Acknowledgment and Dedication
The site is dedicated to author Shailesh De, whose magnum opus, "Ami Subhas Bolchi" still inspires many Subhas lovers.
Also dedicated to the countless Netaji Subhas devotees across the world, whether they believe in the aircrash theory or not, and irrespective of whether they believe that he is living or dead. Our genuine love and remembrance keeps him alive and our hope and faith in him ensures his immortality.
The book is dedicated to all those sung and unsung heroes of freedom who sacrificed their lives and property at the altar of the motherland which many of them had never seen - the Indians of East and South East Asia who responded to the clarion call of "Give me blood, I will give you freedom" and "Total Mobilization." The book remembers those heroes of INA who laid down their lives as a supreme sacrifice to free their country from foreign oppression and those who lived in penury in an independent India for their great mistake of loving their country and siding with the real hero of Indian independence.
We are indebted to Sri Bijoy Nag of Jayasree Publications, son of honourable and esteemed Freedom Fighter and Leader Leela Roy, who most graciously has permitted to use photographs from Jayasree Facebook site 'Jayasree' the Voice of Netaji Since 1931'.
Some quotations are taken from the book "Oi Mahamanab Ase" by Charanik, published by Jayasree publications. We humbly acknowledge that several translations and interpretations from the original Bengali text may not be perfect. Also, historical references are largely taken from Dr. R.C Majumdar's "History of Freedom Movement in India, Volume 3," as that is perceived to be the most unbiased account of our Freedom Movement.
The book lists all the books and publications in the Books and Resources section that were directly or indirectly referred to while developing the contents, and in most places, it has acknowledged the sources from where the comments were adopted verbatim.
There are many controversies surrounding Netaji, and they have been listed out in the Controversies and Legacies section under the Metamorphosis chapter - viz. related to his marriage, disappearance, reappearance or death, lost INA treasures, and his disputed legacy. The book stays neutral in these matters as far as possible and tries to refer the reader to the many experts and Netaji researchers who are working in these fields. The book does not intend to promote any of the works, but it is up to the reader to explore them and decide on her own. After all, information related to Netaji should be available for everybody, and people should be able to discriminate between what is right and what is wrong based on their own intelligence. In this respect, the book acknowledges the contributions of several researchers who have tirelessly worked to solve the controversies associated with Netaji's "disappearance," foremost among them being Prof. Samar Guha, who wanted Netaji to get his due honour from the Government, and Netaji's brother Suresh Chandra Bose, who penned the Dissentient Report for Shah Nawaz Committee. There were and are many other Netaji followers who worked tirelessly to ensure that the Netaji issue remained visible to the people and carried out their fights in the form of Public Interest Litigation (PIL), filing Right to Information on matters related to Netaji, deposing before the commissions with information, unearthing new information about the possible life after the death of Subhas Bose, holding conferences and writing books to broadcast their findings to the public, and all other such activities to keep the spirit of Netaji alive, purely out of love and admiration for the great leader. The book is indebted heavily to the book History of Freedom Movement of India in three volumes by Dr. R.C Majumdar.
Objective
The book is not intended to be another biography of Netaji. There are far too many books on the subject. It is aimed at establishing a platform for providing information on Netaji for the reference of future generations. Also, the book is meant for those who want to know more about Subhas Chandra Bose and not for the Netaji experts. Experts can always contribute with new information and content to enrich the site, www.netajisubhasbose.org, which is the primary source for this book. This book is not about Netaji research. It merely provides the outcome of the research from various sources.
Indian history has been deliberately distorted and maligned by a section of the dominant historians who unfortunately have shown disrespect to their profession by aligning more with their inherent biases and ideologies than with the facts. Social media has played a revolutionary role in ensuring the sunset of the mainstream media. I believe that in a similar way social history will play a major role in highlighting truth to all. The information must be debated, discussed, and analyzed for veracity but never hidden from the public. This much we owe to our future generations. This work will not be an everlasting one. It is temporary and transitory. But if it helps in inspiring even one soul, the work will be fruitful.
The other objective is already highlighted, to make all pertinent information about Netaji, including the controversies, available in the public domain and not to take sides. Let the Truth come out. Let it be self-revealing and enlightening. No force in this world is capable of suppressing the truth for long. It has an uncanny way of finding its path out.
Disclaimer
The Controversies constitute the opinions and the findings of the researchers and the authors of the books that have been referenced on the said topics. The site occasionally provides opinion on all such findings but mainly puts all the facts at the doorstep of the discerning readers.