Rash Behari Bose
Rash Behari Bose (/rɑːʃ bihɑːri ˈboʊs/ ⓘ; 25 May 1886 – 21 January 1945) was an Indian revolutionary leader who fought against the British Empire. He was one of the key organisers of the Ghadar Mutiny and founded the Indian Independence League. Bose also led the Indian National Army (INA) which was formed in 1942 under Mohan Singh.[4]
Not to be confused with Rash Behari Ghosh.
Rash Behari Bose
(present-day Village Subaldaha, Block-Raina 2, District-Purba Bardhaman West Bengal, India)
Indian
British Indian (1886–1915)
Stateless (1915–1923)
Japan (1923–1945; his death)
Toshiko Bose (1916–1924; her death)[3]
2[3]
Aizō Sōma (father-in-law)
Kokkō Sōma (mother-in-law)
He was behind the Delhi-Lahore Conspiracy to assassinate the Viceroy of India, Lord Hardinge, in 1912.[5] After the failed assassination attempt, Bose fled to Imperial Japan.[5] He sided with Imperial Japan against Britain in World War II.[5]
Birth and ancestry[edit]
Rash Behari Bose was born in Subaldaha village of Purba Bardhaman district, now in West Bengal, India, on 25 May 1886.[6] Bose grew up during the severe pandemics and famines of the British Raj. It fuelled his dislike for British rule.[1][2] His father's name was Binod Behari Bose and mother was Bhubaneswari Devi. Tinkori Dasi was Rashbehari Bose's foster mother.
Early life[edit]
Bose and his sister, Sushila, spent their childhood in Subaldaha. They lived with their father and also in the house of Bidhu Mukhi, the widowed sister-in-law of their grandfather, Kalicharan Bose. His early education was completed under the supervision of Kalicharan in the village of Pathsala at what is presently Subaldaha Rashbehari Bose F.P School.
Bose was drawn towards the revolutionary movement on hearing stories from his grandfather and teacher (Bakkeswar) at Subaldaha. He was the cynosure of all villagers and was known for his stubborn attitude. His nickname was Rasu. It is heard from villagers that he was at Subaldaha till he was 12 or 14 years old.
His father, Binod Behari Bose, was stationed in Hooghly district for few years. During this time, Bose had to move to his maternal house in Chandernagar. There Bose studied at Dupleix College with his cousin and friend Shrish Chandra Ghosh. The principal, Charu Chandra Roy, inspired them into revolutionary politics. Later, he joined Morton School in Calcutta. He subsequently earned degrees in medical sciences and engineering.
Indian National Army[edit]
Bose had reached Japan under the alias of Priyanath Thakur, a relative of Rabindranath Thakur, an Indian poet.[3] There, Bose found shelter with various Pan-Asian groups. From 1915 to 1918, he changed residences and identities numerous times, as the British kept pressing the Japanese government for his extradition. He married the daughter of Aizō Sōma and Kokkō Sōma, the owners of Nakamuraya bakery in Tokyo and noted Pan-Asian supporters in 1918, and became a Japanese citizen in 1923, living as a journalist and writer. It is also significant that he was instrumental in introducing Indian-style curry in Japan. Though more expensive than the usual "British-style" curry, it became quite popular, with Rash Bihari becoming known as "Bose of Nakamuraya".
Bose, along with A. M. Nair, was instrumental in persuading the Japanese authorities to stand by the Indian revolutionaries, whom Japan ultimately to officially supported. He convened a conference in Tokyo on 28–30 March 1942, which decided to establish the Indian Independence League. There he also moved a motion to raise an army for Indian independence. He convened the second conference of the League at Bangkok on 22 June 1942, at which a resolution was adopted to invite Subhas Chandra Bose to join the League and take command as its president.
The Indian prisoners of war captured by the Japanese in the Malaya and Burma fronts were encouraged to join the Indian Independence League and become the soldiers of the Indian National Army (INA), formed on 1 September 1942 as the military wing of Rash Behari Bose's Indian National League. He selected the flag for the Azad Hind movement and handed over the flag and the power to Subhas Chandra Bose but his organizational structure remained which was built on the organizational spadework of Rash Behari Bose. Rash Behari Bose built the Indian National Army (also called 'Azad Hind Fauj'). Prior to his death caused by tuberculosis, the Japanese Government honoured him with the Order of the Rising Sun (2nd grade).
A dinner party given to Bose in his honour by his close Japanese friends, including Mitsuru Tōyama, a right-wing nationalist and Pan-Asianism leader (centre, behind the table), and Tsuyoshi Inukai, future Japanese prime minister (to the right of Tōyama). Behind Tōyama is Bose. 1915.
Bose and his Japanese supporters in 1916
Bose with wife c. 1918
Bose met Toshiko Soma when he was hiding at her house in Shinjuku City. She was the daughter of Aizō Sōma and Kokkō Sōma, the owners of Nakamuraya bakery (ja:中村屋) in Tokyo and noted Pan-Asian supporters in 1918. At that time, Bose was a fugitive with the British searching for him. Their initial contact was during those intense moments of hiding though without any interactions. In 1916, when Bose was a fugitive no more, he invited the Soma family to his house as a gesture of gratitude. That was the first instance of their interaction in a social context.[3]
However, Bose stuck out like a sore thumb in Japan. People would consider them with suspicion. Mitsuru Toyama, as a solution proposed to the Soma's a marriage between Toshiko and Rashbehari. He thought that marriage with a Japanese citizen would make it easy for Bose to apply for citizenship. Despite their initial reservations, the Somas agreed to the match. When asked, Toshiko took three weeks to give her consent.[3]
They had a happy marriage lasting eight years. Bose taught Toshiko Bengali and how to wear a sari. Bose got Japanese citizenship in 1923. Toshiko's health declined soon after and it claimed her life in 1924. After her death, he never remarried. They were buried together after Bose's death.[9]
They had two children together. Masahide Bose (Bharatchandra) was born in 1920. He died in World War II aged 24. Their daughter Tetsuko was born in 1922.[3]
Media related to Rash Behari Bose at Wikimedia Commons