It’s been 65 years since Independence, yet one of the greatest mysteries of India about freedom fighter Subhas Chandra Bose endures. Did he die in a plane crash? Or did he survive but not tell his tale! Akrita Reyar of Zeenews.com found out more from well known journo and author Anuj Dhar, who has recently released his book: ‘India’s Biggest Cover Up’.

Your book ‘India’s Biggest Cover Up’, as the name suggests, blows the lid off one of the best kept secrets of Modern India. Tell us about it?

The book is the result of a decade-long, focused research into the question of Netaji’s fate — something that has haunted generations of Indians all over the world. It takes an objective look at all the plausible scenarios and offers the reader clear conclusions and insights based on sound reasoning and unimpeachable source material. In brief, I have deduced that there are only but three possible explanations of what happened to Bose. One, as the official version goes, he was killed following an air crash in Taipei three days after his benefactor Japan decided to surrender to the Allies. Two, he did not die in Taipei because he was in the USSR after August 1945. Three, he was possibly in India in the guise of a holy man.

After going into all these theories with a fine tooth comb I have arrived at conclusions, some of which are even legally tenable. One, the air crash theory was just a smokescreen created by Bose and his Japanese friends, especially Field Marshal Count Hisaichi Terauchi, commander of the Japanese forces in South East Asia. Netaji knew that if he remained in Japan-controlled territory after the surrender, he would be arrested by the Anglo-Americans and tried as a war criminal. He was told by his aides that his capture would end the Independence movement as at that time only he was carrying out what we can call “struggle” for freedom. Two, all that has come on record makes it clear that Netaji was USSR-bound at the time his death was announced. With the available leads it would be fair to deduce that Bose was in Russia after August 1945. Three, the holy man angle is trickier than most people, especially the intelligentsia and historians, think. Beginning 1960s rumours, whispers and claims became rife in India that Netaji was alive in India as a holy man. The phenomenon was sought to be explained by some as nothing but government trickery to trivialize the issue and throw the public off the scent of Russian angle. But my findings are at variance. I have reasons to believe that the possibility of Bose being in India was indeed very real.


How difficult was it to research such a book and how convinced are you of the leads?

‘India’s Biggest Cover Up’ couldn’t have been written by any of the celebrated historians for the simple fact that there’s hardly any source material available in public domain. The subject matter of Netaji mystery falls into the domain of government secrecy and, therefore, only a journalist could have overcome this hurdle to the extent possible. In my book I have reproduced over 200 images from rare documents. Of these some 90 are from still secret Government of India records. The readers see them and they know that the narrative is authentic. Access to a wide pool of information, including thousands of previously classified pages accessed under RTI Act, and the fact that I had no axe to grind gave me an edge over any historian. I verified all the leads and documents to the best of my ability, and I am sure of my ground.

What was the motive of the Congress to perpetuate the alleged myth of Netaji’s death in 1945?

It is not my claim that I know everything about this case — I possibly can’t — and that I have answers to every conceivable question. I have accessed only a fraction of the official information. Not everything will become clear unless a public debate takes place and more people, especially former intelligence officers, join in with their insights. In any case, my focus is to see whether or not there is evidence that Netaji died in 1945 and if he did survive, what happened to him afterwards. In that respect I can say that when Netaji’s death was announced, multiple inquiries were launched by the then British Indian government to verify it. Over the years people have been fed with a distorted impression that the Netaji mystery somehow sprouted from Bengal and that Bose “sightings” began with some conspiracy theorists. The fact of the matter is that it was a British military/intelligence officer who coined the nomenclature “Bose mystery” and the first man who saw Netaji after his reported death was an American journalist.

The British inquiries were exhaustive and inconclusive and that’s clearly evident from the reports that have survived. They also stated, to quote from one declassified report that it was "clear" that Bose was "trying to make a getaway to Russia"; his men were concealing information and Russian diplomats in different countries were speaking about his presence in their country. "There is little reason for such persons to bring Bose into fabricated stories," it commented.

Strangely, overlooking all these reports, Prime Minister Nehru suddenly began to take the line that Netaji had died in Taipei. I don’t understand why Panditji did that and why would he not make further inquiry or ask the Russians about Bose as one would expect in normal circumstances. To make things worse, there’s evidence that the Nehru government obstructed justice by concealing information that went against the air crash theory. But once this stance of the government/Nehru was asserted, for the Congress party leaders it became an article of faith. Now you cannot expect a Congress party member to say something which would contravene what Panditji had asserted.

What gave you the impression that IB chief BN Mullick was lying under oath, when he was summoned before Khosla Commission as a witness in 1970?

If Mr Mullik, who died in 1984, were alive today, he would be in serious trouble because all I have done is to match his statements on record obtained under the RTI Act with documents that are either declassified or still secret. I have demonstrated that when he supplied the first public probe into Netaji’s reported death — the Shah Nawaz Committee of 1955 — a dossier of British-era reports, the first report in it was doctored to remove the last passages which spoke of doubts in the Japanese version. Imagine the IB, the agency whose job is to protect the nation, doing that sort of thing. Since Mullick, the father figure of Indian intelligence, had no personal issues with Bose, one can well imagine that this was done at the behest of his political bosses.

Today, IB and R&AW chief remain in saddle for two-three years but Mullick practically headed the entire Indian intelligence apparatus from 1948 to 1968. In 1970 he was summoned before the Khosla Commission to give evidence. The record of his oral evidence obtained under the RTI Act clearly shows that he misled the commission and even committed perjury. He was repeatedly asked whether or not the IB had snooped on Shaulmari Baba, a hermit alternatively described as Netaji in disguise and a “plant” by the Intelligence Bureau. Each time Mullik replied that the Government never asked the IB to track Shaulmari Baba and nor did the agency do that on its own, as the issue “did not concern national security”. But in my book I have shown images of formerly Top Secret records establishing that as IB chief Mullick personally supplied information to Prime Minister Nehru on Shaulmari Baba.

What role did Pranab Mukherjee have, according to you?

It’s not just “according to me”; the documents tell their own story. As you would expect a loyal Congressman to, Pranab Mukherjee has supported the air crash theory to the hilt, disregarding the facts on records. In a developed nation, in a mature democracy he would not be allowed to occupy the highest office in the land without clarifying his stance or retorting to the charges aired by major media groups. Do you know why Mr Mukherjee or Congress did not do that? Because my charges are based on inferences drawn from records our government is keeping secret from us.

Now, regarding Mr Mukherjee, in 1994 the Ministry of External Affairs headed by Mr Mukherjee then told the Ministry of Home Affairs that the Japanese government's confirmatory report on Bose’s death was based on records bearing a Japanese soldier’s name, not Netaji’s. The records were obviously fake and the Government would have done well to ask the Japanese a few questions. In February 1995, partly in deference to the advice of the Intelligence Bureau, the Union Cabinet decided not to bring the so-called ashes of Bose to India from Japan. But Mukherjee flew to Germany in September that year and asked Bose’s octogenarian wife to certify his death anyhow. I wonder what his motivation was. Emilie Schenkl was livid and she asked Mukherjee to leave her house as she, like most family members, believed that Bose was in Russia after his assumed death.

Then in early 1996 news came that Russia was probably holding records about Netaji. The matter was thrashed out by the MEA again. The Joint Secretary in charge actually recommended that the Indian ambassador in Moscow should issue a demarche to Russians so that the KGB archive could be searched for the Bose related records. His note was seen by Mr Mukherjee, who asked the Foreign Secretary to speak with the JS. After that meeting the JS forgot about the demarche. I am sure any sensible person can connect the dots.

A decade later, Pranab Mukherjee was described in the Justice Mukherjee Commission of Inquiry report as one of the seven witnesses who had testified in favour of the story of Bose's death in Taiwan. In an ironical twist, Mukherjee, having returned to power in 2004, then sat in judgment on the commission report along with his other Cabinet colleagues. In 2006 the report rejecting the air crash theory was itself dismissed and no reason was assigned for that in the Action Taken Report tabled in Parliament.

So, where according to you was Netaji in the remaining years of his life? And how did he eventually meet his end?

As I have stated, I don’t think and nor will any unprejudiced person that the evidence for Netaji’s dying in Taipei is not believable and it seems more likely, as confirmed by the Mukherjee Commission report, that he flew towards Russia as the Japanese circulated the news of his death in an air crash that never was. I personally believe that Netaji was in Russia and our government knew about it. But I have not come across anything to lend credence to the conspiracy theory that each of us have heard: Netaji was killed in the USSR. Subhas sought asylum from the Russians and it was given to him as per my thinking.

On the other hand, and very surprisingly, there’s this interesting tale of a mysterious holy man called Bhagwanji who secretly lived in several places in UP, lastly in Faizabad from 1983 to 85. In 1985, when Rajiv Gandhi was Prime Minister, Subhas Chandra Bose would have been 88 years old. Bhagwanji, or the so-called Gumnami Baba, was the same age and those who saw him identified him to be Netaji. On the face of it, this proposition appears utterly preposterous and I for a start was totally hostile towards the very idea that Netaji could have been alive and living amidst us as a holy man all the while he was presumed dead. It was against his DNA to remain in hiding, I thought. But as I dug deeper, my views began to change. I’d request everyone interested in the matter to go through the available details and then take an informed stand. Right now people are dismissing the issue out of hand without even trying to understand what’s all this about. It is not my claim that Bhagwanji of Faizabad was Netaji; all I am saying is that I probed the matter as a journalist and have found reasons that the possibility cannot be ruled out. For example, the handwritings of this man in English and Bangla matched with Netaji’s and that constitutes — like it or not — a direct evidence of Bose’s remaining alive decades after his reported death. If the counter argument is that the Faizabad holy man’s DNA test was negative, I have explained in the book that the same cannot be relied on as the test was conducted in a lab controlled by the Government whose agenda from the day one was to cover-up the matter.

If Netaji was alive for years after his claimed death, why would he refuse to come out in the open?

The Bhagwanji episode has many complicated subplots. It is very difficult to provide a snappy answer to this question till such time this matter has been discussed at length. Anyhow, Bhagwanji was asked this question and he’d say his coming out was “not in India’s national interest”. You’d appreciate that this is not the language of a holy man. He claimed that after the “concocted air crash” story he spent some years in a gulag and left Russia in 1949. He claimed to have engaged thereafter in covert activities to counter world powers, especially America’s, clout in Asia. He feared that if he came out in the open, the world powers would go after him and Indians will be caught in cross-fire. He’d say, “There will be sanctions and my people will suffer. Let me be here like this.” He was under assumption that he was regarded a war criminal and that Allied Powers regarded him as their foremost enemy.

This scenario appears fantastic but there are some circumstances which make things appear curious. For example, Bhagwanji claimed that he was present in a meeting in Paris in 1969. Now I have located and reproduced an Associated Press picture in my book. Here you see a bearded man who reminds you of Netaji. The Cold War ended in 1991 but its secrets remain locked in secret vaults of different countries. If there is any truth in Bhagwanji’s claims, several governments and their intelligence agencies would have files on “dead man” as Bhagwanji called himself. But we cannot expect to get these files so long our own government continues to sit on its own pile of secret files on Netaji.

Has your book created the impact you wanted it to?

It’s good for a start but not enough. The main objective behind placing the facts before the people is to persuade them to ask their government to make public all secret records about Netaji. We can go on arguing or counter-arguing whether or not Netaji was in Russia or if it was possible for him to be in Faizabad, of all the places in the world. The inspired elements will find ways to derail the debate, which cannot start in right earnest unless secret files are placed in public domain. Truth has no need for secrecy. This is 2012 and there is no justification for our government to maintain so many secret files — the PMO alone has 33 — about a man it claims died 67 years back. Netaji for us should become a symbol of transparency and justice. Time has come for us to strive and know the truth in the same way we have made attempts in the cases involving ordinary people like Jessica Lall in which the role of media was superb.

  NETAJI SUBHAS CHANDRA BOSE:

Fiery Will and Nerves of Steel

By Col. S. K. Bose

  India's Independence Day falls on August 15 and Republic Day on January 26. Traditionally, there are no celebrations of these days in the Ashram. Events are restricted to the College Campus, where there is a brief flag-hoisting ceremony followed by a brief speech by the Vice Chancellor. It is all over in about 30 minutes, after which the students rush to the Mandir for Darshan. In the previous year (2007) too, which was the 60th year of Indian Independence, it was no different. However, in the afternoon, in a surprise departure from tradition, Swami asked a few elders to speak on Independence. Understandably, all speakers, conscious of the spiritual nature of the assembly, spoke, after a few references to India's Independence and what it really meant, on the independence of the mind from desires. "Never Forget Bose..." - Baba on August 15, 2007   Swami was not officially scheduled to speak, but suddenly He decided to. It was a most unusual event, with Swami not delivering a Discourse but making remarks and giving a lot of advice, as He used to do in private sessions in Trayee Brindavan, Bangalore.

While Swami's emphasis was largely on the importance of sacrifice, which people generally forget soon after they have achieved what they wanted to, He spent quite a lot of time on Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose elaborating and highlighting his sacrificial nature and passionate patriotism. He said, “None of you asked me to speak. But it is my love for Bose that made me speak today. Such people must be born again in Bharat (India). Never forget Bose….Such glorious personalities are not to be forgotten.”

Bose is a legendary figure hardly known now, except through pictures and statues, and the various committees that are set up from time to time to probe his mysterious disappearance towards the end of World War II. Lately, we have received many requests for an authoritative account of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose and his contributions. Fortunately for us, that account has been provided by Col. Bose, [no relative!] son of Brig. S.K. Bose.

As many of you may be aware, both the father and the son are well known in Prasanthi Nilayam. The father [now no more but who was once dramatically brought back from the dead by Swami during Dasara celebrations many years ago] served in the Indian Army during World War II, and later as Director of two prestigious IITs [Indian Institute of Technology]. After retirement, he served Swami by supervising many a construction here, from the famous Sarva Dharma Stupa to the Super Specialty Hospital building.



Brig. S K Bose - Baba's beloved devotee
and trusted engineer
The father and the son, and in between
the 'Sun of their lives' As for the son, namely Col. Bose, he too is a familiar figure, especially to those who have visited Chaitanya Jyothi. Col. Bose, the author of the article we are presenting, not only oversaw the construction of the Chaitanya Jyothi and its commissioning, but is fully involved in running it. If Chaitanya Jyothi really shines, it is in no small measure due to the tireless service put in by Col. Bose with typical military precision and discipline. The same can be seen in his article, which presents amazing details that are hardly known. H2H is deeply indebted to Col. Bose for his labour of love, and offers his article with much pleasure and gratitude on the birthday month of this precious son of Mother India, who was born on January 23, 1897.

If one looks at the history of Indian Freedom Movement, after Mahatma Gandhi, the name that stands out is of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose. His contribution is no less than those of Mahatma Gandhi and Jawaharlal Nehru, who have been given much of the credit for the successful culmination of India's freedom struggle. It is unfortunate that Netaji has been denied his rightful place in the annals of Indian history and remains largely forgotten. It is more than 60 years since India's Independence, and it is only pertinent that Netaji's remarkable and stirring deeds need to be brought to light in the proper perspective.

“’Swatantra’ (or freedom) as it is called does not relate to the body or the mind. It is in reality ‘Swaatantra’ where ‘Swaa’ means the ‘Atma’ or Self. When you follow the ‘Atma’, there is nothing else left to be achieved. There is no use of just rejoicing on this day without even realizing the meaning of ‘Swaatantra’.

Bose knew what it meant. The patriotic fervour that he displayed is worthy of emulation. Without the patriotic spirit one is more dead than alive! It was only Bose who fought for ‘Swaatantra’; others had selfish agendas. They were the ones who divided people. ‘Swaatantra’ makes you realize that the country is one because all are one.”

- Baba on India’s Independence Day, 2000

An Impassioned Leader

The British rulers acknowledged with serious concern Netaji as the most dynamic and influential political leader in all sections and religious groups of the country. They saw how Netaji's ideas always inspired young idealists to fight more strongly for freedom and saw in this firebrand, charismatic leader a fearsome adversary. Netaji's popularity cut across religious lines. Muslims acknowledged and appreciated the leading role played by Netaji. Even Mohamed Ali Jinnah, who is acknowledged by all as the Father of Pakistan, had so much trust and regard for Netaji that he was willing to give up his idea of a religiously divided India, if Netaji led the nation. Muslim leaders of India's eastern states echoed the same sentiment during the thirties.

The revival of INA (Indian National Army) by Netaji shook the confidence of the British regarding the loyalty of the British Indian Soldiers in the Army on whom the British Rule depended in India. The apprehension was strengthened in 1946 when there was a mutiny by the British Indian Navy in Mumbai. The British saw the writing on the wall. Their efforts were now directed towards an honourable withdrawal. When historian Dr Mazumdar spoke to the then Prime Minister of Britain, Lord Clement Atlee on Britain’s decision to grant independence to India, he says, "In his reply Atlee cited among several reasons, the principal among them being the erosion of loyalty to the British Crown among the Indian Army and Navy personnel as a result of the military activities of Netaji".

Subhas Chandra Bose was born of 23 Jan 1897 to Srimati Prabhabati Devi and Janakinath Bose, a prominent advocate of Cuttack, who later became a member of the Bengal Legislative Council. He was later awarded the little of Rai Bahadur by the British. On account of the anti- Indian policies of the British rulers, Janakinath returned the title and also resigned from the post of Public Prosecutor.

“Patriotism, the love for the land of one’s birth, is extremely important. Once when Subhas Chandra Bose was a student of the Calcutta University, a British Lecturer spoke disparagingly about India and Indians. Young Subhas Chandra was upset by this, but restrained himself from retaliation for quite some time. However, when he found the Lecturer exceeding the limits of decency and decorum, he could not contain himself any longer. He sprang to his feet, swiftly jumped across the benches and pouncing upon the Lecturer, thrashed him with his shoe. In a few minutes the news spread like wild fire throughout the University Campus. The authorities held an emergency meeting and passed orders debarring Subhas from the University for a period of five years.

Thus, Subhas sacrificed his education for the sake of upholding the honour of his motherland. Consequently his father sent Subhas to London for his higher studies. There, too, Subhas evinced his sense of patriotism. He had distinguished himself in his studies there and hence even had good opportunities to stay back in London, had he been interested in his self-advancement, career-wise. But prodded by his patriotic fervour, Subhas returned to India after passing I.C.S. (Indian Civil Service) examination with a high rank and entered politics instead of Government service. Students should follow his example and sacrifice their “swartha” (selfish interest) for parartha (the welfare of others) and attain Paramartha (the supreme goal of life).”

- Baba During Summer Showers, 1990

Excelling in Education

  The young Subhas Subhas was the ninth among fourteen siblings and was a brilliant scholar. After matriculation from Ravenshaw Collegiate School, he joined the prestigious Presidency College, Calcutta. His stay was short lived as he could not tolerate the derogatory remarks of Professor Oaten against India and Indians. As a result the Professor had him expelled from the college and rusticated from the Calcutta University in 1916.

On the intervention of Sir Ashutosh Mukherjee, Subhash gained admission in the Scottish Church College from where he graduated with a first class in philosophy in 1919, thus emulating his idol, Narendra Nath Dutt (Swami Vivekananda) and left for England to appear in the ICS examination.

In 1920 he passed the examination with the highest marks in English and 4th overall. He joined Cambridge University and obtained his Tripos in 1921. He joined the ICS but being a firebrand nationalist, refused to continue and resigned.

His Political Career Shines

Subhas with Mahatma Gandhi in 1938   He returned to India, being deeply disturbed by the Jallianwala Bagh massacre. He met Mahatma Gandhi and on his advice, met Deshbandhu Chittaranjan Das (CR), who remained his political Guru till he passed away in 1925. When CR Das was Mayor of Calcutta, Netaji was his CEO. His nationalist fervour drew the wrath of the British and he was arrested and deported to Mandalay, Burma. He was released in 1927 and in 1929 he was elected as President of All India Trade Union Congress. In 1930 he was elected Mayor of Calcutta.

He greatly admired Gandhiji and took part in the Salt Satyagraha when he was arrested. After his release, he publicly denounced the Gandhi-lrwin pact and was arrested again. He was released on health grounds and went to Europe for treatment. While there he established contacts with various European nations to elicit their sympathy and support for India's Freedom struggle. He met Mussolini in Italy, Felder in Germany, D. Valera in Ireland and Romain Rolland in France.



After the European tour
Arriving for the Congress meeting in 1938 Netaji returned to India defying government orders prohibiting his entry into India and was arrested. He was released on account of the overwhelming victory of the Congress in the 1937 Elections. In 1938, at Haripura Congress Session he was elected as President of the Indian National Congress and elected again in 1939 defeating Dr Pattabhi Sitaramayya who was the Congress nominee. He brought a resolution to give 6 months time to the British to hand over India to Indians, or face a revolt. This was strongly opposed by Gandhiji.



Bose (second from left) and the team of volunteers for
medical mission in China   Arriving for the All India Congress Committee
meeting in 1939 The result was that Netaji resigned within a few months and formed a progressive group known as the Forward Bloc within Congress. Netaji's stand was that there could be no compromise with the British on the issue of full independence and that on no account should the country be partitioned. Although their strategies were diametrically opposite, Gandhiji and Netaji had the highest regard for each other. Both Netaji and Nehru were identified with the Left Wing of the Congress Party, well to the Left of other respected leaders like C Rajagopalachari, Vallabhbhai Patel and Rajendra Prasad. Netaji was firmly of the view that a more direct and militant approach was required to gain independence. Not for him, the peaceful passive non-cooperation movement of Gandhiji and of Congress. At this point of time the British perceived Netaji as a bigger threat than Gandhiji.

War Protest

In September 1939, World War II broke out and as apprehended by Netaji, India was declared as a warring state (on behalf of the British) by the Viceroy, without consulting the Indian leaders. The Congress government in seven major states resigned in protest. Netaji now started a mass movement against using India's resources and men. To him it made no sense to make Indians shed their blood for the sake of colonial imperial nations. There was a tremendous response to his call and the British promptly imprisoned him. He went on hunger strike and on the 11th day, after his health deteriorated, he was released from prison and put under house arrest. The British were afraid that there would be violent reactions all over the country should something happen to Netaji in prison. Because of his outspoken anti-British stance, he was jailed 11 times between 1920 and 1941 for periods varying between 6 months and 3 years. By this time it had become increasingly clear to him that he could not achieve anything worthwhile by remaining in India. That would bring him in direct confrontation with Gandhiji whom he loved and greatly admired. It would suit the British and harm India's cause for freedom.

Scouting for Support Abroad

The car that Bose used
during his escape On 17 January, 1941, he disappeared from house arrest. His nephew, Sisir Bose, drove him out of Calcutta in great secrecy. Thus began a hazardous and arduous journey by foot, train and car to Kabul, with the support of the Kirty Party affiliated to the Communist Party of India. His plan was to travel to Russia and enlist Stalin's help to drive out the British from India, but unknown to Netaji, the British had secretly entered into a strategic non-aggression pact with Russia. As a result the Russian Embassy at Kabul gave a cold shoulder to Netaji but he still decided to try to enlist Russian help.

Netaji's journey from Peshawar to Kabul was an epic in itself. Only his iron will and the burning desire to free India from foreign rule, enabled him to endure the rugged mountainous route, great risks of capture and freezing weather. Accompanied by Bhagatram, he reached Kabul. Armed with an assumed identity and passport from the Italian Legation in Kabul, in the name of Signor Orlando Mazzito, a supposed wireless operator, and accompanied by Dr Voelger, Netaji left Kabul for Samarkand on 18 March 1941, from where they boarded a train for Moscow on 20 March. Disappointed with the lack of response from Stalin, Netaji decided to leave for Berlin. Although, he despised Nazism, he was prepared to make friends with the devil if that would help his cause.

In League with the Axis Powers

Contact with German leaders was not easy, busy as they were with the conduct of the War, in spite of being well aware of Netaji's well known anti-British stand. Netaji's burning desire, his endless patience and untiring perseverance succeeded in the end and he was able to interact with Adam Von Trott Zu Solz (head of the German Eastern Affairs) and his deputy Alexander Werth. Later Werth wrote, "Very soon we felt the strength of his will power, the honesty of his intentions and the inexorability of his personal dedication to India's cause, we could not help being influenced by his ideas and wishes". On his initiative, Netaji obtained the release of all Indian prisoners from POW camps and started the Free India Centre, Azad Hind Radio Centre in Oct 1941 and finally the Indian Legion (Azad Hind Fauj), comprising enthusiastic Indian students, political activitists and Indian prisoners captured by Rommel from various battles in Africa. It was difficult to change the mindset of the Indian POWs but Netaji was not to be stopped.

Bose along with Rommel, the famous
German field marshal   Netaji met Hitler on 26 May 1942 to plead the urgency of his case. The latter, preoccupied by the German offensive towards Leningrad, was a little hesitant and wanted to know exactly what kind of 'political concept' Netaji had in mind. Extremely annoyed at this, he asked von Trott to tell 'His Excellency' that he had been in politics all his life and did not need advice from any side. Nobody else would have dared to tick off Hitler at the height of his powers, but this was a man of steel, who had no fear.

In the meanwhile, Japanese forces had gained control ever the entire area from the Sea of Japan to Bay of Bengal. By May 1942, Hongkong, Singapore, Manila, Penang and Rangoon had fallen to the Japanese. Another Indian revolutionary, Rash Behari Bose persuaded and obtained from the Japanese Government, wholehearted support for the fight against the British Raj. Netaji, who was still trying to persuade Hitler to support an Indian Government in exile, was greatly encouraged by the latest development in Japan. German motives and intentions with relation to India were complex. While the German foreign office wanted to support the Indian revolutionary, Hitler's personal belief was that the Aryan British had the right to rule over the unfit Indian masses.

A Hazardous Japanese Voyage

The developments in Japan convinced Netaji that he could play a much more active role from the soil of Asia rather than spending agonizingly prolonged periods staying in Berlin. Time was running out. He had to be where the action was. He was able to convince Germany and Italy to help him reach Japan. After long and complicated discussions with the Italian and the Japanese Embassies in Berlin and Rome and German authorities, the following plan was drawn up. Netaji, accompanied by one friend, would be taken by a German submarine by way of the English Channel, Bay of Biscay, West Africa, around South Africa to the South of Madagascar, where he would be transferred to a Japanese submarine, which would take him to the nearest base in East Asia.

Eventually on the night of 7 Feb 1943, Netaji and his deputy, Nambiar, German State Secretary, Keppler and Alexander Werth, from the Special India Division, took Netaji and his companion Abid Hassan to Kiel, to where a submarine was waiting. Thus began another epic journey of great risk and danger undertaken by Netaji. Two and a half months later on 26 Apr 1943, visual contact was made by the two submarines. As the sea was pretty rough, the two submarines travelled further North East. On 28 April 1943, despite inclement weather, Netaji and Abid Hassan were transferred from the German submarine to the Japanese by means of a rubber boat. On 6 May 1943 they landed at Saban, not Penang as originally intended. He was welcomed by Yamamoto, the Japanese Military Attache at Berlin Embassy, who had reached earlier. Finally on 16 May 1943 Netaji reached Tokyo.

Enlisting Help from the Japanese

Thus the stage was set for Netaji to emerge as the leader of the independence movement in East Asia. He met Prime Minister Tojo on 10 June 1943. In "The Springing Tiger" (p l77-178), Hugh Toye observed "For most the personality of the man was overwhelming, there was great genius of enthusiasm, of inspiration. Men found that when they were with him only the cause mattered, they saw only through his eyes, through the thoughts he gave them, could deny him nothing". General Tojo was no exception. He was charmed as Netaji stood before him and spoke of his iron will and determination to secure India's independence from the British. He saw fire in the man's belly, hunger for freedom in his eye and nothing in his words but great devotion to his motherland.

Meanwhile in India, following the failure of the Cripps mission, Congress became increasingly more impatient and was not prepared to wait till the end of the war for Independence. Even Gandhiji started to look a little moved by Netaji's activities in Europe and Jayprakash Narain openly supported Netaji's armed revolution. Netaji's cry "Quit India" became the slogan and his call "Do or Die" became the motto. In August 1942 most of the important political leaders were imprisoned by the British. This was the kind of electric energy Netaji radiated from long distance. R Coupland ("Indian Politics" p-268) wrote, "The Revolutionaries of extreme left, specially in Bengal, were still ready to take orders from Mr Subhash Chandra Bose, even if they came by radio from Berlin ". The British retaliated by disbanding the provincial Congress Committee of Bengal on 10 August, 1942.

Maulana Abul Kalam Azad, president of the Congress from 1939 to 1946, states in his book "India Wins Freedom" (published posthumously), that Gandhiji had not approved many actions of Netaji, but the courage shown by him in escaping into Germany and the resourcefulness displayed there by him in mobilizing a campaign for liberating India, unconsciously coloured Gandhiji's views about the whole situation.

“No one acts. Everyone delivers speeches. I feel a stabbing pain that there is not a single Bose today. Tell me is there any one? One Bose is enough. Bose truly understood the plight of India."

- Baba on India’s Independence Day, 2007

  This is reflected in the launching of the Quit India Movement on 8 August 1942, which echoed Netaji's war cry "Do or Die", a slogan not consistent with the policy of pacifism. After the imprisonment of the Congress leaders, the movement quickly deteriorated into acts of defiance, anarchy and mayhem at the local level. The movement created alarm amongst the British and significantly hindered the Allied war effort.

In Tokyo, Netaji met Prime Minister, Gen Tojo again on 14 June, who agreed to extend every possible support for the cause of Indian independence. He then left for Singapore. When he arrived on 2 July, he received a tumultuous welcome there from soldiers and civilians alike.

Hugh Toye writes, "His personal enthusiasm, his vitality, his authority and his world view won him the real allegiance of Indians in East Asia". On 4 July 43 a reception was held in his honour, during which Rash Behari Bose transferred the mantle of the Indian Independence League to Netaji. On 25 August 1943 he was formally appointed the Commander-in-Chief of the INA. On 23 October 1943 Japan announced its official recognition of the Provisional Government of India of Subhas Chandra Bose. Recognition from the German Government followed on 29 October 1943 and from Italy on 9 November 1943.



Unreleased postage stamps of the
Azad Hind Government   Cabinet members of the Provisional Government
of Azad Hind, 1943 The Story of the Indian National Army

No story about Netaji would be complete without the exploits of his Azad Hind Fauz (INA). The story of INA began much earlier. By the end of 1941, India had started featuring prominently in the Japanese policies. An organization was set up by the Japanese Government, headed by Major Fujiwara Iwaichi. His initial contact was with Giani Pritam Singh, and after the Malayan invasion, with Capt Mohan Singh. Between the three of them, they started recruiting from amongst those captured by the Japanese in Malaya prior to the fall of Singapore. Thus was born the nucleus of what later came to be known as the Indian National Army.

The volunteers were organized into units and trained under Capt Mohan Singh and worked along with those under Pritam Singh in Malaya and Thailand. Capt Mohan Singh saw action with 1/14 Punjab against Japanese forces at Jitra. Singapore surrendered on 15 February 1942. On the morning of 17 Febuary 1942 some 45,000 Indian POWs gathered at Farrer Park. They were first addressed by Col Hunt of the Malaya Command and then by Maj Fujiwara, who spoke of Japanese intentions of raising a "liberation army". Thereupon he passed on the responsibilities and command to Capt Mohan Singh. The POWs felt that they had been abandoned and handed over like cattle to the Japanese. Nearly half of those present, joined the INA.

By late 1942, disillusionment set in and Indian volunteers felt like pawns in the hands of the Japanese. In Dec 42, Capt Mohan Singh and INA leaders ordered the INA to disband. Capt Mohan Singh was arrested and exiled to Pulau Ubin. Between December 1942 and Febuary 1943, Rash Behari Bose tried to keep the ML and INA going but failed. Thousands of INA soldiers returned to POW status again. In a series of meetings with the Japanese, a large number of officers and troops of INA made it known that they would regroup only if Netaji assumed command. Netaji's exploits in Germany had become common knowledge. A policy forming body for the INA was formed consisting of Lt Col Bhonsle, Lt Col Shah Nawaz Khan, Maj P K Sehgal, Maj Habibur Rahman and Lt Col AC Chatterji.

The INA is Rejuvenated

Netaji reviewing INA troops in Singapore after formally taking command   Netaji's stirring speech on 5 July 1943 at Singapore on assuming charge of President of ML from Rash Behari Bose, re-ignited the flame of liberation of the motherland from the British. His impact was significant and immediate. A new life had been infused in the INA. Besides POWs local civilians with no military experience, from barristers to plantation workers, joined the INA and doubled its troop strength. An Officers Training School for INA officers and the Azad School of civilian volunteers was set up.

A group of 45 young Indians personally chosen by Netaji (known as Tokyo Boys) was sent to Japan's Imperial Military Academy to train as fighter pilots. For the first time, outside USSR, a women's regiment, the Rani of Jhansi Regiment under Capt Lakshmi Sehgal was raised as a combat force. Dr Lakshmi Swaminadhan (as she was then) gave up a prosperous practice as a gynaecologist in Singapore to join the INA. The clarion call of INA was 'Jai Hind' and 'Chalo Delhi'.

The preparation for assault moved at a fast pace and the INA HO was moved from Singapore to Rangoon on 7 January 1994. It was decided inter alia, that the only flag to fly over the Indian soil would be the National Tricolour and that any solider, Japanese or Indian, found looting or raping, would be shot at once.

A String of Triumphs

  Bose was very strong and powerful, in body, mind and in spiritual splendour. He always desired that India must be foremost, pure and grand. There is none equal to him in wanting the progress of the nation. Other prominent leaders at that time were actually jealous of him and they did everything to keep him away. They say that he died in an accident. At that time he was actually in a steamer…

- Baba on India’s Independence Day, 2007

The first success of INA came in Arakan's Maya Valley by Maj L S Misra's unit against the 7 Indian Division. Success stories continued. Kohima fell to INA's Subhas Brigade on 8 April 1944 under the command of Col Thakur Singh. Moirang fell to INA on 18 April 1944 when troops under Col Shaukat Malik, raised the National Tricolour.

Maj Gen Kiani's troops and Col Shah Nawaz Khan's Subhas Brigade surrounded the British troops in Imphal for 3 months. The success of the INA caused Mountbatten grave concern. Under his directions the 3 rd Indian Division facing the INA at Imphal remained Indian in name only. Twenty four of its battalions had English, Nigerian and Burmese soldiers, because he feared that Indian soldiers would join the INA.

The siege of Imphal was to be the turning in the saga of the INA. It was not the British army, but the monsoon, which became the biggest adversary. Logistics became the major problem as B 29 bombers disrupted the lines of supply. INA was left without air cover as Japanese aircraft were diverted elsewhere to combat the air power of America, which entered the War after Pearl Harbour, giving exact INA positions. Outbreaks of malaria and dysentery in the face of lack of medical facilities and supplies took a heavy toll. Netaji was forced by circumstances to issue instructions to INA to withdraw. The extent of loss during the long withdrawal was significant in its impact on the INA.

The Axis Surrender Blights the INA

Netaji did not give up and the task of rebuilding the INA continued in Burma. They continued to provide stiff resistance to the Allied advance, but the tide turned inexorably. On the Western front on 6 June 1944 Allied forces landed on the beaches of Normandy and the thrust towards Berlin began, just as the thrust towards Rangoon had already started on the Eastern front.

  “People keep saying that Bose died in an accident. That is wrong. He never met with any accident. He was the greatest. He authored a book, ‘My India’ and that was later translated into English. He was married and his daughter was Lalita Bose. She in fact came to Parthi and followed Swami everywhere, whether it was Ooty, Kodaikanal or Madurai. She always kept Swami's name on her lips and sang bhajans and songs. She often lamented, ‘My father was a patriotic Indian. I am so proud of Bharat; but today the unity has been shattered, there is no unity among people.’

- Baba on India’s Independence Day, 2007

On 7 May 1945 Germany formally surrendered following the death of Hitler. Japan continued, but it was a losing battle. On 7 August 1945 the first atom bomb was dropped on Hiroshima followed by the second bomb on 9 August 1945 on Nagasaki. Inevitably Japan surrendered. Netaji announced in his calm voice, "Japan's surrender is not India's surrender. The INA would not admit defeat."

Netaji wanted to stay on in Singapore but under extreme pressure from his cabinet colleagues, decided to leave. He travelled to Saigon and from there to Taiwan and then he disappeared.

Nobody believed the story that he died in an air crash. The remnants of the INA were to surrender when the Allied forces captured Burma. The British tried to put Shah Nawaz Khan and other INA officers on trial to set an example, but fears of a violent backlash put paid to their plans. According to Md Muktadir Arif Mozammel, the cause of India's independence was greatly advanced by the spirit of nationalism aroused by the INA. Although the term INA has been used, Netaji loved to call it Azad Hind Fauj.

Bose’s Tremendous Legacy

Gandhiji and Netaji had great love for each other. Netaji reportedly said, "It will be tragic for me if I succeeded in winning the confidence of the people but failed to win the confidence of India's greatest man (Mahatma Gandhi). Gandhiji wondered in 1945 how Netaji could die when Swaraj was yet to be achieved. This conviction caused much dismay to the British Government. He wrote in the 24-2-1946 issue of 'Harijan' that "Subhash Chandra Bose's patriotism is second to none".

When Gandhiji became reconciled to the fact that Netaji had died, he stressed that, "He is living with us in his message and ideals he placed before the world". Shah Nawaz Khan told Gandhiji that Netaji had made it clear to the INA soldiers that in an independent India, they would be expected to serve their country not by means of swords but through non-violence. P N Oak, one of the earliest to join Netaji's INA and had helped organize broadcasts from Azad Hind Radio in Saigon and Singapore, says that Netaji was totally disinterested in worldly pursuits and ambitions.

He repeatedly and emphatically declared in his public speeches that if INA succeeded liberating India, he would toss over that freedom to the people and retire into spiritual oblivion. Thus a common belief of political observers that Nehru and Netaji were rival contenders for political leadership, was basically wrong. Netaji had no such ambitions. Whether Nehru perceived Netaji as a threat to his position, remains a moot point.



The stories of the deeds of the INA that became public knowledge during the trials of soldiers of the INA in 1945 were perceived as so inflammatory that the British Government forbade the BBC from broadcasting their story, fearing mass revolts and uprisings. The Naval mutiny in Bombay was followed by another among the ground crew in the Royal Indian Air Force.

An army mutiny broke out at Jabalpur during the last week of Feb 1946, which had to be put down with difficulty. The weekly intelligence summary of 25 March 1946 admitted that the Indian Army, Navy and Air Force units could not be relied upon to put down mass revolt. Thus what Netaji and the Azad Hind Fauj failed to achieve directly, was successful posthumously. The trials were carried out in the Red Fort, New Delhi, thus ironically enabling the INA remnants to achieve Netaji's War Cry, "Chalo Delhi."

A number of commissions have probed Netaji's disappearance, but nothing has come out of them. On this month of January when he was born a hundred and ten years ago, let us shed a tear and refresh our memory of this great son of India, Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose and his intrepid band of freedom fighters.

UPA govt should probe Netaji's mysterious disappearance Last Updated: Tuesday, September 25, 2012, 21:27  0  63 Tags: New Delhi,  UPA, BJP, Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose Motihari: Taking a potshot at UPA government for probing coal blocks allotment between 1993 and 2004, BJP today said past events like the mysterious disappearance of Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose should also be investigated.

"If the Centre has interest in probing coal blocks allotment by the past governments between 1993 and 2004, then it should also probe the myterious disappearance of Bose in 1945, Sino-India war in 1962 and death of the ex-prime minister Lal Bahadur Shastri in 1966," BJP national spokesman Syed Shahanwaz Hussain said at a function here to mark Jan Sangh leader Deen Dayal Upadhyay's 96th birth anniversary.

"All these events and many more are worth investigating if the UPA government wants to," he said.


Hussain assailed the UPA government for its alleged involvement in a slew of scams and said that policy decisions like FDI in multi-brand retail were taken to divert attention of the people from corruption issues.

"However, a lioness from West Bengal mustered courage and pulled the rug from under the UPA's feet and left it gasping for breath by withdrawing support to the scam tainted government at the centre," Hussain said referring to Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee.

Banerjee, he said, has shown courage and conviction to oppose the Centre's policies tooth and nail. "No amount of praise for her is adequate."

Hussain also castigated Samajwadi Party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav for providing the "much needed oxygen" to the UPA government in the "apparent belief" that he will emerge as a viable prime ministerial candidate in the next elections.

Hussain attacked Yadav for describing BJP as a "communal" force and said if it was so he (Hussain) would not have become a union minister in the NDA government at 32 years of age nor would A P J Abdul Kalam would have become the president of the country.

PTI

Subhash Chandra Bose
Subhas Chandra Bose also known as Netaji, was one of the most prominent Indian nationalist leaders who attempted to liberate India from British rule during the waning years of World War II.
Born: January 23, 1897,
CuttackDied: 1945, (controversial death<still mystery>)
TaipeiSpouse: Emilie Schenkl (m. 1937)
Education: Ravenshaw College, Scottish Church College, Calcutta,
MoreSiblings: Sarat Chandra Bose

A massive Mobile Phone Vashikaran fraud is underway in India, notable the state of Rajasthan. A lot of the readers complain that the Attraction, Protection, Health and other mantras posted on this site are featured on spam Vashikaran sites.
Readers have also complained that the descriptions of various mantras given on this site are featured on classified advertisement sites, mostly free advertisement sites. The scamsters/cheaters/frauds who give only mobile telephone numbers copy mantras from this and other sites from the web and them cheat the public by selling the same mantras and solutions which are available free of cost.

To catch a fake Vashikaran/Tantra/Astrologer/Spiritual site all you have to do is copy the mantras posted on their site and put them in search engines like Google, you will immediately see where they have stolen the content from. The same is the case with the descriptions which they give on the classified advertisement sites. It appears that these scamsters are incapable of writing a single intelligent sentence.
Most of the spam Vashikaran sites have disabled copy paste on their sites. However there is an extension available in Chrome which enables copy paste. You can add this extension to your browser to catch the scamsters.
I know the names of numerous such sites and the number is growing day by day. Another thing I have noticed is that some of them have bought sponsored listings in search engines and also advertisement campaigns in prestigious networks like Google Adwords.The modus operendi is to create a one page site, mostly free hosting and feature their mobile phone number on the single page site.
This post has been published in public interest to caution the unsuspecting public about the mobile  telephone Vashikaran fraud. I request you to beware of the massive Vashikaran fraud.
source:http://www.prophet666.com/2012/02/beware-of-mobile-phone-vashikaran-fraud.html

BY now everyone has heard it. The 16th-century prophet Nostradamus predicted the attack on the World Trade Center with uncanny accuracy. As proof of his prophetic powers, extracts from his writings were posted on the internet and reproduced by editors around the world. One of the passages most commonly seen was this: 


In the City of God there will be a great thunder, Two brothers torn apart by Chaos, While the fortress endures, The great leader will succumb. The third big war will begin while the big city is burning.


Other, even more striking quotations included references to "the eleventh day of the ninth month", and "two metal birds" that crashed into "two tall statues". The public was astounded, but those who had actually read Nostradamus were quick to point out that all these "predictions" were sham. The lines about the City of God and the defunct great leader were written during the 1990s by a Canadian college student as an example of the sort of vague language Nostradamus used, which could be interpreted in any way one pleased. When this fictional oracle was posted on the internet as a fulfilled prophecy of Nostradamus, the line about the "third big war" was added to make it more apocalyptic. The decorative details about iron birds and giant statues were also 21st-century inventions.

Among all the supposed "predictions of Nostradamus" that overran the internet in September, only two were actually from the pen of the French prophet. One was a line from a quatrain (Centuries, 10.72) that long has fascinated Nostradamus buffs: "The year one thousand nine hundred ninety-nine, seventh month, from the sky will come a great King of terror". Before July 1999, there was much speculation that this referred to a calamity that would strike New York that month. Nothing terrible happened then, but when the towers fell two years later, the stanza was put forward as a prediction whose fulfilment was only slightly delayed. To make it more telling, it was linked with another quatrain (6.97) that begins: "Five and forty steps the sky will burn, fire to approach the large new city." The "new city", obviously, was New York, while "five and forty steps" meant 45 degrees or perhaps 40.5 degrees latitude. (New York lies just below 41 degrees north.) A Nostradamus specialist reproduces on his website seven other quatrains "possibly concerning the twin towers tragedy in New York". He is honest enough to add that the predictions are much too vague to be applied to any event for sure. Most people who search the internet for explanations of the unthinkable aren't interested in heeding such warnings.


It is unfortunate that Nostradamus is given a bad name by the credulous and the crazy, for he is one of the most interesting figures of the French Renaissance. Michel de Nostradame (1503-66) gained fame as an innovative physician during an outbreak of plague in southern France. Interested in astrology and divination as well as medicine, he published a series of yearly almanacs and, in 1555, the first edition of his Prophities de M. Michel Nostradamus (generally known as the Centuries because the prophecies are arranged in groups of hundreds). This book was widely read during his lifetime and has never been out of print since. (In the wake of the U.S. tragedies, an American edition became briefly the best-selling title on Amazon.com).
The Centuries is not an easy book to read. Written in archaic French (with some admixture of Latin and other languages), it consists of 942 rhymed four-line stanzas that speak, in a far from straightforward way, of things that were supposed to happen in the future. If they are read retrospectively, with a lively imagination, many appear to fit actual events. But as a rule, for the quatrains to work as predictions, they have to be read symbolically and loosely.

There are a few exceptions to this rule. Quatrain 9.49 includes the line "The Senate of London will put their king to death". Less than a century after this was written, Charles I was beheaded on the orders of Parliament. Even more intriguing for modern readers is quatrain 9.16, which can be, without much twisting of the language, translated as follows:


Out of Castille, Franco will leave the assembly, The disagreeable ambassador will cause a schism: Those of Riviera will be in the squabble, And they will refuse entry to the great gulf.

 

The association of Castille (Spain), Franco and Riviera is remarkable when we recall that Miguel Primo de Rivera was dictator of Spain between 1923 and 1930 and that Francisco Franco seized power in 1936. Remarkable results can sometimes be obtained by bringing together widely scattered lines. Quatrain 1.60 says that "an Emperor will be born near Italy" who will be judged "less prince than butcher". Quatrain 8.57 begins: "From simple soldier he will attain to Empire". By stringing together other disconnected statements, it is possible to construct the entire life of Napoleon. Other events that can be discovered in the Centuries are various episodes of the French Revolution, the rise and fall of Hitler, the abdication of the Duke of Windsor, the assassination of President Kennedy, the Gulf War and, of course, the September terrorist attacks. In all these cases, the reader's interpretation plays a more important role than the seer's inspiration.

From earliest times, people have sought foreknowledge of the future through dreams, divination, astrology, palmistry, and other methods. No prophet or system has given consistently good results, but there have been a few hits among the many misses. Nostradamus's senate putting the king to death is too striking to ignore completely. (On the other hand, one hit in 3768 tries is not such a great batting average.) Still, the existence of even a few fulfilled prophecies is enough to suggest that some kind of intuitive prediction might be possible. Among the hits is the one that made the psychic Jeane Dixon famous: that the American president to be elected in 1960 would be assassinated. Leaving aside the claims of professionals, which of us has not the experience of thinking, for no particular reason, of a long- forgotten friend, only to receive a letter or a visit from that person within a short time? Parapsychologists have tried to measure this latent power of "precognition" in ordinary people, and if their results have not been staggering, they have sometimes been better than what the laws of chance would permit.

Nostradamus's predictions deserve serious study, both as examples of prophetic literature (the genre that includes Blake's Prophetic Books and Yeats's The Vision) and as records of early experiments in precognition. In both areas of study, researchers will have to distinguish the roles played by the inspiration of the writer and the interpretation of the reader - and to reject completely the falsifications or frauds.

PETER HEEHS

(Picture courtesy: Nostradamus, Prophecies for the Millennium, Bill Anderton, Parragon Books.)
Peter Heehs is director of historical research at the Sri Aurobindo Ashram Archives, Pondicherry. He is the author of five books, the most recent of which is Nationalism, Terrorism, Communalism (1998).

Nostradamus; Seer of Destiny

"In the year 1999 and seven months, from the sky will come the great king of terror. He will revive the memory of the king of the Mongols."

A recent United Press International wire service report flashed this 400-year-old quote with speculations that its 16th century clairvoyant author, Nostradamus, might have been predicting current heightened tensions in the Middle East as a prelude to worldwide destruction around the year 2000. Grim speculation indeed. Yet, not unlike similar wonderings ventured often by many through the years about this mysterious man and his foretelling riddles of the future - several of which appear to involve Hinduism.

In Nostradamus and the Millennium, John Hogue writes of Hermetic (literally "secret" or "hidden") mysticism, Nostradamus' strongest occult influence "It is the oldest mystic tradition in the West, having many parallels with the Eastern school of Tantra and Saivite Hinduism which saw the universe as a divine play or dance of paradoxes." Nostradamus was also trained in Jewish and Sufi mysticism. His favorite philosopher was Meister Eckhart who said, "The eye, with which I see God sees me; my eye and God's eye is one eye, one seeing, one realizing and one love."

Michel de Nostredame, astrologer, prophet, doctor of medicine, herbalist, magician and noted creator of fruit preservatives and cosmetics has mystified occult enthusiasts from the fading twilight of the Dark Ages to the present day. Had his predictions been an accurate few about events having come and gone, his name would perhaps be quietly relegated to a tattered page of history long forgotten. But Nostradamus endures, not only because his writings make predictions until the year 3797, but also because his method of rhyming in riddle and code makes his work impossible to analyze conclusively (See side bar). Fascinated and curious, we can't really know him - yet we can't forget him. Thus was born on December 14, 1503, in the south of France, a man destined to influence mankind - perhaps (ac cording to his own calculations) until the end of the time. Today, almost 500 years later, Nostradamus is distinguished as the most widely read seer of the European Renaissance.

Because most of his predictions were so gloomy, some antagonists fault Nostradamus as being a negative influence upon history. Yet, he felt that fate was not fixed and by simply knowing the strongest possibilities for the future, disaster might be averted through understanding. He also felt himself to be an instrument of God. In describing his gift he writes. "I wish to acknowledge that all has been accomplished through divine power and inspiration." Nostradamus' predictions were compiled in The Centuries, the only book he ever wrote.

In one of his most intriguing predictions detailing events taking place in the 1990's Nostradamus wrote. "He will appear in Asia and be at home in Europe. The man from the East will come out of his seat passing across the Appenines. He will fly through the sky."

In another slightly more obscure verse, he writes, "Against the red ones religions will unite. The rose (color) upon the middle of the world scene. To speak the truth they will have closed mouths. Then at the time of need the awaited one will come late." It is generally believed by interpreters of Nostradamus that reference to the color red relates to revolutionaries. Another theory speculates that this red is meant to indicate the orange or rose colored robes worn by Hindu and Buddhist renunciate monks. Together these two verses may be predicting a powerful world teacher arising within Hinduism.

Not all of Nostradamus' writings were morbid. He had ecstatic visions and tried also to share these yogic experiences through the medium of his verse: "Sublime essence forever visible to the eye, come to cloud the conscious mind for reasons of their own. Body and forehead together, senses and the overseeing ego become invisible, as the sacred prayers diminish."

The Centuries

Nostradamus kept his psychic gift secret for much of his life. When he finally decided to bring his visions of the future forward to the public, he explained his purpose in a letter to his new-born son, "Foreseeing the advent of the common people [modern times], I decided to relinquish withholding my tongue and pen from paper by declaring in dark and cryptic sentences the causes of the future changes of mankind by clouding them in obscure but, above all. prophetic language."

Nostradamus had long contemplated an ambitious project. He wanted to write a book that would describe all of man's future until the end of time. The book would be set in ten volumes called "Centuries," each containing one hundred quatrains (verses), totalling one thousand predictions in the entire work. He would call the book The Centuries.

With the 1555 publication of the first edition of The Centuries, Nostradamus' fame as a prophet spread throughout Europe. An enlarged second edition of The Centuries, dedicated to the King of France, was published in 1558. The immediate fulfillment of several of his prophecies made him the rage of the Paris court. He was appointed physician-in-ordinary by Charles IX when Charles became King in 1560.

Personal Life

Nostradamus' mysterious talent for prophecy was first perceived and encouraged by his grandfathers. They were Jews who had been forcibly converted to Christianity yet remained secretly rooted in their Jewish heritage of rich scholasticism and spirituality. They oversaw the training of their young and eager pupil in a variety of subjects including the Greek, Latin and Hebrew languages, mathematics, astrology, classical literature, history and herbal folk medicine. They also schooled the boy in the Jewish Kabbalah and alchemy (the science of converting base metals into gold). During a time in history when most of Europe was plagued by war and disease, Nostradamus spent an idyllic childhood in a peaceful country environment fringed with the finest cultural influences.

Had Nostradamus not made a single prophecy, he would have still endured in history for his contributions in the field of medicine. He cured whole villages of the dreaded black plague known as "Le Charbon." While Europe was emerging from the Dark Ages when even bathing was considered a sin, Nostradamus was practicing medicine with a working knowledge of germs and the importance of sanitation - perhaps from his visions of the future. One of his later quatrains would describe the work of, and specifically name, Louis Pasteur hundreds of years before the great 19th century medical pioneer of micro-biology and vaccination was born: "The lost thing, hidden for many centuries, is discovered. Pasteur will be honored as a demigod. This happens when the moon completes her great cycle. He will be dishonored by other rumors."

Yet "Le Charbon," which he had so masterfully controlled in its ravaging devastation upon others, mercilessly took the lives of his first wife and two children, despite his efforts to save them. This twist of events cost him his credibility as a doctor. He lost many friends and patients. To make matters, worse he was called before the Church Inquisitors at Toulouse on charges of heresy because of a casual remark he had made in jest some three years earlier. Narrowly escaping with his life, he spent the next six years in hiding, traveling the back roads of Western and Southern Europe. It was during this period that his prophetic powers awakened in full.

Ten years after the death of his wife and children, he settled in the town of Salon in southern France. Again he married and again he rose to fame and prominence as a respected physician. In this reestablished security he brought out all of the forbidden magical devices he had collected on his travels: magic mirrors, astrolabes, divining rods and a brass bowl and tripod designed after the classical oracle, Branchus. On the surface he was a model Catholic, but people began to wonder what was going on in the upstairs study of the good Dr. Nostradamus where mysterious candle lights burned all night long. Soon, he became a celebrity of quite another sort. During a period of history haunted by witch hunters, he was a clairvoyant unveiled. It was during these latter years of his life that he wrote The Centuries.

The End

Nostradamus died on July 2, 1566, at the age of 62. His house still stands in Salon, and the road upon which it is located has been renamed Rue Nostradamus.

There is one especially charming prophecy made by Nostradamus that won't be found in The Centuries. It concerns his death which, as might be expected, he foresaw.

Shortly before the fated hour, Nostradamus started a rumor that he would have a document buried with him that would decode all of his prophecies. Many wondered about this strange prophecy, but no one was curious enough to actually dig up the body of the illustrious seer until in 1700 - 134 years after his death - it became necessary for the elders of the community to move the grave. As they did so, they took a quick look inside the coffin. No paper was found, just a medallion with the date "1700" inscribed upon it.

Although many of Nostradamus" prophecies appear to have been fulfilled, they were officially condemned in 1781 by the Congregation of the Index, a special delegation set up by the Roman Catholic Church for the examination of books and manuscripts. Because of their cryptic style and content, these prophecies continue to create controversy even today. Many of them seem to clearly prefigure important historical events that have occurred since Nostradamus' time. Others appear to have no meaning or conceivably foretell events yet to occur.

Yet, even the hardiest critics can't deny the clarity of certain quatrains like the one predicting Edison's discovery of electricity: "When the animal is tamed by man and after great efforts and difficulty begins to speak, the lightning so harmful to the rod will be taken from earth and suspended in the air." The quatrain describing the coming of Hitler is also very clear: "From the deepest part of Western Europe, a young child will be born to poor people who by his speech will seduce a great multitude." There are many indications in the quatrains of Nostradamus that he was, first and foremost, a deeply spiritual man. From the same pen that scribed the coming of Hitler came this message of heavenly realms beyond. "The divine word will give to the essence, that which contains heaven and earth. All existence is beneath His feet as at the feet of heaven."

The Code

The practice of occultism was dangerous during the domination of the Catholic church in the 16th century, it was a common practice to speak of mystical matters in code. Centuries of investigation have unraveled many of his coding techniques, making the interpretation of Nostradamus' quatrains less a matter of speculation. Here are a few:

1. Anagrams: Words and phrases are scrambled to make other words and phrases using the same letters. Example: Rapis means Paris.

2. Synecdoche: A grammatical trick from Greek and Latin in which the part represents the whole. Example: Paris stands for France.

3. Play on words and phrases identifying people and movements in history through their insignias. Example: The crooked cross means the swastika.

4. Common names can be hidden in normal words and phrases. Example: The Gaul means Charles de Gaulle.

5. Countries are described as animals. Examples: Cock for France, Bear for Russia, Wolf for Italy.

6. Phonetics are altered slightly. Example: "U's" become "V's" as in Nostradamvs.

A Comment

Historically, the quatrains of Nostradamus have been used by less enlightened men to validate biased points of view. Of particular interest to Hindus is a book written recently by G.S. Hiranyappa of New Delhi for just this purpose. Hindu Destiny in Nostradamus is designed to supplement and support a radical hatred of Muslims. For example, with regard to one verse vaguely referring to "the orient" - which other interpreters of Nostradamus generally agree cannot be accurately understood for several reasons - Hiranyappa comments: "This quatrain from Nostradamus lays bare the greed, cowardice, selfishness and treachery which have made India a victim to the monster of Muslim blood-thirstiness."

Article copyright Himalayan Academy.

EVERYONE in the West, from statesman to crossing-sweeper, is aware of the fame of NOSTRADAMUS, the French-Jewish seer who died more than 400 years ago. The reason for his extraordinary popularity is quite simple. Many predictions published by Nostradamus in 1555 have been completely vindicated by the passage of time. Writing more than 400 years ago, he not only foresaw the two World Wars of the 20th century, but also came close to mentioning Hitler by name!
Earlier on, the French Revolution reached an elimination in 1792, as predicted by him. Incredible ?
Well, it is almost unbelievable. But even the most strident critics have been silenced by the phenomenal accuracy of the French seer. Of the approximately 2,500 forecasts that he published in his poetic "Centuries", no less than 800 have been precisely fulfilled so far. The remainder cover the period upto the year 3797. The track-record of Nostradamus is so perfect that there can be no doubt that the others too will be realised. His "Centuries" are absolutely amazing.

For Hindus especially, Nostradamus ought to be a hero of immense cheer. The Frenchman never visited India. In point of time, his forecasts were published well before Akbar became the Moghul ruler in Delhi. But, despite the great distance of time and space, Nostradamus clearly foresaw the rise of a mighty all conquering Hindu nation. Its birth is close at hand. The seer predicts that a resurgent India will burst forth upon its former oppressors and destroy them completely. The beginning of this terrible revenge will be in the seventh month of 1999.

Meanwhile, he predicts, after seven years of furious warfare, the Moslems will be totally wiped out. There will be no trace left of either Mecca or Medina. Somanath will be avenged a billion times over. The creed of Muhammad will vanish forever. The European countries who despoiled India will not be let off either. Flames will engulf Rome as Hindu soldiers advance on Paris overcomming the barrier of the Alps. The Pope will fly from his lair. Much of Europe will repudiate the false tenets of Christianity. The ancient sway of Hinduism will be restored. Vedic chants will again fill the air.

Does this all sound like a fairy-tale? To convince the skeptics it is best to quote the prophetic quatrains of the "Centuries". It must always be borne in mind that they were first published in 1555. Two copies of that edition are still preserved in the French National Library in Paris. Their genuineness cannot be disputed. Moslem murderers and their Western patrons will find the following forecast particularly hard to stomach:

Quatrain 75, Century X
Long awaited, he will not take birth in Europe, India will produce the immortal ruler, Seeing wisdom and power of unlimited scope, Asia will bow before this conquering scholar. As if this were not a sufficient warning to fanatics, Nostradamus makes his meaning still more explicit in the following :

Quatrain 96, Century X
The religion of the name of the seas triumphs, Against the fanatics of the Khalif's adalat, The murderous creed of the false alefs, Between the Hindus and Christians will be caught. This prophecy need a little explication. In geography, one finds the Hindu Maha Sagar (the Indian Ocean in English). Hinduism is the only religion with a sea (an ocean, rather) named after it. The Moslem fanatics believe that the Shariat or Koranic law with its sexual licence is God-given or Khalif's adalat. The Koran itself opens with the letter alef (A) in Arabic. Both Hindus and Christians have suffered at the hands of Moslems and seek revenge. Lebanon is a foretaste of things to come. The Nostradamian quatrain spells the doom of the murder-creed.

If this interpretation should sound far-fetched, consider yet another prophetic quatrain :

Quatrain 50, Century L
From the peninsula where three seas meet, Comes the ruler to whom Thursday is holy, His wisdom and might all nations will greet, To oppose him in Asia will be folly. South India is the only peninsula in the entire globe where three seas meet a point and stretch away.
The great Hindu leader who will wipe out our enemies will hence be a south Indian who offers worship on Thursdays. It is easy to see why Nostradamus specifically mentions Thursday as the holy day. It is only Hindus who consider Thursday sacred. Moslems pray on Friday; Jews bow before God on Saturday; Christians bawl hymns on Sunday at church.
Nostradamus is making it clear here that the conqueror will be a Hindu from South India. He will bind Asia together under his rule. The Hindu leader, however, will not be a tyrant. He will be ruthless with the Moslem fanatics. But he will win over the communists by persuading them of the timeless varieties of Hinduism. Russia will become India's ally:

Quatrain 95, Century III
The creed of the Moor will perish, Followed be another more popular still, The Dnieper will be the first to relish, The wisdom which imposes its will.

The Moslems are often called Moors by Europeans owing to the nearness of Morocco with its Moslem faith. Incidentally, the Dutch who landed in Ceylon also called the Lankan Moslems as Moors. Even today, the Lankan Moslems are officially designated as Moors.

The Dnieper is a great river in southern Russia. The seer's forecast seems to suggest that Russia will be the first among Communist countries to abandon Marxism in favour of Hinduism. The Red comrades in our midst will doubtless throw up their hands in horror at the mere idea. But Riencourt, the French writer, quotes a prophecy made by Ramakrishna Parmahamsa shortly before his death which strongly supports the French seer's prediction. Shri Ramakrishna declared that his next birth would be to the north-west of India. In other words, he will be reborn in Russia as a Hindu holy man! Communism is certainly a more popular creed than Islam. But both will be alike vanquished by resurgent Hinduism.
Russia will be greatly benefited by its alliance with the Hindu Rashtra. Nostradamus describes Russia's good fortune :

Quatrain 26, Century V
The Salvic folk will be on the winning side, And rise to the highest point, They cast off their paltry ideological guide, The mountain-army crosess the sea in an expidition joint. As the Hindu troops sweep through the Middle East avenging former wrongs, the Russian army in the Caucasus mountains will link up with them. The paltry ideological guide who will be abandoned is Karl Marx. The sea to be crossed is either the Mediterranean or the Black Sea.

Inevitably, the question crops up: Are such things possible? Here is a convincing reply to prove the seer's clairvoyance :

Quatrain 77, Century III
In October seventeen twenty-seven, The Afghans and Turkey will score, Areas lost by Iran, Christians beseech heaven, Against Moslems shedding innocent gore.

This event took place exactly 172 years after the publication of the forecast by Nostradamus in 1555.
An agreement was made by Afghanistan and Turkey in October 1727, dividing up Iran. Christian communities which came under Turkish misrule were brutally treated in Georgia and Armenia (both now in U.S.S.R). Nostradamus had never been out of France except for a brief visit to next-door Italy. Yet he foresaw what the Afghans and the Turks would do in Iran in October 1727! This is truly an amazing prediction by any reckoning. None of the parties concerned had ever heard of Nostradamus.

Let us now return to the Hindu holy-war.

Quatrain 59, Century III
The empire of Islam by Hindus overthrown, The majority of Moslems will succumb, To radio-active fall-out by India blown, Making Muhammad forever silent and numb. Interestingly, in his prose-introduction to the "Centuries", the seer dwells at some length on the destruction of Islam and Mecca. The city will be smashed up in such a way that all those who enter it will sicken and die. The only interpretation of this forecast is that there will be radioactive fall-out in the area.
Nostradamus declares that the Hindus will be engaged in the task of revenge for seven years from the seventh month of 1999. Intrestingly, even Islamic texts predict doom in the 15th century of their religion. After the destruction (annihilation would be the exact word) of Islamic power, the Hindu leader will march on the Europe. Both Egypt and Israel will rally to his standard. The Hindu leader with Hebrew leaning, Marches on Rome and its allies, His ships sail from Libyan mooring, The Bible-chanting clergy dies.

This tremendous onslaught will be bloody. In yet another forecast Nostradamus remarks that the Hindu army will lose 2,50,000 men. But victory will be attained. It will be decisive.

Michel de Nostre-Dame, better known as Nostradamus (1503-1566), was a famous French astrologer whose predictions - which included the assassination of John Fitzgerald Kennedy & the premature death of the previous Pope - have proved infallibly accurate.
Recently, unpublished manuscripts of Nostradamus have been discovered (and authentified) in an old trunk in the French city of Lyon. Curiously, there are two full pages, which deal at length with India, particularly with the Bharatiya Janata Party and the just concluded elections. We are giving here the first words in Latin, the language which he used, along with a rough translation in English.
"Politicus Bharatus Janatus Indicus veni grandus est vingtus unus centurus - Congressus oublium est …"
The Bharatiya Janata Party will come to dominate India in the 21st century, as the Congress, will slowly sink into oblivion.
"Malheureusus, duo annum millenium trahisonus idealum est Congressus ressemblum, fautum adoptus est. Electionirium Blanca Madamus attaquum"...
Unfortunately, to achieve power, the BJP may gradually forsake most of its idealism. In the 1999 elections for instance, (Nostradamus made here a prediction error : he said duum millenium = 2000), instead of concentrating on real issues - water, sanitation, education - it will waste all its energies on attacking the White Lady (Sonia Gandhi, we suppose).
"Surtoutnum idealus oublium Indianum magna Carta devenus est"…
But more than these basic issues, which any sincere politician should have at heart, it will not address the real burning changes which India needs to adopt so as to become again a Great Power.
And Nostradamus goes on to enumerate these changes :
"Congressus independantum Blancum copium est; necessarus changum indianus cumum facus est"…
As the Congress had heavily borrowed from the White Man (British ?) at Independence, it will become necessary to "Indianize" the nation so that it may manifest again its true unique soul.
"Panchayatum villagum empruntus. Sanskritus introdum est. Historicum ecritum manus, daemonus est. Yogum, respirationnus introdum est…"
Give back the power to the villages in the form of Panchayat. Reintroduce Sanskrit as the national language. Rewrite Indian History, which had mostly been devised by White Masters. Revive ancient traditional systems such as pranayama, yoga, and incorporate them in the education system and everyday life. Change the Constitution so that democracy may not be perverted as it will be. Privatise the over-staffed Iron Bird (Indian Airlines ?), which has the most expensive fares in the world…
"Malheureusus, secularus montrarus Congressus devenium est, corptionus introdus cancerus est..."
Unhappily again, goes on to say Nostradamus, the BJP in its eagerness to prove itself secular (secularus is originally a Latin word), will tend to become like the Congress : corruption, bureaucracy, the VIP plague, the madness of subsidies and the hunger for power, may eat its inner core as a cancer…
"Americanus octopussus contentus summum est; jaunus manus menacus ignorum est, Gaullus manum oublius est. Aurobindus Ghosus Propehetus ignorum est"…
It will try to please the American octopus (?) at the cost of India’s integrity, will ignore the great danger of the Yellow Hand (China ?), it will forget that a reuniting with Pakistan is of utmost importance for the stability of the subcontinent, will shun the friendship of the Gauls (France ?) and will also disregard the words of its Great Prophet, Aurobindo Ghose.
And this is Nostradamus’ scoop - if we may say :
"Politicus Bharatus Janatus interminum dividus duum et novus politicus formus"…
After some time, the Bharatiya Janata Party may split into two. Sincere idealists will form a parallel party which will have as its political platform many of the ideals which the BJP had forsaken.
"Indianus pretus reformus est, Grandus nationus manum"…
India by that time will be ready for the Big Change and the new party will sweep away the polls and implement these reforms.
"Sanskritus savantuus nationalum languus, decentralisum governmentus, aryanus theorum mortuum est, dharmum hinduus devenum. Christianum, Islamus influencum"…
Scholars will sit down to modernise and simplify Sanskrit; government will be decentralised; India will strive to form of a federation of SAARC countries; the theory of the Aryan invasion will be proved false and it will be shown that Indian civilisation is at least ten thousand years old and has influenced all great ancient civilisations and religions such as Christianity and even Islam.
And finally :
"Aurobindus Ghosus realisum est, Indianum Agus ancientus mortum non est"..
And the prophecy of Sri Aurobindo will be fulfilled : "India of the ages is not dead nor has She spoken Her last creative word. And that which She must seek now to awake, is not an anglicised oriental people, docile pupil of the West and doomed to repeat the cycle of the Occident's success and failure, but still the ancient immemorial Shakti recovering Her deepest self, lifting Her head higher towards the supreme source of light and strength and turning to discover the complete meaning and vaster form of Her Dharma".
P.S. Nostradamus had written a Post Script:
"Post Scriptum : Politicus Bharatus Janatus minus votus, realisus stupidum est et changum exorcisus"…
As the BJP, in spite of its alliance getting overall majority (in 1999), will actually win less seats than in the previous election (because of it folly of forsaking its idealism and only attacking the White Lady), it may come to its senses and take-up again its original ideals, thus avoiding the Split. In this way, this semi-defeat may help to exorcise the demons of mediocrity.
BY FRANCOIS GAUTIER