Have you ever heard of Subhas Chandra Bose (1897-1945)? Chandra Bose was instrumental in the Indian independence movement through the Indian National Congress, which was headed by Gandhi and Nehru, both high-profile figures. However, Chandra Bose became increasingly critical of their non-violent movement and instead argued for independence by force. When WWII began, he was imprisoned by the British authorities, but escaped first to Germany in 1941 and then to Japan in 1943.  

      Gandhi and Chandra Bose at the Indian National Congress in 1938.

There was another Bose in the name of Rash Behari Bose (1886-1945). He was an activist and actually took part in the assassination attempt on Viceroy Lord Hardinge in 1912. To escape the police hunt, Behari Bose subsequently headed to Japan in 1915. From here, we would like to see how Behari Bose managed to live in exile for the cause of Indian independence in Japan and how he coordinated with Chandra Bose.

Why did Behari Bose come to Japan in the first place? First and foremost, it was to obtain weapons. It was closely related to the fact that Japan had defeated Russia in the Japanese -Russo War (1904-1905), which was epic making among Asian nationalists seeking freedom from western colonial powers. In his early days in Japan, he met with Sun Yat-sen, the father of modern China in exile. Through Sun Yat-sen, Behari Bose became acquainted with influential Japanese pan-Asian followers, who offered help from time to time.

At that time, Japan was in alliance with Britain (the Anglo-Japanese Alliance from 1902 to 1923), and the latter actually requested Japan to expel Bose. To this, Bose was assisted to seek refuge in the hands of pan-Asian sympathizers. After this saga of hiding, Bose married a daughter of a sympathizer and subsequently became a naturalized Japanese citizen in 1923. This helped Bose to focus on his activity and become one of the leaders for the independence movement from outside India with the help of other exiled Indian expatriates in Japan.

Bose seated in the middle and his influential supporters in 1916. Seated on his right is Inukai Tsuyoshi, prime minister from 1931 to 1932.

When the Second World War in the Pacific began in 1941, Behari Bose took the initiative to first lead the “Indian Independence League” in 1942. Then, he managed to recruit Indian POWs who had belonged to the British army stationed in Malaya and Singapore and established the “Indian National Army (INA)” with more than ten thousand men in 1942. By this time, it became apparent that Bose was suffering from bad health, so he decided to transfer the leadership of these two institutions to Chandra Bose.

How did Chandra Bose fare in Germany? He was given support ostensibly from Adolf Hitler, who did not make a commitment to free India from Britain. So, Behari Bose’s offer was more than welcome and he somehow managed to reach Singapore in 1943 by a German submarine via the coast of east Africa and then by a Japanese submarine to the destination.  

Chandra Bose with the help of Behari Bose set up the Free India Provisional government in 1943, then declared war on the Allied nations. When the Japanese army started invading eastern India in 1944 (March-July), the INA participated alongside them. However, the campaign itself was ill-prepared and ill-waranted, the invading forces were utterly defeated by the Allied forces and the remaining soldiers including the Indians retreated to Rangoon and then to Thailand.

Finally came the defeat of Japan in August 1945. Chandra Bose was adamant in his hope of achieving independence through force, so he decided to go to the Soviet Union (USSR), being the enemy of Britain. Bose took a military flight first from Singapore to Taiwan. But the flight crashed in Taiwan and he died of severe burns.   

At long last, the independence of India took place on August 15, 1947. Those who did not see it were not only Chandra Bose but also Behari Bose who died in Japan of natural causes in January, 1945. To what extent the two Boses contributed to the independence is open to question. But you could say that the independence of India was achieved not only by the National Congress at home but also by the considerable momentum created outside of India, including many Indian communities all over the world.  

          Independence ceremony was held on August 15, 1947 at Red Fort,

          New Delhi.  

Here is some additional information. Chandra Bose was cremated in Taiwan and his ashes were transferred to a Buddhist temple, Renkoji, in Tokyo. Dignitaries from India have paid visits to the temple, including then prime ministers Nehru and Indira Ghandi.

As for Behari Bose, he is probably well remembered in Japan as the father of Indian curry. As mentioned, he married the daughter of a pan-Asian sympathizer, which happened to be a well-known bakery called “Shinjyuku Nakamura-ya.” They are serving authentic Indian curry even today. Incidentally, his son served in the Japanese army as a junior officer and was killed in action in Okinawa in 1945.   

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