PMO told to make 29 Netaji files public

February 19, 2008 11:45 IST

Rejecting the Prime Minister's Office's refusal to provide a list of classified files relating to Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose, the Central Information Commission has asked it to make public a list of 29 such files.

The commission's decision came after the PMO produced before it 33 classified files on the revolutionary leader. It, however, exempted four related files as they had reference to foreign states.

Acting on an RTI application of 'Mission Netaji' -- a Delhi-based research trust -- challenging the PMO's refusal to make public its classified files on Netaji, the CIC had, in its order of January 25, asked the latter to produce in a sealed cover a list of classified files for its perusal.

The PMO while declining to produce the list of the classified files had earlier said that divulging their contents could affect India's sovereignty and relations with foreign nations.

Perusing through the files as produced by the PMO, Chief Information Commissioner Wajahat Habibullah said while four of the 33 classified files had a reference to foreign nations, rest of the 29 files should be given.

In its order passed on Monday, the CIC also noted that out of the 29 files, seven were classified "top secret," three "confidential" while the rest were marked "secret."

Apart from the 33 files, the PMO also informed the commission about two recently de-classified files.

"Under the circumstances, the PMO will provide a list of the 29 remaining files in addition to the two recently de-classified files, and list their titles," Habibullah said while directing the PMO's Information Officer Amit Agrawal to provide the list within 10 days to Anuj Dhar, a Mission Netaji functionary.

Earlier, Dhar, in his Right to Information application, had asked for a list of classified and de-classified records on Netaji, as available with the PMO.

While the PMO replied that it had 11 de-classified files relating to Netaji, an exception was claimed for listing of its classified files.

It was also said that a process of declassification of its records was underway.

Dhar, who moved an appeal before the CIC, contended that while some of related PMO documents were classified, a nomenclature and description of the files were submitted before Justice Mukherjee Commission.

http://in.rediff.com/news/2008/feb/19netaji.htm

Film on Tamil leader sheds light on Netaji's secret years

Chennai: A new film on Tamil leader Pasumpon Muthuramalingam Thevar will throw light on his close association with Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose and his claim that he met the Indian revolutionary in 1956, more than 10 years after Netaji was reportedly killed in a plane crash over Taiwan.

The documentary, to mark the 100th birth anniversary of Thevar, will deal with the time Bose spent in hiding with Thevar's connivance.

Titled "Pasumpon Thevar Varalaaru", the documentary narrates the life story of Thevar, who hailed from Pasumpon village of Tamil Nadu's Ramanathapuram district.

Thevar saw Netaji as his mentor, the film's director M P Abraham Lincoln told IANS.

Bose, a believer in armed struggle against the British rule in India, disappeared in August 1945, two years before the country became free.

"Thevar met Netaji for the first time at a conference in Chennai in 1927. From his first meeting till his death, Thevar spoke about Netaji.

"Thevar's relatives say, with evidence, that when Bose was in hiding (in 1927) he stayed with Thevar for over a year at his estate in Pulichikulam. The British police had even set up wireless equipment to monitor Netaji's movement in the area. We have included this chapter in Muthuramalingam's life in our documentary," Lincoln said.

"It was Thevar who, with evidence, said he had met Netaji in 1956 - which means many years after he is said to have died in a plane crash. The Indian government did not have any proper replies to the questions raised by Thevar then," Lincoln added. Thevar was an MP when he announced in parliament that he had met Netaji, said Lincoln.

The Central Information Commission has asked the government to make public 29 "top secret" files on Bose under the Right To Information Act.

I B Karthikeyan's Papillon Communications has made the 75-minute documentary with a budget of Rs.10 million. The film will be released worldwide in March.

"We began the research 18 months ago and shooting started last October. Thevar is a national leader. He worked for the freedom of the country along with Subhas Bose; yet he is known today only as the leader of one caste. The story of his spartan life and his reform is hidden from the outer world," Lincoln said.

"About two years ago, I.B. Karthikeyan was searching the internet for details of Thevar's life. To his dismay, he did not find even a single website which could tell him Thevar's complete life story.

"He immediately started collecting facts, rare photographs and video footage of Thevar. We looked at the history and decided to make a documentary so that the future generation may know something about this great Tamil leader," he said.

A rich landowner, Thevar donated most of his land to the poor and spent more than five years in British jails.

"We have not made anyone act out the role of Thevar. Instead, we have used 3D animation to depict him when continuity in narration was needed," the director said.

The film was shot in Ramanathapuram, Madurai, Tiruchirapalli, Uraiyur, Pudukottai, Thanjavur, Aaduthurai, Vellore, Kallupatti and Pulichikulam.

An elected member of the Tamil Nadu assembly and the Lok Sabha, his political image was tarnished by a violent anti-Dalit incident.

An assembly by-election was held in Muthukulathur in July 1957, when Thevar who had won the seat, vacated it. The seat was won by another member of the Forward Bloc, Thevar's party.

Clashes between the Thevar community, that largely supported the Forward Bloc, and Dalit groups supported by the Congress led to large-scale rioting and burning of Dalit villages in Ramanathapuram during 1957 and several lives were lost.

"The Muthukulathur incident has also been filmed without any deviation from the truth. The Muthukulathur incident was nothing but a conspiracy hatched by the rulers of those days to destroy the belief the people had on this impeccable leader.

"Those affected by this incident, the local villagers, have themselves narrated their version of what happened. We have only used these accounts in our story," Lincoln said.

Yugabharathi has penned three songs for the film, while Vijay Antony has scored the music and actor Vagai Chandrasekar has lent his voice to the narration.

Asked about the future of such historical films, Lincoln said: "Only commercial films are well received. But many corporate companies are into filmmaking now and with their help we hope to make a full-length feature film on Thevar some day."

Source: Indo-Asian News Service

http://news.in.msn.com/national/article.aspx?cp-documentid=1256652

Website of British parliament identifies India with Netaji

The website of British parliament has a section titled "Parliament and India, 1858-1947" that displays an Indian Map that has superimposed three images of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose on it along with his salutation Jai Hind (in Hindi). The image is attached.

British Parliament passed Indian Independence Act, 1947 which received Royal Assent on 18th July 1947 that established India and Pakistan as independent dominions.

Prior to it on 3rd June 1947, Louis Mountbatten, first Earl Mountbatten of Burma and the last viceroy of India, announced the partitioning of British India into India and Pakistan.

The website reads:

In the first half of the 20th century, having been the "Jewel in the Crown" of the British Empire, India became the first part of that Empire to secure separate nationhood and independence.

www.parliament.uk/parliamentary_publications_and_archives/parliamentary_archives/indian_independence.cfm

Aide recollects Netaji’s NE sojourn

SHILLONG, Feb 4 – At the age of 88, businessman JN Bawri might forget many things of the past. But he will never forget those three days he spent with Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose when he came here 70 years ago to stake claim for first Congress Government in undivided Assam.

The Shillong sojourn of the ‘Patriot of Patriots’ may be unknown to many but one of his aides – Bawri, will remember Bose’s visit to the North East in 1938 forever.

“I was transfixed and elated at this life-time experience as I drove with Subhash Babu sitting next to me. Contrary to my perception, he was exceptionally humorous despite his serious countenance,” recalled octogenarian Bawri, who drove Netaji through the streets of Shillong in 1938.

Bose, then the president of Indian National Congress, had come to Shillong, the capital of undivided Assam to form a Congress Government. “There were no cars here then. So I took out our family’s made-in-England ‘Wepat’ car to cater to Netaji for three memorable days,” Bawri said.

“Getting fuel and a chauffeur in those days were a big hassle. I faced a lot of trouble arranging for 4.5 litres of petrol at a cost of three anna because my elder brothers did not approve it,” Bawri chuckled.

They made arrangement for Subhas Babu to stay in a private house near Ward’s Lake in the city. Along with some tribal friends we guarded him throughout the night, Bawri said.

“After addressing his first meeting at the Polo Market, which was hugely attended by the public despite the threat of the British, Subhash Babu addressed another meeting at the Durbar Hall at Mawkhar calling on the people to gear up for India’s freedom,” Bawri remembered.

Netaji met the British Governor of Assam here and put forth the claim to form a Congress Government. “Sensing the Governor’s unwillingness, he showed his true capability and threatened him that if his demands were not met, Congress Governments all over India would resign,” Bawri recalled.

Finally, the Governor agreed to swear-in a Congress Government under the premiership of Gopinath Bordoloi on November 18, 1938.

Recalling his historic drive with Bose, Bawri, said, “I also took him on a sight-seeing trip in Shillong. He was particularly interested in visiting the house where Rabindranath Tagore stayed and I took him to Rilbong, where the poet laureate composed some of his greatest literary pieces.”

Bawri also recalled that Netaji did not mention that he had been to Shillong before, especially during his fairly long stay at the salubrious pine city for regaining health in 1927 after he was released from Mandalay Jail in Burma. – PTI

Subhas Chandra Bose and Assam

— Dr Dipankar Banerjee

Assam was passing through an unprecedented political turmoil in the second half of 1938. Sadullah was then heading the Muslim League coalition ministry in Assam. On 12 September 1938 no confidence motions were tabled against him and next day Sadullah had to submit his resignation.

The Congress, till then in opposition in the Provincial Assembly, put forward its claim to form the government with the support of the Tribal League under the leadership of Gopinath Bardoloi. However, Bardoloi was still in need of two votes required for the formation of the ministry. The central Congress leadership deputed Maulana Abul Kalam Azad to supervise the ministry formation. After assessing the ground reality, Azad raised objections to formation of the ministry as Bardoloi did not have the requisite number. After meeting the Congressmen at Shillong, Azad made a public statement that ‘Khali vitti mein imarat nehi hota hain’. (no building could be erected without a foundation). Bardoloi and Bishnu Ram Medhi, then APCC president, were not happy with Azad’s assessment and they desperately sought the intervention of Subhash Chandra Bose, then president of Indian National Congress and appealed to him to visit Assam immediately. Bose understood the urgency of the situation and postponing all other official engagements for a week, he rushed to Assam to save the situation.

Immediately after his arrival at Shillong and in contravention of Azad’s decision, Bose strongly advocated the formation of the ministry under Bardoloi, as that would strengthen the Congress base not only in Assam but in India as a whole in the prevailing political back drop. However, the Assam Congress itself was a divided house at that point of time with Surma Valley members alienating themselves over the composition of the ministry. Bose set to the task, talked to the dissident members, started a wild goose chase for those two votes and succeeded in his mission. Bose played an important role in this respect with his “wise counsel and excellent whip which was badly needed... it was because of him that Bardoloi could form the ministry” wrote noted freedom fighter Md. Tayebullah in Karagaror Chithi.

Gopinath Bardoloi took the oath of office as the Premier of Assam on 20 September 1938. However, controversy over the issue started brewing at the Congress High Command. Azad and some others accused Bardoloi of breaking the party discipline by staking claim to form the government without the required majority in the House. Azad even alleged that Bardoloi indulged in corrupt practices to claim majority. But Subhas Chandra Bose stood like a pillar by Bardoloi’s side and said that formation of the Congress ministry in Assam was the need of the hour. Bose refuted Azad’s allegation of corruption against Bardoloi by saying that as Congress president he had “absolutely no knowledge about it.” Azad wanted to resign from the Congress Parliamentary Committee on the issue. However, Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, the chairman of the Committee stood by Bose and endorsed Bose’s decision of forming a Congress Ministry in Assam on consideration of the then prevailing international situation. Patel also said that he has never heard any allegation of “corruption” against Bardoloi. It is interesting to note that even Gandhiji, despite of his serious differences of opinion on different issues with Bose at that time, endorsed the decision of formation of Bardoloi Ministry.

Bose was very clear to his conscience that as Congress President he was absolutely right to allow Bardoloi to form the ministry, depsite the opposition from Azad and his group. In a letter dated 21 Dec 1938 to Mahatma Gandhi, Bose wrote:” ....There is a fundamental difference between Maulana Sahib and myself... This became manifest when we were confronted with the ministerial crisis in Assam. I can perhaps now claim that I was right and Maulana Sahib was wrong. But if Sandar Patel had not providentially come to my rescue, Maulana Sahib would never have given in at Shillong and perhaps you would not have supported my view... In that case there would not have been a Congress ministry in Assam.” Bose expressed similar feelings in his later statements and correspondences also.

Freedom fighter Lakshimdhar Bora in his memoirs wrote,” Bose told the Congress members about the importance of a Congress Ministry in Assam in the light of political developments and suggested that in near future this North East India would attract immense international importance.” Bose was prophetic– only within four years the grouping plan came and it was Bordoloi’s determination that saved Assam. Bose’s role at that time had other implications too. Historian HK Barpujari observed, “Bose arrived in Shillong and played an important role by assigning the party with his wise counsel... Bose not only helped Bardoloi in forming the ministry but also helped him in ironing out the differences with the Congressmen of the Surma Valley over the composition of the ministry.”

Subhas Bose was the most respected Congress leader and made a lasting impression among the common masses and the younger generation in Assam. It was he who was advocating an uncompromising struggle against imperialism. To the youth, he was a legendary figure who was once rusticated from the Presidency College for having challenged the English professor, who beat up Bose’s classmates. This was the same National Congress leader who resigned from the party president’s chair a few months later, refusing to be the rubber-stamp Congress president. There was no surprise, therefore, that a booklet admiring the great works of Subhas Bose was published by some enthusiastic students of Cotton College in 1939. And the newly formed All Assam Progressive Youth Association (AAPYA) decided to invite Bose to inaugurate the association, which Bose gladly accepted, despite his very busy schedule.

When Subhas Chandra Bose arrived at Pandughat on October 6, 1939 during his second visit to Guwahati, the town wore a festive look. Town dwellers welcomed him with festoons, banners and welcome arches made of banana plants. Volunteers lined up along the six– mile stretch from Pandu to Panbazar, to welcome a national hero.

On the same afternoon, the meeting of AAPYA was held at Guwahati, over which Subhas Chandra Bose presided. Representatives of Left nationalists from different parts of Assam assembled and the AAPYA was formally inaugurated with Debendra Nath Sarma as president and Upendra Nath Sarma as general secretary.

At the meeting, Bose was welcomed with gamocha, a pair of endi, a sarai and Japi that had ‘Subhas Babu Zindabad” written in Assamese. Debendra Nath Sarma, chairman of the reception committee, welcomed the gathering and said class differences should be removed from Assam and all efforts be made to spread socialist ideas in the country. In his speech, Bose sought the support of students– especially the youth, along with the leftists, to thwart the Congress policy of ‘appeasement” towards the British government in connection with the War. At the meeting, Bos called Jai Prakash Narayan, “a puppet of Nehru” and criticised MN Roy for his opportunism. Bose also spoke about the fate of Assam oil company workers, where the Defence of India proclamation led to the end of a six-month-long strike in Digboi. The condition of the plantation workers was also discussed.

Did Bose have a special soft corner for Assam in his mind all through? Possibly yes. This can be ascertained from a lesser known fact that i his ICS joining form, Bose opted to serve in five provinces of India which included Bombay, Madras, Bihar-Orissa along with Bengal and Assam.
(Published on the occasion of Netaji’s birth anniversary).
Assam Tribune Editorial 23.01.08

Netaji Jayanti celebrated in Karimganj, Badarpur

From Our Correspondent Assam Tribune
BADARPUR, Feb 4 – The 111th birth anniversary of Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose was celebrated in Badarpur and Karimganj with great solemnity, fanfare and gaiety by different clubs and organisations with a day-long programme.

The main function was held at Badarpur Girls’ High School by Badarpur Handicapped Society where distinguished citizens, intellectuals, freedom-fighters and members of Badarpur Handicapped Society paid tributes to Netaji.

Several prominent speakers in their speeches appealed to all, to follow Netaji’s ideals for development and prosperity of the country.

Earlier, patriotic songs were presented by local artists. For strengthing the country, oath was administered to members of the society. ‘Malya Daan’, ‘pradeep prajjalan’, warm cloths distribution and prabhat ferry were also organised on this occasion.

District headquarter town Karimganj also observed the birth day ceremony with honour and respect. On the occasion, an organisation of Karimganj, Sandhani Sangha arranged various colourful and attractive programmes. prabhat ferry, malyadaan, flag-hoisting, patriotic songs, quiz and cultural functions formed part of the celebration.

Speakers called upon people, young and old to emulate Netaji’s ideals and principles.

Official Secrets Act era gone; disclose Netaji records: CIC tells Govt

July 6, 2007

Why keep records secret if Bose had died in 1945?: Mission Netaji

Disclosure of Top Secret records will lead to chaos in country: MHA

Matter is of a serious national importance: Central Information Commission

In a major boost for the freedom of information movement in India, the full Bench of Central Information Commission (CIC) has ruled that the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) must declassify records relating to Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose's reported death.

The CIC set aside the MHA's contention that disclosure "may lead to a serious law and order problem in the country, especially in West Bengal" as "facile hypothesis" which "seems to be a position repeated without any discernable application of mind".

The Bench comprising Chief Information Commissioner Wajahat Habibullah and Information Commissioners Padma Balasubramanian, AN Tiwari, Dr OP Kejariwal and Prof MM Ansari hammered in that the matter was of "wide public concern and therefore of national importance" and rejected the Home Ministry's "considered view" to not to "supply the documents relating to various Commissions of Inquiry on disappearance of Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose in public interest".

The documents had been sought in June last year when Sayantan Dasgupta of Mission Netaji requested the MHA to "make available authenticated copies of documents used as exhibits by the Shah Nawaz Khan and GD Khosla panels".

The idea was to better the understanding about the conclusion drawn by these panels since the Government held their findings true even after receiving the latest report of Justice MK Mukherjee, a top criminal law expert and former judge of the Supreme Court of India.

Shah Nawaz Khan, a one time INA man, was a Congress party MP when Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru appointed him the chairman of Netaji inquiry committee in 1956. Justice GD Khosla, a friend of Nehru's, authored a eulogistic book on Prime Minister Indira Gandhi while he disposed off the Bose death probe in early 1970s. It was alleged that both these panels worked along a premeditated line that Netaji had died in a plane crash in Taipei.

Setting aside the charges of foul play, the Government readily accepted the reports of Shah Nawaz Khan and GD Khosla. Whereas, they arbitrarily dismissed that of the Mukherjee Commission -- set up after a scathing court order -- that this crash was actually a camouflage of the Japanese military to help Netaji escape to the Soviet Russia.

Sayantan's request too was arbitrarily rejected by the MHA under Section 8(3) of the RTI Act dealing with "information, disclosure of which would prejudicially affect ... the security, strategic ... interests of the State" and its "relation with foreign State".

Following this, he approached the CIC where three hearings were held by Information Commissioner AN Tiwari. Interestingly, on 26.3.2007, the Ministry informed Tiwari that "the matter had been considered carefully at the highest level in the Ministry". The Ministry refused to hand over the documents either to Mission Netaji or the National Archives saying they are "sensitive in nature".

Commissioner Tiwari found the MHA "to be unwilling or unprepared to take a considered view regarding which parts of the Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose's papers should be kept secret and for what reason" and decided to refer the matter to the Full Bench of the Commission so that the MHA could "present their case after holding such inter-ministerial consultations as might be considered necessary by them."

The Full Bench hearing on 5.6.2007 was attended by Sayantan Dasgupta, Anuj Dhar and Chandrachur Ghose from Mission Netaji; and LC Goyal, Jt. Secretary, SK Malhotra, Dy Secretary and SK Goswami, Under Secretary of the MHA.

Mission Netaji's stand was that section 8(1)(a) which bars disclosure of information if it harms sovereignty and integrity of India, relation with foreign State or lead to incitement of an offence, etc, did not "apply to the present case as it is already concluded (by the Government) that Netaji had died in a plane crash".

Mission Netaji "wanted to know at what level the decision about sensitive nature of the documents has been taken and who has taken this decision" and "alleged that the documents have been destroyed" and that "the intention of the Ministry is to hide and to not disclose."

"Their responsibility does not end just by saying that certain documents are missing or cannot be located."

The MHA's argument was: "The documents sought under the RTI Act are voluminous (70,000 pages) and top secret in nature and may lead to chaos in the country if disclosed ...the information asked for is more than 20 years old and as such, its disclosure is exempted under section 8(3) of the RTI Act."

The officials conceded that "the decision concerning disclosure has to be taken at the highest (read political) level and that they cannot say any thing on their own".

The CIC, in its order read out a riot act to the Ministry, which seems to have been caught up in the days when Official Secrets Act held the sway.

"A plain reading of sub-section 3 makes it clear that a public authority is obliged to provide information which is more than 20 years old," the CIC noted, underlining that the Ministry had got its basics wrong.

The MHA "in spite of the direction given by the Commission has made no attempt either to examine the documents requested, or to analyze as to whether their disclosure need be withheld and if so, on what grounds," they further stated.

"It appears that neither before nor now, the respondent Public Authority (MHA) has been able to establish a clear nexus or any co-relation between the decision of non-disclosure and the objectives which they seem to achieve by such nondisclosure."

"If it has not even looked into or analyzed the documents, on what basis could they come to the conclusion that any disclosure of such information will be prejudicial to the security or sovereignty and integrity of the country or would prejudicially affect its relations with any foreign State?"

The Commission accepted that the MHA "is the authority to best judge to determine whether the disclosure of the information would prejudicially affect the national interest or not. However, such determination cannot and, should not, be superficial, jejune or perfunctory."

"Any decision in this regard must factor in the changed transparency scenario after the advent of the RTI Act. Earlier, a public authority could bar any information from disclosure under the Official Secrets Act, simply by classifying the information as secret or top-secret. That option has been effectively excluded by the RTI Act. Any decision to withhold information from public access is to be justified rationally, under the provisions of the Act. The decision to bar an information from disclosure can no more be arbitrary. It will need to pass the Commission's scrutiny."

Having reasoned its overall stand, the CIC directed the MHA to furnish information sought by Sayantan Dasgupta within three months. The caveat was: "In case the Public Authority decides not to disclose certain documents or any part thereof, it shall record reasons for such non-disclosure together with the name and designation of the authority arriving at the conclusion of non-disclosure, and submit the same before this Commission".

The CIC reminded that MHA that by carrying out the directives they "would not only be discharging its legal duties and rendering an essential service to a public cause, it may finally help resolve an unsolved mystery of independent India."

Air your views on Justice for Subhas blog

Related links: CIC order (Jump to most important part), The man who put MHA in a spot; God forbid this should be true; Need to know

Media coverage: IBN Live; Indian Express, BBC Hindi, Jagran, Nav Bharat Times, Zee, NDTV, Gulf News, Hindu, Sahara Samay

Nehru's letter to Atlee on Netaji Subhas Bose

The following article by Dipak Basu, read about the letter by Nehru
to Atlee, specialy.

You can find the same in this link too
http://www.ivarta. com/columns/ OL_060603. htm

Mukherjee Commission and the Mystery of Netaji's Disappearence
By: Dr.Dipak Basu
June 03, 2006

Mukherjee Commission did its job perfectly within the limits of the
legal formalities and as a result the main question was not
answered: what has happened to Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose when he
had embarked upon his journey from Bangkok on 14th or 15th August
1945.

The whole nation should be grateful to Anuj Dhar of Hindustan Times
and Prof.Purabi Roy of Jadavpur University for compiling and
discovering some information that may help us to imagine that
fateful journey of Netaji. Dr.Hirendra Narayan Sarkar's book , 'A
Homage to Netaji: a Commentary on his life & Activities' is also a
helpful addition. The affidavit of Prof.Purabi Roy to the
Mukherkjee Commission is in the website created by Anuj Dhar:
www.hindustantime. com/news/ specials/ Netaji/purabi. htm.

Nehru and Netaji:
Although some politicians are trying to put the blame on Jawaharlal
Nehru for not trying to uncover the mystery, Nehru was at best a
helpless spectator not an actor in this matter.
When the Khosla commission was appointed in 1970, Shyamlal Jain from
Meerut gave his statements to the commission. He was asked by Nehru
to come to Asif Ali's residence with the typewriter on 26/ 27
December 1945. He was given a letter to type; with a vague signature
at its bottom. It had the following content:
"Netaji reached Dairen in Manjuria at 1:30 pm on 23rd August 1945,
from Saigon by plane. The plane was a Japanese bomber. He had plenty
of gold with him in bars and ornaments. After disembarking, he ate
banana and drank tea. He and 4 others, one of them a Japanese
officer Shidei; got into a jeep and went towards the Russian border.
After about 3 hours, the jeep came back and gave the pilot
instruction to fly back to Tokyo."

Nehru asked Jain to type a letter to the then British prime minister
Clements Attlee. The letter had the following content....

Mr Clements Attlee

British Prime Minister

10 Downing Street, London

Dear Mr Attlee,

I understand from most reliable source that Subhash Chandra Bose,
your war criminal, has been allowed to enter Russian territory by
Stalin. This is a clear treachery and betrayal of faith by the
russians as Russia has been an ally of the British- Americans, which
she should not have done.
Please take care of it and do what you consider proper and fit.
Yours sincerely,

Jawaharlal Nehru

On August 23, 1945, the home member of the Indian government, Sir
R.F.Mudie prepared a report (Ref: Top Secret Letter no. 57 dated 23
August 1945) as to how to handle Netaji. It was addressed to Sir
E.Jenkins. The viceroy submitted this report to the English
cabinet. `Russia may accept Bose under special circumstances. If
that is the case, we shouldn't demand him back' was the cabinet's
decision on this. After considering this, the British prime minister
Clements Attlee decided `Let him remain where he is now'. This
decision was taken in October 1945. It clearly indicates that he was
alive even in Oct 1945.

In 1946, Nehru met Mountbatten in Singapore. On no occasion after
this meeting, Nehru has been reported of praising the INA. He had
agreed to the demand from the Indians in Singapore to place wreath
and flowers at Netaji's martyr dome there, but withdrew quite
dramatically on the 11th hour.

Hari Vishnu Kamath M.P. demanded a probe into Netaji's absconding in
the parliament in 1952. Nehru didn't agree to this at first! (Ref:
Page 103, Annexure 21, Appendix I to Parliamentary Debates, Fifth
Session 1952). When those who demanded the probe made amendments for
a non-official commission under the great Dr Radhavinod Pal, who was
one of the 11 Judges in the Tokyo trial of the Japanese War-time
prime minister Tojo and his associates in 1948; all of a sudden,
Nehru incepted the Shah Nawaz commission on 5th April 1956! What is
most interesting was the commission was neither allowed to visit the
place of accident nor did the government seek the permission of the
Formosa government.

It is important to know that Shah Nawaz Khan, the commanding
officer in the Kohima front had close contact with his brother, an
officer in the British-Indian army in Kohima and has revealed the
codes and the military plans of the Japanese and the Azad Hind Army.
As a result Netaji removed him from that position and sent him to
Burma. Shah Nawaz Khan became a Pakistani citizen but was invited by
Nehru to be a minister in India and to investigate about Netaji,
whom he betrayed during the Azad Hind Army's campaign in Kohima.
Netaji's journey from Bangkok to Manchuria:

In 1952, S.A.Aiyer, a senior government official and Nehru's friend,
visited Tokyo, after which he handed over a personal note to Nehru.
The letter as it is, is given below:
"This time I could gather a very important information. Col.Tada
told me that after the end of the war when Japan surrendered,

Terauchi took all responsibility to help Netaji and asked him (Tada)
to go to Kaka Bose (His Excellency Bose) and tell him to reach
Russian territory - all help will be given to him. It was arranged
that Chandra Bose will fly in the plane in which Shidei was going.
General Shidei will look after Chandra Bose upto Dairen, and
thereafter, he could fall back on his own resources to contact
Russians. Japanese would announce to the world that Bose had
disappeared from Dairen. That would absolve them of all
responsibility in the eyes of the Allies."

Nehru didn't inform this to the parliament despite controversies for
a long time. He even didn't hand over his own files on Netaji to the
commission. (Ref: Prime Minister's Special File)

This is the official death certificate of `Netaji' issued by the
Health and Hygiene Bureau in Formosa, where it was necessary to
produce the death certificate for cremation.
Person died - Ichiro Okura

Date of birth - 1900 April 9

Cause of death - Cardiac arrest

Job - Soldier, temporary

Date of death - 19 August 4:00 pm

Date of permission for cremation - 21 August 1945

Date of cremation - 22 August 1945

Person requesting for the cremation - Dr Thaneoshi Yoshimi; doctor
treated

The time of death in Habibur Rahman's statements to different
commissions vary between 5 PM August 18th to 12 AM August 19th, and
4 PM 19 August.

Netaji was reported to be alive even after 1945 by the British
intelligence from Teheran and Kabul quoting the Russian embassy
officials. This was even stated in the Shah Nawaz commission report
(File No. 10/ Mis/ INA-pp 38, 39). Reports of the officers appointed
by Mountbatten and McArthur, and the reports of BACIS (British
American Counter Intelligence Service) have all completely discarded
any possibility of such a plane crash to have happened. They all
provided statements that Habibur Rahman hasn't told the truth; most
possibly he has promised Netaji to hide the facts.
The statements by the INA officials, Japanese military officials,
British intelligence reports, and The Top Secret Files published by
the British government in 1976 all say Netaji was alive in Soviet
Russia.

The INA meeting in Kanpur from July 15 to 18, 1947 had requested
Nehru to take the INA soldiers in the Indian army. Even Mohammad Ali
Jennah kept his word by posting the INA members in his army; but
Nehru didn't.

One of the three members in the Shah Nawaz commission was Netaji's
brother Suresh Chandra Bose. He didn't agree to the report of the
commission. He even wrote to Nehru that his brother didn't reach
Taihoku; so he didn't die there! Nehru wrote back to him; "There is
no precise or direct proof of Netaji's death".

Netaji's Confidential Personal Assistant, E.Bhaskaran gave this
statement before the Shah Nawaz commission about a letter by Netaji,
addressed to John Thivi, a minister in the Azad Hind government,
written on 1945 August 17 at 3 am. The letter contains these words:
`I am writing this letter, because I am going for a long journey.
Who knows I won't get into a plane accident.'

The British intelligence has reported that Nehru knew where Netaji
was. Nehru took the Foreign Affairs portfolio himself and appointed
none other than Vijayalekshmi Pandit as the ambassador to Russia.
After her term was over, Dr S.Radhakrishnan became the
representative to Russia. Dr Saroj Das of Calcutta University told
his friend Dr R.C.Muzumdar that Radhakrishnan had told him that
Netaji was in Russia. Radhakrishnan couldn't come before the Khosla
commission due to ill health and treatment in Madras.

Former Indian ambassador Dr Satyanarayana Sinha once met Georgy
Mukherjee, son of Abani Mukherjee, one of the founder of the
Communist party of India. Georgey Mukherjee told him that his father
and Netaji were prisoners in adjacent cells in Siberia. He also told
Sinha that Netaji had assumed the name `Khilsai Malang' there.
Abani Mukherjee was the companion of Virendranath Chattopadhyay,
brother of Sarojini Naidu, imprisoned in 1937 by Stalin. Both Abanu
Mukherjee and Varindranath Chattopadya were killed by Stalin later.
Dr Sinha came back to India and reported this fresh news to Nehru.
But to his great surprise and frustration, Sinha was unexpectedly
scolded by Nehru, and ever since, the relationship between the two
deteriorated. Sinha has written this down in his book. He has even
described this incident before the Khosla commission.

There are more details in Page 318 of `Netaji Dead or Alive?' by
Samar Guha. The Hindu, 25.07.1995 wrote, : "Prof. (Samar) Guha also
wanted the centre to seek documents from Russia, Britain, Japan, and
Taiwan. A fresh and thorough investigation is necessary. The
Gorbechev regime has allowed access to secret documents under
Glasnost. He claimed that Mahatma Gandhi, Jawaharlal Nehru and
others were aware of Netaji's imprisonment in the erstwhile Soviet
Union after World War II. But they did not want him to return to
India as it would wreck the Govt. and the Congress party. He claimed
that Jawaharlal Nehru, who had defended the INA leader, became a
changed person and never spoke of that Army and Netaji after
visiting Singapore in 1946 at the invitation of Lord Louis
Mountbatten. The British authorities too had passed on vital
information to the Govt. of Clements Attlee about Netaji's
disappearance. But the Govt. of India never took up the matter with
the British Govt."

Russian Connection:
It is not known in India that the Soviet Union, along with Japan,
Germany, Italy, Imperial China, Hungary, and Romania, has recognized
the Azad Hind Government of Netaji and allowed Netaji to open a
consulate in Siberian city of Omsk, as the most of the Soviet
administrtation was moved to Siberia during the Second World War.
According to Prof.Purabi Roy of Jadavpur University, Netaji went to
Manchuria from Singapore and was received in Manchuria by the Consul
General of the Azad Hind Government's consulate at Omsk city, Kato
Kachu, on August 22-23, 1945. "Kato Kachu was, according to
Japanese researchers, actually an Indian. That name was an alias."
Alexander Kolesnikov, a former major-general of the Warsaw Pact, who
has accessed the files in Paddolsk Military Archive, situated 40 km
from Moscow in October 1996, said that Josef Stalin, the general-
secretary of the CPSU, and his cabinet were considering various
options to deal with Bose in 1946. During a meeting with an Indian
Parliamentary Delegation to the Russian Federation in 1996, he gave
a written account of all his findings. The delegation, which
included the late Chitta Basu and Sri Jayanta Roy of the Forward
Bloc, brought the writing back to India. This account is the basis
of the affidavit before the Mukherjee Commission submitted by Prof.
Purabi Roy of Jadavpur University who was sent as part of Asiatic
Society's three-member team to the Oriental Institute, Moscow to
study Indian documents from 1917-1947. Since Paddolsk was out of
bounds for her being a foreigner, Kolesnikov was assigned the job.
Her findings are:

There are a lot of materials on Subhas bose in the Military Archive
in Omsk, where the Free Government of India in Exile (or Azad Hind
Government) had a consulate during the Second world War. Just a
request from the Government of India would be sufficient for the
Russian authority to open that archive. Prof.Purabi Roy wrote to the
Government of India about it and as a result her research was
terminated by the Indian government and she could not go back to
Russia again.

Prof.Purabi Roy found out a report of a KGB agent in Bombay written
in 1946 about the political situation in India. The report is
saying, "…. it is not possible to work with Nehru or Gandhi, we have
to use Subhas Bose". That implies in 1946 Subhas Bose was still
alive.

The Investigation Commission of Justice Mukherjee, initiated at the
time of the Prime Minister Vajpayee, was cut short and the Justice
Mukherjee was not allowed to go to archives in Russia as the
Government of India refused to request the Russian government to
allow Mukherjee Commission to do so. Kamal Pandey, the then Home
Secretary has refused to give any access to Justice Mukherjee of the
documents still in the hands of the Government of India. Shah Nawaz
Khan Commission and the Khosla Commission have never visited Russia
or Taiwan to investigate, they never sought any help from the Soviet
authority either.

BBC World Service has reported on 4th February 2005 that according
to the Taiwan Government there were no plane crashes at Taipei
between 14 August and 20 September 1945; thus Netaji could not have
died on 18th August 1945.

On 14th August 1945, Japan has surrendered. There were literary
hundreds of Allied battleship and aircraft carriers all around Japan
and USA had complete control over the airspace of Japan. It was
impossible for any Japanese military aircraft to go from Taipei to
Tokyo without being attacked by the US. Why on earth Netaji would
like to go back to Tokyo to surrender himself to the U.S army who
would definitely hand him over to the British to be killed " on the
spot" as demanded by Lord. Mountbatten! Given the fact that Japan
had no hostility with the USSR during the whole of the Second World
War, it was only natural for Netaji to go back to the Soviet Union,
where he went first in 1941 to seek the help of Stalin to liberate
India.

Two Alternative Possibilities:
From the Russian archives it is possible to trace Netaji up to 1948;
thereafter his whereabouts are unknown. After 1955, when Stalin was
denounced in the Soviet Union, and the victims of Stalin were
rehabilitated, there was no reason for the Soviet authority to hide
the facts on Subhas Bose. Indian government has never asked the
Soviet Union or Russia in this matter. Mukherjee Commission was not
allowed to touch this matter either. As a result, we still do not
know the whether Netaji was directly killed by Stalin in the Soviet
Union sometime after 1948.

However, from Anuj Dhar's website another possibility has emerged.
There are reports that people have seen Netaji as a prisoner of
British military officers in Quetta in 1948, who took him away to
the `no-mans land' in the border between Baluchistan and Iran, most
possibly for execution. Both General Wavell and Lord. Mountbatten
wanted to kill Netaji on the spot without giving him any chance of
huge publicity through any legal trial. The question is whether
Stalin has exchanged Netaji for some very important Russian prisoner
in the hands of the British. One such prisoner was General Vlasov
of the Soviet Army who in 1942 became a prisoner of war in the hand
of the German army. General Vlasov later while being a prisoner
wrote a leaflet calling on the officers of the Red Army and the
Russian intelligentsia to overthrow the Soviet regime of Stalin whom
he accused of being guilty of all the disasters, which had befallen
Russia. General Vlasov had formed an army of more than 200,000 men
to liberate Russia from Stalin but was forced to surrender to the
British in 1945 after the defeat of Germany. In 1948, General
Vlasov and his men were sent back by the British to Stalin. General
Vlasov and most of his men were executed. It is not improbable that
Stalin gave Netaji to the British in exchange for General Vlasov,
and British have executed Netaji in the Baluchistan- Iran border.
This question was not examined by the Mukherjee Commission, as it
had no access to the Russian archive.

Conclusion:
The Mukherjee Commission has raised a lot of questions but no solid
answer except for the one, which is well known. Netaji could not
have died in August 18 in Taipei. Japanese authority had propagated
the story to safeguard the life of Netaji from the British and
American intelligence services. Habibur Rahman, as loyal companion
of Netaji, kept his promise not to reveal the truth. As a result,
the story of the aircraft accident became the "established truth"
and the facts remain buried. However, the behaviour of the India
government is still a mystery. There is no particular reason why
the government is so shy to ask the Russian authority to unearth the
facts.

RTI makes PMO release info about "Panditji's file" on Netaji

But no clue who ordered its destruction & why

Press Release | 18 September 2007

A CIC decision has led to partial disclosure by the PMO of papers
relating to the destruction of an alleged file on the enquires made by
former Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru about the whereabouts of Subhas
Chandra Bose. The bunch comprises notes from secret files, letter by
Prime Minister Indira Gandhi and recent correspondence between
Mukherjee Commission and Prime Minister's Office under Atal Bihari
Vajpayee.

A selection of the papers provided to Mission Netaji can be seen here.

File 12(226)/56-PM titled Investigation into the circumstances leading
to the death of Subhas Bose was described by Justice Mukherjee
Commission of Inquiry (1999-2005) as one which could have been of
"great assistance" in resolving the controversy surrounding Bose's
disappearance. It was destroyed "during routine process of
review/weeding of old records" -- as Kamal Dayani, PMO's Central
Public Information Officer, informed Anuj Dhar of Mission Netaji in
September last year.

Dhar took the matter to Central Information Commission (CIC). Last
month, Chief Information Commissioner Wajahat Habibullah directed the
Prime Minister's Office to provide certain documents identified by
Dhar. The PMO obliged, and so the contours of a shocking tale emerge.

In April 1957, more than ten years after the reported death of Subhas
Bose, a file was opened in what was then called the Prime Minister's
Secretariat. The file was suddenly destroyed in March 1972. Grapevine
had it that it was done at the behest of PN Haksar, Prime Minister
Indira Gandhi's all-powerful PS. The timing of the destruction clashed
with the ongoing judicial inquiry of GD Khosla. Strangely, Khosla, a
flamboyant friend of Pt Nehru's, went on to write in his report that
the "unwanted" file was "destroyed to lighten the burden of the record
rooms".

In contrast, Mukherjee, a former Supreme Court judge known for his
expertise in criminal law, forced the issue of destroyed Netaji
records with the PMO. They were asked to furnish the copies of the
order regarding the destruction as well as "authenticated Xerox copies
of the Rules and Procedures prescribed for destruction of files".

In response, the PMO Director wrote that "no order as such ... could
be located" and could only provide "the relevant page of the File
Register showing destruction of the file in 1972". The same has been
given to Mission Netaji under RTI along with page No 151/C of
classified PMO file 2(64)/56-70 PM, Vol-V. The documents give no clue
as to who could have ordered the destruction and for what reason.
Another PMO letter stated that the Commission may "acquaint themselves
with the destruction procedure of files in Govt of India offices" as
laid down in Manual of Office Procedure.

Mission Netaji traced the Manual of circa 1972 and found that official
files in those days were recorded in three categories. "Class A" files
or the "records fit for permanent preservation" included "files of
historical importance" -- those "relating to a well-known public or
international event or cause celebre, or to other events which gave
rise to interest or controversy on the national plane". The question
of destruction of such files under any "review and weeding of records"
did not arise before 25 years and prior consultation with the National
Archives of India.

File 12(226)/56-PM seemed to have been shredded hurriedly and
unlawfully. Why? Mukherjee Commission queried PMO on May 23, 2000 to
disclose "the subject and contents of the above file and the
circumstances under which the said file had been destroyed". PMO
replied that the file "contained agenda paper/cabinet decision" which
could be procured for the Cabinet Secretariat as "records of Cabinet
proceedings are kept permanently in Cabinet Secretariat"

. But
Commission got nothing from Cabinet Secretariat. Ditto for Mission
Netaji, whose RTI request was transferred to the PMO.

The released papers further disclose that former Prime Minister Indira
Gandhi reasoned in 1974 that the "file was destroyed only because it
contained copies". "I can assure you that this file (12(226)/56-PM)
contained only copies of certain documents which are still available
in other files, she wrote to late MP Samar Guha who had wondered
"whether such a vital file has been destroyed or withheld".

But, the papers show, this logic too worn thin as the PMO was unable
to prove the veracity of former Prime Minister's assertion by
providing documents supporting her contention.

"The impunity with which such an important file seems to have been
destroyed raises a big question mark on the accountability of our
political establishment and bureaucracy," remarks Mission Netaji's
Chandrachur Ghose.

Who are behind this and why is it important to know what happened to
Netaji?

Back to RTI crusade homepage

Chinese must junk misconceptions about Subhas Bose

The lopsided view about Subhas Chandra Bose, taken by Indian
historians and politicians alike, directly affected the Chinese notion
about Bose.

September 2, 2006

Professor Priyadarsi Mukherji

The colonial era in India and the semi-colonial phase in China saw a
series of cooperation and exchanges between the two peoples. The
colonial domination by the British over India and China brought about
misery and therefore prolonged struggle for freedom. However, certain
misconceptions have been noticed, and to a great extent deliberated,
so far as the Chinese interpretation of the Indian freedom struggle
and some Indian political figures are concerned.

We all know that an Indian medical mission was sent to China in 1938.
But the Chinese historians have chosen to emphasize that it was sent
by Jawaharlal Nehru. Whereas, the person solely responsible for
sending the mission along with an ambulance, after having collected a
sum of Rs 22,000 on the All-Indian China Day and China Fund days on
July 7-9, was none other than the President of the Indian National
Congress -- Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose. He had made an appeal to the
people through a press statement on June 30, 1938. In Modern Review he
wrote an article on Japan's role in the Far East and denounced her
assault on China, "our whole heart going out to China in her hour of
trial". Therefore, the Chinese assertion is wrong and biased.

Bose in his broadcast from Berlin on May 1, 1942 agued saying, "Those
were the days when Marshal Chiang Kai-shek was fighting for his
national principles and that was why he could win sympathy of Indians
in an overwhelming degree. But the Marshal who came to India the other
day to ask the Indian people to fight for England was quite a
different man, a puppet of the Anglo-American forces.

One should notice that Bose while touring the Japanese-occupied
South-East Asia in 1943, had been quite active in saving the lives of
several ethnic Chinese from Japanese atrocities. Yet Marshal Chiang
and later the communists branded Bose as a "traitor". Ironically in
September 1931 when Chiang gave up the whole of north-east China to
Japanese occupation, he was branded by the communists as a "big
traitor" (maiguozei). Later his aligning with the Anglo-American
forces brought him closer to his arch enemies, the communists,
ofcourse, temporarily.

While professing national salvation and frequently visiting India for
more funds, Chiang Kai-shek conveniently chose to ignore the cause of
Indian freedom from the British yoke. The "egalitarian" worldview of
the communists too failed to extend the logic of national liberation
in the case of India. As Bose was vilified as "the running dog of
Tojo" in his own motherland by the communists, on the other hand his
goodwill for all freedom-loving people was conveniently disregarded by
the Chinese historians in the name of his alliance wit the Japanese
fascists without going into the truthful details.

Even our scholarly historians have been quite unfair and ruthless
while dealing with Bose. They did not want to take cognizance of
Netaji's serious differences with Hitler and later with the Japanese
military authority. Netaji had a one-point programme in his life, the
complete independence of India.

... In this world, either total and uncritical acceptance, or total
repudiation especially in the political sphere is quite foolish and
diehard position. That is exactly what has happened in the Chinese
interpretation as well as some Indian outlook about Subhas Bose.

With Nehru at the helm of country, in post-independence India,
brutally partitioned by power-hungry statesmen, Bose's name found no
significant mention in the pages of modern history of India ... The
lopsided view about Bose, taken by Indian historians and politicians
alike, directly affected the Chinese notion about Bose. Thus, no
genuine effort has been made, either by the Indian government, or by
other states across the world, to unravel the mystery behind Bose's
alleged disappearance. There is no doubt that the Chinese side too has
been affected by such negative approach.

After 1949, despite Nehru's unconditional support to China, the latter
hesitated the least to squarely accuse him for perpetrating the border
crisis in 1962. His acceptance of Tibet as part of China became less
significant for China compared to his sheltering the Dalai Lama. His
alliance with the US during the days of Sino-Indian crisis, though
viewed very critically, was considered necessary by China so as to
counter Soviet Union in the late 1970s.

So, there has been no uniform parameter in China's policies or
viewpoints except that with Subhas Bose. If the British intelligence
officer Hugh Toye can change his views about Bose and become his
admirer, then why can't China? A thorough retrospection as well as
introspection are needed in this regard. An objectively realistic
vision would help dispel these misconceptions. For that, of course,
Bose has to be portrayed in the correct perspective firstly at home.
And then we can expect others to follow suit.

There are indeed many aspects in this history of Sino-Indian contacts
that remain shrouded in mystery or are simply unexplored. The reasons
primarily being the inaccessibility of material, and due to certain
erroneous policies of both Indian and Chinese governments so far as
mutual perceptions are concerned. New horizons of knowledge and
interactive relations must be explored so as to promote greater
understanding between the two cultures. A concerted effort is needed
to study the primary sources, to do field work, to make a knowledge
bank by pooling talents, to translate large number of works and to
disseminate and popularise those among general public.

Extracted from the paper India-China relations: A journey to the
unexplored domains of history and culture published in the journal of
the Nehru Memorial Museum and Library. Vol 2, Number 4
(October-December 2003).

Reproduced with the permission of the writer, a Professor in Chinese
and Sinological Studies in Jawaharlal Nehru University, Delhi.

link is here
http://www.missionnetaji.org/page/chinese_view.html

Netaji is a much respected name in our country : P.M. Shinzo Abe

Netaji is a much respected name in our country, says Japanese Premier Shinzo Abe
Staff Reporter

He is deeply attached to Rabindranath Tagore and Swami Vivekananda

PHOTOS: ARUNANGSU ROY CHOWDHURY, PTI

ABES IN KOLKATA: Proshanto Pal, son of Radhabinod Pal, showing the pictures of his father and the grandfather of Japanese Premier Shinzo Abe, at his residence in Kolkata on Thursday.
Kolkata: The notion of a ‘Broader Asia’ has enough resonance in history as Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe discovered when he visited the Netaji Bhavan, ancestral house of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose, here on Thursday.
“Mr. Abe walked through the museum inside the Bhavan. He pointed at a picture of Netaji speaking on Asian solidarity at the Greater East Asia Conference in 1944, where he had spoken of the need for Japan and India to assume leading roles in Asia,” said Krishna Bose, former Member of Parliament and widow of Sisir Bose, Netaji’s nephew.
Mr. Abe, who had talked of a ‘Broader Asia’ in his address to a joint session of Parliament in New Delhi on Wednesday, later said that relations between India and Japan would be strengthened, especially if the contributions made by individuals like Netaji were remembered. Netaji is a much respected name in Japan, he said.
Mr. Abe, who had expressed a desire to visit Kolkata as he felt deeply attached to Rabindranath Tagore, Swami Vivekananda and Netaji, was also overwhelmed by the collection of memorabilia displayed in the museum, a lot of which have been sourced from Japan.
“Mr. Abe spent a lot of time in the Asia room, looking at photographs of Netaji with Indian and Japanese dignitaries,” Ms. Bose said. “He also visited Netaji’s study room, where the latter worked as Congress president, and where the walls are still tri-coloured.”
Earlier in the day, Mr. Abe inaugurated an Indo-Japanese cultural centre, where he stressed the long-standing, deep-rooted cultural relations.
The centre, to be known as the Rabindra-Okakura Bhavan, has been named after Rabindranath Tagore and Okakura Tenshin. The latter also was a champion of Asian solidarity who had stated that “Asia is one” in the opening paragraph of his book, Ideals of the East.


Akie Abe, wife of Mr. Abe, meeting Sister Nirmala, head of Missionaries of Charity, during her visit to Mother's House in Kolkata. Radhabinod Pal lauded
Special Correspondent writes:
“The people of Japan love Radhabinod Pal [1886-1967] and still hold him in the highest esteem,” Mr. Abe reportedly told the son of the lone member of the International Military Tribunal for the Far East to have found not guilty all those accused in the famous Tokyo War Crimes Trial (1946-48).
Mr. Abe and Prosanto Pal (81) met at a hotel.
Mr. Pal told The Hindu that he presented Mr. Abe with a copy of a rare group photograph taken during a visit to Japan in October 1966 in which his father is seen with the former Japanese Prime Minister (1957-60), Nobusuke Kishi, who se daughter is Mr. Abe’s mother.
It was in 1966 that Radhabinod Pal was awarded Japan’s highest civilian order, ‘The First Order of Sacred Treasure,’ by the Japanese Government, he said.
“Highest regard”

That Mr. Abe had wished to meet him during his brief visit to Kolkata “is the highest regard shown to my father and something I could not have imagined,” Mr. Pal said.
“The Prime Minister told me that the new generation in Japan knew little about my father but they might have got to learn of him after a documentary on him shot by a government agency was telecast in that country on August 14,” Mr. Pal said.
“The day of the telecast marked the 62nd anniversary of the Japanese Army deciding that far too many innocent lives had been lost on the two occasions atom bombs were dropped in Hiroshima and Nagasaki on August 6 and 9 [in 1945] to fight on in the Second World War. A day later the Japanese surrendered,” Mr. Pal recalled.
“A year later my father got a telegram from Gen. Douglas MacArthur, Supreme Commander for Allied Powers, appointing him as judge in the International Military Tribunal for the Far East.
Later, exonerating all those being tried of war crimes, he was to say ‘the only crime that Japan had committed was that they had lost the war’ and that international law had yet to define that war is a crime.”
“Overwhelmed”

“What I told Mr. Abe was that I will not live much longer but tell your people how overwhelmed I and my family are at the privilege of meeting you,” Mr. Pal said.
“What he had to say was that ‘we believe that the friendship between India and Japan will last for much, much longer,’” he added.
http://www.hindu.com/2007/08/24/stories/2007082460801500.htm