Remembering The Revolutionary Leader, Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose
Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose is the most celebrated freedom fighter of India whose name has been engraved in the pages of history in golden words. On his 123rd birth anniversary, My City Links presents some of the lesser-known facts about this revolutionary leader.
1. Subhas Chandra Bose was born into a Kayastha family and was the 9th kid in a family of 14 children.
2. He was admitted to the Protestant European School, currently known as Stewart High School at Cuttack in January 1902. He continued to study here, which was run by the Baptist Mission, up to 1909 and later shifted to Ravenshaw Collegiate School.
3. Bose worked as the CEO of Calcutta Municipal Corporation and later, was elected as the Mayor of Calcutta in 1924.
4. His ideologies were based on Swami Vivekananda’s teachings on ‘universalism’ and “Shrimad Bhagavad Gita” as he believed it to be a great source of inspiration to fight against Britishers.
5. Bose met Emilie Schenkl, who belonged to an Austrian Catholic family, in 1934 through a mutual friend Dr Mathur, an Indian physician. Later, Bose married Emilie in 1937.
6. Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose Island, formerly known as Ross Island, is a part of Andaman and Nicobar Islands. The historic ruins are named after Bose and are a tourist attraction.
7. Other than “Give me blood and I will give you Freedom”, Bose used to say “Dilli Chalo” to motivate the men of his Indian National Army. Another slogan by him was “Jai Hind” that was later adopted by the Government of India.
8. Bose has featured on the stamps in India from 1964, 1993, 1997, 2001, 2016 and 2018.
We salute the brave son of the soil on this occasion and bow before his glorious contribution to the Indian freedom movement.