The Legacy of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose and Ansar Harvani
By
Saquib Salim, New Age Islam
23-11-2022
“On his
(Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose) release, he invited me (Ansar Harvani) and Prabodh
Chandra from Lahore by telegram to come to Calcutta (now Kolkata) to meet
him…….. It was early January 1941, he told me that Gandhi was going to launch
individual Satyagrah to send political elements to jail in the most peaceful
and nonviolent fashion. But something big is going to happen before the end of
June when the monsoon will set in, and see that as many student cadres remain
outside jails as possible…… I could not imagine in my wildest dream that he
would march to Europe to head an Indian National Army.”
Ansar Harvani and Netaji Subhas
Chandra Bose
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A Slice of History
Ansar
Harvani recalled this incident in his memoirs. But who is Ansar Harvani? Like
many of our freedom fighters who took sides with revolutionaries, he belongs to
the margins of our history books. The fact that he was the maternal uncle of
film lyricist, Javed Akhtar, brother of popular poet Asrar ul Haq Majaz didn’t
help him much in becoming more known to the Indian public. A staunch supporter
of Subhas Chandra Bose, he was advised by his mother, “She advised me to leave Subhas
and join Gandhi if I needed a better personal future.” But, can those who love
their motherland think of a ‘personal future’?
Ansar
jumped into the freedom struggle, as a student, in the mid-1920s. Initially,
Nehru impressed him but soon he found a leader in Subhas. He recalled, “as a student
leader, I was deeply impressed by Jawaharlal. But, I was disappointed when he
always compromised with Gandhi at every stage. I was more impressed by the
militancy of Subhas Bose.” His attractive personality and oratory skills made
him one of the most popular young leaders from Uttar Pradesh.
Ansar
played an important role in the formation of the All India Students Federation
(AISF) in 1936 to organise students in the freedom struggle. It was the time
when he came closer to Subhas. He wrote, “The election of Subhas Bose as
Congress President gave a fillip to the Students’ Movement. Unlike other
Congress leaders who looked upon students and youth with suspicion, he had
great faith in youth power…… despite the advice of local Congress Committees
not to accept the invitation of the Students’ Federation he made it a point not
only to address the meetings arranged by them but built up personal contact
with local as well as provincial students leaders.
”Among the
student leaders, Ansar was the closest to Subhas. He recalled, “When Subhas
decided to contest the election of Congress President for a second term, I
myself from U.P and Prabodh Chandra from Punjab were summoned by him to
Calcutta for advice.”
After
Subhas was forced to resign from the post of Congress President, the
Independence pledge was also amended, an act disapproved by Netaji. Ansar, to
show public support for Subhas, invited him to Lucknow on the day Congress was
going to hold its meeting. Press wrote off Ansar’s effort as most of the Congress
stalwarts were to be present at the meeting. But while the Congress meeting
attracted a thin gathering, “Subhas Bose addressed a massive rally of youth and
students presided by me (Ansar) in an adjacent park and was taken in a huge
procession.”
Subhas confided
in Ansar that he suspected Congress leadership to declare a compromise with the
British to help in the World War at Ramgarh session. He was asked to reach
Ramgarh and prepare for an anti-compromise conference there on the same day.
Swami Sahjanand Saraswati and Dhanraj Sharma were also asked to prepare for the
conference. It was a short notice and to take upon Gandhi backed Congress was
not an easy task. Ansar himself was unsure of its success.
When he
reached Ramgarh ‘"a sprawling township was being erected for the Congress
session’ under the charge of Dr. Rajendra Prasad and with money from
industrialists like Birla while Swami Sahjanand was living in a small tent.
Soon, he witnessed the love of the masses for Subhas. He recalled, “within a
few days, thousands of Kisan and Adivasi volunteers poured in carrying thatch
from neighbouring forests to erect the township. These volunteers lived on a
parched grain of gram and rice and worked throughout the whole day and night
with unknown devotion in modern Indian history.”
On an
appointed day, Subahs came early. Ansar wrote, “I took him around the camp. He
even inspected urinals and latrines and suggested some improvements in them and
left. This was the first glimpse of mine about his thoroughness which was amply
displayed when he, later on, organised the legendary Indian National Army which
hastened the retreat of British Imperialism from India.”
The
anti-compromise conference drew a larger crowd than the original Congress
session as students, peasants, and tribals gave their wholehearted support to
Subhas. Ansar again proved to be the master planner for Subhas. He was one of
the most prominent leaders of the Congress faction which supported Subhas and
was called Forward Bloc.
Subhas left
the country with the instruction with him that his supporters should avoid
going to jail as he foresaw a Gandhi-led movement where nationalists would be
locked up in jail making things easier for the British. Unfortunately, Ansar
was arrested. It was the time when Indians were not getting any news of Subhas
Bose. He wrote, “It was interesting that we got the news (while in jail) about
the activities of Subhas Bose and his national army only from communist papers
who highlighted them to paint him as a traitor and fifth columnist of the
Germans and Japanese.” Locked up in Alipore jail, nationalists like him were
enthusiastic about a Japanese attack.
He
recalled, “On Christmas eve in 1943, some Japanese planes flew over Calcutta
and dropped few bombs. We were locked in our cells but shouted ‘Bande Mataram’
welcoming Japanese planes for we knew that they were allies of Subhas Bose.”
When he was
finally released in 1946, Ansar was the first to tell the world that several
INA soldiers were hanged even before the trials. He said, “During my presence
(Alipore Jail) at least two valiant soldiers of the Indian National Army were
executed chanting ‘Jai Hind’. It was from them for the first time that we came
to know that Subhas Bose was addressed as Netaji and had given a new national
salutation ‘Jai Hind’, to replace many denominational ones.”
Ansar
remained opposed to the compromise which Congress accepted in the form of the
Partition.
-----
Saquib
Salim is a Historian and a Writer
Source: Ansar Harvani: Netaji Subhas’
Confidant, Man Manager
URL: https://newageislam.com/interfaith-dialogue/legacy-netaji-bose-ansar-harvani/d/128472
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