KOLKATA: Chandra Kumar Bose, the grand nephew of Netaji, has urged the Centre to bring back to the country the purported ashes of the nationalistic leader kept at Renkoji temple in Japan this year, which is his 125th birth centenary year and order a DNA test if it is technically possible.
He urged that the ashes be brought back by August 18, the date in which Netaji reportedly died in an air crash at Taihoku in 1945.
"Netaji's ambition was to return to an independent India as the head of a victorious revolutionary army. Circumstances did not allow that to happen. The best way to honour his wishes in this 125th Birth Centenary year is to bring his remains by 18th August 2022 to repose in Indian soil. The Government of India can do that. If technically possible, a DNA test may be conducted to confirm," Chandra Kumar Bose said in his letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday.
He said if the ashes are brought back, Netaji's daughter Anita Bose Pfaff will be able to perform the last rites and bring the long-awaited closure for his family and the people of India.
"Because of this procrastination (in bringing back the ashes), weird stories continue to circulate which demean the might and reputation of Netaji, including in films. This should not be allowed to continue," Bose, who is a member of the high level central committee to celebrate Netaji's 125th birth anniversary and a BJP leader, said.
"The government is certain that the remains at Renkoji Temple are those of Netaji's, which is why the Government of India contributes to the costs of maintaining the urn containing the remains," the veteran social activist said in his letter.
The West Bengal Government had in September 2015 declassified all files in its possession related to Netaji, while the Centre did so with the remaining Netaji files from January 23, 1916 till November 2016, the letter said.
"Detailed study of these files reveal that the root cause of stories behind Netaji's death 'mystery' and resultant curiosity, has been our ignorance of certain vital facts," he wrote.
There are conflicting theories about the disappearance of Netaji as many surmise that he did not die in any air crash as reported by the British government and had been in hiding afterwards.
Bose in his letter said that in all 11 investigations were held in connection with the disappearance of Netaji and ten of them agreed that he had died in the crash.
"Had there been the slightest trace of Netaji's survival in their investigations, the Anglo-American forces would not have stopped pursuing him...The civil administrative wing of the Indian National Army and the Indian Independence League, as a result of the investigation carried out by them too found that Netaji died in a plane crash," he said in the letter to the prime minister.
The Indian National Army was an armed force formed by Indian freedom fighters/collaborators and Japan on 1 September 1942 in southeast Asia during World War II.
Its aim was to secure Indian independence from British rule.
The Indian Independence League was a political organisation founded by Indian nationalists to organise those living outside the country seeking the removal of British colonial rule.
It had functioned from the 1920s to the 1940s and its activities were conducted in various parts of Southeast Asia.
Bose, who had joined BJP in 2016 but has not been active in recent times, said the only exception was the Justice Mukherjee Commission of Inquiry which conducted the inquiry 55-60 years after the incident.
It said Netaji did not die in the crash but could not say when, where and how the freedom fighter died, Nor could the Commission provide any positive evidence to support its claim, Bose, also the Convenor of The Open Platform for Netaji, said.
The reports of the investigations were kept hidden from the people until their declassification, which revealed that the Government of India had always known that Netaji had died in the plane crash.
This came out in the open in its reply to an RTI in 2017, the letter said.
Director of Netaji Research Bureau and grand nephew of Netaji, Sugata Bose could not be contacted about the demand to bring the purported remains.
The All India Forward Bloc, a party founded by Netaji, has never accepted the air crash theory and refused to accept the ashes kept in Renkoji temple are that of Netaji.
Leaders of the party had on several occasions demanded a full fledged inquiry into the mystery behind the disappearance of Netaji after August 18, 1945.