Why 'Parakram Diwas' is celebrated on Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose's Jayanti?

While his death is a mystery to many, Bose is said to have died from third-degree burns in a plane crashed in Taiwan on August 18, 1945.

New Delhi, Jan 23: On January 23rd, India celebrates Parakram Diwas, to commemorate Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose's birth anniversary and to appreciate his efforts and achievements in India's freedom movement.

What is Parakram Diwas and why is it celebrated?

In order to honour and remember Netaji's indomitable spirit and selfless service to the nation, Government of India announced his birthday on the 23rd day of January every year as "PARAKRAM DIWAS" to inspire people of the country, especially the youth, to act with fortitude in the face of adversity as Netaji did, and to infuse in them a spirit of patriotic fervour.

This holiday was named Parakram Diwas (or Parakram Divas), which translates to "Day of Courage" or "Day of Valor," to honour Netaji's sacrifice and significant contribution to India's independence movement.

Who is Subhas Chandra Bose?

Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose was a patriot, defiant revolutionary and an inspirational leader in every sense.

Bose was the ninth child of Prabhavati Devi and Janakinath Bose and was born in Cuttack, Orissa Division, Bengal Province. He studied in Protestant European School first and then at Ravenshaw Collegiate School. As a child, Bose was admired by his own teachers for being a brilliant and scintillating genius. When he was in Germany, he met Emilie Schenkl, the daughter of an Austrian veterinarian whom he married in 1937. They had a daughter Anita Bose Pfaff.

Bose believed that Gandhi's tactics of non-violence would never be sufficient to secure India's independence, and advocated violent resistance. He established a separate political party, the All India Forward Bloc. With Japanese monetary, political, diplomatic and military assistance, he formed the Azad Hind Government in exile, and regrouped and led the Indian National Army in failed military campaigns against the allies at Imphal and in Burma. The Japnese however, thought that he was militarily unskilled.

Mysterious Death of Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose

Despite his fallout with Gandhi, Bose in his address on July 6, 1944, in a speech broadcast by the Azad Hind Radio from Singapore called him the "Father of the Nation". He asked for his blessings and good wishes for the war he was fighting. Bose was the first to call Mahatma as the Father of the Nation.

Death and mystery

While his death is a mystery to many, Bose is said to have died from third-degree burns in a plane crashed in Taiwan on August 18, 1945. Many Indians did not believe that the crash had occurred. Popular culture believes that Bose's body was cremated in the main Taihoku crematorium on August 20, 1945. On September 14, a memorial service was held for Bose in Tokyo and a few days later the ashes were turned over to the priest of the Renkōji Temple of Nichiren Buddhism where they have been kept till date.