'Netaji': Book by Krishna Bose offers unmatched portrait of Subhas Chandra Bose

A new book "Netaji" offers a rare in-depth account of Subhas Chandra Bose's political motivations, his personal relationships, and the daring military campaigns he undertook to secure India's independence.

Originally written in Bengali by the late scholar and Bose's family member Krishna Bose, the writings reveal the "human being alongside the revolutionary and freedom fighter", traversing Bose's life from childhood to his death in August 1945.

The writings were compiled, edited and translated by her son Sumantra Bose.

"I have long felt that a prime selection of my mother's best writing on Netaji, the INA and the struggle for India's freedom should be available in English. . . My mother was so full of vitality till the end of her life, despite some physical infirmities due to advanced age, that I had expected her to live a few years longer, into her nineties," writes Sumantra in the book, author of recently published "Kashmir at the Crossroads: Inside a 21st-Century Conflict".

"But there can be no better time for the publication of this volume -- which presents a unique, composite portrait of Subhas Chandra Bose -- than the 75th anniversary of India's independence," Sumantra Bose added.

August 18, 2022 marks the 77th death anniversary of Netaji, who -- notwithstanding the mystery surrounding his demise -- is widely believed to have died in a plane crash in Taiwan.

Aiming to bring an end to the controversies and conspiracy theories surrounding the freedom fighter, the over 300-page book gives a detailed and evidence-based account of Netaji's death in one of its chapters.

Featuring 95 images and letters from family albums and Netaji Research Bureau archives, this nuanced and revelatory portrait of Netaji contains intriguing accounts of his personal relationships as well as those with his key political contemporaries – from Nehru and Gandhi to Tojo and Hitler.

"It also contains a detailed account of the women who influenced Netaji (his mother, adoptive mother, wife, and close friends as well as the soldiers of the all-women Rani of Jhansi regiment), an eyewitness account of Netaji's epic struggle in Europe and Asia, his secret submarine journey and escape from his Calcutta home . . .  and the Andamans where Netaji raised the national tricolour," read publishing house Pan Macmillan's description of the book.

Krishna Bose, a former MP from West Bengal, was married to Sisir Kumar Bose -- the son of Netaji's older brother and lifelong confidant Sarat Chandra Bose. After Sisir's death, she served as Netaji Research Bureau (NRB) chairperson for two decades until her death in 2020.

The book is currently available for sale across offline and online stores.