Remembering Netaji on His 129th Birth Anniversary: ‘Fanaticism is the Greatest Thorn in the Path of Cultural Intimacy’

On the 129th birth anniversary of Subhas Chandra Bose (January 23, 2026), we must remember his words: “Repressive laws, ordinances and regulations should be unknown in a free India… Fanaticism is the greatest thorn in the path of cultural intimacy, and there is no better remedy for fanaticism than secular and scientific education.”

It was 3 May 1928 and a young Subhas Chandra Bose was addressing the Maharashtra Provincial Conference in Poona when he raised some fundamental problems and attempted to answer them with candor and fearlessness. As a 31-year-old political activist he brought to the fore facets of Indian history, issues of nationalism, labor and communist movements as he presented principles of a draft Constitution for an independent India. The passion in his words can still be discerned, 98 years after these were heard for the first time.

“It is sometimes urged by foreigners that the new awakening in India is entirely an exotic product inspired by alien ideals and methods. This is by no means true. I do not for one moment dispute the fact that the impact of the West has helped to rouse us from intellectual and moral torpor. But that impact has restored self-consciousness to our people, and the movement that has resulted therefrom and which we witness today is a genuine Swadeshi movement,” Bose challenged, adding that India now has recovered “her own soul and is busy reconstructing her national movement along national lines and in the light of national ideals.”  

Bose had a tremendous sense of history as he illustrated his address with examples. Democracy, he said, is by no means a Western institution, “it is a human institution. Wherever man has attempted to evolve political institutions, he has hit upon this wonderful institution of democracy. The past history of India is replete with instances of democratic institutions.”

He referred to K.P. Jayaswal’s book “Hindu Polity” with its list of 81 republics in ancient India, noting that “among the Khasis of Assam, for instance, it is still the custom to elect the ruling chief by a vote of the whole clan; and this custom has been handed down from time immemorial.”

He recalled being shown a copper plate inscription at the Varendra Research Society Museum in Rajshahi, north Bengal. “Civic administration was vested in a committee of five, including the Nagar Sreshthi (i.e. our modern Mayor). With regard to village self-government, it is not necessary to remind an Indian audience about the village Panchayats—democratic institutions handed down to us from days of yore,” was another example.

Ideals of Nationalism

How did the young Bose address the issue of nationalism?

His words are poetic, some would say metaphysical, but then he addressed grass-root issues. “Indian nationalism is neither narrow, nor selfish, nor aggressive. It is inspired by the highest ideals of the human race, viz., Satyam (the true), Shivam (the good), Sundaram (the beautiful). Nationalism in India has instilled into us truthfulness, honesty, manliness and the spirit of service and sacrifice. What is more, it has roused the creative faculties which for centuries had been lying dormant in our people and, as a result, we are experiencing a renaissance in the domain of Indian art,” he said.

Bose was keenly aware of trends in international labor movement and Communism: he in fact pleaded for coalitions between the labor movements and nationalism. When he turned his attention to Khadi, this is is where Bose the Congress leader emerges, ready to look at the opportunities and challenges which the Khadi program had faced.

“If we view the program of the Congress, we shall find that only in our Khadi program have we been able to offer to our masses something which means bread and butter to them. Khadi, I am glad to say, has brought food to thousands and thousands of hungry mouths all over India. Given money and organization, there is plenty of scope for pushing on Khadi. There are lakhs and lakhs of poor Indians living on the verge of starvation to whom Khadi can offer a means of subsistence. But the appeal of Khadi cannot be universal. We find from bitter experience in some parts of Bengal that as soon as the masses are a little better off, their Charkhas lie idle and that the peasant who gets a better return from paddy or jute cultivation, refuses to cultivate cotton,” he explained, highlighting a significant feature of peasant economy often overlooked by political workers from urban areas.  

He spoke up for “making a direct appeal to the economic interests of the masses.” How else will the masses join the freedom movement, he questioned.

“Congress should be more alive to the interests of the masses. Mass consciousness has been roused in India, thanks to the extensive and intensive propaganda undertaken during the non-co-operation movement; and the mass movement cannot possibly be checked now. The only question is along what lines this mass consciousness should manifest itself. If the Congress neglects the masses it is inevitable that a sectional—and if I may say so, anti-national—movement will come into existence and class war among our people will appear even before we have achieved our political emancipation. It would be disastrous in the highest degree if we were to launch class war while we are all bed-fellows in slavery, in order that we may afford amusement to the common enemy,” he said, looking into the future.  

“You cannot free one half of your soul and keep the other half in bondage. You cannot introduce a light into a room and expect at the same time that some portion of it will remain dark.”

A Federal Republic

“I stand for an independent Federal Republic,” Bose made the unequivocal statement. “That is the ultimate goal which I have before me. India must fulfill her own destiny and cannot be content with colonial self-government or Dominion Home Rule. Why must we remain within the British Empire? India is rich in resources, human and material. She has outgrown the infancy which foreigners have been thrusting upon her, and cannot only take care of herself but can function as an independent unit.”

He was acutely aware of the power of political and social democracy; he said, “You cannot free one half of your soul and keep the other half in bondage. You cannot introduce a light into a room and expect at the same time that some portion of it will remain dark. You cannot establish political democracy and endeavor at the same time to resist the democratization of the society. Privileges based on birth, caste or creed should go, and equal opportunities should be thrown open to all irrespective of caste, creed or religion. The status of women should also be raised and women should be trained to take a larger and a more intelligent interest in public affairs.” 

He addressed the issue of communal troubles, “I would urge the necessity of discovering a deeper remedy for our communal troubles. It is necessary for the different religious groups to be acquainted with the traditions, ideals and history of one another, because cultural intimacy will pave the way towards communal peace and harmony. As things stand today, the different communities inhabiting India are too exclusive. In order to facilitate cultural rapprochement a dose of secular and scientific training is necessary. Fanaticism is the greatest thorn in the path of cultural intimacy, and there is no better remedy for fanaticism than secular and scientific education.” 

Being critical of the Congress policies and programs, Bose said, “the Congress policy since 1921 has been a dual policy of destruction and obstruction; of opposition and consolidation. We feel that the bureaucracy has entrenched itself in this country by erecting a network of organizations and institutions and by appointing a hierarchy of officials to run them. We have to storm these citadels of power and for that purpose we have to set up parallel institutions. These parallel organizations are our Congress offices. As our power and influence increase through the organization of Congress Committees, we shall be able to capture the bureaucratic seats of powers.”

National Sovereignty

Taking up the challenges thrown by the Secretary of State for India to produce an agreed Constitution, Bose said, “if there is a spark of honor and self-respect left in us, we should take up the gauntlet and give a fitting reply by producing a Constitution. I shall content myself by referring to three cardinal points: (1) The Constitution should guarantee national sovereignty, i.e., the sovereignty of the people. What we want is government of the people, by the people and for the people. (2) The Constitution should be prefaced by a ‘declaration of rights’ which will guarantee the elementary rights of citizenship. Without a ‘declaration of rights’ a Constitution is not worth the paper it is written on. Repressive laws, ordinances and regulations should be unknown in a free India. (3) There should be a system of joint electorate. As a temporary arrangement, there may be reservation of seats if that is found necessary. But we should by all means insist on a joint electorate. Separate electorates are wrong in principle and it is futile to attempt to build up a nation on a bad principle.”

The anti-imperialist fighter in Bose was alive and his faith in the power of economic boycott was unwavering. “Boycott of British goods — it has been used with great effect in Ireland and in China. It was also used to great advantage during the Swadeshi movement nearly 20 years ago and partly during the non-co-operation movement. Boycott of British goods is necessary for the revival of Swadeshi and for effecting our political salvation,” he said.

Village reorganization was another important theme for him: “Our laborers are passing through an economic crisis. Drastic retrenchment is going on in the different Railways; several crores worth of railway materials are imported from Great Britain for our Railways whereas these could easily be manufactured in India. It is the bounden duty of all Indians, and of Congressmen in particular, to come to the aid of labour in their hour of trial. Friends! We have reached a most critical stage in our nation’s history and it behooves us to unite all our forces and make a bold stand against the powers that be…

“Let us all stand shoulder to shoulder and say with one heart and with one voice that our motto is, as Tennyson said through Ulysses, “To strive, to seek, to find, and not to yield.” 

This story was first published in independentink.in and republished here with permission.

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Raju Mansukhani is a researcher-writer on history and heritage issues; contributing columns and features in leading Indian and foreign newspapers, portals.