History headline: What it takes for the INA cap to fit

The Prime Minister must be commended for performing his duty of honouring the heroism and sacrifice of Netaji and the INA (Indian National Army).

On December 30, 2018, thousands of mobile flashlights lit up to honour Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose at the spot where he had hoisted the Indian Tricolour in Andaman 75 years ago. Prime Minister Narendra Modi led the enthusiastic crowd in full-throated chants of “Netaji Zindabad”. “When it comes to heroes of the freedom struggle,” he said, “we take the name of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose with pride.”

The Prime Minister must be commended for performing his duty of honouring the heroism and sacrifice of Netaji and the INA (Indian National Army). Yet donning the cap of the Azad Hind Fauj carries with it the responsibility of upholding the ideals and values held dear by India’s army of liberation.

Netaji’s visit to Andaman was the culmination of an extraordinary year of superhuman effort. My father Sisir Kumar Bose’s 1943 diary opens with this entry: “23 Jan. Sat. ’43: Rangakakababu’s birthday. What an auspicious day for our people! A sacred day for all of us. Forty-six years — lived as life should be lived.”

Sisir was not alone in feeling immense pride in Netaji’s achievements. But the most glorious phase in his uncle’s life was yet to begin.