Mystery around Netaji Subhash

The incident of Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose's disappearance from Japan during the last World War is still a mystery. He led the 'Indian National Army', set up and trained under the Japanese military, in his abortive mission to attack and free India from British rule in early 1940s. The mystery around his death adds to the complexity of the episode.
The matter related to the identity and background of the mysterious "Gumnami Baba" (No-name Mendicant) has remained as a secret until today. Among various questions in this respect, the obvious ones are: why the twenty four big boxes of personal effects of the said 'Baba' are still lying at the Faizabad government treasury, unopened and undisclosed by the UP authorities. Why the background behind Dr. R. P. Mishra's renting of two rooms for the "Gumnami Baba' who lived there for many years was not investigated into? Further, why there was no follow up regarding the two doctors T. Banarjee and P. Banerjee (father and son) who treated the 'Baba" when the Baba fell sick before his death. Why after the 'Baba's' death, the news that initially appeared in many regional Indian dailies and had even reached parliament, was deftly spiked, and ignored? All these and many other similar news or gossips have not been looked into and officially denied or contradicted. It only adds to the last mystery of the Second World War, that is till today being stonewalled with silence. BJP leader Subramanian Swamy is on record of having said: "According to papers that exist with us, Bose had faked his death (by air crash) and went to Manchuria in China which was then under Russian occupation hoping that Russia would help him. Reportedly Stalin put him in jail in Siberia, and sometime around 1953, hanged or suffocated him to death". Till date, this political event, closely related to the freedom of India has remained as the biggest mystery of the 20th century still lying in the dark.

Engr. S. A. Mansoor
Dhaka
sam@dhakacom.com