Tag: Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose

  • Political squabbles erupt between BJP and TMC over decision to install Netaji statue at India Gate

    Express News Service

    NEW DELHI: Political squabbles have erupted between the BJP and West Bengal’s ruling TMC over the installation of a statue of Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose at the IndiaGate in New Delhi.  

    A day after welcoming the Centre’s decision to install the statue of Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose beneath a canopy at India Gate, TMC chief Mamata Banerjee on Sunday asked the central government to declare national holiday on Netaji’s birthday.

    “We again appeal to the Central government that Netaji’s birthday be declared a National Holiday to allow the entire nation to pay homage to the National leader and celebrate #DeshNayakDibas in most befitting manner”, she tweeted, adding that a national university – the Jai Hind University, was planned to be opened in West Bengal by the state government in honour of Netaji.

    Slamming the BJP–led government in the Centre, Mamata said the decision to install the Netaji’s statue was taken under the TMC’s pressure.

    “Those dividing the nation should read Netaji”, she said a day after her party termed the centre’s decision aimed at diverting the people’s protest erupted against the rejection of West Bengal’s tableau on Netaji for the Republic Day parade.

    “The real tribute would have been the Centre taking steps to unravel the mystery shrouding Netaji’s disappearance”, the TMC said on Saturday.

    Amid all this, the workers of TMC and the BJP also reportedly clashed in Kolkata when BJP’s Arjun Singh went to pay homage and garland the bust of Netaji.

    TMC’s Sunday attack came on a day when Prime Minister Narendra Modi installed a hologram statue of Netaji at India Gate till a statue of granite is installed beneath a canopy.

    In a way to counter the Centre’s decision to install the Netaji statue, Mamata has announced to set up a separate Bengal Planning Commission drawing inspiration from Netaji’s concept on National Planning Commission.

    Slamming Mamata’s offensive, BJP’s national spokesperson Gaurav Bhatia asked the TMC supremo not to play politics with the decision to install the state of Netaji. “Netaji belongs to everyone, not just to Mamata Banerjee, so she should not speak in the language of politics”, he said. BJP MP Dilip Ghosh also talking to media said that the BJP-led centre government has bestowed honour by taking a decision to install a statue of Netaji at India Gate. He said that the Central government’s gesture expresses immense love for the brave soul of our country and the TMC should not play politics with such decision

  • Cong govts underplayed Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose’s contribution, legacy, says Jitendra Singh

    By PTI

    NEW DELHI: Union Minister Jitendra Singh Friday accused past Congress governments of underplaying Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose’s contribution and legacy for political and dynastic considerations.

    He was speaking after inaugurating a digital exhibition on the life and contribution of Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose at the North Block here.

    The minister said the event was an occasion to seek to restore the deserved glory of unsung heroes and undo the injustice done to them by history for whatever reason.

    Singh said the nation owes it to Prime Minister Narendra Modi for reviving and reminding people of the contribution of unsung heroes and freedom fighters including Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose, Baba Saheb Ambedakar, Syama Prasad Mookerjee and Sardar Patel.

    He said their sacrifices and achievements were always “downplayed” by successive Congress governments for political and dynastic considerations.

    He also mentioned the call given by Modi from the ramparts of red fort on Independence Day when he had reminded people of the significance of the 75th year of independence, describing it as “Amrit Mahotsav”, and also advised them to prepare the roadmap for the next 25 years when Independent India turns 100.

    Singh, the Minister of State for Personnel, said the next 25 years of journey of ‘Sankalp se Siddhi’ will definitely establish India as a Vishwaguru and, therefore, there is need for the young generation to take a pledge to rededicate themselves in the service of the nation, an official statement said.

    The minister reiterated that the celebrations which will continue till 15 August, 2023 will have five pillars — freedom struggle, ideas at 75, achievements at 75, actions at 75 and resolves at 75.

    The minister informed that the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) will organise exhibitions on different themes every year, it said.

    Secretary, DoPT P K Tripathy, Additional Secretary Rashmi Chowdhary and senior officials took part in the exhibition.

  • ‘This was all China’s and Pakistan’s plan’: Talking Afghanistan with Kolkata’s Kabuliwalas

    Online Desk

    KOLKATA: The deepest cut to peace and stability in our neighbourhood in recent times ended up being inflicted on India’s independence day. On August 15, 2021, Afghan President Ashraf Ghani fled his country, making way for the Taliban to take over the Presidential Palace in Kabul. 

    The tremors of the downfall of Afghanistan’s experiment in democracy were felt around the world, especially by non-resident Afghans. The diaspora erupted in protest in various countries. More than 2,000 kms away from Kabul, in the city of Kolkata, many Afghans gave up food and water after Ghani’s departure from Kabul. 

    “Many in the Afghan community considered Ashraf Ghani a beacon of hope. They cried when he left. Many stopped eating too,” said Yasmin Nigar Khan, the President of the All India Pakhtoon Jirga-e-Hind. “Ghani has not tendered his resignation yet, which means constitutionally, the democracy is still upheld by the Vice President and has not been surrendered to the Taliban,” she went on to insist.

    Yasmin is the granddaughter of Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan, also called ‘Badshah Khan’ and famously known as ‘Frontier Gandhi’, a devout ally of Mahatma Gandhi who led a non-violent movement for the rights of the Pashtuns in the then North-West Frontier Province. 

    Letters sent by ‘Frontier Gandhi’ Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan from Afghanistan’s Jalalabad to Khan Lala Jan Khan in the 1970s. (Photo | Moyurie Som)

    According to Yasmin, her father Khan Lala Jaan Khan was adopted by Abdul Ghaffar Khan and made the torchbearer of the dream of Pakhtoon independence. All India Pakhtoon Jirga-e-Hind was born in 1983. Based out of Kolkata, it is the continuation of Abdul Ghaffar Khan’s Pakhtoon dream and offers a stage for Afghan expatriates and visitors to unite and support each other as a community.

    “My father used to take me along to his meetings and conferences since I was a child. He told everyone, ‘She will lead the organisation when I am gone’. So, here I am,” Yasmin said. 

    Defying what she called the orthodox ‘Talibani mindset’, she became the president of the All India Pakhtoon Jirga-e-Hind when she was just 25 years old. “Sixty per cent of our community were opposed to having a woman as a leader. But they were won over when the then Home Minister Indrajit Gupta agreed to meet me within one or two days of my assuming office and promised me his full support for the Pathans in India,” Yasmin remembered fondly. 

    Her one and only trip as a teenager to Kabul in 1986 is still fresh in her mind. “Women would wear jeans and skirts, and go to schools and colleges. Many wore headscarves, many didn’t,” she recalled. 

    These might prove to be acts of extreme defiance in a Taliban-controlled Afghanistan now. But Yasmin seeks to impart courage. “To the women in Afghanistan right now, I’d say, don’t be scared. You’re not alone, women all over the world are here to support you.” 

    What about the bonds that tie Kabul with Kolkata? According to both Yasmin, as well as Amir Khan, who leads the pan-Indian Pakhtoon organisation named ‘Khudai Khidmatgar’, many Afghans travel to India, particularly to Kolkata, primarily to access its affordable healthcare facilities.

    “The wars in Afghanistan have left the Afghans with no proper healthcare system that they can fully rely on. Kolkata promises them not just healthcare but also a community they can connect with,” Amir said. 

    His work in Khudai Khidmatgar connects him with many Afghan travellers who come to Kolkata and they have remained in touch with him even after returning to Afghanistan.

    Danish Khan, Yasmin’s younger brother and the secretary of The All-India Pakhtoon Jirga-e-Hind, recalled a famous incident to emphasise the acceptance Pathans have in the City of Joy. “When Netaji famously escaped from his house arrest, he took on the guise of a Pathan. He went to Germany through Afghanistan, and the Afghans supported him in his journey.”

    Danish Khan (L), secretary, and his older sister Yasmin Nigar Khan (R), president of the All Indian Pakhtoon Jirga-e-Hind outside their Karim Nagar Lane office in Kolkata. (Photo | Moyurie Som)

    The Afghan expatriates in Kolkata are popularly known as ‘Kabuliwalas’, meaning ‘those from Kabul’. The term gained heightened prominence after the eponymous novel by Rabindranath Tagore and its famous feature film adaptation. The Pathan protagonist in Tagore’s imagination was a dry-fruit seller who developed a fatherly affection for Mini, a child in a middle-class Bengali household. Another Bengali author and journalist, Syed Mujtaba Ali, also popularised Afghanistan in Bengali culture with his vivid, and often humorous travelogues from his teaching assignment at Kabul.

    Although ‘Kabuliwalas’ are popularly known to be moneylenders, according to Amir, the Pathans in Kolkata are currently engaged in a variety of professions like selling clothes and dry fruits. Born and raised in the city, Amir himself runs a car dealership for used and refurbished cars.

    Ruzi Khan, one of the many Pashtuns who attended Yasmin’s conference on August 19, Afghan Independence Day, is a garment seller in Kolkata’s Bowbazar. “We (the Afghan expatriates) have been in India for a long time now, and we are very very happy with our lives here. Our friendship with India is not new. But when it comes to our people back in Afghanistan, whose lives are in danger, we hope India will take care of them the way they took care of us,” he said, teary-eyed.

    The conference — a passionate, emotion-laden affair — saw members speak fondly of the Afghanistan they call ‘home’.

    Members of the All India Pakhtoon Jirga-e-Hind pose with the Afghan flag during the conference on the occasion of the Afghan Independence Day on August 19, 2021, in Kolkata. (Photo | Moyurie Som)

    “We don’t want them (the Taliban), we don’t accept them and we don’t work for them. The new Islam is not our Islam,” said Hashem Khan, on the verge of tears. “China betrayed us, Pakistan betrayed us, Iran betrayed us. America, who was our friend for twenty years, betrayed us… This was all China’s and Pakistan’s plan.”

    The gathering ended with the Afghan national anthem and slogans denouncing Pakistan and Taliban and supporting India.