On the night of 16–17 January 1941, Subhas Chandra Bose secretly left his Elgin Road home in Calcutta and was driven by his nephew, Sisir, in a car up to Gomoh railway junction in Bihar. Two years later, in February 1943, Bose set out on a perilous submarine journey from Europe to Asia.
Between these two journeys lies perhaps the most difficult, daring and controversial phase in the life of India’s foremost anti-colonial revolutionary. His writings and broadcasts of this period cover a broad range of topics: the Second World War, India in the context of war, plans for a final armed assault against British rule in India, criticism of Germany’s invasion of the Soviet Union, the role of Japan in East and Southeast Asia, the reasons for rejecting the Cripps offer of 1942, and support for Mahatma Gandhi and the Quit India movement.
This volume is indispensible for all interested in modern South Asian history and politics, as well as nationalism and international relations in the twentieth century.
Sisir Kumar Bose (1920–2000) founded the Netaji Research Bureau in 1957 and was its guiding spirit until his death in 2000. A participant in the Indian freedom struggle, he was imprisoned by the British in the Lahore Fort, Red Fort and Lyallpur Jail. In the post-independence period he played a key role in preserving the best traditions of the anti-colonial movement and making possible the writing of its history.
Sugata Bose is the Gardiner Professor of History at Harvard University. He is the author of several books on the economic, social and political history of modern South Asia.
Dr Sisir Kumar Bose and Netaji’s Work
Acknowledgements
Introduction
Writings and Speeches
1. A Post-dated Letter To Hari Vishnu Kamath, 18 January 1941 2. Forward Bloc: Its Justification The Kabul Thesis, 22 March 1941 3. Plan of Indian Revolution Report of an Interview 4. Secret Memorandum to the German Government Berlin, 9 April 1941 5. Supplementary Memorandum to the German Government Berlin, 3 May 1941 6. Secret Message to Comrades in India May 1941 7. Draft of the Free India Declaration ‘Mazzotta’, May 1941 8. A Gloomy Scenario Letter to Dr Woermann of the German Foreign Office, 5 July 1941 9. The Russo-German War and India Struggle Report of a Conversation with the German Foreign Office, 17 July 1941 10. The Approach of an Enemy Letter to German Foreign Minister von Ribbentrop, 15 August 1941 11. Address Me as O. Mazzotta Letter to Naomi Vetter, Autumn 1941 12. The Fall of Singapore First Broadcast, 19 February 1941 13. Seize This Opportunity Broadcast, 11 March 1942 14. Burmese Freedom Broadcast, 13 March 1942 15. India has no Enemy Outside Her Own Frontiers Broadcast, 19 March 1942 16. My Death is Perhaps an Instance of Wishful Thinking Broadcast, 25 March 1942 17. An Open Letter to Sir Stafford Cripps Broadcast, 31 March 1942 18. India for the Indians Broadcast, 6 April 1942 19. Compromise-Hunting is Like War-Mongering Broadcast, 13 April 1942 20. My Allegiance Broadcast, 1 May 1942 21. I Should be in the East Letter to German Foreign Minister von Ribbentrop, 22 May 1942 22. Face to Face with the German Fuhrer Record of the Conference between Hitler and Bose, 29 May 1942 23. Statement to the World Press June 1942 24. The Pledge of the INA Address to the Indian Legion in Europe and Broadcast, June 1942 25. Link Up Indian Nationalists All Over the World Messenger to the Bangkok Conference, 15 June 1942 26. Differentiate between Internal and External Policy Broadcast, 17 June 1942 27. Full Support to Gandhi Early August 1942 28. The Quit India Movement Broadcast, 17 August 1942 29. Join India’s Epic Struggle Broadcast, 31 August 1942 30. Free India and Her Problems August 1942 31. India and Germany Speech, 11 September 1942 32. The USA, Britain and India Broadcast, 15 October 1942 33. Somewhere Near India Letter to German Foreign Minister von Ribbentrop, 5 December 1942 34. The Situation in Europe Broadcast, 7 December 1942 35. The Duty of Patriotic Indians Broadcast, 1 January 1943 36. Independence Day Speech, 26 January 1943 37. The Bluff and Bluster Corporation of British Imperialism Speech, Late January/Early February 1943 38. The 24th Anniversary of the Bloodbath of Amritsar Speech, End January/Early February 1943 39. On the Path of Danger Letter to Sarat Chandra Bose, 8 February 1943