Subhas Chandra Bose's Grandnephew Urges PM To Bring Back Netaji's Remains

Legendary freedom fighter Subhas Chandra Bose's grandnephew Chandra Kumar Bose on Sunday appealed to Prime Minister Narendra Modi to bring back the "mortal remains of Netaji" from Japan's Renkoji temple by August 18.

He also said a final statement should come from the central government on the matter so that "false narratives" about Netaji are laid to rest.

Stating that the NDA-led government took initiative to declassify files related to the freedom fighter, Mr Bose said after the release of all the "10 inquiries - national and international", it is evident that "Netaji perished on August 18, 1945" in an air crash in Taiwan.

"It is therefore imperative that a final statement is made from the Government of India so that false narratives about the liberator of India are laid to rest," Mr Bose wrote in a letter to Modi on Sunday.

"My humble appeal to you is to bring back the mortal remains of Netaji from Renkoji to India by August 18, 2024," he said.

In an interview to PTI Videos, Mr Bose, also a former vice president of the West Bengal BJP, said the declassification process has exposed secret files and documents, "which conclusively establish that Netaji died in this air crash on August 18, 1945".

He said that Netaji wanted to return to India after Independence, but could not as he died in the air crash.

"It is highly insulting that Netaji's remains have been kept at the Renkoji temple," Mr Bose said.

"We have been writing to the prime minister for the last three-and-a-half years, that in order to honour the liberator of India, his remains must touch Indian soil," he said.

Mr Bose maintained that Netaji's daughter Anita Bose Pfaff wants to perform his last rites as per the Hindu tradition.

"I think the Government of India must respond. If they feel that these remains are not of Netaji, then maintenance should not be provided to keep those at Renkoji. A statement is expected from the prime minister regarding this," he said in the interview.

Mr Bose said a few years ago, his family members had visited the Renkoji temple and met the high priest there, who stated that Netaji fought for the freedom of India and as such, his remains should be taken to India.

Netaji's grandnephew said the icon's remains should be brought to Delhi and a memorial built to pay homage to the leader.

"It is very unfortunate that no response has come from the government or the prime minister," Mr Bose said.

In his letter to Modi, Mr Bose said the circumstances of Netaji's death from an air crash while leaving Taiwan in a Japanese military aircraft in the aftermath of Japan's surrender in August 1945, perhaps with a plan to make his way to the Soviet Union to continue the struggle, was seen by many as just another ruse to escape his enemies.

He claimed that his brother Sarat Chandra Bose and widow Emilie, however, did not have any definite knowledge of Netaji being alive after August 18, 1945.

There is no doubt of the genuine disbelief among some that Netaji perished in the manner described in a host of contemporary accounts from multiple sources, said Mr Bose.

"After all, here was a man who had once given the slip to the British and undertook an arduous trek from Calcutta through north India to Afghanistan, eventually reaching Berlin by air through Moscow. Only a few years later in the midst of a raging world war, he survived an even more perilous voyage by submarine from Germany to South East Asia. How could such a man die!" he said in the letter.

"The... Justice Mukherjee Commission of Inquiry 2005 finding that Netaji did not die in the said air crash was found to be based on fundamental errors and the Government of India thus rejected it," Mr Bose said.

Maintaining that an array of "unscrupulous persons" found plenty of scope and opportunities for exploitation over the issue, he said from around the mid-1960's began the phenomenon of the re-appearance of Netaji.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)