NEHRU TERMED BOSE ‘YOUR WAR CRIMINAL’
Sunday, 24 January 2016 | Pioneer News Service | New Delhi
The declassified Netaji files have come as a major source of embarrassment for the Congress party with documents showing that in 1945 Jawaharlal Nehru addressed Netaji as “your war criminal” in a letter to then British Prime Minister Clement Attlee and expressed outrage on reports that the Russian had allowed Netaji to enter their territory.
The PMO file No: 915/11/C/6/96 contains a note on the contents of the book The Mysteries of Netaji’s Life and Death by Pradip Bose. The note reveals Nehru’s controversial letter to British PM Attlee on December 1945. The note refers to a deposition by Nehru’s stenographer Shyam Lal Jain before Justice Khosla commission.
Following is deposition Jain made before the commission:
“I solemnly affirm and state on oath that in one evening (the date may be 26 or 27 Dec, 1945) I was told by Shri Jawaharlal Nehru on the telephone to come to the residence of Shri Asaf Ali with a typewriter as he had a lot of work to be typed by me. After getting some papers typed by me, Shri Jawaharlal Nehru drew out a paper from the pocket of his Achkan and asked me to make four copies of it for him. The said paper was a hand written matter and somewhat difficult to read. Now what was written in that paper, I am trying to reproduce from memory:
“Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose proceeded by aeroplane from Saigon, arrived today August 23, 1945 at Dairen (Manchuria) at 1.30 afternoons.
The said plane was a Japanese bomber plane. It was full of gold in the share of bars, ornaments and jewellery. Netaji carried attaché cases, one in each hand. On alighting from the plane Netaji took tea with bananas.
"When Netaji finished tea, he along with four others, of whom one was Japanese named Gen Shedie, (and others have lapsed from memory) took their seats in a jeep standing nearby. The said jeep proceeded towards Russian territory. After three hours, the said jeep returned and informed the pilot of the plane who flew back to Tokyo."
Shyam Lal Jain added, "After handing over the said paper to me for typing, Shri Jawaharlal Nehru went to Mr Asaf Ali and remained busy in conversation with him for 10-15 minutes. I could not complete the work, because the name of the writer on that letter was not readable, and I kept waiting for Shri Jawaharlal Nehru to come and tell the name. In the meantime I went through the letter several times and this is all that I could remember to the present day. Shri Jawharlal Nehru could not discern the name of the writer and asked me to pull out the papers and hand them over to him as they were.
"I solemnly affirm and state on oath that thereafter Shri Jawaharlal Nehru gave me four papers from his writing pad to make on the typewriter four copies of a letter, which he would dictate to me on typewriter. The contents of the letter as far as I could remember were as follows:
To Mr Clement Attlee,
Prime Minister of Britain, 10 Downing Street, London.
Dear Attlee,
I understand from a reliable source that Subhas Chandra Bose, your war criminal, has been allowed to enter Russian territory by Stalin. This is clear treachery and betrayal of faith by the Russians. As Russia has been an ally of the British-Americans, it should not have been done. Please take note of it and do what you consider proper and fit.
The declassification of Netaji files also reveal that for the past six decades several communications have gone from Ministry of External Affairs to Britain to ascertain, whether the UK had declared Subhash Chandra Bose as a war criminal. The documents revealed that the UK never gave a specific answer to India's unending quest on Netaji. Among the volumes of letters in 2002, the UK only confirmed that there was consideration in 1945 on how to handle Netaji and his INA members.
The revelations comes in the letter forwarded on May 29, 2002 by then India's Political Counselor Vikas Swarup, the current Spokesperson of MEA. Swarup was forwarding the communications information from Army Historical Branch and Imperial War Museum of the UK to Ministry of External Affairs.
"With reference to the specific question you posed whether Subhas Chandra Bose was included by the Unitech Kingdom in its 'list of war criminal' drawn up after the Second World War, I have been unable to find any evidence that any such action was taken by the United Kingdom.
"I should add that the question of how to treat Subhash Chandra Bose and other members of the Indian National Army was considered in 1945 by the Government of India in consultation with HMG. The relevant official papers relating to this process are in the public domain. Some of the most pertinent are to be found in Volume VI of the 'Transfer of Power' series. Others are available at the Public Record Office or the Indian Office Library collections in the British Library," said the communication from Army Historical Branch.http://www.dailypioneer.com/todays-newspaper/nehru-termed-bose-your-war-criminal.html
UK’S SECRET TALKS IMPLY NETAJI SURVIVED CRASH
Sunday, 24 January 2016 | M Madhusudan | New Delhi
At a time when Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose was said to have allegedly died in a plane crash on August 18, 1945, the fact that the British Government was busy with “top secret” deliberations regarding him raises suspicion that he was indeed alive and in captivity somewhere.
“In many ways the easiest course would be to leave him where he is and not ask for his release. He might, of course, in certain circumstance be welcomed by the Russians. This course could raise fewest immediate political difficulties,” Sir F Mudie, Home Member, Clement Attlee Government’s India Office, wrote on August 23, 1945, in his reply to Sir EM Jenkins, Home Secretary and the last Governor of Punjab. Jenkins had on August 11 sought Mudie’s advise on dealing with Netaji.
The recourse cited by Mudie was one of the 10 options he dished out to the British Government, which was clearly in a dilemma over the way to treat Netaji even as it was in strong favour of “dealing with him as a war criminal”.
The other options included “hanging” him outside India preferably in Malaya, on the premise that the regime there would have no problems in doing so unlike the Burmese or Singaporean dispensations.
The exchange of letters (listed as ‘top secret letter No 1157 and billed as Wavell Papers) happened between August 11 and August 23, 1945 and pertained to the issue of “Indian prisoners of war in Japanese hands and Bose and his associates”.
On Jenkins suggestion that Netaji be treated as a “war criminal”, Mudie said, “He (Bose) clearly is not one in the ordinary sense of the word” and “nor does he appear to come within the extended definition adopted by the UN”.
He then dealt at length about the difficulties that the British Government would face given that Bose’ “influence over the INA (27,000-strong) is very considerable”. “It affects all races, castes and communities almost equally strongly. They regard him with deep admiration, respect and confidence as a sincere patriot, as an able leader without peer, as the organiser of India’s first ‘National Army’,” he pointed out.
Saying the Bengalis treated him almost on par with Mahatma Gandhi, he listed out the difficulties in his trial in India or in a military court even outside India, intern him in India or in some British possession like Seychelles Islands or leave him and not ask him for his surrender.
He pointed out Netaji would not be hanged in India if he is tried in the country; the Burmese Government was busy appeasing the Burmese National Army and so it would not hang him; a trial and execution in Singapore with the news suppressed would be taken as judicial murder; a trial in a military court outside India would invite similar objections; and interning him in India would lead to an agitation and his subsequent release.
He advocated Netaji’s detention and internment outside India. “Out of sight would be to some extent out of mind and agitation for his release might be less,” he stated.
Though he also advised leaving Netaji’s “where he is” saying it would raise fewest political difficulties, at the same time he pointed out that in such an event the security authorities would be concerned about his presence in Russia.
http://www.dailypioneer.com/todays-newspaper/uks-secret-talks-imply-netaji-survived-crash.html