125th Birth Ann. of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose

Subhas Chandra Bose, fondly called Netaji who was born on 23 January 1897, was undoubtedly one of the most prominent Indian nationalist whose defiant patriotism made him a hero in India.

He became President of the National Congress in 1938. However, soon after being re-elected in 1939, he was ousted from Congress leadership positions following differences with the Congress high command. He was subsequently placed under house arrest by the British before bravely escaping from India in 1940.

Netaji arrived in Germany in April 1941, where the leadership offered unexpected cold sympathy for the cause of India’s independence. However, he did not divert from his goal which was freedom for India. In November 1941, with German funds, a Free India Centre was set up in Berlin and soon a Free India Radio, on Which he would make nightly broadcasts. A 3,000 strong Free India Legion, comprising Indians captured by Erwin Rommel’s Afrika Krops, was also formed to aid in a possible future German invasion of India. Later that same year, with German help, he was transferred to a Japanese submarine from which he disembarked in Japanese-held Sumatra In May 1943.

With Japanese support, Netaji revamped the Indian National Army (INA). Before long the Provisional Government of Free India, presided by Netaji, was formed in the Japanese-occupied Andaman and Nicobar Islands. Netaji had great drive and charisma. The INA under Netaji was a model of unity in diversity comprising a splendid mix of ethnicity, religion, and even gender from all regions of India.

The Japanese also took possession of Andaman and Nicobar Islands in 1942 and a year later, the islands were renamed Shaheed (Martyr) and Swaraj (Independence). During Netaji’s only visit to the Island in easrly 1944, Indian mainland, an Indian Tri-colour flag for the first time. On the Indian mainland, an Indian Tricolour, modelled after that of the Indian National Congress, was raised for the first time in the town of Moirang, in Manipur, in north-eastern India. On 6 July 1944, in a speech broadcast by the Azad Hind Radio from Singapore, Netaji addressed Mahatma Gandhi as the “Father of the Nation” and asked for his blessings and good wishes for the war he was fighting. This was the first time that Gandhiji was referred to by this honorific title.

Netaji believed in the Bhagavad Gita as great source of inspiration for the struggle against the British.

The Government of India will commemorate the 125^th Birth Anniversary of Netaji on 23 January 2022. Department of Posts is Pleased to issue a commemorative postage stamp on 125^th Birth Anniversary year of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose to begin the year long celebrations.