Netaji Bose mystery: How authentic is the letter written by Nehru to Attlee?

A letter dated 26th December 1945 said to be written by Jawaharlal Nehru to then British Prime Minister Clement Attlee regarding Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose has been in circulation. The Congress has dismissed it as fake and several researchers too contend that the authenticity of the letter is in doubt.

In the letter, Nehru states that Bose your war criminal has been allowed to enter Russia by Stalin. This is treachery and betrayal of faith by the Russians. The Congress has been quick to dismiss this letter as fake and within government circles at New Delhi, none have vouched for the authenticity of this letter.

While the entire issues is about whether Netaji Bose was alive after 1945 or not, it would be more important to take into account the deposition on oath made by Shyamlal Jain, the stenographer of Nehru before the Khosla Commission of inquiry.

Jain had told the inquiry commission that he had typed out a letter written by Nehru to Stalin in 1945 in which he admitted knowing of Netaji's captivity.

How authentic is the letter written to Attlee?

Anuj Dhar, a leading researcher on Bose who was an invitee at to the event in New Delhi on Saturday where 100 files were de-classified says that what needs to be taken more seriously is the deposition made by Jain to the commission of inquiry. The letter which you talk about written to Attlee has been in circulation for sometime and there is nothing to suggest that it is authentic.

Dhar tells OneIndia that he had written to the British Prime Minister's office and they had given a blanket denial about such letter. No serious researcher believes that letter in circulation. There may be other communication which speaks about the knowledge of Bose being alive after 1945, but I highly doubt that it would ever be shared fearing straining of foreign relations.

However I would like to bring your attention to the deposition made by Jain. This has weight and it clearly indicates that Nehru had knowledge of Bose being alive. The final report of the Khosla commission does not deal with it at all. What is interesting is that the statement by Jain was made on oath.

The commission has neither accepted it nor rejected it and hence I feel that there is weight in that statement.

The letter in circulation appears to have been made on the basis of what Jain had deposed before the commission. During my years of research on this subject I have got access to various letters and communications.

However never once have I used this letter and one cannot vouch for its authenticity. If one wants concrete proof of Bose being alive after 1945 then you should go seriously into the Jain deposition, Anuj Dhar also adds.

Will the mystery be solved?

There have been a lot of expectations from the de-classified files. However the first installment of 100 files gives clues, but no real proof of Netaji being alive after 1945. Dhar says that one can look for clues. These are all Congress files after all and one cannot expect that they would have towed a line other than what Nehru had taken.

This is however just the beginning and there are many more files that are to be de-classified. I do not think there would be anything which would directly mention that Netaji was alive as I pointed out earlier that all these files were prepared when the Congress was in power.

However I still feel that some of the files with the Intelligence Bureau and the Research and Analysis Wing will have to be de-classified if the actual truth were to come out.

OneIndia News