There is an unending debate in Indian politics about the opinions which Subhas Chandra Bose had of Mahatma Gandhi and Jawaharlal Nehru. Political commentators and scholars claim that Subhas did not admire Gandhi and Nehru because for him they were too passive. The same, according to the scholars, was true for Nehru and Gandhi’s feelings towards Bose.
Medical Guidelines to INA soldiers for Guerilla Warfare by Lt. Col. R. M. Kasliwal
Very few people are aware that Azad Hind Fauj, or Indian National Army (INA), was a military force of Arzi Hukumat-i-Azad Hind, or the Provisional Government of Free India. This government, headed by Subhas, had a central bank, like we have the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) now, which printed its own currency notes. The bank had recognition from several countries, mostly allies of Japan and Germany.
Like we now have pictures of Mahatma Gandhi on our currencies, these banknotes had pictures of Subhas Chandra Bose, Mahatma Gandhi, Jawaharlal Nehru, and Lakshmi Sehgal.
An interesting aspect of these currencies was that they did not promise to pay in Rupees but ‘Good Wishes’. We can say that Bose wanted to call his currency ‘Good Wish’.
These currency notes were issued by Azad Hind National Bank. The bank was established on 5 April 1944 by Subhas Chandra Bose when Abdul Ghani, a wealthy Indian businessman in Burma, single-headed donated money to establish the bank. S. A. Ayer was given the responsibility of chairman.
No, Ittehad was not in the motto of Azad Hind Fauj of Netaji
The notes refute several misconceptions:
- Subhas Chandra Bose had dictatorial tendencies and he modeled himself on Hitler. If this was the case, he would not have given space to Gandhi, Nehru (who was his peer) or most importantly Lakshmi Sehgal, a woman officer who took orders from him.
- Subhas Chandra Bose disliked Mahatma Gandhi and Jawaharlal Nehru, and did not consider them national leaders. These currencies show that Bose respected them as national leaders.
