Prime Minister of India - Dr. Manmohan Singh

PM's address at the Birth Anniversary Celebrations of Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose

"It is a great honour and privilege for me to participate in these celebrations of the birth anniversary of Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose. Netaji Bose was one of the tallest leaders of our freedom struggle. A great son of India, he was also a great citizen of the world.

The image of Netaji as a restless young man driven by the sole cause of freedom of India endures in the popular imagination of our countrymen. There was in him the fire and the zeal to pursue that single goal with firm sense of determination. Any obstacle in his way was never regarded as insurmountable.

He had a fiercely independent mind and refused to follow the beaten track. On one occasion he wrote, "There is nothing that lures me more than a life of adventure away from the beaten track and in search of the unknown. In this life there may be suffering, but there is joy as well; there may be darkness, but there are also hours of dawn. To this path I call my countrymen."

Netaji was impatient in his desire to liberate our country from foreign rule. He left the coveted Indian Civil Service, joined the freedom movement and displayed rare sense of heroism in the relentless pursuit of his goal. He united Indians of all faiths, all communities and languages and gave shape to the idea of a modern resurgent India.

This year is also the 150th anniversary of the first war of independence. Netaji was inspired by its example when he created the famous Azad Hind Fauj. Netaji glowingly referred to the first war of independence and urged his soldiers to fulfil the unfinished task of the sepoys of 1857. One of the regiments of the Indian National Army was named Rani Jhansi Regiment.

Netaji's clarion call "Dilli Challo," echoed the call to arms of 1857 and inspired the whole Nation once more. He dreamt of hoisting the tricolour on the ramparts of the Red Fort. But instead his men were tried in that Fort. Jawaharlal Nehru put on the robes of a barrister and defended gallant young men. Ironically that trial became the trial of the British Empire.

The idealism and the spirit of sacrifice of Netaji for the cause of the nation remains the high point of our struggle for independence. Netaji once wrote, "... no suffering, no sacrifice is ever futile. It is through suffering and sacrifice alone that a cause can flourish and prosper, and in every age and clime, the eternal law prevails, 'the blood of the martyr is the seed of the church'." Today we salute that suffering and sacrifice of the men and women who marched under Netaji's command.

Netaji's magnetic personality also won the admiration of Mahatma Gandhi and Jawaharlal Nehru. Though Mahatma Gandhi, the apostle of non-violence, rejected Netaji's methods, he always admired his zeal, his commitment, his patriotism and his nationalism. Gandhiji once observed: "the greatest lesson that we can draw from Netaji's life is the way in which he infused the spirit of unity amongst his men so that they could rise above all religions and provincial barriers and shed together their blood for common cause."

It is this spirit that is required today to take our country forward. To help us pursue a more inclusive and equitable path to social, economic progress. The national movement forged the unity of our diverse land. It brought people of diverse faiths, diverse creeds, diverse languages together. Both Mahatma Gandhi and Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose remained deeply committed to Hindu- Muslim unity and amity. They were both deeply spiritual men, but equally secular. They understood that India's great contribution to humankind is the idea of "Sarva Dharma Sambhava".

In celebrating Netaji's birth anniversary we also celebrate the ideas and principles we associate with him and our national movement for freedom. We recall his extraordinary courage as the Supreme Commander of the Indian National Army, but we also recall his constructive approach to nation building. That vision of Netaji has immense relevance for the 21st century and for our fight against the forces of communalism, terrorism and extremism.

While commemorating Netaji's birth anniversary I am reminded of his historic statement concerning the processes of nation building. He was in favour of guaranteeing rights to all citizens. But at the same time he stressed on taking special measures for minorities and other disadvantaged sections of society. As the President of the Indian National Congress in 1938, he articulated a vision that is of abiding relevance. Netaji's view that all minority communities be allowed their due space in cultural as well as governmental affairs testified to his humanism and commitment to egalitarian values. A commitment to equity is not appeasement. It is a mark of one's commitment to humanism.

Netaji had a sense of history and a far-sighted vision of India's place in the world. As far back as 1929, he said :

"History tells us how Asia conquered and held sway over large portions of Europe. The tables are turned now but the wheel of fortune is still moving .........Time is not far off when a rejuvenated Asia will be resplendent in power and glory and take her legitimate place in the comity of free nations."

Netaji Subhash Bose had many firsts to his credit. He was one of the first leaders of our country who cautioned the nation about population growth in the 1930s and suggested steps for controlling it. His historic decision to establish, for the first time in our history, the National Planning Committee under the Chairmanship of Pt. Jawaharlal Nehru made him one of the key architects of planning in our country. He interacted with a wide spectrum of public figures including economists and scientists. He wanted to build modern India as much on the firm base of industrialization and science and technology as on our ancient culture and civilization.

Much has been said about the differences between Netaji Subhash Bose with Mahatma Gandhi. But much has not been said about their common approach and vision of a free India. It was Netaji who, as the Supreme Commander of the Indian National Army, had named its various brigades as Nehru Brigade, Azad Brigade, etc. From the battlefield, he sent a message to Gandhiji addressing him, probably for the first time, as the Father of our Nation. He sought Gandhiji's blessings and good wishes for his Herculean endeavours.

In 1945 Mahatma Gandhi wrote in the Harijan, "The hypnotism of Indian National Army has cast a spell on us. Netaji's name is one to conjure with. His bravery shines above all." Let us all today bow our heads before his bravery and leadership in our struggle for Independence. In paying tribute to his memory, and on the eve of Republic Day, let us be imbued with the values of our freedom struggle and rededicate ourselves to the cause of India's progress.

Jai Hind."