ETERNAL
THOUGHTS OF SUBHASH CHANDRA BOSE
Subhash
Chandra Bose was one of the bravest sons of India who fought for his country’s
freedom in his own unique way. He was born on 23rd January 1897 in the
Cuttack home of his parents. He is popularly known as Netaji Subhash Chandra
Bose and the Founder of the Indian National Army (Azad Hind Fauj) which added new
vigour to the ongoing freedom struggle of the country.
The
celebrations of his 125th birth anniversary started yesterday (23
Jan 2021) all over the country, particularly in Kolkata, the capital of
West Bengal.
This short write
up is not a biographical sketch of this very great Indian her but a small
bouquet of his socio-political thoughts. I believe that he was a marvellous
visionary who knew the real spirit of his motherland reference
to not only her past and present but to the future that was yet to be.
What follows
are a few extracts from his remarkable speeches delivered from time to time.
“The Civil Service (He had passed ICS exam) can bring
one all kinds of worldly comfort but are not these acquisitions made at the
expense of ones soul?...national and spiritual aspirations are not compatible
with obedience to the Civil Service conditions (India was then governed by the
British).”
“On principle I cannot accept the idea of being a part
of the machinery which has outlived the days of its usefulness and stans at
present for all that is connected with conservation, selfish power,
heartlessness and red-tapism.”
“Only on the soil of sacrifice and suffering can we raise
our national edifice.”
“We have got to make a nation and a nation can be made
only by an uncompromising idealism.”
“You cannot free one half of your soul and keep the
other half in bondage. You cannot introduce a light into a room and expect at
the same time that some portion of it will remain dark. You cannot establish
political democracy and endeavour at the same time to resist the democratization
of the society. …let us not become a queer mixture of political democrats and social
conservatives. Political institutions grow out of the social life of the
people, and are shaped by their social ideas and ideals.”
“It is necessary for the different religious groups to
be acquainted with the traditions, ideals and history of one another, because cultural
intimacy will pave the way towards communal peace and harmony. I venture to
think that the fundamental basis of political unity between different communities
lies in cultural rapprochement.”
“In order to facilitate cultural rapprochement a dose
of secular and scientific training is necessary. Fanaticism is the greatest thorn
in the path of cultural intimacy, and there is no better remedy for fanaticism
than secular and scientific education.”
“One of the most hopeful signs of the time is the
awakening among the youth of this country. The movement has spread rom one end
of the country to the other end, as far as I am aware, has attracted not only
young men but your women as well. The youth of this age have become
self-conscious; they have been inspired by an ideal and are anxious to follow the
call of their nature and fulfil their destiny. The movement is spontaneous
self-expression of the national soul, and on the course of this movement
depends the nation’s future weal. Our duty, therefore, is not to attempt to
crush this new-born spirit but to lend it our support and guidance.” (Prophetic
words as we read them today.)
“I stand for an independent republic.”
The
source of whatever has been quoted above is The Selected Speeches of Subhas
Chandra Bose, a Govt. of India 1962 publication.)
**********
24th January 2021 G.R.
Kanwal
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