PIL to prevent distortion of history of freedom movement & Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose

Kolkata, Nov 20: Claiming that lives and achievements of national heroes, specially Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose, were being distorted in films and various forms of media, a PIL has been filed before the Calcutta High Court seeking direction to the Centre to take steps to stop such activities.

Claiming that the Government of India has already conducted different inquiry commissions on Netaji and reports of these have been published and admitted in the Parliament, the petitioners alleged private profiteering by spreading various unverified theories through films and mass media.

Petitioners Saumya Shankar Bose and Chandra Kumar Bose, both relations of the Netaji, claimed that they seek prevention of distortion of history of Indian freedom movement through any kind of misinformation specifically through films and mass media. Their lawyer Sattwik Majumder said on Sunday that the PIL is likely to be listed for hearing next week. Claiming that they want preservation of the correct narrative of Indian history and prevention of its distortion, the petitioners said the history of the Indian freedom movement and Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose must be told without any imaginative prose or conspiracy theories.

They stated that theories like the Netaji living in disguise and hidden in a free and independent India, were rejected by all the commissions. Justice Sahai Commission, set up by the Uttar Pradesh government, had also rejected the notion that 'Gumnami Baba' was Netaji Bose, the petitioners stated.

They claimed that Netaji Bose is not a character out of mythology or fiction that his life and legacy would be open to the imagination and fantasy of rumour mongers and storytellers. They prayed that events depicted in films, books and other media be verified before they are brought to public domain in future.