India is celebrating the 125th birth anniversary of Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose (23 January 1897 – 18 August 1945) today, who is remembered as one of the most revered Indian freedom fighters. To commemorate Bose’s contributions and dedication to the country, the Centre announced on Tuesday that his birth anniversary will be celebrated as Parakram Diwas (day of valour). As a tribute to Subhash Chandra Bose on his birth anniversary, we present you with unknown and interesting facts about the iconic freedom fighter.
Bose was born in Cuttack, Bengal Province and had 14 siblings. He was academically brilliant securing second position in his matriculation exam in school. For higher education, he did his B.A in Philosophy at the Scottish Church College under the University of Calcutta. He even got selected in the Indian Civil Services (ICS) but resigned from his position in 1921 as he didn’t wish to serve the British government. (Photo: twitter/Mausam Noor/@MausamNoor/indianhistorypics)
At the age of 16, he became fascinated by the teachings of Swami Vivekananda and Ramakrishna after reading their works. Vivekananda’s emphasis on social services and reform had inspired Bose and influenced his socialist political ideology. (Photo: twitter/Mausam Noor/@MausamNoor/indianhistorypics)
Subhash Chandra Bose’s first act of defiance against the British was in Presidency college, when he assaulted Professor Oaten, who allegedly made anti-India comments and manhandled Indian students. He was expelled from the college although he officially appealed that he didn’t actually participate in the assault. (Photo: twitter/Mausam Noor/@MausamNoor/indianhistorypics)
In 1923, Bose became the President of the All India Youth Congress and then eventually became the Congress President in 1938. He had a falling out with Congress in 1939 and was expelled from his leadership position as Mohandas Karamchand and he had differences in their approaches to fighting the British. While he advocated for armed revolution against the British, Gandhi was adamant on only using non-violent techniques to gain freedom from the colonizers. (Photo: twitter/Mausam Noor/@MausamNoor/indianhistorypics)
He was jailed 11 times during his fight for freedom. His radical activities against the British rule often led him to imprisonment but never deterred him. (Photo: twitter/Mausam Noor/@MausamNoor/indianhistorypics)
Before his presidency at INC, Bose had ventured into journalism and started the newspaper 'Swaraj' and later became the editor of the newspaper 'Forward' by Chittaranjan Das, a fellow nationalist from Bengal. (Photo: twitter/Mausam Noor/@MausamNoor/indianhistorypics)
He was a progressive thinker and wanted women to enlist in the Indian National Army to fight for their country. In 1943, while addressing a crowd of Indians in Singapore, he asked for a "unit of brave Indian women to form a 'Death-defying Regiment' who will wield the sword, which the brave Rani of Jhansi wielded in India's First War of Independence in 1857." Since the request was unusual for its time, it received a lot of criticism. (Photo: twitter/Mausam Noor/@MausamNoor/indianhistorypics)
Unfortunately, Subhas Chandra Bose died an untimely death on 18 August 1945 due to severe burns and injuries from a plane crash. His death is shrouded in mystery as many of his supporters have refused to believe he died in the plane crash. Doctors who treated him claim that Bose was conscious and surprisingly coherent when he reached the hospital despite suffering severe injuries but died after going into a coma. (Photo: twitter/Mausam Noor/@MausamNoor/indianhistorypics)