NETAJI: India’s Independence and British Archives

by Kalyan Kumar De

This book is a seminal work of historical research by Dr. Kalyan De and is based on authentic documents from the British archives, declassified in 1971. These documents are in the form of carefully selected letters, reports and minutes exchanged between the main protagonists of the British Raj in India – the Viceroy Field Marshal Viscount Wavell, the Commander-in-Chief of the British Indian Army General Sir Claude Auchinleck and other functionaries, such as the Governors of various states and the Intelligence Department on the one hand and Secretary of State for India, Lord Pethick Lawrence and other functionaries of the British administration in London on the other, leading to their ultimate decision to leave India as early as possible.

137 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2018

Reviews

[Ishan Agrawal · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amongst a sea of so many regular tales of love stories this year and a few thrillers, I was searching for something serious, something which we all have grown up reading and knowing but due to highly biased viewpoints of creators of our Indian curriculum, what we get was unjust glorification of Mughals in history and tends to forget the true freedom fighters like Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose whose contribution has been unparalleled and a notch above his counterparts. And I knew only a truly patriotic publishing house like @garudabooks can bring such masterpieces on table.

The book is an eye opening and inspirational account of Netaji not only as a nationalistic individual but also exhumes his ideologies in real sense. Most of us know about the rift between Netaji And M.K.Gandhi but let me clarify ,this book nowhere tries to compare the two. Infact, it portrays the inherent loopholes of Quit India Movement, Civil Disobedience Movement, Non Cooperation Movement to name a few and it does it without sounding partial and portrays a just view with facts, evidences and logic.

Before reading his stellar account, I was unaware of the countless sacrifices he made while building INA and so much vociferous criticism that he had to bear. Also how his meeting with Hitler was blown out of proportion and how the so called national heroes of our country played a huge rule in hatching conspiracy to belittle him and in all probability killed him.

I would like to congratulate and a heartfelt thanks to the author of this book who is no more in this world but may be in a better place sharing space with Netaji whom he has immortalised once again.

[Harsh Agrawal · Rating 5 out of 5]

Netaji: India's Independence and British Archives
Author : Dr. Kalyan Kumar De
Genre : Political History
Published by : @garudabooks

Did you ever find yourself in a debate where you remember something but just can't figure out the source? Happens with me all the time , Especially when debating about Political History . Now i dont have to worry if i find myself debating about Subash Chandra Bose Ji. This book will be helpful.

This book is about the archives and interviews of various individuals such as the M.K. Gandhi , the British officials etc. This book tells about the impact the INA had on the end of colonisation in our country and how less of an impact the " Quit India Movement " had.
This book does not show anyone (well , except for the Britishers ) in a negetive way , nor does it compare individuals such as M.K. Gandhi to Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose. For that there have been several books written , this is not one of them .

The book , in places , should have given required context for people to more easily understand what is going on. For example maybe an Index could have been provided to explain in brief what was the August Revolution and many such terms. But if you have paid attention in Class 10 History lessons , you should not have any problems at all.

I highly reccomended this book to every one irrespective of your political ideology.

[Suyog Ketkar · Rating 5 out of 5]

Some parts, if not all, silently yell at us with facts that point to the dirty politics that the British government officials played to defame the INA. I’d recommend this book for such purposes.

[Chaitra · Rating 5 out of 5]

'Netaji: India's Independence and British Archives' penned by Kalyan Kumar De is this book that gives you a clear cut walk into the reality as to what exactly led to our independence; of course, it was Azad Hind Fauj led by its Supreme Commander Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose. We have been told many a lies regarding our own independence and although we are almost nearing 100 years of attainment of our freedom from the British Raj it's saddening how most of us barely know the real truth. This book consists series of top secret confidential letters exchanged between Commander in Chiefs, Field Marshals, Governers and many other British authorities. It is interesting to know how the Azad Hind Fauj although still at the borders penetrated the heart of the British Government. The letters revolve around the trials of three INA soldiers which were greatly opposed by the Indians all across the country. All the while I was reading this book I had a hint of a smirk learning how Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose could strike at the core of the British Raj strengthening the solidarity and hyper nationalism among Indians. In a way, Indian National Army became such a pain in the arse to the British that Netaji and his INA made sure the Brits didn't have a chance to make any counter moves. In addition to that, there was a sense of nationalist awakening amongst the Indian soldiers in the Indian defense system loyal to the British Raj such that the officials themselves could predict an uproar of mutiny by the Indian Nationalists. The letters also talk about how other factors were weakening the British power in India fuelled by the trials of INA commanders, Shah Nawaz, Gurbaksh Singh Dallon and Prem Sehgal. Indians' flooding admiration to the three, the nationalistic spirit inspired by the Azad Hind Fauj, the fear of recurrence of mutiny and uprisal by the Indians under the British Raj terrored and had bound the government such that they were left with no other option but to let India decide her future.
This was such an interesting read that it made me feel like I'm reading a secret book. However, there were many a times where I failed to understand and digest certain facts as this book contained a great deal of technical terminologies and references to the historical events. I realised I would have understood everything better had I have any prior knowledge which I lacked. However, it doesn't mean one should not try reading it since Kalyan Kumar De gives the excerpts of the letters penned by the British themselves. One could understand the political plays of certain Indian leaders and how the truth was manipulated. It was fun reading how Netaji managed to win us freedom sitting at the distant place striking at the Brits in their weakest points instilling nationalism among the Indians such that they were ready to tear down whole British Sarkar just for three senior INA commanders. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED

[Babu Vijayanath · Rating 4 out of 5]

ഈ കാലഘട്ടത്തിൽ പഴയ ചരിത്ര ചിന്തകകളിൽ നിന്നും വിഭിന്നമായി ഇന്ത്യയുടെ സ്വാതന്ത്ര്യം എങ്ങനെ ലഭിച്ചു എന്നത് ചർച്ചയാവുന്ന സമയമാണ്. ബ്രീട്ടീഷ് രേഖകളിലൂടെ അതെ കുറിച്ച് അന്വേഷണം നടത്തുന്ന പുസ്തകമാണിത്.

ഇതിൽ പ്രധാനമായും മൗണ്ട് ബാറ്റണു മുമ്പ് വൈസ്രോയിയായിരുന്ന വേവൽ പ്രഭുവുമായുള്ള അല്ലെങ്കിൽ അദേഹത്തിന്റെ എഴുത്തുകളാണ് പരിശോധിക്കുന്നത്. ഇതിലെ പ്രധാന വിഷയമായി എനിക്ക് തോന്നിയത് ഐ എൻ എ യോട് ബ്രിട്ടീഷ് ഇന്ത്യാ സേനയുടെ മമതയും ആയുധപരിശീലനം ലഭിച്ച ഐ എൻ എ ഭടന്മാർ നാട്ടിലുണ്ട് എന്നതും ബ്രീട്ടീഷുകാരെ വല്ലാതെ ഭയപ്പെടുത്തി യിരുന്നു എന്നതാണ്. കോൺഗ്രസ് നേതാക്കളേക്കാളേറെ അണികൾ ഇവരോട് അനുകൂല മനസ്ഥിതി കാണിക്കുന്നതും നേവൽ മ്യൂട്ടിനിയുമെല്ലാം വിഷയമാകുന്ന രഹസ്യരേഖകളാണിവ. താൽപര്യമുള്ളവർക്ക് വാങ്ങാവുന്നതാണ്.

10 അധ്യായങ്ങളും 150 പേജുകളുമുള്ള ഈ പുസ്തകം പുറത്തിറക്കിയത് ഗരുഡ ബുക്സാണ്.