Subhash Chandra Bose

 

Subhash Chandra Bose is fondly remembered as one of the greatest freedom fighters of India, and popularly known by the name of 'Netaji' (Respected Leader). He was strongly influenced by Swami Vivekananda’s teachings, and also believed that the Bhagavad Gita was a great source of inspiration for the struggle against the British. Bose was an Indian nationalist, and a prominent figure of the Indian independence movement. The leader spearheaded the revolutionary Indian National Army during World War II. He always pitched for complete and unconditional independence of India from the British Rule.

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.

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.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

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.