Netaji’s family members gear up for declassification of file on January 23

Even as the day for declassification of classified government files on Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose draws near January 23 (Netaji’s birth anniversary), his family members are gearing up for the grand occasion to be held the capital. 

The Prime Minister’s Office has apparently asked about 15 family members and activists to attend the event to be held at the National Archives of India in the capital, says  Bose’s grand nephew and spokesperson Chandra Kumar Bose.

So far it is known that the PMO has handed over 33 Netaji-related files to the Director General of the National Archives. In other words the PM Narendra Modi was serious when he committed to Bose’s family that the declassification would begin on and from January 23, 2016. 

“We do not expect anything dramatic about Bose’s disappearance from this lot though. There are about 70 files under the custody of the IB, those would definitely have details about what happened to Bose post August 1945. So far, there is no conclusive evidence either for the crash or the Russian angle,” Chandra Kumar Bose told Millennium Post.

“Modi’s move to declassify would however be a huge step forward when contrasted with the attitude of the Union Government of the previous 70 years. The Congress shied away from the task of declassification and some files were also destroyed in the 70s,” added Chandra Kumar Bose.

Netaji activists also feel that the Russian intelligence agency, the KGB, will have important files on Bose. Bose was trying to secure Russia’s help in his struggle for freedom against the British in the 1940s. 

However when the last Government Commission (led by Justice Mukherjee) visited Russia in 2005 to gather evidence, he could not gather any conclusive evidence that Bose was in Russia post August 1945.  

However, with the Modi Government requesting Putin for declassification of files on Bose, the outcome may be more positive this time. 

The question on everybody’s mind now is that what to expect on January 23, 2016?