THE NETAJI PILE

Chief minister Mamata Banerjee (her left hand in picture) goes through one of the
64 declassified files at the Calcutta Police Museum near Manicktala in north
Calcutta on Friday. Picture by Bishwarup Dutta

Anindya Sengupta and Meghdeep Bhattacharyya, TT, Calcutta, Sept. 18: The Mamata Banerjee government on Friday declassified 64 files running into 12,744 pages on Subhas Chandra Bose.

A preliminary reading has not thrown up any information that changes the course of the discourse on Netaji. However, some of the files have nuggets that portray intimate as well as unflattering pictures of Netaji. There is also a poignant call for help from an INA soldier.

The following are based on the contents of some of the 64 files declassified today. Don't miss the gem on "funny-ha-ha".

Letter from 'widow'

One of the declassified Netaji files refers to a "secret interception (of) a very interesting letter from one Emilie Schenkl of Vienna".

The letter was addressed to Sarat Chandra Bose (Subhas's brother), according to a typed sheet marked "secret" and titled "Calcutta police security control weekly survey". The sheet is dated May 4, 1946 - less than a year after the reported air crash in which Netaji was feared to have been killed.

The police file spells Netaji's first name as "Subhash".

"Emilie Schenkl claims to be the widow of Subhash Chandra Bose. She says that she worked as Subhash Bose's secretary in 1934 when he was in Germany writing his book, The Indian Struggle. Emilie Schenkl joined Subhash Bose in Berlin in April 1941 and remained with him until the autumn of 1942. Subhash Bose proposed to her, and they were married in January 1942," according to the police survey.

"On November the 29th, 1942, a daughter was born, Emilie Schenkl having returned to Vienna from Berlin in September so as to avoid talk," the document adds.

"The marriage was not registered and was performed according to the Hindu rites, on account of the German objection to the marriage of Germans with foreigners. Subhash Bose only saw the daughter once, when she was four weeks old and was about to pay another visit to Vienna in 1943, but his sudden departure prevented this.

"Just before leaving, he wrote a letter addressed to Mr Sarat Chandra Bose and asked Emilie to have it photographed and send copies to Mr Sarat Chandra Bose in the event of anything happening to him (Subhash Chandra Bose). The letter is in Bengali and mentions the marriage and the birth of the daughter.

"Emilie Schenkl says that she would send the photo-copies as soon as conditions are more normal."

The police document says that Emilie "makes it clear that she is not asking for financial aid as she has means of her own, being employed as a clerk in the Trunk Office in Vienna and holds the position of interpreter in English and French".

The police survey adds that "Emilie ends up by giving a description of daughter and mentions the shock she felt when she ... (word missing as the corner of the document appears to have been torn) Subhash Bose's death. Emilie Schenkl quite (only the last two letters - "ly" - of the word visible) believes that Subhash Bose is dead."

The police document ends with a suggestion that the letter attributed to Emilie was authentic. "From the ... (only the last two letters - "ne"- are visible) and manner of writing of the letter, it be genuine," the document says.

(Emilie passed away in 1996. Their daughter Anita Bose Pfaff, 72, is based in Germany.)

'Self-seeking'

File No. 40 mentions a letter attributed to one Jagat Prasanna Gupta in 1940 detailing his version of why his aunt had to withdraw from elections to the Calcutta Municipal Corporation.

Netaji was the mayor of the corporation from August 22, 1930, till April 15, 1931. In 1940, Netaji was an alderman of the corporation.

The letter, intercepted by the district intelligence branch in Barisal (now in Bangladesh) on May 14, 1950, accuses "the people of Subhash Bose" of resorting to "all sorts of unfair means openly".

Gupta's letter to one Debendra Nath Ghosh of Barisal was originally in Bengali and later translated by officials of the then British administration into English. During those days, the addressee of a letter often used to be referred to as "sricharankamaleshu'' at the very beginning of the communication. This Bengali word had been translated into English as "To Your Lotus Feet.''

Gupta's letter says: "My aunt withdrew the candidature on the day of election. The people of Subhash Bose were taking all sorts of unfair means openly. Complaints to the returning officer were of no avail and so we left the place in disgust.

"Unfair means in the matter of elections, spoken of by Subhash Babu, before the public, are all his imports. We are eyewitness to this.

"It is unfortunate for us that we speak so highly of such a self-seeking gentleman."

The rest of the contents of the file suggest the police initially found it difficult to trace or identify Gupta's "aunt" who pulled out of the electoral race.

Gupta's letter to Ghosh was intercepted by the district intelligence branch of Bakarganj in Barisal and a copy was sent to Bengal's deputy inspector general of police (intelligence branch), R. R. Chatterji.

Chatterji sent a "secret'' report to Bakarganj district superintendent of police A E F Wood in this regard.

In his report, Chatterji said: "Forwarding copy of an intercepted letter to Debendra Nath Ghosh. The writer Jagat Prasanna Gupta's Ballygunge address is 5 Dehi-Serampore Lane. The aunt of Jagat Prasanna Gupta may be identical with Dr Prabhabati Das Gupta, P.H.D. of 7, Anthony Bagan Lane, Calcutta.''

'Clever' Lakshmi

Lakshmi Sahgal, part of the Netaji-led Indian National Army, had returned to India in 1946. Then, Lakshmi's surname was Swaminathan as she was yet to get married to Prem Sahgal.

The Dum Dum airport passport officer wrote to the deputy commissioner (special branch) on her arrival: "Lakshmi Swaminadhan (INA) arrived at Dum Dum.... A very clever, cultured woman. She was wearing the uniform of the INA... gave the INA salute and the usual JAI HIND.''

Radio on 'full blast'

After the Second World War broke out in 1939, British police in Bengal were asked by the administration to keep tabs on German radio broadcasts and their content. The provocation was Netaji's reported negotiations with the Germany-led Axis powers against the Allied forces.

A note from the home (political) department of the Bengal government sums up: "Please see suggestion of the Commissioner of Police for an immediate prohibition on broadcasting of all radio emissions of foreign origin and German broadcasts in Arabic or Indian vernaculars. People are turning their receiving sets at full blast when tuning into Axis broadcasts.''

Peculiar or ha-ha?

Surta Singh, originally a resident of Ambala in Punjab, used to stay on Calcutta's Harish Mukherjee Road and was suspected by British police of having tried to establish links with the INA.

In the early 1940s, the Intelligence Bureau of the Union home department was informed by its state counterpart: "We are keeping Surta Singh under observation with a view to getting information of his 'funny business' you mention. I take it, 'funny' here means 'funny-peculiar', not 'funny-ha-ha'.''

Sepoy No. 100

Some INA members returned to India from Singapore in 1946. A few hundred kept sending letters of grief that detailed their financial plight to the INA Relief Committee's Bengal unit secretary Amiya Nath Bose, son of Netaji's brother Sarat.

One such letter from Bishnath Prosad, Sepoy No. 100, says: "I am in urgent need of money amounting to Rs 300 for taking back my field (cultivable plot) which has been pawned by my family members on account of poverty. Kindly send it soon. Otherwise, I will be put to great loss.''