Tuesday, March 24, 2009

Remembering Netaji


Remembering Netaji: Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose’s nephew Sisir Bose (left) with West Bengal Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee at the 112th birthday celebrations of the great patriot in Kolkata on Friday.
KOLKATA: Historians have yet to accord Netaji the position he deserves, West Bengal Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee said here on Friday on the occasion of the 112th birth anniversary of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose.
“Netaji’s ideals are still relevant today. He has left an indelible mark on the political thought and consciousness of the country and researchers were finding new meanings and inspiration from his writings…His vision was of a socialist and secular independent India,” Mr. Bhattacharjee said, after paying floral tributes to Netaji at his statue. “The world today is being rocked by terrorism; capitalism is pushing it from one crisis to another” the Chief Minister said.No religion
“Terrorism has no religion,” he said, pointing out that it is unfortunate that some politicians are blaming the Muslims for the Mumbai terror attacks; but the minority community was not responsible for the Malegaon blasts.
Mr. Bhattacharjee said exploitation by big capital and the resulting economic crisis had spread across the world.
Capitalism will remain capitalism, he said, sceptical whether the change in the U.S. presidency will change matters...THE HINDU
Netaji Subhas Bose On Sri Aurobindo
"In my undergraduate days Aurobindo Ghose was easily the most popular leader in Bengal, despite his voluntary exile and absence since 1910. His was a name to conjure with. He had sacrificed a lucrative career in order to devote himself to politics. On the Congress platform he had stood up as a champion of left-wing thought and fearless advocate of independence at a time when most of the leaders, would talk... only of colonial self-government. He had undergone incarceration with perfect equanimity...
When I came to Calcutta, in 1913, Aurobindo was already a legendary figure. Rarely have I seen people speak of a leader with such rapturous enthusiasm and many were the anecdotes of this great man, some of them probably true, which travelled from mouth to mouth.
[Aurobindo's] letters would pass rapidly from hand to hand, specially in circles interested in spirituality-cum-politics. In our circle usually somebody would read the letter aloud and the rest of us would enthuse over it... We felt convinced that spiritual enlightenment was necessary for effective national service".

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