Netaji Wanted Complete Freedom for Indians, Partitioned Wouldn’t Have Happened If He was Alive: Doval

Calling India Inc to focus on bringing in critical and emerging technologies and make its workforce globally competitive, National Security Advisor (NSA) Ajit Doval on Saturday said the country could achieve much more if its human resources are adequately skilled.

Delivering the Subhas Chandra Bose memorial lecture organised by the industry chamber ASSOCHAM, Doval also delved into Bose’s “great” contribution to the country and said India would not have been partitioned if Netaji was there.

“India’s biggest asset is its human resource. If we can make our labour more competitive every year, then by 2050, when we will contribute 40 per cent of global workforce. We will be a force to reckon with,” NSA said.

Further underlining India’s increasingly crucial role in providing a workforce globally, Doval said India’s human resource is an asset and it should be nationalist.

“There is no antagony in the world towards India. We should bring in critical and emerging technologies into the country through initiatives like the iCET. India is a cost-effective and productive destination.” he added.

It is widely expected that India and the US are going to announce cooperation in the area of critical and emerging technologies during Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Washington next week.

Taking about Subhas Chandra Bose’s legacy, NSA said Netaji reposed faith in Indians and our business can do a yeoman’s service by taking forward this legacy.

“Netaji had great faith in the capabilities of the people. Today, our priority should be to empower our citizens and make them internationally competitive,” he said.

Recognising his contribution to India’s freedom movement, Doval said Netaji had the audacity to single-handedly take on the British against all odds.

“He motivated a defeated army by rallying them behind a larger cause, gave mottos like Jai Hind, “Ittehad, Itmad, Qurbani” (Unity, Trust, Sacrifice) and ensured that people rise above distinctions of caste, religion and gender to pursue the single-minded goal of the complete elimination of colonial rule. He was an Outstanding leader whose Legacy is unparalleled,” the NSA said.

Highlighting the legacy of Bose, Doval spoke about Netaji’s ability to unite people from diverse backgrounds and how he envisioned a unified and strong India.

“The second quality that distinguishes Netaji was his Tenacity – his ability to persevere despite the odds and not dilute his goal even a bit. India would not have been partitioned had Netaji been there at the time of Independence. Jinnah had said I can accept only one leader and that is Subhas Bose,” he said.

Doval noted that Subhas Chandra Bose wanted complete freedom for Indians, not merely dominion status.

Asserting that it was Subhas Chandra Bose’s efforts that were one of the major reasons behind the Britishers’ hurried departure from India, Doval said,  that when Chief Justice of Bengal High Court and acting Governor Justice JB Chakraborty asked former British Prime Minister Clement Attlee, under whom India got Independence, about the real reason for the British quitting India in a hurry, Attlee cited several reasons, the principal among them being the erosion of loyalty to the British crown among the Indian army and Navy personnel as a result of the military activities of Netaji.

“Attlee said it was Netaji Bose and his ideas that we were afraid of. The Royal Indian Navy mutiny, Jabalpur protests acted as Straws in the wind that evoked past memories of 1857 for the British. They dreaded that the 25 lakh Indian soldiers who won the Second World War for the Allies imbued by the spirit of Netaji’s ideas would be a nightmare for the British. Therefore the hurried departure,” Doval said.

He said that the legacy of Subhash Bose should continue to guide us and asserted that history has been unkind to Netaji.

“Therefore, the creation of a museum in Red Fort – an Island named after Netaji in Andaman and Nicobar is part of an effort by the Prime Minister to create a new psyche in the country,” he said.

the NSA said the political, economic and social philosophy of Netaji was far beyond his time and his priority after independence would have been to create a strong military.

“We should never undermine our security, otherwise we will crumble without our knowing it. Netaji would have wanted a strong Defence industry. His philosophy of economic freedom through the planning model had a context – at that time capitalism was seen as synonymous with colonialism- it was perceived as exploitative,” he said.

Talking about Bose’s religious views, Doval said Netaji was a deeply religious and devout Hindu. “Netaji was Deeply religious- he was influenced by Swami Vivekananda and Sri Aurobindo. He had read the Vedas. While he was staunchly secular. Dep inside he was a devout Hindu,” he said.

“What would Netaji have liked India to do today? – He would have liked to see 1.4 billion Indians imbued with fire in their belly moving forward and doing better than their performance of yesterday. India’s biggest asset is its human resources,” he added.