'Netaji succeeded in uniting religious communities'

KOLKATA: Harvard University Professor and nephew of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose, Sugato Bose said on Tuesday that it was Netaji who had best succeeded in genuinely uniting Hindus, Muslims and Christians in the Indian freedom struggle.

"Perhaps towards the close of freedom struggle, there was a bit too much emphasis by Jawaharlal Nehru on secular uniformity.

Mahatma Gandhi was much more open to acknowledging religious diversity. Netaji, however, never asked Hindu, Muslim, Sikh or any other community who joined his Azad Hind Fauj to give up their religious beliefs. He was respectful to these differences and was able to transcend them to a larger force,"

Bose said, speaking at the Netaji Institute for Asian Studies at Woodburn Park on Tuesday afternoon.

He added that Tagore also expressed similar views as that of Gandhiji and Netaji,

which has been revealed through his book 'Bharatbarsha'.

He felt that this message of religious unity amidst diversity is one of the most salient aspects of Netaji's contribution to the freedom struggle movement in the country.

He urged Netaji Institute for Asian Studies to work towards exploring ways and means on how best can Bengal and India link with rest of Asia in nationalism.

Professor Salil Mishra, who has a Phd in History from Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) delivered the Annual Netaji lecture on 'Contending Nationalism in India' at the institute.

Netaji's ancestral house popularly known as Netaji Bhavan on Elgin Road also hosted a programme in the

morning that was attended by Governor Keshari Nath Tripathi.