Netaji's Crusaders

Over the years there had been considerable speculation surrounding Netaji’s death. Since my grandmother is Netaji’s niece I had been exposed to such endless discussions from an impressionable age. With every conversation on Netaji, my respect for him grew considerably and my respect for Nehru came down a notch or two. It was easy to idolize the man and even doubt Mahatma’s intention to set us free.

Luckily for me wisdom prevailed and my mind refused to accept anything unless backed by hard evidence. The Mukherjee Commission report has been the right vehicle to uncover the truth and provide some answers to endless speculations. If you wish to know about it, you may read it here at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mukherjee_Commission

The follow-up to this report has been particularly interesting. The government rejected the Mukherjee Commission report without showing any reason. Even the dumbest person I know will smell a rat here. And I have evidence here (who knows me better than I myself). A local news agency took up the role of supreme crusader to uncover the truth. The self proclaimed crusader attracted all other crusaders who were suddenly overwhelmed with the media frenzy that followed.

As children we are taught by parents, teachers and everyone else who cares for us to consider truth as a virtue. We are also taught to love and respect every other human being as no one is completely right or wrong. Having said that, it hurts me to see members of the Bose family settling old scores and personal grudges in their search for truth. Dignified members of the family have been maligned in public. The local news agency lapped up all this with derogatory narrations in the background while their puppet crusaders basked in media glory. Sisir Bose and his family have been projected as liars and schemers by the rest of the family. Sisir Bose is no more, and he would not come back from the heavens to defend himself. Of what I saw of him he had been a perfect gentleman and a great doctor. It hurts when a self proclaimed crusader maligns him and takes the help of other self proclaimed crusaders who are out to settle personal scores.

Of what I have seen of the news program I have not learned anything in addition to what has already been claimed in the Mukherjee Commission report. I am all for truth, but against forces that do not care for basic human values.