense of nationalism that Netaji bore in his heart since his childhood and the activities that he pursued for the freedom of India till his last breath make him an iconic statesman.

Netaji since a young age was a socially conscious individual and during his days in the Presidency College in Kolkata he was disturbed by the acute poverty and hardship that were faced by the people then. It was his sense of equality for all individuals that even made him question his stay at a three-storied residence when he saw many beggars not having a roof over their heads. And that made him even question the system of governance that created luxuries for a few but poverty for many. That was his sense of nationalism for India that he visioned even before India acquired her independence from colonial rule.

Nationalism for Bose was a transparent story of freedom for every individual where no one was dominated, and each and every individual had an equal amount of respect and liberty without any power expressing authority over them. This notion of nationalism that Bose had in his mind was visible in the events in which he remained a witness. The history on Netaji depicts a story of his travel in a tram where he saw an Englishman sitting with his feet up, while an Indian gentleman was sitting in front of him. The Indian gentleman did not raise his voice against it, but Bose was infuriated by this act of the Englishman and asked him to put his foot down. The Englishman replied to Bose stating that the Indian can leave the seat if he had any problem with his foot being up. This made Bose very angry and mobilised other Indians on the tram who joined him in rebuking the Englishman who finally had to give in. 

However, Netaji’s desire to establish a society free of dominance faced a setback when the Indian person who suffered from the act of the Englishman got down at the next station whether out of fear of retaliation or to avoid more ugly scenes. 

Not non-violence but armed rebellion

On one hand, it was the nationalist approach of Bose that gave glimpses of Indian unity, but on the other it was the fatalistic approach of many Indians who never imagined they could get freedom that often marred his dream of establishing a free India. However, later, it was Bose himself who figured out the process of uniting a large section of the Indians when he realised that it was not non-violence but armed rebellion that would prompt the British to leave India. The sense of nationalism was also visible when he boldly gave the call for ‘Dilli Chalo’ to his INA soldiers as well as the immortal quote of "You give me blood, and I will give you freedom".

India's National Security Advisor Ajit Doval, in one of his speeches relating to Bose, stated that the British left India not because of Mahatma Gandhi, but because of the rise in nationalism and the spark Netaji created among the soldiers of INA. The impact of Netaji leading the INA was so strong that it not only acted as a counter-force against the British but also led to the British wanting his immediate detention.

He stood for diversity and decentralisation

A visionary ahead of his time, Netaji was not only successful in raising the notion of the nation over community, religion and tribe but he also clearly understood the concept of diplomacy and foreign relations and he rightly applied the "Chanakya Neeti" that speaks of “Enemy of an enemy is your friend’, and this principle helped him to form an alliance with Germany and Italy against the British and as a result of which he was successful in strengthening the concept of military force in India in the form of the Indian National Army (INA). A pragmatic nationalist having respect for divergent approaches and views, Netaji realised that an independent India needed a strong central government with a large amount of autonomy allowed to the minority communities and the provinces. 

Netaji’s idea of nationalism revolved around the concepts of equality, liberty and justice, individual freedom, and balance of power. More importantly, his nationalism for India lay in the concept of establishing India as a nation with a complete overhauling and recasting of the stereotypical mode of existence, leading to genuine national solidarity that would in the long run take India to a position of global glory. He also believed that a nation has no right to exist if it has no ambition, but he also emphasized the fact that the progress of a country should for the community as a whole rather than for fulfilling selfish political ends.

But unfortunately, the entire history, struggle, and ideas of nationalism of Netaji are restricted to a few paras in history textbooks.  

(Bishaldeep Kakati is an advocate, Gauhati High Court, Assam and Bagmita Borthakur is of the Faculty of Political Science, Dispur College, Assam. Views are personal)