What is not taught to us in history books about Indian war of Independence?

One big thing not taught in Indian history books that two senior most congress leaders and freedom fighters – Jawaharlal Nehru and Subhash Chandra Bose were different when it comes to religion and Hinduism. Subhash Chandra Bose was deeply religious while Nehru was an atheist. Nehru himself admitted that ‘he is Hindu only by birth’.

Subhash Chandra Bose was deeply religious. So, he can never be branded as communist in its true sense or pro-communist as some leftist politician parties in Bengal under CPIM Jyoti Basu tried to project. These parties like Foreword Block and RSP promoted propaganda for political gain that Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose wanted a communist style rule post-independence. Bengali sub-nationalism has always been a prominent political topic in Bengal and communists like Jyoti Basu promoted this propaganda instead of doing real economic development. Similarly, he was not fascist and took help from Germany and Japan during WW-II just to overthrow British.

Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose was strictly secular and had top military generals Sehgal, Dhillon and Shahnawaz Khan who were from three major religions from India. He has to be secular because he was fighting the enemy using Azad Hind Fauj (INA) who were ex-Indian Army soldiers. Presence of Sikhs and Muslims in Indian Army was in higher percentage compared to Hindu population with respect to actual population distribution. This is because many decades ago, British preferred certain ‘marshal tribes’ like Gurkhas to be preferred in Indian Army. He even modified Bankim Chandra Chatterjee written ‘Vande Mataram’ so that it becomes less Sanskrit and acceptable to Muslim soldiers of INA. He met MA Jinnah who was like him only – ex congressman but never accepted two-nation theory. In fact, when he left India in 1941, the demand for Pakistan was not that strong and Quit India Movement of 1942 also didn’t happen.

Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose also met VD Savarkar but never endorsed Hindu Mahasabha as a congressman. His primary enemy was British and post INA formation, needed secular nature of INA. But he was highly religious.

In the month of January 1941 when was then under house arrest in his Elgin Road house and about 15 British detectives were kept to keep an eye on the house. There were about 7 levels of police cordon. But Netaji came out through this police cordon and managed to escape. Just a few days before the great escape, he sent cousin Ila Basu to Dakshineswar temple to bring Goddess Maa Kali flowers and charanamrit (a religious liquid prasad). Netaji was determined not to leave the country without taking the blessings of Dakshineshwar's Kali Maa. Netaji left the country a few days after this incident and this religious person. Wherever Netaji went, he would carry the Gita, chanting Rudraksha garlands and dried Hibiscus flowers of Kali mother's feet. Netaji relied on Maa Kali to conserve energy. But he also ate beef while transiting from Afghanistan just to escape British spies which means he was practical also.

Even when Netaji was in jail, he used to worship Maa Kali and used to write 'Kali Mata' on top of the letters. The hunger strike that Netaji started in the Presidency Jail in 1940 was on the holy day of Kali Puja. Subhash Chandra Bose wrote to the jail chief in the letter- “I repeat this letter, written on the sacred day of Kali Puja, should not be treated as a threat or ultimatum. It is merely an affirmation of one's faith, written in all humility.” "The step that I have now taken is not an ordinary fast. It is the result of several months mature deliberation, sealed by vow prayerfully taken by me on the sacred day of Kali Puja."

Even during the formation of the Azad Hind government, Netaji regularly visited the Ramakrishna Mission in Singapore. Netaji dressed in civil uniform used to worship Maa Kali. Maa Kali was Netaji's source of strength. And with this power, Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose jumped into India's freedom struggle. Mother Kali was Netaji's Aaradhya Devi (preferred deity) in every phase of his life. Netaji's Elgin Road house has a picture of a Rudra idol of Maa Kali hanging in the corner of his bedroom. He often rushed to the temple of Maa Kali at Dakshineshwar, drawn by Maa Kali. His heart was attached to Dakshineswar temple. He used to go to Belur Math by boat across the Ganges and used sang Shyama Sangeet (devotional Maa Kali songs in Bangla). Famous people like Praful Sarkar and congress leader Avinash Bhattacharya often accompanied him on the boat.

His daughter Anita Bose-Pfaff has said the RSS’s ideology and his father’s ideas of secularism and inclusiveness are ‘poles apart and do not coincide’. The fanfare over the celebration of her father's birth anniversary is to ‘partially serve their (BJP, RSS) own interests’ where RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat addressed a public event at Shahid Minar, Kolkata to commemorate Netaji’s 126th birth anniversary. Many different groups want to celebrate Netaji's birthday in different ways and a number of them necessarily agree with his ideas, Bose-Pfaff said. BJP is actually admiring his patriotism and ignoring his secularism. RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat while addressing a programme on Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose’s birth anniversary at Shahid Minar in Kolkata on 23 January 2023 said that we should all work together to fulfil Netaji’s dream of making India ‘glorious’ which is same as RSS dream but didn’t say anything on secularism.

So, the final conclusion is Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose was neither communist, nor fascist and not a congressman or Sanghi. He was just a nationalist. Current BJP party which projects a nationalist outlook with muscular patriotism has highjacked congressmen like Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose, Sardar Patel, Pranab Mukherjee etc. and project them as true patriot. This suits BJP politically.

Nehru on the other hand is still poster boy for dynastic congress party. Nehru was modern, western and international celebrity and he enjoyed that celebrity status. His English education, English lifestyle, long European vacations are part of his high society lifestyle. He had strong negative opinion about Hinduism. Nehru said, idol worship only gave 1000years of slavery and poverty. He never attended any Hindu religious function as PM although he may have visited temple for administrative reasons. Nehru strongly opposed Sardar Patel and Dr. Rajendra Prasad’s efforts to restore Gujarat’s Somnath temple. Nehru once said, ‘marbles in temple reminds him marbles in toilet’! Nehru also said, ‘South Indian historic temples repel him while North Indian Mughal architectures are geart’.

A document which was declassified in 1973 by USA talks about the eating, drinking and smoking habits of the PM Nehru and how his different meals – breakfast, lunch, dinner – should be prepared. Based on inputs from the Indian embassy in Washington DC, it calls Nehru an ‘incessant smoker’ who may sip wine during a meal. Regarding Nehru and his daughter’s food preferences during their 1956 USA trip, the document says, “Inadvisable to serve beef or pork at formal luncheons or dinners due to religious prohibitions among certain classes in India. However in private luncheons or dinners the Prime Minister may well enjoy filet mignon (a type of beef dish) or something of that type”. It also adds, “Mrs. Gandhi’s preferences are the same as the Prime Minister’s. At private functions, she may eat beef & sample wines.”

This indicates PM Nehru had anti-Hindu and pro-communist feelings. Only pro-communist Hindus try to abuse Hindu rituals and do not hesitate to eat beef. A PM who do not eat beef in public because majority Indians are Hindu and sensitive to beef while in private eats beef, indicated that he was hypocrite and atheist.