Netaji on Freedom and Youth

Disclaimer:  I just  could not have written this post   without the  wonderful  work  done at the  following site,  that  has  a compilation of  Netaji's  speeches. I gratefully  acknowledge  the material provided by  them. If  you are seeking  to  know  more  of  Netaji  and  his  ideology, check  it  out  here  at 
http://www.subhaschandrabose.org/speeches/speeches.html

Just for the fact that  Subash Chandra Bose sought the help  of Fascist Germany and Imperial Japan in the struggle  for  independence,  he has often been treated as a persona non grata.  The Leftists  called him a "quisling", a  traitor,  obviously to please their  Russian masters. They conveniently overlooked the fact, that  their  icon Stalin  was pretty much pally with Hitler  for  quite some time,  the Molotov-Ribbentrop pact that  effectively  ensured Poland  would  be looted from both  ends.  It  was only when Hitler  attacked  Russia,  that  the till then "Imperialist War"  became a  "People's War"  against  Fascism.  For  decades under  the Leftist rule, Netaji  was conveniently  ignored  by the Leftists, and only later on they accepted  him. The Congress  of  course never  was  comfortable  with  his  direct  action  policy,   and  were more  intent  being in the good books of  the British. So  that  begs  the fundamental question.


What  was Netaji's  Ideology?

To  actually  understand   Netaji's  belief  and value  system, it  is  imperative  to  look at some of  the speeches  he  made  addressing  students  in various  parts  of  India. Those speeches  were not  political in nature, there  were  more  intended  to  awake the youth, the students. 

It will be seen at once that if the principle of freedom is to be applied to society and made the fundamental basis of the society of the future; it will mean nothing short of social revolution. Freedom for the whole of society will mean freedom for woman as well as for man; freedom for the depressed classes and not merely for the higher caste; freedom for the poor and not merely for the rich; freedom for the young and not merely for the old; in other words, freedom for all sections, for all minorities and for all individuals. Thus freedom implies equality and equality connotes fraternity

What Netaji  did not believe  was in a  false kind of  freedom, that  would  only  benefit  the bourgeois  upper  classes  and the elite,  he  like  Bhagat  Singh, sought a genuine freedom  that would  touch  every  section  of  society.  To him, mere  political freedom, without  emancipation  of  the poor, the  depressed classes  and women  was  meaningless. Netaji  was also  influenced by  the ideals of  Swami Vivekananda,  and  Bhagvad Geeta. He  quite often drew  on  India's  glorious  spiritual past, its  cultural heritage,  yet  he was not  one  to be living  there  forever.  While  influenced  by  European nationalist  thinkers  like  Garibaldi  and Mazinni, with  respect to waging  a political struggle, he  believed  in the spiritual  renaissance of  India.

India possesses all the resources - intellectual, moral and material, which go to make a people great. And India is still living, in spite of her hoary antiquity, because she has to become great once again; because she has a mission to perform.

What  Netaji  believed  in was the idea of  an India, that  would awake  itself  from it's slumber, and  begin to  be  true  to it's potential. He  wanted an  India where  citizens  are awake, in ceaseless activity,  or  what he called  our elan vital, a concept  derived  from French philosopher Bergan, which refers to the vital impetus  that  can drive  us to activity and progress. For Netaji  it  was the desire for freedom, for  expression, a  desire to revolt against bondage. Netaji  wanted the people to study the ancient  history,  observe  where the degradation took place. For  him all concepts like  deeksha  or initiation, led to the end goal-freedom.

The Youth Movement is an emblem of our dissatisfaction with the present order of things. It stands for the revolt of Youth against age-long bondage, tyranny and oppression. It seeks to create a new and better world for ourselves and for humanity by removing all shackles and giving the fullest scope to the creative activity of mankind. The Youth Movement is not, therefore, an additional or an exotic growth superimposed on the movements of today. It is a genuine independent movement, the main springs of which lie deeply embedded in human nature.

It  is  precisely  his desire for  complete  revolution and freedom, that  led to  his appeal among the youth, many  of  whom  saw the Congress  as a borgeuois old party, filled  with  old  fashioned  ideals. To Netaji, the youth  movement  was not  just  another  political movement, it  was a holistic  movement  designed to fulfil  the needs of the human soul. For him freedom  and self  fulfilment  were two goals,  that  had to exist together, one without the other  was meaningless.

Little do you know how much Bengali literature has drawn from the earlier history of the Punjab in order to enrich itself and edify its readers. Tales of your heroes have been composed and sung by our great poets including Rabindranath Tagore and some of them are today familiar in every Bengali home. Aphorisms of our saints have been translated into elegant Bengali and they afford solace and inspiration to millions in Bengal.

Netaji had a phenomenal  knowledge  of  Indian history  and culture,  an  aspect that made him  reach  out  to  every  region  in India.  Immensely  proud  of  his  Bengali  heritage  and culture, yet  at  the same  time, he  recognized the  unique  cultural  synthesis  of  India, where  each and every  region, drew  something  from another  region. To him though  India's  salvation did not lie in living on past  glories,  and  clinging on to  outmoded  theories.  He  felt  that if  India  and Asia,  were  to throw off the yoke  of  Western humiliation,  they had to look forward,  move  ahead.   He  sought  a revolution  of  ideas  in thought, he  desired  a complete  freedom,  where  individuals  could  express, think  and move. A freedom  that  could  unshackle the  mind and  spirit.

Was  Netaji  too  Utopian for  his own good?

I end  this  post  with  what  he quoted, and I leave it  for you to judge.

Friends, I do not know if you will consider me to be Utopian in my theories or if you will dub me a visionary. But I shall plead guilty if I am accused of being a dreamer and I love my dreams. These dreams are to me as real as the workaday world is to the man in the street. From my dreams I derive inspiration and motive power. Without these dreams I can hardly live for life will lose its meaning and it's charm. The dream that I love is that of a free India; India resplendent in all her power and glory. I want India to be the mistress of her own household and the queen of her own destiny; I want her to be a free republic with her own army, navy, and airforce and her own ambassadors in the capitals of free countries.