Rash Behari Bose

Not to be confused withRash Behari Ghosh.

Rash Behari Bose
Bose before 1945
Born	(1886-05-25)25 May 1886 Village-Subaldaha, Burdwan,Bengal Presidency,British India (present-day Village Subaldaha, Block-Raina 2, District-Purba BardhamanWest Bengal,India)
Died	21 January 1945(1945-01-21)(aged 58) Tokyo,Japan
Nationality	Indian
Citizenship	British Indian(1886–1915) Stateless(1915–1923) Japan(1923–1945; his death)
Organisations	Jugantar Indian Independence League Indian National Army
Movement	Indian Independence movement,Ghadar Revolution,Indian National Army
Spouse	Toshiko Bose(1916–1924; her death)
Children	2
Relatives	Aizō Sōma(father-in-law) Kokkō Sōma(mother-in-law)

Rash Behari Bose(/rɑːʃbihɑːriˈboʊs/;25 May 1886 – 21 January 1945) was an Indian revolutionary leader who fought against theBritish Empire.He was one of the key organisers of theGhadar Mutinyand founded theIndian Independence League.Bose also led the Indian National Army (INA) which was formed in 1942 underMohan Singh.

He was behind theDelhi-Lahore Conspiracyto assassinate theViceroy of India,Lord Hardinge,in 1912.After the failed assassination attempt, Bose fled toImperial Japan.He sided with Imperial Japan against Britain in World War II.

Birth and ancestry

Rash Behari Bose was born in Subaldaha village ofPurba Bardhaman district,now in West Bengal, India, on 25 May 1886.Bose grew up during thesevere pandemics and famines of the British Raj.It fuelled his dislike for British rule.His father's name was Binod Behari Bose and mother was Bhubaneswari Devi. Tinkori Dasi was Rashbehari Bose's foster mother.

Early life

Bose and his sister, Sushila, spent their childhood in Subaldaha. They lived with their father and also in the house of Bidhu Mukhi, the widowed sister-in-law of their grandfather, Kalicharan Bose. His early education was completed under the supervision of Kalicharan in the village of Pathsala at what is presently Subaldaha Rashbehari Bose F.P School.

Bose was drawn towards the revolutionary movement on hearing stories from his grandfather and teacher (Bakkeswar) at Subaldaha. He was the cynosure of all villagers and was known for his stubborn attitude. His nickname was Rasu. It is heard from villagers that he was at Subaldaha till he was 12 or 14 years old.

His father, Binod Behari Bose, was stationed in Hooghly district for few years. During this time, Bose had to move to his maternal house in Chandernagar.There Bose studied at Dupleix College with his cousin and friendShrish Chandra Ghosh.The principal, Charu Chandra Roy, inspired them into revolutionary politics. Later, he joined Morton School in Calcutta. He subsequently earned degrees in medical sciences and engineering.

Revolutionary activities

Main articles:Delhi conspiracy caseandGadar Conspiracy

Bose left Bengal to avoid theAlipore bomb casetrials of 1908.AtDehradun,he worked as a head clerk at theForest Research Institute.There, throughAmarendra Chatterjeeof theJugantar,he secretly got involved with the revolutionaries of Bengal and he came across revolutionaries of theArya Samajin the United Provinces (currentlyUttar Pradesh) and thePunjab.

1912 assassination attempt on Lord Hardinge

Following theDelhi-Lahore Conspiracy,which attempted the assassination ofLord Hardingeon 23 December 1912, Bose was forced to go into hiding. He was hunted by the colonial police due to his participation in the failed assassination attempt, Hardinge being at that time theGovernor GeneralandViceroy.He returned to Dehradun by the night train and joined the office the next day as though nothing had happened. He organised a meeting of loyal citizens of Dehradun to condemn the dastardly attack on the Viceroy.

During the flood relief work in Bengal in 1913, Bose came in contact withJatin Mukherjeein whom he "discovered a real leader of men," who "added a new impulse" to Bose's failing zeal.Thus, during World War (WW1) he became one of the leading figures of theGhadar Mutiny,an attempt to trigger a mutiny in India in February 1915. Trusted and tried Ghadrites were sent to several cantonments to infiltrate into the army. The idea of the Gadar leaders was that with the war raging in Europe most of the soldiers had gone out of India and the rest could be easily won over. The revolution failed and most of the revolutionaries were arrested. But Bose managed to escape British intelligence and reached Japan in 1915.

Indian National Army

Bose had reached Japan under the alias of Priyanath Thakur, a relative ofRabindranath Thakur,an Indian poet.There, Bose found shelter with variousPan-Asiangroups. From 1915 to 1918, he changed residences and identities numerous times, as the British kept pressing the Japanese government for his extradition. He married the daughter ofAizō SōmaandKokkō Sōma,the owners of Nakamuraya bakery in Tokyo and noted Pan-Asian supporters in 1918, and became a Japanese citizen in 1923, living as a journalist and writer. It is also significant that he was instrumental in introducing Indian-style curry in Japan. Though more expensive than the usual "British-style" curry, it became quite popular, with Rash Bihari becoming known as "Bose of Nakamuraya".

Bose, along withA. M. Nair,was instrumental in persuading the Japanese authorities to stand by the Indian revolutionaries, whom Japan ultimately to officially supported. He convened a conference inTokyoon 28–30 March 1942, which decided to establish theIndian Independence League.There he also moved a motion to raise an army for Indian independence. He convened thesecond conferenceof the League atBangkokon 22 June 1942, at which a resolution was adopted to inviteSubhas Chandra Boseto join the League and take command as its president.

The Indian prisoners of war captured by the Japanese in theMalayaandBurmafronts were encouraged to join the Indian Independence League and become the soldiers of theIndian National Army(INA), formed on 1 September 1942 as the military wing of Rash Behari Bose's Indian National League. He selected the flag for theAzad Hindmovement and handed over the flag and the power to Subhas Chandra Bose but his organizational structure remained which was built on the organizational spadework of Rash Behari Bose. Rash Behari Bose built the Indian National Army (also called 'Azad Hind Fauj'). Prior to his death caused by tuberculosis, the Japanese Government honoured him with theOrder of the Rising Sun(2nd grade).

Personal life

Bose met Toshiko Soma when he was hiding at her house inShinjuku City.She was the daughter ofAizō SōmaandKokkō Sōma,the owners of Nakamuraya bakery (ja: Trung thôn phòng) in Tokyo and noted Pan-Asian supporters in 1918. At that time, Bose was a fugitive with the British searching for him. Their initial contact was during those intense moments of hiding though without any interactions. In 1916, when Bose was a fugitive no more, he invited the Soma family to his house as a gesture of gratitude. That was the first instance of their interaction in a social context.

However, Bose stuck out like a sore thumb in Japan. People would consider them with suspicion.Mitsuru Toyama,as a solution proposed to the Soma's a marriage between Toshiko and Rashbehari. He thought that marriage with a Japanese citizen would make it easy for Bose to apply for citizenship. Despite their initial reservations, the Somas agreed to the match. When asked, Toshiko took three weeks to give her consent.

They had a happy marriage lasting eight years. Bose taught Toshiko Bengali and how to wear a sari. Bose got Japanese citizenship in 1923. Toshiko's health declined soon after and it claimed her life in 1924. After her death, he never remarried. They were buried together after Bose's death.

They had two children together. Masahide Bose (Bharatchandra) was born in 1920. He died in World War II aged 24. Their daughter Tetsuko was born in 1922.

• 
  A dinner party given to Bose in his honour by his close Japanese friends, includingMitsuru Tōyama,a right-wing nationalist andPan-Asianismleader (centre, behind the table), andTsuyoshi Inukai,future Japanese prime minister (to the right of Tōyama). Behind Tōyama is Bose. 1915.
• 
  Bose and his Japanese supporters in 1916
• 
  Bose with wife c. 1918

Legacy

In 1943, the Japanese government honoured Bose with the highest title available to a foreigner, theOrder of the Rising Sun,2nd class.

Rash Behari Bose on a 1967 stamp of India

On 26 December 1967, the Posts and Telegraphs Department of India issued a special postage stamp in honour of Rash Behari Bose. In the city of Kolkata, West Bengal, a street has been named Rash Behari Avenue in his honour.

In popular culture

In the 2019 IndianBengali-languagetelevision series titledNetajiwhich depicts the life ofNetaji Subhash Chandra Bose,Fahim Mirza played the role of Rash Behari Bose.

See also

• Anushilan Samiti
• Hindu–German Conspiracy

Further reading

• Kawabe, Lexi (2019).Rash Behari Bose: The Father of the Indian National Army.Tenraidou.ISBN9798814669414.

External links

Media related toRash Behari Boseat Wikimedia Commons

• Rash Behari Bose materials in the South Asian American Digital Archive (SAADA)
• The Indian revolutionary who fought to overthrow British rule while living in JapanCNN
• Shinjuku Nakamuraya tân túc trung thôn phòng