This Day In History: Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose's Death In 'Plane Crash', And The Conspiracy Theories

Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose, the leader of the then Indian National Army, was reported to have passed away on Aug. 18, 1945, in a fatal plane crash. A Japanese bomber plane carrying him was said to have crash landed in Taihoku, Taiwan which at that point in time was Japanese occupied territory.

On Aug. 23, the Japanese news agency Domei officially announced the death of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose. He had been cremated in Taihoku Crematorium, three days prior, it said.

Bose reportedly sustained third degree burns and slipped into a coma while being treated in the Nanmon Military Hospital but was pronounced dead after a few hours.

Bose, as leader of the INA was flying to Saigon (now, Ho Chi Minh city), Vietnam after his forces were defeated by the British. The INA was created to be the army for the provisional state of 'Azad Hind'. It was formed with the intention of allying with the Axis Powers, (specifically Japan) to fight British forces and liberate India from the yoke of British colonialism.

The INA declared war against Britain and in collaboration with Japanese Imperial Forces, laid siege from Myanmar on the northeast Indian regions of Manipur and the Naga Hills which were part of the British empire.

Their mission fell short of success, as the forces were routed with many INA soldiers suffering malnutrition and death, and the remaining surrendering to Allied forces in August 1945.

Faced with these major challenges, and amidst the backdrop of Japan's surrender to the Allies, Bose decided to leave Singapore and evacuate to Saigon, Vietnam, accompanied by Lieutenant General Tsunamasa Shidei of the Imperial Japanese Kwantung Army and his chief-of-staff, Colonel Habib ur Rahman.

The crash occurred shortly after liftoff, killing Bose and Shidei. The plane reportedly had a propeller blade break off, leading to engine failure egged on by a heavy load, resulting in the fatal plummet.

Bose left behind a storied and distinguished legacy after his death. Immortalised by his iconic slogan, "Give me blood and I will give you freedom", Bose has a hallowed place in the pantheon of notable freedom fighters of India, in the eyes of the Indian government and in India's memory.

There were and continue to be a section of people who firmly believe that Bose survived the crash. There was initial skepticism from the INA, including senior officer J.R Bhonsale who doubted the veracity of his death, as well as Azad Hind's Woman's Affair Minister Lakshmi Swaminathan, who theorised that Bose had escaped to China.

The most popular story regarding his alleged survival was one that stated that he had become a sadhu or ascetic, spread by some associates of Bose who had formed the 'Subhasbadi Janata' with the aim to convince others of the same.

They stated that he was the 'head Sadhu' of an ashram in Shaulmari, Bengal. The Sadhu himself maintained that he was not Bose in disguise, and denied these claims.

There were four major enquiries regarding Bose's death with three of them concluding that he had indeed passed away as initially reported and one refuting this claim, that was in turn widely criticised and rejected by the Indian government.

The Figges Report of 1946 (conducted under British Raj), and the Shah Nawaz Committee of 1956 and the Khosla Commission of 1970 (both conducted under sanction from the Government of India) concluded that Bose had died in a plane crash in Taiwan, after reviewing of evidence and interviewing those who were close to the situation.

The Mukherjee Commission of 2005, however, rejected this in favour of concluding that there was instead, a confidential scheme to make sure of Subhas Chandra Bose's safe crossing into the Soviet Union with the awareness of Japanese authorities and Habibur Rahman.

This was rejected by the Indian government shortly after and criticised by Bose's grand nephew Sugata Bose, the director of the Netaji Research Bureau in Kolkata, a research centre dedicated to maintaining historical records of Subhas Chandra Bose.

Sugata Bose maintains that his grand uncle had passed away in the plane crash in Taiwan.

An investigative report by the Japanese government on the matter, declassified on Sept. 1, 2016, also confirmed the same, which shed light on the circumstances influencing the tragic crash.

Many believe that India's course of history would have differed had Bose lived on. Among them is National Security Advisor Ajit Doval, who said in 2023, “India would not have been partitioned if Subhas Bose was there. Jinnah said I can accept only one leader and that is Subhas Bose."