Singing the Unsung Hero - The Renkoji Temple And Beyond

Although highly disputed, it is believed that Netaji’s ashes have been kept in an urn at the Renkoji temple, one of the believers being none other than Ms. Anita Bose Pfaff, Netaji’s own daughter! It is well-known that the Mukherjee commission concluded in their report in 2006 that Netaji did not die in a plane crash, although the previous two commissions reported otherwise. Much water has flown under the bridge and many other stories emerged as ‘popular’ such as the ‘Gumnami Baba’. Each of these stories has its own shortcomings and hence the death mystery remains inconclusive till now. As a consequence, Netaji is still alive ‘theoretically’!

This summer I had the privilege of visiting Japan for attending a research conference. It was a tight and hectic trip of 8 days in Tokyo, Kyoto and Hiroshima. During my stay in Japan, I had the opportunity to visit Renkoji temple at Suginami-Ku, Tokyo on 23^rd June 2012. It was my lifelong dream to visit this ‘holy’ place. Being situated in a residential area, the place was quite calm as compared to other places in Tokyo. I took the subway Marunouchi line from Shinjuku to Higashi-Koenji station to reach Renkoji.  I was a bit nervous while approaching the temple. Upon arrival, through the main gate, along with some scriptures written in Japanese, I got a glance of my favorite childhood hero standing alone – the ‘Patriot of Patriots’ as called by Mahatma Gandhi and ‘Deshnayak’ as called by Tagore. A closer view took my attention to another inscription written in Hindi in 2001 by then prime minister Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee,  a ‘rare’ effort from the government of India. I could not go inside the main hall as it is open to the public only once a year i.e. August 18^th – the date the alleged plane crash took place in 1945! Keeping aside all controversies, I must say this was a lifetime experience and definitely one of the proudest moments of my life!

I spent another 30 minutes there. As I wandered about in the temple premises, my mind took a little digress to recapitulate some recent findings by a group of Netaji truth seekers. As of now, it is an ‘unofficial’ proven fact that the ashes kept in the Renkoji temple are not of Netaji. To substantiate further, some sources reveal that Netaji was ‘seen’ after the plane crash. Frankly speaking, these facts could not alter my visit to this ‘mysterious’ place. As an ardent admirer of Netaji, it is the constant indifference, non-cooperation, and apathy shown by the government towards a true son of India that bothers me more than the mystery itself. It is indeed a painful national shame the way his death issue is mystified, the way he has been deliberately humiliated, the way his greatness has been distorted in popular culture! Simply put, a man who sacrificed his life to dream about a prosperous India, who chose to stand different from the crowd of ‘greedy’ politicians, who took breath-taking risks to form an army of nearly 45,000 soldiers to free India, must not be forgotten! I closed my eyes in anguish. As the sun was going down, thoughts of mere disappointment gradually occupied my mind. There was a copy kept for the visitors to write something in it. I wrote, “Dear Netaji, we don't deserve you! Don't forgive us ever!” A resultant futile protest in deep darkness!

In the next few days of my trip, as I sailed through the land of the rising sun, experiencing Japanese food and culture, among other things, I was truly mesmerized by the courtesy and politeness of well-dressed Japanese people. What fascinated me most is that despite some potential threats like regular earthquakes, tsunamis, nuclear attacks, the country is neat, clean, highly disciplined, and extremely well-organized. Japanese people are known for their genuine love for their country as well as faith in themselves. I saw a glimpse of Japanese sincerity through the places I visited. Be it a traditional Japanese temple or a masterpiece of modern architecture, Japanese dedication was prevalent everywhere. Henceforth, over the course of my journey, I have developed a huge crush on Japan and Japanese people. Swami Vivekananda once said when asked about Japanese people, “If you catch the social morality and the political morality of the Japanese, you will be as great as they are...When you have men who are ready to sacrifice their everything for their country, sincere to the backbone — when such men arise, India will become great in every respect”. As known to many, Vivekananda’s messages and dynamic personality had a huge impact on Subhash Chandra’s life. Indeed, Vivekananda’s aspirations were given shape and existence by Subhas Chandra as he reflected his guru in dreaming of establishing socialism in India. Throughout my journey in Japan, I felt the essence of patriotism in every nook and corner! Probably, that’s why a true patriot like Netaji is being respected in Japan – a country that symbolizes patriotism! 65 years have passed after independence. Today, India is struggling with corruption, poverty, unemployment and so many other issues. Amidst all these, Netaji is missed like never before. His ideals, his works, his achievements are much more needed to heal our wounded society. Hopefully, one day will come when he will get his due respect when we will become better human beings and will learn to love our country like he did and I believe, a better nation will be born! Then only, his immortal soul will get solace and a truly proud moment for India will arrive! This is when his death mystery will become irrelevant and a true homage towards a national hero will be paid! With that hope, my memorable journey in Japan concluded with a happy ending. No wonder, Netaji will continue inspiring future generations to come for years! My heartiest regards and ‘Pronam’ to the great leader and a 'real' hero. Jai Hind!

"তুমি  দেশের  জন্য  সমস্ত  দিয়াছ, তাই  তো দেশের  খেয়াতরী  তোমাকে বহিতে  পারে  না...তাই তো দেশের রাজপথ  তোমার  কাছে  রূদ্ধ...কোন  বিস্মৃত   অতীতে  তোমারি  জন্য  প্রথম  শৃঙ্খল  রচিত  হইয়াছিল ...কারাগার  তো  শুধু তোমাকে মনে  করিয়াই  প্রথম  নির্মিত  হইয়াছিল...

মুক্তিপথের  অগ্রদূত...পরাধীন  দেশের  হে  রাজবিদ্রোহী...তোমাকে শতকোটি  নমস্কার..." (পথের দাবী, শরৎচন্দ্র চট্টোপাধ্যায়)