Retired Supreme Court judge Justice Markandey Katju is famous for his controversial remarks. His comments on Father of the Nation Mahatma Gandhi had created a lot of uproar. Justice Katju's insightful analysis in his latest article, part five of his series, where he critically examines prominent figures in Indian history often celebrated as heroes. From Subhas Chandra Bose and Rabindranath Tagore to other legendary figures, Justice Katju delves into their alleged roles as foreign agents and their impact on India's freedom struggle. Read his detailed examination and join the debate on historical narratives and their implications. The views expressed in this article are the personal views of the author.
Some other foreign agents
By Justice Katju
Many people described me as a 'controversial' judge.
Since I was not sure what exactly the word 'controversial' meant, I
searched many thesauruses and dictionaries and was bewildered to find it had
over 100 meanings.
This motivated me to start writing a series of articles on the topic, the first four which have been published online, :
Now in this 5th article in the series I shall deal with some other Indians who have been hero worshipped, glorified, extolled, venerated, lauded and deified, though they were in fact, foreign agents. Since I have already written in detail about them giving my reasons, I will only briefly state my views about them, and for details, the readers can see the links of my online articles.
1. The Japanese agent
Subhas Chandra Bose
Bose was in his youth patriotic, and joined the freedom struggle, after qualifying for the ICS. However, he later became ambitious, and after Gandhi forced him to resign the Presidentship of the Congress party (after the Haripura Congress in 1938), he went to Germany to seek Hitler's help to fight the British ( on the theory that an enemy's enemy is one's friend ). When that did not work out, he went to Japan, with the same motive, but in fact became a Japanese agent.:
I hold Bengalis in high respect. They are a highly intelligent, highly
cultured people, with great contributions in literature, science,
philosophy,social reforms, etc
Unfortunately, many of them have
some blind spots. It is diifficult to talk rationally with many Bengalis about
some personalities whom they have converted into icons or holy cows, e.g.
Tagore or Subhas Chandra Bose. Even the slightest criticism of these persons
invokes a torrent or barrage of invectives and vituperations.
I remember when I was a Judge of
Allahabad High Court I was sitting with some other Judges, one of whom was a
Bengali, at the house of one of my colleagues. I mentioned my view that Subhas
Chandra Bose was a Japanese agent. This so infuriated the Bengali Judge that he
started shouting and raving almost like a madman, and so I quickly apologized
so as not to break up the party.
But why should Bengalis go crazy if
someone rationally criticizes Tagore and Bose? Are they the private property
of Bengalis.?
Some time back I read in the
newspapers that Mamata Banerjee had decided to throw open the state
government's files on ' Netaji '.
In my opinion, this was just a
diversionary populist measure to divert attention from the real problems of
Bengalis ( and other Indians ) of poverty, unemployment, healthcare, price
rise, malnourishment, etc.
In my opinion, it is high time for Bengalis ( and other
Indians ) to make a rational assessment of this 'hero' or ' national icon ' (
as Mamata described him ).
When in Germany, Bose not only hobnobbed with Hitler but even with Himmler,
two of the most evil men in history, ( their photographs can be seen on the
internet ) responsible for sending millions to gas chambers. He wanted to
organize the Indian soldiers captured by the Germans, to fight along with the
Nazis. But when Hitler showed no interest, Bose went to Japan and raised his
ragtag 'Azad Hind Fauj ' to fight with Japanese support against the British
army.
In my opinion Bose was a highly ambitious person, and he became a Japanese
agent because neither Gandhi nor Hitler had given him any ' bhaav ', so he
thought that the only alternative left was to ally with Japan.
The Japanese fascists used Bose in their fight against the British, but the
moment his utility was over they would probably have bumped him off.
Does anybody think that the Japanese fascist imperialists would have given
freedom to India if they had defeated the British? No, they would have made
India their colony ( as they made Korea, Manchuria and other parts of China,
Vietnam, etc ) and looted us. If we resisted, the Japanese would assuredly have
massacred our people, as they did to the people of Shanghai, Nanking, etc ( see
on Youtube visual accounts of these massacres ).
If Bose was a great freedom fighter, why did he give up the fight against
the British the moment the Japanese surrendered in 1945? He should have carried on a guerilla war against the
British, the way the Chinese Eighth Route Army fought against the Japanese. In
guerilla war you fight with the weapons of the enemy, by snatching them from
him. The fact that he did not do so shows that there was nothing in the man.
First, he tried to become an agent of the Nazis, but they rebuffed him.
Then he became an agent of the Japanese,
who accepted him as their loyal lackey.
Some people support Bose's alliance with the Japanese by saying that an
enemy's enemy is one's friend. In the real, practical, world, this maxim cannot
be of universal application. One can
understand alliance with Japan if there was a possibility that such an alliance
could have benefited us and given us real freedom. But there was no such
possibility. Even if the Japanese, with I.N.A. support had defeated the British
and conquered India, they would never have given us freedom, but converted
India into their colony and looted us. The very nature of the then fascism
prevailing in Japan makes this evident.
My assessment of Bose is that he was an over ambitious, confused person,
who to satisfy his ambition and ego was prepared even to ally with the devil,
like Faust dealing with Mephistopheles. It is high time Bengalis ( and others
) realize this
2. The British agent Tagore
I regard Sharad Chandra Chattopadhyaya as the greatest prose writer of the
Indian subcontinent. By his novels, short stories and other writings he
launched a powerful attack against the caste system, women's oppression, and
other aspects of feudalism. In fact he was taking literature in a revolutionary
direction ( see his novel 'Pather Dabi'),
and this so scared the British rulers of India that to counter him and
divert literature towards nonsensical mysticism and spiritualism, they built up
Tagore, through Yeats, and got him the Nobel Prize.
Many Bengalis become hysterical if one speaks against Tagore or Subhas
Chandra Bose, and it is sometimes impossible to talk rationally with them about
'Netaji' and Tagore.
Are Subhas Chandra Bose and Tagore
the private property of Bengalis? Can no one criticize them in their presence?
If Bengalis regard them as public figures, not the private property of
Bengalis, then the public surely has the right to assess and criticize them.
I have expressed my views about Bose
and Tagore on my blog justicekatju.blogspot.in and I do not intend to repeat
them in detail.
I regard Tagore as a British stooge who was promoted by Yeats and used by
the British to divert literature from the revolutionary direction Sharad
Chandra Chattopadhyaya was taking it (see his novel ' Pather Dabi', which was
banned by the British. At one time the price of one copy was the same as that
of a Mauser pistol ).
In my article ' The Role of Art and Literature ' on my blog
justicekatju.blogspot.in I have
explained that there are broadly two theories of art and literature, one is
called 'Art for art's sake', and the other is called ' Art for social purpose
'. In a poor country like India only the second theory is acceptable. Tagore
belonged broadly to the school of ' Art for Art's sake', propagatingspiritualism and mystical nonsense ( see Tagore's poems 'Gitanjali', 'Agni beena
bajao tumi kemon kore', 'Klanti' etc) and Sharad Chandra to the school of '
Art for social purpose'. The British were scared of the writings of Sharad
Chandra, and so they promoted their stooge Tagore., who mainly propagated
spiritualism and mysticism by his writings, which is nonsense and a
diversionary tactic in a country with massive poverty, unemployment, hunger,
lack of healthcare etc
3. Sir Syed Ahmed Khan
Many people praise Sir Syed Ahmed Khan, but the truth is that he was a
British agent. I have explained this in my article given below in great detail,
so there is no need to further elaborate
4. 'Veer' Savarkar
Many people have praised Savarkar as a great freedom fighter, but what is
the truth about him?
The truth is that many nationalists during British rule were arrested by
the British, and given long jail sentences.
In jail the British authorities would give them an offer: either
collaborate with us, in which case we will free you, or rot in jail for the
rest of your life.
Most of them became collaborators, including Savarkar.
Savarkar was a nationalist only till 1910
when he was arrested, and given two life sentences.
After serving over 10 years in jail, the
British evidently made the offer of collaboration, which Savarkar accepted. On
coming out of jail he started preaching Hindu communalism, and became a British
agent, serving the British policy of divide and rule.
Savarkar as president of the Hindu Mahasabha, during the Second World War,
advanced the slogan "Hinduize all Politics and Militarize Hindudom",
he decided to support the British war effort in India seeking military training
for the Hindus.
When the Congress launched the Quit India movement in 1942, Savarkar criticized it and asked Hindus to stay active
in the war effort and not disobey the government, He urged the Hindus to enlist
in the armed forces to learn the "arts of war'', but this appeal was made
selectively to Hindus.
Can this man be respected and praised as a freedom fighter?
The real veers were Bhagat Singh, Surya Sen ( Masterda ), Chandrashekhar
Azad, Bismil, Ashfaqulla, Rajguru, Khudiram Bose, etc who were mostly hanged by
the British. What was so 'veer' about Savarkar? He had become a British agent
after 1910.
See also the articles below
How Did Savarkar, a Staunch Supporter of British Colonialism, Come to Be Known as 'Veer'?
History revisited: Was Veer Savarkar really all that brave?
savarkar-was-british-agent-used-to-spew-venom-against-muslims-justice-katju/
5 Periyar, the British
agent
EV Ramasami, known as Periyar, is praised by many, particularly in Tamilnadu, but in fact he was a British agent, as explained in my article below.
6 The British agent Allama Iqbal
Iqbal was no doubt a very good Urdu poet, and he was secular and a
nationalist in his youth when he wrote the poem 'Saare jahaan se achcha
Hindustan hamaara' in 1904.
However, he later became a shameless British agent, who wrote the poems
'Shikwa' and 'Jawab-e-Shikwa' which preached pan-Islamic nonsense, and he
propagated the two nation theory, as explained below
7. The British agent Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyaya
Bankim Chandra is praised for his book 'Anand Math', but here is the truth
about him and the novel
Bankim Chandra hated Muslims, calling them 'yavans' and wanted British rule to continue
8 The British agent
Aurobindo
A typical modus operandi of British authorities during British rule was
this : when they spotted an Indian who made fiery speeches or wrote fiery
articles against British rule they would arrest him on trumped up charges,
manufacture evidence and get the accused sentenced to long periods in jail
through their biased judges.
In jail, the person would be given harsh treatment, solitary confinement,
beatings, etc. This would usually ' soften up '
the detenue, and he would emerge as a tame person, often as a secret
British agent after a secret deal with the British authorities
This happened with many persons---M.N.Roy, Aurobindo Ghose, Veer Savarkar
and Bal Gangadhar Tilak
In 1908 a bomb blast killed a
British barrister's wife and daughter in Alipore in Calcutta. In the Alipore
Bomb case Khudiram Bose was hanged, while Prafulla Chaki committed suicide when
cornered.
Aurobindo, who was a fiery revolutionary before this incident, was arrested
for planning this incident on trumped up charges, and sentenced to jail. When
he came out of jail he was no longer a revolutionary but had become a
spiritualist, preaching nonsense like ' Integral Yoga ' ( see Life Divine ),
and shifted to Pondicherry where he established his 'ashram'
9. The British agent
Tilak
Bal Gangadhar Tilak, was a fiery person who said ' Swaraj is my birthright
and I will have it '. He praised Khudiram Bose and Prafulla Chaki, who threw
bombs on some Britishers, in his
newspaper, and for this was tried for sedition and sentenced to 6 years imprisonment. When he came out of jail, he
had mellowed, and was no longer the same man. He gave up the demand for Swaraj,
and it seems he had struck some deal with the British authorities
Tilak is hailed by many as a great freedom fighter of India.
I regret I have a different opinion, and I know I will again have to face a
torrent of invectives, abuses and vituperations for expressing my views. But
that does not matter. The truth must be told in the national interest. The
people of India have been deceived enough.
I submit that Tilak was an obscurantist, propagandist of militant Hinduism,
and therefore objectively a British agent, like Gandhi, since his ideology,
statements, and actions furthered the British policy of divide and rule.
Consider the facts :
1. In 1894 he transformed household worship of the Hindu god
Ganesh into a grand public event in many parts of Maharashtra. The festival
organizers would urge Hindus to protect cows, and boycott participation in
Muharram, which they had been doing for decades. Similarly,in 1895 he organized Shivaji festivals. Thus he injected
religion into politics, like Gandhi, and thereby served the British policy of
divide and rule.
2.When in 1891 the British introduced the Age of Consent Bill to
raise the minimum age of marriage from 10 to
12 years, Tilak strongly
opposed it, saying it is against Hinduism.
3.When in late 1896 there was an epidemic of plague from Bombay to
Pune, and the British authorities wanted to fumigate all houses to destroy the
plague bacteria, Tilak strongly opposed it as he said it would violate the purdah
of Hindu women.
4. Tilak wrote
obscurantist nonsensical theories like that saying that the original home of Aryans was in the Arctic
5. After his 6 years in jail in, he became an open British stooge, supporting recruitment for
the British army in the First World War,
supporting the Montague Chelmsford 'Reforms', 1919, etc
Tilak's supporters cite his statement 'Swaraj '( freedom) is my birthright,
and I will have it ', and they say that if he was a British agent why did the
British keep him in jail?
My answer is : I have called him and Gandhi as objectively British agents,
not subjectively. By the term 'objectively' I mean that he may not be getting
any payment from the British, and may not even be conscious of the fact that he
is serving British interests, but objectively his deeds and statements served
British interests..
Gandhi was also kept in jail by the
British, though he was objectively a British agent. Though normally both Gandhi
and Tilak served British interests, sometimes they said things which alarmed
the British, e.g. Gandhi's call for Quit India in 1942 when the British were fighting a life-and-death struggle
against the Germans during the Second World War, or when Tilak issued strong
statements supporting Praful Chaki and Khudiram Bose who had thrown bombs on
some Britishers. It was then that they were imprisoned by the Britishers.
10. The Congress leaders
of 1947
I regard all these, including Gandhi, Nehru, Patel, etc as British agents
as they shamelessly agreed to the British swindle called Partition of India, on
the basis of the bogus two-nation theory, which was one of the greatest
tragedies in the history of our country, resulting in half a million brutal
deaths, millions displaced, and other horrors ( see the short stories of Manto
) whose ill effects are being felt even today.
(Justice Katju is a retired judge of the Supreme Court.
These are his personal views.)
