“Give me blood and I’ll give you freedom”

125 years ago, on this day 23rd January, Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose was born. He is a towering figure in the Independence struggle of India. A lot of peace loving and spiritual people might not agree with his sayings, his attempt to make war against the British or him forming an alliance with Hitler, but those debatable topics are beyond the scope of this post. This is just an appreciation post for my favourite freedom fighter.

Bengalis were often viewed as a group of docile intellectuals in the 1900s. Netaji for one, stood in stark contrast to this image. His strength of character was enough to uplift an entire nation which was down on its knees. From thrashing an English professor at the Presidency university for his salty remarks towards Indians to allegedly living his last days as an incognito monk, his life had come a full circle. He was a man of exceptional intellect, vision and courage. How many of us can even imagine single handedly raising an entire army against the foreign “overlords” of their country. Having faked his own death several times, his real death still remains a mystery.

His speeches awakened the spirits of many a fallen Indians who were so accustomed to being treated as uncouth and uncultured people, that they didn’t think themselves to be any better. Netaji was truly a leader of the people whose charisma and philosophy influenced not only the people inside India but the ones living outside as well. He even invited women to join his Azad Hind army and several regiments were exclusively for women. (even our Indian govt allowed women to be permanently commissioned as soldiers in the army , only last year)

Anyone who has been fortunate enough to read his biography or see documentaries about his life, would know that his life was nothing short of an adventure. He turned down a post in the coveted Indian Civil Services which he had cleared and chose to live the life of freedom fighter which is fraught with danger.

I could go on and on but that would make the post too long and boring. Here are some web series and movies related to Netaji which I found worth mentioning: 1) Bose (Web series by Alt Balaji, can be watched on jio cinema app). 2) Forgotten Army(Amazon Prime) 3)Gumnaami (Amazon Prime)

Thank you for reading this post and giving me your precious time. See you soon 😊