Netaji's fight against British overlooked in history : family

A family member of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose today rued that a large part of the nationalist leader's fight against the British is being overlooked in the present Indian history.
The provisional government of Azad Hind was the first free government of India which was also recognised by nine countries from the Axis powers, said Chandra Bose, a family member, at a function here to commemorate its 70th foundation day.
"We are using this occasion to spread awareness on India's history in which a large part of Netaji's fight against the British is being overlooked," he said.
It was on this day in 1943 that Netaji had announced the formation of provisional Azad Hind government in Singapore. He had escaped from India in 1941 when under house arrest by the Britishers to seek international support for India's freedom struggle.

The provisional government had its own currency and ministries. The Indian National Army (INA) led by him declared war against the British and had also hoisted the Indian flag in Manipur's Moirang in 1944, Bose said.
Floral tributes were paid at Netaji's statue on Red Road in the city and a non-political rally was taken out by 'Open platform for Netaji Subas Chandra Bose' to the nearby Indian National Army memorial. The rally was participated by hundreds of supporters of the nationalist leader besides his family members.

A website was launched on Netaji by a group of his followers in Japan, the Bose family said.

"A key aim of this website, which would be in Japanese language, would be to campaign for the release of official records and files on Netaji, particularly those dealing with his disappearance in 1945," they said.
Demanding declassification of secret files held by the Indian government, they rejected that Netaji had died in a plane crash in Japan.
Researcher Anuj Dhar released his new book 'No Secrets' on the disappearance of Netaji.