Netaji by Dr. Shishir Kumar Basu & Birendra Nath Singh [Hardcover]

For nearly three and a half decades since Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose disappeared from the world scene the people of India have yearned for his re-emergence. He has been to his people the leader of hope in an age of disillusionment, the like of whom has not been found in the annals of India's long struggle for freedom. It is for historians, political scientists and sociologists to find the answer to the mass psychological phenomenon, that would not let a leader pass and let all manner of legends and myths grow around him. In a situation such as this, a volume like this is of value beyond measure. If a book, by its very nature and form, could bring Netaji and his mission back to life and to reality, it is this. Netaji Research Bureau, Ananda Bazar Patrika Ltd., the editors and the artists have worked ceaselessly for full three years to make this publication possible. Behind all that lies the silent and painstaking endeavour of nearly a quarter of century of collecting material on Subhas Chandra Bose from all possible sources and from all over the world. This book, therefore, is the product of continuous effort of almost a lifetime. A fascinating array of nearly one thousand pictures supported by contemporary documentary material tell the story of India's greatest revolutionary since 1857 and the only soldier-statesman of world class born in this subcontinent in contemporary times. The viewer and reader of this volume have the rare opportunity to study at close quarters and in all stages of his life the man who stands out in all distinctiveness in modern Indian history. This is no mere album. It is a saga in pictures of a totally dedicated life of matchless personal charm, of courage, heroism and sacrificial patriotism, of a kind of leadership and statesmanship that India has not seen either during her freedom struggle or in the three decades after independence. Legends are short and direct. There is a narrative running through the book, in relatively more detail at important turning points in Netaji's life, to give the reader a good understanding of Netaji's total personality, his political philosophy, his world-view and the image of India he set out to build. Altogether, this is a unique and outstanding addition to literature on Netaji and the story of the Indian Liberation movement in that particular aspect which has either been suppressed or overlooked.