QUESTIONS PEOPLE ASK

A: We are couple of young Indian professionals who are keen to preserve the legacy of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose. We met over the net and started this website. Recently, Mission Netaji was registered as a non-profit trust in Delhi.

Q: But this site is only about the controversy surrounding Bose's death?

A: That's for a start. As a matter of fact, worries about Netaji's fate brought us together and that is on the top of agenda for the time being. We believe that time has come to settle this case for once and all. Mission Netaji stands for action, not merely dissecting an old controversy.

Q: What is the use of raking up this 1950s and 60s issue?

A: How can passage of time be held out as an excuse to forego truth and justice? Netaji mystery could have been resolved in 1950s and 60s but for people asking, even in those days, "What is the use of reviving Netaji affairs?" It did not occur to them that the man who had brought them freedom could have been languishing in some hideous gulag in Siberia at that time. We think not doing enough to find out the fate of Netaji was a collective sin on the part of the generations which preceded us. Now the onus of redemption is on us. If we fail, posterity will find fault with us, just as we are faulting our forebears.

Q: Mukherjee Commission has already stated that Netaji never died in 1945. What more do you want?!

A: The Commission's report has only confirmed what we have been talking in hushed tones all the while. Mission Netaji also held the same view since inception -- which was much before the report was released. Now we want that the matter must be taken to its logical conclusion. Commission says Netaji flew towards the USSR. What happened next?

Q: But the Government has rejected the Commission report!

A: That too we had anticipated! That was obvious, considering we all know that the who came to power in 1947 were hostile towards Netaji. The Government has junked the report of a former Supreme Court judge in the favour of those penned by a Congressman and a friend of Nehru's. This must be opposed.

Q: I see an anti-establishment tinge here. Are you guys anti-Government?

A: Listen, we are regular people. We adore Dr Manmohan Singh as much as you do. But we strongly oppose the Government's policy towards Netaji, specially their shenanigans over the case of his fate, which is a matter of public importance.

Q: So you are playing politics!

A: Netaji mystery isn't a spiritual matter. It isn't even academic because bulk of academicians and intellectuals lack guts to take up the matter the Government doesn't approve of. Mission Netaji member Anuj Dhar obtained confirmation from Government of Taiwan that the plane crash that had allegedly killed Netaji had never taken place. Now tell us, why couldn't our historians and researchers, with all the expertise and state fundings, do that simple sounding thing? They went on and on, hammering into impressionable minds the official interpretation of events. Why? Because they did not have the drive to get into such a sensitive matter involving names as big as Bose, Nehru, Gandhi.

Our view is clear: The mess was created by politicians and only politicians can help clear it up. We are aiming at things which cannot materalise without reaching out to leaders and opposing the Government publicly. There are perils in the game, but then we are ready to take the risks.

Q: Which political party supports you?

A: As of now, no political party has supported us. If any one does, we will make it public. The two important leaders who have appreciated our dedication towards the resolution of the matter are Dr Murli Manohar Joshi and Shri George Fernandes. We are open to taking support from any one who feels for Netaji.

Q: Why are you promoting Anuj Dhar's book?

A: What's wrong in showcasing a book which is relevant to the case we have taken up? Isn't it better than national media going gaga over a shapely actor who has stripped and gyrated before camera? Why can't some people appreciate a good job done against all odds?

Q: OK, tell me what you are doing and intend to do and towards what aim?

A: Well, to put it simply, we are disseminating informations on Netaji's mystery, which has been much complicated over the years, and lobbying for its resolution. We have no fixation to the past. We are for the way out. We want to collect, from India and outside, the relevant information, make it public so as to put pressure on our Government, which holds the key to the resolution. If Netaji flew towards Russia, records and materials about him must be there. Only Government of India can access them. Hence we are raising demand that the Government must take up the matter with the Russians and others at the highest level.

Q: Government knows many things, but they won't do anything, I tell you.

A: And we tell you to recall the case of the Nanavati Commission report into the 1984 massacre of the Sikhs by hoards of Congress goons. The Commission indicted some Congress leaders and the Manmohan Singh government rejected the report. But after a while, the country rose in opposition, and not only did the Government accept the report, the Prime Minister also apologised to the nation. If people rise and demand something, their government has to yield. If only people had agitated over the Mukherjee Commission report.