Mamata Banerjee demands immediate declassification of Netaji files

West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee on Thursday demanded that the Centre immediately declassify the files of iconic Indian freedom fighter Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose from the Central archives.

“Netaji was the victim of a conspiracy. The state government has 64 classified files of Netaji which we have already declassified. Now the Union government should declassify the files in the Central archives,” the chief minister said while participating in a function at Kalchini in Alipurduar district of West Bengal to pay home to Netaji on his birth anniversary.

At the age of 48, Bose apparently died from third-degree burns after his plane crashed in Japanese-occupied Taiwan on 18 August 1945. His body was cremated at the Taihoku crematorium on 20 August, but his death has remained shrouded in mystery and controversy, with many theories suggesting he survived the air crash, though no official evidence of this has ever been presented.

One of the most popular beliefs at the time was that Bose faked his death to escape the British authorities and continued to live in disguise. Some believed that Netaji went missing because he was being held captive by Japan. Some believed he was murdered to prevent him from becoming an influential political figure once India gained independence.

The chief minister also said, "It is unfortunate that though the people of India know the date of Netaji’s birthday, no one is aware of the date of his death. I feel sad when I think that we could not even know what actually happened to Netaji.”

Three different commissions — the Shah Nawaz Committee, the Khosla Commission, and the Justice Mukherjee Commission — investigated his death, but failed to come to any irrefutable conclusion.

Banerjee also said Netaji was the true political mentor of the entire nation. “He was a true leader and pathfinder. He set up the Indian National Army. The erstwhile Planning Commission was his brainchild. He believed in the unity of all religions.He used to think for everyone. But it is unfortunate that we do not have any idea on where he actually vanished,” she said.

At a different function at Red Road in central Kolkata, leader of opposition (LoP) in the West Bengal assembly Suvendu Adhikari paid floral tributes at the statue of Netaji.

The LoP had earlier questioned the alleged “double standards" of the West Bengal government regarding Netaji’s birthday. According to him, though the state government earlier issued a notification under Section 25 of the Negotiable Instruments Act, 1881 and declared 23 January a public holiday for 2025, it was stated that the CMRO grievance redressal office would be functional on that day in WhatsApp groups of state government officials. “This not only violates the norms for a public holiday declared under the NI Act but is also tantamount to disrespecting Netaji,” Adhikari claimed.

With agency inputs