Homage to Netaji in Malaysia: Modi has done what Nehru didn't

Prime Minister Narendra Modi made an announcement at Kuala Lumpur on November 22 that the Indian Cultural Centre (Kuala Lumpur) will be named after freedom fighter and commander of the Indian National Army, Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose. This is the first time that an Indian prime minister has named the Indian Cultural Centre in a foreign country after Netaji, the "Hero of Asia". Most of the Indian cultural centres abroad are named after Jawaharlal Nehru.

It is also the first time that the prime minister is going to visit the Indian National Army Memorial (INA Memorial) at Singapore. All Netaji admirers are very excited that Modi is being a true nationalist and is acknowledging the contribution of one of the foremost nationalists of India.

I must mention what my father - Amiya Nath Bose - told me once. In the month of March 1946, Nehru had come to Kolkata on his way to Singapore. Nehru stayed at my grandfather Sarat Chandra Bose's house at 1 Woodburn Park in Kolkata. In fact, whenever Nehru used to visit Kolkata, he always stayed at my grandfather's house. My father was the general secretary of the Azad Hind Relief Fund at that time. The news had spread that Nehru would be visiting Singapore on March 18, 1946. The INA officers/soldiers and Indians based in Singapore conveyed to my father to request Nehru to visit the INA Memorial site at Singapore and place a flower there. The INA officers/soldiers and Indians would be extremely grateful if Nehru obliged them. My father requested Nehru and he readily agreed. This was conveyed to the INA officials in Singapore.

On July 8, 1945, Netaji had laid the foundation stone of this memorial. The words inscribed were the motto of the Indian National Army - Unity (Etihaad), Faith (Etmad) and Sacrifice (Kurbani). When British forces returned to Singapore that same year, the head of Southeast Asia Command, Lord Mountbatten, ordered demolition of the Memorial.

Over a lakh people were waiting on March 18, 1945 at the INA Memorial site for Nehru to arrive. But, he, instead of going there, went straight from the airport to Lord Mountbatten's house in Singapore. The people anxiously waited the whole day for Nehru. My father asked him on his return to India the reasons behind his failure to visit the INA Memorial site. But he gave no reply. Today, we have understood the reason behind it.

Philip Sandeman Ziegler, a British biographer and historian, who wrote a biography of Lord Mountbatten, quoted a few lines from Lord Mountbatten's diary dated March 18, 1945 and said: "I advised Mr Nehru not to visit the INA Memorial site and Mr Nehru agreed to my advice." It was highly unfortunate that an Indian leader (Nehru) took instructions from Lord Mountbatten and refrained from visiting the Memorial.

In contrast, Modi ensured that he visited the Memorial to pay his respect and homage to Netaji, INA officers and soldiers who fought the final battle for India's independence. The 60,000-strong INA lost 26,000 lives fighting for their country's freedom. This is almost 44 per cent - highest ever sacrifice by any army.

A new dawn is on the horizon - and it would not be long that the true warriors of India's freedom struggle will get due recognition. With the declassification of files pertaining to Netaji and the INA, history would be revisited and rewritten for future generations.