Subhas Chandra Bose was an Indian nationalist, great leader, and thinker who openly opposed and challenged British authority. He is known for his organization Azad Hind Fauj and his famous slogan - 'Tum Mujhe Khoon do, mai tumhe Azadi doonga'. He is also known by the name 'Netaji'.

Subhas Chandra Bose was born on 23 Jan 1897 in Cuttack, Orissa. His father was a well-known lawyer. He was the ninth child among 14 siblings. He completed his primary education at European school in Cuttack and then completed his undergraduate from Presidency College Calcutta. Bose was inspired by Ramakrishna Paramhansa and Swami Vivekananda.

Bose went to England to prepare for Indian Civil Services and cleared the examination in his first attempt. But Jallianwala Bagh Massacre left him distressed. He decided to boycott British services and resigned from Indian Civil Services in 1921.

Inspired by Mahatma Gandhi, Bose joined Indian National Congress upon arriving in India. At the behest of Gandhiji, Bose started working under Chittaranjan Das. In 1923, he got elected as the president of the India Youth Congress. In the meantime, he was also the secretary of the Bengal State Congress.

Bose also remained as the editor of the newspaper named 'Forward'. The paper was founded by Chittaranjan Das. Bose was also the CEO of Calcutta Municipal Corporation at the time when Chittaranjan Das was mayor of Calcutta.

Bose and some other leaders got arrested due to the protest march in Calcutta against the Britishers. He was sent to Mandalay jail, where he got affected by tuberculosis. After coming out of prison in 1927, he was elected as General Secretary of the Congress party. He worked with Jawaharlal Nehru for India's Independence. In 1930, he was again arrested at the time of Civil Disobedience movement. He was released when Gandhiji signed the famous 'Gandhi-Irwin' pact.

In 1938, he got elected as the President of Indian National Congress(INC) for the first time. He was again elected as the president of INC in the 1939 Tripuri session, where he defeated Dr P Sitaramayya. Gandhiji himself supported Sitaramayya. Bose stepped down as the President of INC as he didn't get the support of Gandhiji. Bose formed his own group named 'Forward Bloc'.

Bose protested for the removal of the Holwell monument and again got arrested. He was released, but his house of kept under observation. He then moved to Germany via Afghanistan to get the support of Nazi Germany. He also met Adolf Hitler.

In 1943, Bose revived Azad Hind Fauz(INA). During this time, he got the title of 'Netaji'. Bose also established the 'Free India Center' and Indian Legion.

In 1943, when Bose realized that Germany could not help India to gain Independence, he left for Japan. In 1943, Bose got complete control of the INA(Indian National Army).

'Tum Mujhe Khoon do, mai tumhe Azadi doonga' - Bose said these words in one of the motivational sessions of INA. He requested Indian youth to support INA and fight against the Britishers. Japan's surrender led to the surrender of INA as well.

On 18 Aug 1945, when Bose was travelling to Tokyo, his plane crashed. He died in this incident. But some people believe that Bose was alive after the plane crash. There is no proper evidence or information regarding it to date.

Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose was also inspired by Bhagavad Gita. He supported women's empowerment, secularism and other liberal ideas. But he didn't believe in democracy. His courage and patriotism will inspire future generations.

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