Nehru was afraid Netaji would return and become India's leader

I’m sure no one can deny that the government-ordered surveillance on members of Subhas Chandra Bose's family, as recently revealed, was a clear case of intrusion on our privacy. It’s a violation of one of the most basic forms of human rights in an independent democratic country.

Author Anuj Dhar claimed in his books that on November 26, 1957, Jawahar Lal Nehru asked foreign secretary Subimal Dutt to find out from the then Indian ambassador in Japan, CS Jha, about the activities of Amiya Nath Bose there. It was quite an unusual step for the democratic prime minister, who, according to the memoirs of his intelligence chief, was reluctant to put even suspected foreign diplomats in New Delhi under surveillance.

Why was Nehru so interested in Amiya Nath Bose’s activities in Japan? To me it appears as if the Nehru government was aware that Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose did not die in an air crash on August 18, 1945. Nehru may have thought if Amiya Nath Bose’s activities could be tracked, they may get to know Netaji’s movements, as Amiya was one of the closest nephews of Subhas. My father Amiya Nath Bose did suspect that some kind of snooping was being conducted by the Nehru Congress government, but he never could imagine its sheer magnitude.

It was as if they were tracking terrorists or hard core criminals. Amiya Nath Bose was followed within the country and internationally. There is documentary evidence to establish the fact that Nehru himself ordered surveillance during Amiya Nath Bose’s visit to Japan, in 1957. The information obtained by the investigative agency in India was shared with MI5 in the UK. This is a very serious matter and would have international ramifications.

The Bose family has taken a decision to take up this matter and demand the declassification of MI5 files with the British government. Unlike India, the British government normally declassifies documents after 30 years.

Trinamool Congress MP and historian Sugata Bose said in a recent interview that he found it hard to “square Nehru’s personal attitude and what the intelligence agencies were doing.” I agree to an extent. It is a fact that Nehru maintained cordial relations with Bose family members, in particularly with my father Amiya Nath Bose. During visits to Kolkata, Nehru would always stay in our 1 Woodburn Park house, till he became prime minister. Nehru and Amiya used to discuss political issues at length. There were basic political differences, however, that never came in the way of personal relations. While it is difficult to believe now that Nehru ordered the surveillance, but one has to face facts – which in this case is backed by documentary evidence. I imagine Nehru feared that if Subhas Chandra Bose returned to India, he would become, by his popularity, the leader of the country. In my view this may have provoked him to order surveillance on Amiya Nath Bose, who was one of the closest nephews and who would certainly know his uncle’s whereabouts.

The Congress claims that the leaks are selective and done with a purpose of tarnishing the image of the first prime minister. I have just one thing to point out. The files in question that prove "surveillance" was conducted was released and sent to the national archives during UPA 2 regime. NDA has nothing to do with it. Anuj Dhar found the documents by chance.

But what is more important to remember is the recent disclosures are just the tip of the iceberg. There are still more than 165 files to be declassified, out of which West Bengal government has 64 classified files. All these files must be declassified without any further delay. I think MP Sugata Bose’s policy on this issue keeps changing. A few months back he had called “declassification of Netaji files” a non issue. Now when the momentum has picked up, he wants to jump onto the bandwagon in favour of declassification of Netaji files. If he really meant it - why doesn’t he convince Mamata Banerjee, the leader of his party, to release 64 files kept hidden by her government?

The Bose family has written numerous letters and even filed RTI applications – none of which has been met with any favourable response from her government. This is why the Bose family and the people of West Bengal are taking out a massive rally today April 19 April at Red Road, at 1pm, from INA memorial, to impress upon the West Bengal government to release the Netaji files immediately.

(As told to Malini Banerjee.)