Impact of declassifying the Netaji files
- In History & Culture
- 07:23 PM, Oct 08, 2015
- Ranabir Bhattacharyya
Just when Mamata Banerjee, the Chief Minister of West Bengal was losing the plot in national politics, she came up with a great surprise. Last week she announced that the West Bengal Government will be declassifying 64 files relating to Netaji that have been with the state's Home Department. Incidentally, the classified Netaji files documents relate to freedom fighter Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose. These are especially linked to his disappearance which has not been made public so far, even after 68 years of Indian Independence. This decision has certainly put immense pressure on the ruling Modi Government, which has made a complete U-turn with its policy regarding declassifying Netaji files.
To this day, undoubtedly Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose’s name gives goose bumps not only to the Indians but also to the veterans living in Pakistan, Afghanistan, Burma or elsewhere. It is not just the Bengalis, but there are many Indians who believe that Netaji didn't die on18 August 1945 in Taihoku plane crash. They also believe that the ashes in Renkozy Temple in Tokyo do not belong to Netaji. Till date three Inquiry Commissions have been formed by Government of India. Although Shah Nawaz Committee (1956) & Khosla Commission (1970) confirmed Netaji's death in the alleged plane crash, the Mukherjee Commission (1999-2005) stated that Netaji faked his own death. Speculations haven't stopped even after half a century about that alleged plane crash. Several times there have been rumours that Netaji wasseen, be it parading with the Chinese Red Army or being jailed in Stalinist Soviet Jail in Siberia. And certainly, the Gumnami Baba alias Bhagwanji theory did gain much momentum and speculation. Amidst such controversies and Jawaharlal Nehru's role in the whole Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose episode, many historians believe that the Netaji files stored in the Government archive, which are classified, can throw much light on this. Ever since the emergence of Right to Information in the UPA regime, there have been several queries via RTI Act regarding declassifying those Netaji files. Interestingly, the UPA Government retorted by saying that declassifying those files can be detrimental to national interest and existing international relations.
Last year on Netaji's birthday, Rajnath Singh, the current Home Minister of India, had called for immediate declassification of Netaji files. Apparently, when PM Modi visited Germany, Netaji's kin Surya Bose met him and urged him to declassify the Netaji files. Last December, the PMO reiterated in the same tone in reply to a RTI as in the UPA regime that the classified Netaji files can't be disclosed in lieu of affecting relations with foreign countries and thus exempting under the RTI Act.
Earlier this year, in April, there was a huge controversy when two declassified Intelligence Bureau files claimed that the Nehru Government spied on Netaji Subhas Bose's family for nearly 20 years between 1948 and 1968. The Congress party, which is vastly demotivated at present with losses in many elections, cried foul play and considered it to be a conspiracy to malign none other than Jawaharlal Nehru, the first Prime Minister of India. Within a few days of the declassification of the IB files, Modi government formed an inter-ministerial committee to review Official Secrets Act with direct context of the Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose files. At this juncture of time, West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee announced that the West Bengal Government is going to declassify 64 files with regard to Netaji and keep it in public domain.
These 64 declassified files containing more than 12000 pages, digitized in 8 DVDs, were released by the ruling TMC Government. Of them, file 606-29 contains a letter written by none other than Netaji's nephew Amiya Nath Bose dated 18 November 1949, which mentions a strange broadcast in short wave 16mm which clearly says that Netaji wants to talk. Interestingly, the sentence was repeated for hours, as mentioned by Amiya Nath Bose. Another file mentions the letter by Swiss journalist Dr Lilly Abegg to Netaji's brother Sarat Chandra Bose in 1949 referring that he learnt in 1946 from Japanese sources that Netaji was alive. Interestingly four files File nos. 12014/9/79-DIII(S&P); 12014/5/80-ISDIII (on whereabouts of Netaji) and S.14/1/88-T and S.21/51/76-T on the ashes at Renkoji Temple are missing from those declassified by the state government. Anyhow, the declassified files do not lead to conclusive evidence whether the Taihoku plane crash was a hoax and if Netaji faked it. Nevertheless, one thing is obviously clear that even after two decades of Taihoku plane crash, both central and West Bengal Government carried on spying on Netaji's family members.
The decision of West Bengal CM, Mamata Banerjee, now puts immense pressure on the Modi Government. One can definitely recollect that since its coronation, Modi Government has always maintained a pro-nationalist stance. From allotting Rs 200 crore for Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel’s statue to the making of Yoga or Hindi mandatory, it is clearly evident that the right wing BJP is banking on its loyal supporters. Undoubtedly, in this regard, reluctance in declassifying files related to Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose, who has been commended in the Indian struggle for Independence doesn't go at par with their nationalist image.
According to sources, there are around 135 files classified Netaji files lying with the central government, the KGB and those with the British intelligence. Of the 135 files, 37 files are with the Central Government. Incidentally, Subhas Chandra Bose's family, still awaiting a response from Indian PM Modi regarding declassifying Netaji files, has approached the UK for relevant documents on the great freedom fighter.
The declassifying of Netaji's files is expected to throw light on several queries. Some news media are of the opinion that the British and the American intelligence agencies did not believe that Bose died in a plane crash in 1945.They believed that Netaji was the mastermind behind every communist uprising in South East Asia, four years after his alleged death hoax. Some historians are also of the belief that the mysterious death of erstwhile Indian Prime Minister Lal Bahadur Shastri in Tashkent was also linked to investigations on Netaji Subhas Bose. Whether Vijaya Laxmi Pundit, PM Nehru's sister, (Indian Ambassador to Soviet Russia) and Dr. Sarvapalli Radhakrishnan had seen Netaji Subhas Bose in a jail confinement in Siberia is a questionable. Some historians are of the belief that Netaji being an International War Criminal, fighting against the Allied forces, came back to India, but in disguise. One thing that is absolutely clear is that declassifying all Netaji files can certainly give a direction to investigation of the Indian Government and of the Soviet Russia. Apparently, Mukherjee Commission observed that the ashes kept at the Renkoji temple, reported to be that of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose, were of Ichiro Okura, a Japanese soldier who died of cardiac arrest. And let's not forget the queries about what happened to INA property after the famous Court Trial. The Netaji files may throw light on such issues also.
As far as international relations are concerned, many first world countries including that of Great Britain have norms of declassifying files after 30 years. Definitely the power dynamics have changed a lot in the last 60 years. The rise of Chinese aggression along with its bulldozing economy, the fall of the Soviet Russia, the changing Middle East equations and the paradigm shift in American international policy; the world map has witnessed a sea of changes. Certainly, even if there are unexpected secrets coming out through declassifying Netaji's files, it would indeed be a perfect tribute to Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose. He was one of the finest sons of India, who sacrificed his life for India. If Modi Government is bold enough to declassify these files, their credibility as a true nationalist party of India would be reinforced and millions of Netaji supporters would welcome it wholeheartedly.
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