Expert says Handwritings match

B Lal, the expert appointed by HindustanTimes.com to match Bhagwanji’s and Netaji’s handwritings, has concluded that they are of “common authorship”.

Among other things, Lal says:
There is “no evidence to show that the questioned (Bhagwanji’s) writing has been made by a writer other than SCB (Subhas Chandra Bose) by imitating/copying the writings of SCB”.
Bhagwanji tried to hide his identity but failed.
There are “…similarities in general and individual writing habits, …suggesting common authorship of questioned writings and admitted writings of SCB”.

While pointing to the lack of muscular control, sign of old age and slight tremor in some of the writings, Lal also observes “a reproduction of some peculiarities that even decades could not hide”. As examples, he points to the habit, both of Bhagwanji and Netaji, of using insertion marks to introduce words between sentences, over writing on letters and underlining and bracketing passages for emphasis, making strokes more prominent and writing letters in a certain combination.

Indeed, matching the samples was no easy task. Most of Bhagwanji’s handwriting samples were notes left on the margins of pages. Also, most of the writing samples belonged to the ’70s and ’80s, whereas the samples of Netaji’s writing were of pre-1943 years. To complicate matters, Bhagwanji had also written in upper case to disguise his hand.

Lal has 44 years of experience studying and analysing documents, both for the government and for private groups. Before retiring as Additional Director of National Institute of Criminology and Forensic Sciences, he was the Chief Government Examiner in Questioned Documents. (Lal will defend his report, if the Mukherjee Commission so demands.)

Handwriting analysis is admissible evidence in courts nowadays, and is as significant as fingerprint analysis. In fact, Mukherjee Commission visited Faizabad treasury on November 26, 2001, to collect samples for DNA and handwriting tests from Bhagwanji’s belongings preserved there. (The samples may reach the Commission’s Kolkata office in early May.)

By Anuj Dhar

Source: Hindustan Times

“My coming out not in India’s interest”

Bhagwanji had entered India in the 1950′s from Nepal with the help of Mahadeo Prasad Misra, a Sanskrit teacher working in Nepal.

Misra is no more, but many details on Bhagwanji’s early days in India are known to his grandson Rajkumar, 50, who grew up seeing Bhagwanji. These details are now part of the documentation that Mukherjee Commission has on the Netaji case.

The key figure, however, was Rajkumar’s mother Saraswati Devi who died in November 2000, little before she could depose before the Commission. Saraswati Devi served Bhagwanji from 1955, but it was only after his death in 1985, that she conceded Bhagwanji was indeed Netaji.

In 1955-56, Rajkumar and his widowed mother came to live with Misra, who was staying in a rented house at Sringar Nagar in Lucknow with Bhagwanji.

Soon, they moved to Neemsar, a place close to the Indo-Nepal border, where they took shelter in a run-down Shiva temple. It was here in April 1962 that Atul Sen, an associate of Netaji, met and recognised the leader in his disguise.

Sen returned to Kolkata soon after, and reported the matter to Indian National Army (INA) Secret Service agent Dr Pabitra Mohan Roy and historian Dr R C Majumdar.

Dr Pabitra Mohan Roy had on Netaji’s order undertaken a submarine journey from Burma to India to prepare the ground for INA’s assault on Kohima. However, he was caught and sentenced to death. The sentence was later commuted on Gandhiji’s request to the British.

During those days Dr Pabitra had worked closely with Netaji; whatever the circumstances, he could not have mistaken the leader for anyone else. So indeed, when the doctor met Bhagwanji in Neemsar, the former was convinced of the man who stood before him.

Later, in a letter written to Bhagwanji, the doctor acknowledged the leader: “…I wish to say something – your own words – ‘You are my intelligence officer – without fear or favour must… act.’ …I will have to tell you about myself – what exactly do I think of myself – Keeping in mind Ma Kaali, Bharatmata (Mother India) and your feet, with a firm mind… I can tell you that just like in the past, I have the same unflinching faith and unwavering obedience, total dedication and loyalty towards you and…I am determined to always remain so. Give me your blessings.”

In December 1962, Dr Pabitra took into confidence Leela Roy, one of Netaji close friends and ‘didi’ to all revolutionary freedom fighters. Leela Roy acted quickly and by January 1963 had established contact with Bhagwanji.

In March, she along with Dr Pabitra, Shaila Sen (identity unknown) and Samar Guha (Netaji’s follower who is 82) called on Bhagwanji, a meeting where Srikant Sharma , 93, was also present. Sharma was one of Bhawanji trusted men and he recalls Bhagwanji’s reluctance to meet Leela Roy. Bhagwanji sent word through Sharma: “My coming out is neither in the country’s interest nor in my interest.”

Later, Bhagwanji did meet Leela Roy, which a man close to her confirms on the conditions of anonymity.

Leela Roy remained a great source of help to him until her death in 1970. However, before she died, Leela Roy wrote to Netaji’s dearest friend Dilip Roy on September 7, 1963 (on Bhagwanji’s order): “I wanted to tell you something about your friend… he is alive – in India.”

Some More Important Links:
Bhagwanji’s secret letter to one of his followers
Medical advice sent to Bhagwanji
Bhagwanji’s homage to Leela Roy

By Anuj Dhar

Source: Hindustan Times

Oath of secrecy bound Netaji-Bhagwanji men

A key to the Netaji-Bhagwanji mystery lies in understanding the customary oath of secrecy.

It may explain why Col Habibur Rehman, the only Indian witness to the plane crash, continued to insist until his death in Pakistan in 1980s that Subhas Bose had died in the plane crash. It may also explain why many of those who were in touch with Bhagwanji never identified him as Bose, even in the face of strong evidence.

Netaji lived at a time of intrigue and betrayal. He was secretive by nature and over the years he became so cautious that he never fully confided in any single person. He revealed only a part of his plan to one person and often administered an oath of secrecy to people who knew something vital about him.

A case in point is his escape from Kolkata in 1941. Netaji’s niece Sheila Sen Gupta and her younger brother Pradip Bose have some interesting insight into the incident.

Many Bose family members, apart from Sisir Bose, knew about his decision to escape, but Subhas knew if he escaped and all of them pretended they knew nothing about it, some of them would be arrested and tortured to find out the truth.

Sheila Sen Gupta says that her uncle also had the ability to figure out who could withstand torture. He chose her elder brother Aurobindo to provide an alibi to keep others out of harm’s way.

So, knowing well that Subhas had left Kolkata on January 17, 1941, Aurobindo told the police that he had seen Netaji on January 25. As anticipated, the police arrested Aurobindo and tortured him. Earlier, Sheila Sen says, Netaji had briefed Aurobindo on 200 types of tortures used by the British.

Aurobindo never wrote about this incident, despite repeated requests from friends and relatives till he died in 1988, i.e. 47 years after the event, as he was bound by the oath of secrecy.

Shiela Sen Gupta say there was no way Habib Bhai would have revealed anything to even his closest family members.

Much in the same manner, Bhagwanji met so many people and yet he ensured that secrecy was maintained. Dr P Banerjee, Durga Prasad Pandey, Krishna Kant, Dilip Kumar Mukherjee all remained tight lipped until the man was consigned to flames in 1985. There are still many, including Dr R P Mishra, who refuse to say anything even now.

A clearer picture emerges from the testimony of Netaji associate and revolutionary Sunil Das, who also assisted Bhagwanji. Sunil Das told the Khosla Commission that he believed that Netaji was alive but refused to answer why the leader was still in hiding. “I have no competence to answer that”.

He admitted both Leela Roy, Netaji’s close friend and Bhagwanji’s follower, and Sarat Bose, Netaji’s elder brother, believed Netaji was alive after 1945.

Sunil Das said he was ‘trained in crucibles of secret revolutionary politics’ and unless he was specifically told, he was bound to keep things to himself.

Appearing before Khosla Commission, Netaji’s nephew Dwijendranath Bose also said his uncle did not die in 1945. A typed copy of Dwijendra Nath Bose’s statement was found at Rambhawan in 1986.

By Anuj Dhar

source: Hindustan Times

The Man And His Destiny: Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose

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