Orient BlackSwan

About the BookAbout the Author

In 1938 Subhas Chandra Bose reached the peak of his political life, when he was elected President of the Indian National Congress. Leading the forces of anti-coloniaIism and socialism, he was re-elected in 1939, having defeated Gandhi's nominee in a bitterly contested election. However, in the face of vehement opposition from the right wing of the Congress and Gandhi, he resigned. This volume brings together Bose's letters, writings and speeches from January 1938 until just after his resignation in April 1939. It includes the famous Haripura Address of February 1938. Other pieces deal with socialism, national planning, science, Hindu–Muslim relations, the role of women, and European politics. Among the 120 letters here are sets of correspondence with Gandhi, Tagore, Jinnah and Nehru.

Sisir Kumar Bose (1920–2000) founded the Netaji Research Bureau in 1957 and was its guiding spirit until his death in 2000. A participant in the Indian freedom struggle, he was imprisoned by the British in the Lahore Fort, Red Fort and Lyallpur Jail. In the post-independence period he played a key role in preserving the best traditions of the anti-colonial movement and making possible the writing of its history. He authored and edited biographies, memoirs, monographs and research papers on Netaji’s life and times. One of India’s best pediatricians, he was Director and later President of the Institute of Child Health, Calcutta. Sugata Bose is the Gardiner Professor of History at Harvard University. He is the author of several books on the economic, social and political history of modern South Asia.