Rash Behari Bose: Founder of the Azad Hind Fauj

Whenever there is a mention of the revolutionaries who sacrificed their all for the country's freedom, the name of the great revolutionary Rash Behari Bose—who incessantly consumed himself bit by bit for India's freedom struggle from 1911 to 1945—will always be recalled with deep reverence. His birth anniversary falls on 25 May. Rash Behari was the chief organizer of the Ghadar Conspiracy against the British Raj and the Azad Hind Fauj. He played a crucial role not only in directing numerous revolutionary activities within India, but also remained engaged throughout his life in striving to secure India's independence from abroad. Rash Behari Bose played a vital role in planning the bomb attack on Viceroy Lord Charles Hardinge in Delhi, hatching the Ghadar conspiracy, and later going to Japan to establish the Indian Independence League and the Azad Hind Fauj.

Rash Behari Bose was born on 25 May 1886 in Subaldaha village of Bardhaman in Bengal, to Binnode Behari Bose. For employment, Binnode Behari Ji moved to Chandannagar, where Rash Behari Ji completed his primary education. From early childhood, he dreamed of the country's independence and harbored a keen interest in revolutionary activities. In 1908, following news of his name surfacing in the Alipore bomb case, Rash Behari Bose left Bengal to evade arrest, initially reaching Shimla to work in a printing press. Subsequently, he served for a time as a research assistant in the chemistry department at the Forest Research Institute in Dehradun.

The reality was that Rash Behari Bose, having trained in bomb-making while living in French-occupied Chandannagar, took employment at this research institute primarily to secure the chemicals necessary for bomb manufacturing. During that period, he was introduced to Amarendra Chatterjee of the Jugantar group led by the revolutionary Jatin Mukherjee, and joined hands with the revolutionaries of Bengal. Later, coming into contact with Jatindranath Banerjee (alias Niralamba Swami), a political disciple of Aurobindo Ghosh, he grew close to the prominent Arya Samaji (follower of Arya Samaj) revolutionaries of the United Provinces (present-day Uttar Pradesh) and Punjab. Thus, he soon established links with revolutionaries across several states.

Meanwhile, owing to the mounting pressure of revolutionaries in Bengal, the British shifted India's capital from Calcutta to Delhi. To strike terror into the hearts of the British, Rash Behari Bose returned to Chandannagar and hatched a plan to throw a bomb at the then Viceroy Hardinge. To execute the plan, on 21 September 1912, Basanta Kumar Biswas, a disciple of Amarendra Chatterjee, arrived at the residence of Delhi revolutionary Amir Chand. The next day, on 22 September, Rash Behari Bose also arrived in Delhi. On 23 December, a grand royal procession was held in which the Viceroy Hardinge rode an elephant with his wife. Beside them, bodyguard Maxwell stood behind the mahout, while Mahavir Singh stood outside the howdah holding the ceremonial umbrella.

People stood along the roadside and watched this grand procession from rooftops and windows. Just as the procession reached in front of the Punjab National Bank in the heart of Chandni Chowk, a terrifying explosion occurred. Basanta Kumar Biswas had hurled the bomb at him, but missed the target. The Viceroy suffered minor injuries in the blast, but umbrella-bearer Mahavir Singh was killed. Despite failing to assassinate the Viceroy, Rash Behari Bose succeeded in instilling terror within the British government.

A reward of one lakh rupees was announced by the government for anyone helping to apprehend the perpetrators of the bomb blast. Following this, the British police launched a hunt for Rash Behari Bose, but to evade them, he slipped away overnight by train to Dehradun and resumed his work in the office as if nothing had happened. The very next day, he convened a meeting of Dehradun's citizens, in which he even publicly condemned the attack on the Viceroy. Thus, no one harbored the slightest suspicion that he was the mastermind behind this conspiracy and outrage. However, all other revolutionaries involved in this bomb case were captured; Master Amir Chand, Bhai Bal Mukund, and Awadh Behari were hanged on 8 May 1915, while Basanta Kumar Biswas was hanged the following day, on 9 May.

In the picture, the revolutionary Rash Behari Bose is seen with his life partner Toshiko.

In 1913, during flood relief work in Bengal, Rash Behari Bose came into contact with Jatin Mukherjee, who infused him with new vigor, after which he threw himself completely into directing revolutionary activities with redoubled enthusiasm. To liberate India, he collaborated with leaders of the Ghadar Party established in America during the First World War to plan an uprising. Several leaders of Jugantar thought that since most troops were currently deployed outside the country due to the war in Europe, the remaining garrison could be easily defeated. To assist Rash Behari, Sachindra Nath Sanyal was already present in Benares, and Vishnu Ganesh Pingle of the Ghadar Party also arrived from America.

Pingle had been sent by the Ghadar Party to organize revolutionaries in Punjab with the help of Rash Behari Bose. After meeting Pingle, Bose's comrade Sanyal went to Punjab, and through his efforts, a secret meeting of revolutionaries was held on 31 December 1914 at the Peerwali Dharamshala in Amritsar. Along with Pingle and Sanyal, prominent figures present at this meeting included Kartar Singh Sarabha, Pandit Parmanand, Balwant Singh, Harnam Singh, Vidhan Singh, Bhoola Singh, and others. Later, to accelerate the efforts, Rash Behari Bose also arrived in Punjab in January 1915. Kartar Singh Sarabha possessed tremendous zeal and fervor; together with Rash Behari Bose, he planned a countrywide mutiny across India once again. The date was fixed for 21 February 1915.

A wave of excitement swept through all the revolutionaries across the country. Organization began everywhere, but destiny had ordained otherwise. Kirpal Singh, a soldier turned informant for the Punjab police, had infiltrated the revolutionaries' rank. He sold his conscience for money and passed information about all the preparations to the British. Consequently, roundups, searches, and arrests took place throughout India. Thus, unfortunately, this attempt too proved unsuccessful and many revolutionaries were arrested. Under such circumstances, after the failure of the Ghadar plan, Rash Behari Bose left Lahore. Yet it must be said that after the armed revolution of 1857, no revolutionary organization or conspiracy of such vast scale and scope had ever been forged to overthrow British rule, and it was possible only for a man of Rash Behari's stature.

Following his numerous anti-government activities, the British secret police also tried to capture Rash Behari Bose, but he eluded their grasp and returned to live in Benares, and subsequently Chandannagar, after leaving Lahore. Here, Rash Behari Bose studied the history of subjugated nations and realized that no subjugated country had ever achieved independence without international assistance. Thus, he too began contemplating liberating India by securing aid from abroad. At this juncture, Gurudev Rabindranath Tagore was about to visit Japan, which Rash Behari perceived as a golden opportunity to depart from India.

Feigning the intention of reaching Japan ahead of Gurudev to oversee arrangements, he arrived in Japan in June 1915 under the assumed name of Raja Priyanath Tagore. Thereafter, alongside his Japanese revolutionary friends there, he continued to strive for the country's freedom. In Japan, apart from teaching English, he began working as an author and journalist, and also published a newspaper named New Asia. Not only this, he learned the Japanese language and authored 16 books, 15 of which remain available to this day.

The British government was still hot on his trail and demanded his extradition from the Japanese government, owing to which he kept changing his identity and residence for nearly a year. The Japanese government had even acceded to this demand, but Mr. Toyama, head of Japan's extremely powerful nationalist organization Black Dragon, gave shelter to Mr. Bose at his residence. Following this, no Japanese officer dared arrest Mr. Bose. In 1916 in Japan itself, Rash Behari Bose married the daughter of the prominent Pan-Asianists Aizō Sōma and Kokkō Sōma, and became a citizen of Japan in 1923.

Rash Behari Bose also played a vital role in winning over Japanese officials to the side of Indian nationalists and securing their active support for the country's independence movement. At the same time, he maintained contact with Indian revolutionaries and leaders, keeping a keen eye on every development taking place in India. In this context, the letter written by Rash Behari Ji to Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose upon his election as Congress President in 1938 is noteworthy—a letter I cannot resist reproducing here despite the growing length of this essay.

My Dear Subhash Babu,
Having received newspapers from India, I got the pleasant news that you have been elected President for the upcoming Congress session. I send my heartfelt best wishes. To some extent, Bengalis were also responsible for the British occupation of India. Therefore, in my view, it becomes the fundamental duty of Bengalis to make greater sacrifices to secure freedom for India. Today, to guide the country in the right direction, Congress must operate with a revolutionary mindset. At present it is an evolving organization—it must be turned into a purely revolutionary institution. When the entire body is contaminated, applying medicine to individual limbs serves no purpose.

Blind adoration of non-violence must be opposed, and a shift in perspective must take place. We must achieve our goal through every possible means—whether violence or non-violence. The environment of non-violence is effeminizing Indian men. In the contemporary world, if any nation wishes to live with self-respect, it must not adopt a pacifist outlook. Our difficulty is that other notions have been drilled into our ears for a very long time. That line of thought must be completely excised.

Strength is the true need of today. You must apply your full energy to this endeavor. Dr. Moonje has achieved more than the Congress by establishing his military school. Indians must first be made soldiers. They should have the right to carry arms. The next imperative task is Hindu brotherhood. A Muslim born in India is also a Hindu; his mode of worship differs from that of Muslims in Turkey, Persia, Afghanistan, etc. Hindutva (Hindu ethos) is catholic enough to assimilate Islam into Hindutva—as has occurred in the past. All Indians are Hindus—though they may believe in different faiths. Just as all people of Japan are Japanese, whether they are Buddhist or Christian.

We do not know how to live life, nor how to sacrifice life. That is the main difficulty. In this context, we ought to follow the Japanese. They are prepared to die by the thousands for their country. The same awakening must arise in us as well. We must learn how to embrace death. The problem of India's independence will then solve itself.
Your well-wisher,
Rash Behari Bose
25-1-38 Tokyo

By this time, the clouds of World War II had begun hovering over the world, and in India, Veer Savarkar was traveling to various provinces and cities, urging Indians to remain conscious of their existence and stressing the imperative of militarization. During this period, on 22 June 1940, Netaji Subhash Chandra reached Bombay to meet him. During the meeting, Netaji informed him of his plan to pull down the statues of Holwell and other British figures in Calcutta. Hearing this, Savarkar Ji remarked with grave solemnity: "I do not consider it fitting that radiant and supreme patriots like you should rot in prison for an utterly trivial offense like iconoclasm. Successful diplomacy demands pinning down the enemy while safeguarding oneself. Britain is currently entangled in the great crisis of war; we must take full advantage of this. Look at this secret letter from Shri Rash Behari Bose, according to which Japan could enter the war at any moment. Do not let such a historic opportunity slip through your fingers. You too, like Rash Behari Bose and other revolutionaries, must give the British the slip and escape abroad. When the right moment arrives, secure German-Japanese armed assistance and plan an assault on British power from the eastern border of the country. Without such armed endeavor, the nation can never be liberated." Listening to all this intently, Netaji took his leave, expressing hope for their reunion. It is world-known that as a result of this inspiration, he traveled to Germany and then reached Singapore, where he established the Azad Hind Fauj and Government.

Meanwhile, on 28 March 1942, Rash Behari convened a conference in Tokyo in which the decision was taken to establish the Indian Independence League. At this conference, he also presented a proposal to form an army for India's freedom. On 22 June 1942, Rash Behari Bose convened the second conference of the League in Bangkok, where a resolution was passed inviting Subhash Chandra Bose to join the League and assume its presidency. During the Second World War, Japan had captured numerous Indian prisoners of war on the Malayan and Burmese fronts.

These prisoners of war were encouraged to join the Indian Independence League and become soldiers of the Indian National Army (INA). Following this, the Azad Hind Fauj was formed in September 1942 as the military wing of Rash Behari Bose's Indian Independence League. Just as Rash Behari Bose was on the verge of reaching the zenith of power and glory, the Japanese military command removed him and General Mohan Singh from the leadership of the INA, though the organizational structure of the INA remained intact. Later, upon this very framework, Subhash Chandra Bose reorganized the INA under the name of Azad Hind Fauj.

Seeing the situation slipping away, Rash Behari Bose appealed to the Japanese government that Netaji must be summoned from Germany to Japan at the earliest, for only he could provide leadership to the INA, no one else. Lieutenant General Seizo Arisue of the Japanese Ground Self-Defense asked Rash Behari Bose: Are you willing to work under Netaji? The reason was that Rash Behari Bose was eleven years older than Netaji, and far senior to him in the freedom struggle. Rash Behari Bose replied that for the nation's independence, he would gladly work under Netaji.

A message was then dispatched to General Oshima, Japan's ambassador to Germany, and efforts to send Netaji from Germany to Japan were accelerated. Indeed, Mr. Higuti, the Japanese military attaché at the embassy, did not forget to ask Netaji whether he would prefer working under Rash Behari Bose. Netaji's response was that personally he did not know Rash Behari Bose; but since he was struggling for India's independence from Tokyo, he (Netaji) was gladly prepared to serve as his soldier. Two towering heroes of the freedom struggle, each prepared to work under the other for the liberation of the motherland—this is an example that must surely be taught to the students of our nation. But alas, our children are taught stories of emperors who slaughtered their own fathers and brothers to seize power, yet not a single word about these selfless martyrs!

On 4 July 1943, at the Cathay Building in Singapore, Rash Behari Bose handed over the command of the Azad Hind Fauj to Subhash Chandra Bose. Subhash Chandra Bose insistently placed Rash Behari Bose in the position of Supreme Advisor. However, by now, a lifetime of struggle, combined with the demise of his life partner Toshiko and son Masahide, had broken Rash Behari Bose in both mind and body. When Subhash Chandra Bose visited Rash Behari Bose in November 1944, his condition had deteriorated severely. As his health worsened, he was admitted to the Government Hospital in Tokyo for treatment in January 1945.

At this time, the Emperor of Japan decorated Rash Behari Bose with the 'Order of the Rising Sun' (Second Class), the second-highest national honor of the Land of the Rising Sun. Striving relentlessly to liberate India from the servitude of British rule, and holding fast to this very hope, Rash Behari Bose passed away on 21 January 1945. Japan accorded full honor to the spirit and struggle of this immortal martyr, but this ungrateful nation could give him nothing in return. Someone has rightly said—

जारी रहा क्रम यदि, यूं ही अमर शहीदों के अपमान का। तो अस्त ही समझो सूर्य, भारत भाग्य के आसमान का।

*(If this pattern of insulting immortal martyrs continues unchecked, consider the sun of India's destiny already set in the sky.)*

Millions of obeisances and humble tributes to this great hutatma (martyr).

- Vishal Agarwal (The author is a deep scholar of Indian history and culture, an educationist, and a voice for national interests. The author's Rashtra Aradhak series on great Indian personalities is a must-read.)

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