India declassifies files on death of independence leader

On Saturday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi made public digital copies of 100 secret files relating to Bose on his 119th birth anniversary, which could throw some light on the controversy over his death.

In addition to the 100 files, the NAI plans to release digital copies of a set of 25 declassified files on Bose in the public domain every month.

India’s Civil Aviation Mnister Mahesh Sharma said Modi already has informed Bose’s family that the government possessed “only circumstantial evidence and not any direct evidence about his death'”.

Family members of Subhas Bose, some of whom were present during the declassification, were overwhelmed by the decision calling it a “great day for the entire nation”.

Bose, a close associate to Mahatma Gandhi and a former Congress president reportedly died in a plane crash in Formosa, now Taiwan, in 1945.

This file deals with communication seeking clarity on Netaji’s death and the government of India’s willingness to push the investigation further.

And having read about Netaji’s life, we are pretty sure the declassification will only strengthen the image of the revolutionary leader we love so much.

“Mamata scored a few brownie points by declassifying the 64 Bose files available with the West Bengal government”.

The Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi paying floral tribute at Netaji’s bust before the launch of the digitised files, in New Delhi on January 23, 2016. But to bring closure to the Bose saga, the government needs to take steps to bring from countries like Russia, Japan, Germany and the United Kingdom any files they may have on Netaji.

The most popular theory states that after “plane crash”, Bose turned to Soviet for asylum.

“The Government of India was paying for the upkeep of the mortal remains in Renkoji Temple and the management could be persuaded to continue with this arrangement if the upkeep charges were increased”, the note said.

“I don’t think the majority, the Hindus have anything against the Muslims, Christians or Jews or Parsees, I think this is a constructed political agenda, and if we have to fight that, we have to follow Netaji’s vision of equity and justice”, said Sen.

The Union minister also hosted the relatives of Netaji over breakfast. “His bravery and patriotism endears him to several Indians across generations”, he tweeted.

Earlier on the day before releasing the files, Modi said, “Today is a special day for all Indians”.