The Biography of Famous Personalities of India will tell you about the controversies, the dark sides of a person that you may have never heard of.
The Secret Departure From India and Activities of Bose
The Secret Departure From India
With these thoughts, in order to give freedom to India and in order to ally with the countries against Britain in the war, Subhashbabu decided to escape from his house arrest and leave the country. Under the pretext of illness, he stopped eating during his house arrest. He started looking ill and grew a long beard.
He refused to meet anyone, and would not write letters to anyone. It was rumored that he wished to become a Sanyasi. The police too were informed that he wished to remain alone as he wanted to begin his spiritual journey.
On the 17th of January 1941, at one o’clock in the night, he escaped from his house with his nephew Shishirnath in the disguise of a Fathan. He went by road to Barai, near Dhanbad, where he stayed at Shishirnath’s elder brother, Ashoknath’s place. In the night, he went by car to the Gomah railway station and went to Peshawar by train. At this time, he was disguised as a Pathan and used the name of Mohammed Jiyauddin.
On the 26th of January, 1941, Shishirnath gave the news at Calcutta that Subhashbabu had escaped from house arrest.
In Peshawar
Subhashbabu’s close and trustworthy companion, Akbar, was with him at Peshawar. With the help of Akbar and a Forward Bloc member, Bhagatram, he hid and escaped across the border. Then he reached Kabul by road. A few days later, he used an Italian passport to reach Moscow. On the 28th of March, 1941, he took a flight and reached Berlin. Thus, his journey from Calcutta to Berlin was very adventurous.
Convinced that Britain’s problems were India’s opportunity, Subhashbabu went to make friends with the enemy of an enemy. He first went to Germany and then to Japan to hold talks of friendship with these nations. Break the shackles of slavery and sacrifice everything for the freedom of the nation, he is reported to have urged his fellow Indians in a talk on radio from Germany. His speech increased the enthusiasm of the listeners in India; people in India thus came to know that Subhashbabu was in Germany.
Activities In Berlin
Subhashbabu met the German foreign minister, Ribbentrop, in Berlin. There, he obtained permission to propagate ideas against the British on radio, and to form a military troop of Indian prisoners in Germany to fight for India’s freedom. However, the foreign minister did not permit the declaration of India’s independence by the Axis nations. So he met Hitler personally on 29th of May 1941 and had a long discussion with him. But Hitler too did not permit Subhashbabu’s appeal. It is interesting that Hitler too addressed Subhashbabu as ‘His Excellency’.
Before this meeting, Subhashbabu had established Indian troops In Rome and Paris, and had enrolled three thousand Indians in them. Germany attacked Russia on 22nd June 1941, and an opportunity arose to take Indian troops from Russia to India, but it did not materialize.
So Subhashbabu did not Find his stay in Berlin consequential. At this time, Japan was making significant progress in Asia, winning many wars, and Subhashbabu saw an opportunity to make attempts for India’s independence in south-east Asia. So he decided to go to Japan.
Activities In South-East Asian Countries
The lightning attack made by Japan resulted in their control of Malaya, Vietnam, Siam, Singapore, Indonesia and Burma by March, 1942. Under these circumstances, there was an idea afloat to form a central committee of Indians residing in foreign countries, with the assistance of Japan, in order to gain independence for India.
Under the leadership of a revolutionary leader, Rasbihari Bose, the Indians living in Japan gathered for an assembly at Tokyo on 28th of March 1942. Here, the Indian Independence League was established under the headship of Rasbihari Bose. It was also decided at this assembly to form the Azad Hind Fauj.
From 15th to 23rd of June, 1942, Japan formed the Azad Hind Fauj at Bangkok, comprising of the Indian prisoners of war which the Japanese had taken. Captain Mohansingh was appointed the chief of the Azad Hind Fauj. Subhashbabu was invited to this meet at Bangkok, and was also called to take up the command of the Azad Hind Fauj as well as the Indian Independence League.
The Azad Hind Fauj was officially formed on 1st September 1942.