Walk Alone: The Journey of Netaji Subash Chandra Bose

Jabalpur, 1939

On a rather sultry March in Jabalpur, worry appeared writ large on the forehead of Seth Govind Das, what he had hoped to be the most memorable moment of his life, was turning out to be the stage for bitter acrimony.  The war clouds that  had gathered over Europe in 1939, had made their presence felt in another way over the city.

Just a couple of months earlier, his joy knew no bounds, when the city on the banks of the Narmada, named after Rishi Jabali, was choosen as the venue for the 52nd session of the Indian National Congress.It was the first time, the session would be held in Mahakoshal ,  thanks to the efforts of Thakur Chedi Lal, who had mooted the proposal at the Haripur Congress session in 1938. This great city, home to Rani Durgavati, who had defied the Mughal emperor Akbar, and killed herself than surrender. Where the marble rocks glistened on the Narmada at Bhedaghat, which also had the iconic Chausath Yogini Temple.

And when he was put in charge of organizing the event, he had considered it the greatest honor ever of his life. It was also a vindication of sorts, considering senior leaders like Bhulabhai Desai and Sardar Patel had earlier demanded he be expelled from the Congress, for using the party's name on a tour of Africa. He had taken consent from Gandhiji himself and had clearly declared the tour's purpose was to study the problems and racism faced by Indians, in the British colonies there.

He however had put the unpleasant episode behind him, as he threw himself into making the event a grand success. The session was named as Tripuri, the ancient capital of the Kalachuris who had ruled here from mid 7th century to 9th centur, and had also built the Chausath Yogini temple at Bhedaghat close to the city. He had overseen the construction of a totally new township at Tilwaraghat on the banks of the Narmada river, with all facilities like telephone, telegraph and hospital for the visiting delegates. The township had been named in honor of Pandit Vishnudutt Shukla, the first Congress leader from Mahakoshal.

And yet all the hard work, he had put in making the event a success, seemed to be dissolving in a deluge of bitter acrimony. He was not new to the internal politics of the Congress party, he had been privy to it, when Pandit Makhan Lal Chaturvedi, who had rendered yeoman service in Mahakoshal, was excluded from the All India Election Committee, thanks to the machinations of Pandit Ravi Shankar Shukla.  Furious at the insult to Chaturvedi ji, he had resigned from the party, but was persuaded by Jawaharlal Nehru, to take it back.

From quite some time, the Congress had become a collection of groups, cliques, more interested in grabbing power and creating their own fiefdoms, than the cause of freedom. By 1937, the Congress had become the only pan-Indian movement capable of countering the British. Most of the revolutionary movements had died a slow death,with many of it's leading lights either dead, or in exile.  The party had formed Governments in nine of the eleven provinces, with massive support from the trade unions and peasants.

Power however had corrupted it, as it did not move quickly enough, on it's promises to the peasantry and the workers. But what really complicated matters, was that the moderate or the Right section which dominated the High Command, had begun to drift towards a compromise with the British, much against the original stated aims of Purna Swaraj. And above all the moderates clearly uncomfortable with the workers and peasant's movements to the extent of supporting police action against them, and denouncing them for violation of  Gandhiji''s Ahimsa theory, had only deepened divisions.

And for the first time, the Tripuri Congress, saw an election to the post of Congress President, which usually used to be unanimous. Mahatma Gandhi had put up his candidate Dr. Bhogaraju Pattabi Sitaramayya, a doctor from the seaside town of Machilipatnam in Andhra Pradesh, who was also President of the Andhra Provincial Congress Committee. 

But he had no chance, against the man whose candidature for the post of the President had caused the election in the first place. A man with a rounded face, thick rimmed oval spectacles, a fairly well built physique, who could move masses with his oratory. A man born into the family of a well to do Bengali Kayastha lawyer, in Cuttack.  Who as a student at Presidency  had assaulted an English professor for making racist comments against Indians. Who inspite of comming fourth in the Indian Civil Services exam, had rejected the job, as he did not want to serve the British.

Subash Chandra Bose, the rising star of the Indian nationalist movement, who had captured the imagination of the youth, the working class and the peasantry. The man they had called Netaji.

In a Congress party seen as being dominated by old, middle aged, bourgeois men,he stood out for his refreshingly honest,uncompromising attitude towards the British. It was not a surprise that he had won the elections by around 200 votes,with the Communists,Socialists and Left leaning nationalists backing him fully. It was a defeat of the Congress Old Guard and a rejection of their compromise tactics. Not surprisingly, the Mahatma had taken the result to his heart, claiming Netaji's win to be his own personal defeat. 

The bitter acrimony under the surface had come into the open now, as the British media had a field day celebrating the split. Sethji had admired both Subash and Gandhi,  but this open acrimony was painful.  With war clouds hovering over Europe,  where the need was for a united effort in crisis, these men were indulging in their own ego fights. He was even more hurt by  the way the Gandhi faction in the Congress, began to play their own dirty games against Subash.

Even though he had explicitly sent a telegram stating he could not attend the session due to his illness and asked for a postponement, the clique had alleged he was acting like a dictator. And yes that man Vallabhai Patel, who had earlier asked him to quit the Congress, over false allegations, once again, played his usual tricks. This time he along with eleven other members had resigned from the Congress Working Comittee,  even though Subash had explicitly instructed Gandhiji to nominate as per his wish. 

As he saw the bitter acrimony playing out in open between the Gandhi and Subash factions, with a heavy heart, Seth Govind Das,  sent a message to Netaji asking him to attend the session. He had no interest from now on, in taking active part in the Congress activities, he had enough of their petty rivalries and inability to look beyond their own selfish egoes.