Laid to Rest: The Controversy over Subhas Chandra Bose's Death

Ashis Ray

• Publisher: Roli Books
• Year: 2018
• Print ISBN:
  9788193626054
• eBook ISBN:
  9788193626054
• Topic: History
• Subtopic: Indian & South Asian History
• Index: History

"Laid to Rest: The Controversy over Subhas Chandra Bose's Death is the most comprehensive compilation of hard evidence ever presented on the still hotly-debated demise of one of the heroes of the Indian freedom movement. It pieces together a plethora of first-hand, eye-witness accounts of the plane crash at Taipei that resulted in Subhas Bose breathing his last in a Japanese military hospital, his cremation and the transfer of his ashes to Japan, where they remain till date. In a veritable tour de force, the book presents irrefutable, overwhelming testimonies from survivors of the crash, people who were at Bose's bedside when he passed away, attendees at the cremation and couriers of the mortal remains to Tokyo and ultimately to its current resting place at Renkoji temple. Indian, Japanese and Taiwanese nationals unite to provide an unimpeachable and unanimous verdict. The publication decimates conspiracy theories; and questions successive Indian governments for ignoring the plaintive cry of Bose's Austrian widow and economist daughter to apply closure to a needless and never ending controversy."

LAID TO

REST

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ROLI BOOKS

This digital edition published in 2018

First published in 2018 by

The Lotus Collection

An Imprint of Roli Books Pvt. Ltd

M-75, Greater Kailash- II Market

New Delhi 110 048

Phone: ++91 (011) 40682000

Email: [email protected]

Website: www.rolibooks.com

Copyright © Ashis Ray, 2018

All rights reserved.

No part of this publication may be reproduced, transmitted, or stored in a retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic, mechanical, print reproduction, recording or otherwise, without the prior permission of Roli Books. Any unauthorized distribution of this e-book may be considered a direct infringement of copyright and those responsible may be liable in law accordingly.

eISBN: 978-81-936260-5-4

All rights reserved.

This e-book is sold subject to the condition that it shall not, by way of trade or otherwise, be lent, resold, hired out, or otherwise circulated, without the publisher’s prior consent, in any form or cover other than that in which it is published.

Dedicated to

Emilie Schenkl, who died without closure on her husband’s remains

Roma Ray, who I hope will forgive me for disagreeing with her beloved father Sarat Bose

And to the people of India, who love Subhas Bose so dearly…

‘Take nothing on its looks; take everything on evidence. There’s no better rule.’

Charles Dickens in Great Expectations

Contents

Foreword

Raison d’etre

1. A Left-wing Patriot

2. Enemy of the Raj

3. Cock-and-bull Stories

4. Last Days

5. The Crash

6. Death of a Hero

7. Cremation

8. The Remains

9. Narasimha Rao Intervenes

10. Towards a Solution

Annexures

Bibliography

Index

Personalities

• Subhas Chandra Bose, also called Chandra Bose by the Japanese, addressed as Netaji or respected leader by most Indians, a leading personality in the Indian freedom movement who died as a result of a plane crash.

• Colonel Habibur Rehman, or Habib, Bose’s aide-de-camp who survived the crash.

• Lieutenant Colonel Shiro Nonogaki, or Nonogaki, of the Japanese army who survived the crash.

• Major Taro Kono, or Kono, of the Japanese army who survived the crash.

• Captain Keikichi Arai, or Arai, of the Japanese air force who survived the crash.

• Lieutenant Colonel Tadeo Sakai of the Japanese army who survived the crash.

• Major Ihaho Takahashi, or Takahashi, of the Japanese army who survived the crash.

• Captain M. Nakamura, ground engineer at Taihoku airport.

• Dr. Taneyoshi Yoshimi, or Yoshimi, a doctor who attended to Bose at a Taihoku hospital after the crash.

• Dr. Toyoshi Tsuruta, or Tsuruta, a doctor who attended to Bose at a Taihoku hospital after the crash.

• Tsan Pi Sha, or Tsan, a nurse who attended to Bose at a Taihoku hospital after the crash.

• Juichi Nakamura, an interpreter who was at Bose’s bedside when he passed away.

• Kazo Mitsui, a medical orderly who worked at the Taihoku hospital and said he was present in the room when Bose passed away.

• Dr. Yoshio Ishii, a doctor who attended to Bose at a Taihoku hospital after the crash.

• Lieutenant Colonel Hiroji Takamiya of the (Japanese) Formosa military police who saw Bose in a critical condition at the hospital.

• Chang Chuan, who guarded Bose’s body after his death.

• Li Chin Qui and Tan Chi Chi, clerks at Taihoku’s Municipal Bureau of Health and Hygiene who handled Bose’s body before issuing a cremation certificate.

• Chu Tsung, keeper of the crematorium where Bose was cremated.

• Major Nagatomo, who was in-charge of arrangements for the cremation of Bose’s body.

• Sub-Lieutenant Tatsuo Hayashida, or Hayashida, who hand-carried Bose’s remains to Tokyo.

• Subbier Appadurai Ayer, or Ayer, minister of broadcasting and publicity in the Provisional Government of Free India (PGFI) who received Bose’s remains in Tokyo.

• S.S. Virik, who carried Bose’s remains to Renkoji temple in Tokyo.

• Reverend Kyoei Mochizuki, head priest of Renkoji temple (where Bose’s remains are preserved) who conducted the funeral service.

Places

• Orissa, now Odisha

• Calcutta, now Kolkata

• Bombay, now Mumbai

• Madras, now Chennai

• Poona, now Pune

• Peking, now Beijing

• Rangoon, now Yangon

• Burma, now Myanmar

• Saigon, now Ho Chi Minh City

• Tourane, now Da Nang

• Taihoku, now Taipei, also spelt Taipeh

• Formosa, now Taiwan

Foreword

PROFESSOR DR ANITA BOSE PFAFF

Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose can be considered a tragic hero, a most unfortunate man since he did not live to see his beloved country – India – free of foreign occupation, oppression and colonial exploitation. But he can also be considered a fortunate man, because seventy-two years after his death many of his compatriots – who may not have even seen him personally – remember, love and respect him as their hero and idol.

For some he was and remains a person ‘larger than life’, a legend who could have achieved anything – even living beyond the normal maximum life expectancy or growing further inches as an adult person. This is not entirely surprising. Because looking back at what he did, many of his actions certainly were heroic, highly risky and inconceivable for most ‘ordinary’ people. Going out to look after people sick with cholera as a mere teenager, being ‘rusticated’ as a student leader for confronting his arrogant British professor rather aggressively, resigning from the Indian Civil Service (ICS) after being appointed for a highly coveted post, escaping from home arrest by the British to embark on an adventurous and dangerous journey via Afghanistan and the Soviet Union to Germany during World War II, were some of his actions. The most dangerous and adventurous step was, maybe, a journey from Germany to the Far East in German and Japanese submarines during the ongoing World War II. It is not quite surprising that during that period reports of his death were received which were later proven wrong.

If we consider that this romantic hero lived during a period of time which now is history, we have to take into account that his life unfolded without modern means of transportation and communication. Those were the years when flying from Europe to India took several days. Short-wave radio transmissions, telegraph and telephone without direct dialling between countries and continents were in use then. Moreover, the later part of his life fell into a period of a savage, almost world-wide war when even the normal means of communication and transportation were not available.

Netaji’s death was, once again, reported in the late summer of 1945, at the cataclysmic end of World War II. Those were certainly times when gaining proof of what had happened was not easy. On top of these difficulties, there existed vested interests by various countries to keep certain facts secret. Information was partly classified for many years and the fact that a number of documents were kept classified far beyond the usual period of thirty years, gave rise to added speculation: ‘Who is hiding something? Why?’

Apart from the historical background we have to consider the personal and emotional side as well. A number of persons close to Netaji, first and foremost his brother Sarat and his wife Emilie, my mother, felt an unusually deep personal love and commitment to him. His death was unbearable and almost inconceivable for them. Not surprisingly, following the first shock on receiving the news of his death in a plane crash in what is now called Taipei they started hoping and speculating, ‘What if he has managed to escape once again? Is it possible?’

At the end of World War II, Netaji was certainly one of the most hated persons for the British rulers. It has since then become known that plans for his assassination had existed much earlier – during the time after his escape from India to Germany in 1941. Had he fallen into...

Table of contents

• Laid to Rest