Did Shastri seek Netaji's release from Soviet internment? (Part 1)

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Did Lal Bahadur Shastri seek Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose's release from Soviet internment during his 1966 Tashkent visit? 

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Part 2 » 

On 10 January 1966, the Prime Minister of India and the President of Pakistan having met at Tashkent, Uzbekistan, and having discussed the existing relations between India and Pakistan, signed an accord ending the 17-day Indo-Pakistani war of August–September 1965, declaring their firm resolve to restore normal and peaceful relations between their countries and to promote understanding and friendly relations between their peoples. 

Examination of credible inputs in respect of Netaji mystery

Credible inputs in respect of Netaji mystery

The disappearance mystery of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose is yet to be solved.

Recently a controversy arose when Mr. Mahender Kumar, DS (Security), Ministry of Home Affairs, in a reply dated 30.05.2017, to a RTI request with registration number MHOME/R/2017/50894 and related to Netaji mystery, had stated, inter alia, that “the Government has come to the conclusion that Netaji had died in the plane crash on 18.08.1945”.

Free Indian Legionnaires ordered to surrender to the Russians

Telegram sent by Netaji to Nambiar

According to the 'Extract from Camp 020 Interim Report on the case of Harald Willibald KIRFEL, minuted to I.P.I. via the War Room on 7.11.45', Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose sent an important telegram to A. C. N. Nambiar in April 1945 and the latter ordered the Free Indian Legionnaires to surrender to the Russians on its basis.

Harald Willibald KIRFEL was a German who served as Japanese expert and wartime instructor and interpreter. Kirfel was taken over by the Reich Main Security Office (German: Reichssicherheitshauptamt or RSHA) in 1944 to head a section whose purpose was to acquire information on the political situation in Japan. Arrested by the Allies at the end of the war in Milan, he was brought to UK and interrogated at Camp 020.

A Russian Tribute to Netaji Subhas

Patriot, January (No. 3) 1997

This is an article titled 'Destiny and Death of Chandra Bose' from the January (No. 3) 1997 issue of the Russian newspaper Patriot, written by Alexander Kolesnikov, a Professor of the Russian Academy of Natural Sciences, which hints at Subhas Chandra Bose's possible stay in the USSR after World War II and strengthens the demand to make official Soviet archives accessible to the public to solve the mystery of Netaji's disappearance.

A translated version of the article in English from the original Russian was published under the title 'A Russian Tribute to Netaji Subhas' in Mainstream, Vol. XXXV No. 32 dated 19 July 1997. The editor describes the article as an outstanding tribute to Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose published in the Russian media on the occasion of his birth centenary. The editor states that a few factual inaccuracies of minor importance in the article do not distort the main theme and devalue the essence of the write-up. The editor opines that the author has not concealed his communist convictions while indicating the possibility of Netaji having reached the Soviet Union at the end of World War II and has underlined the inconsistencies of all attempts to "establish" Netaji's "death". According to the editor, the article concludes with the reaffirmation of the durability of Indo-Russian relations which Netaji tried to promote and strengthens the demand to make the various archives of the erstwhile Soviet Union accessible to the public so that they throw considerable light on Netaji's disappearance and possible stay in the USSR after World War II. However the editor expresses concern over certain vested interests connected with Indian and Russian officialdom striving their utmost to withhold information in that regard.

I do not believe Gumnami Baba was Netaji in disguise

Left: Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose
Right: Artist's impression of Gumnami Baba

Seventy years and many inquiry commissions later, the disappearance of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose still remains a mystery to the public. To the Government of India, and to the Governments of the US, UK, Russia and Japan, information necessary to close the case may be available. So far such information has been kept secret. In recent times faced with the growing demand for declassification of documents related to Netaji mystery, the West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee took the lead by releasing the secret files on Netaji held by the state, though the mystery has not yet been solved. Subsequently PM Narendra Modi also announced that the secret files on Netaji held by the Centre would be declassified. He further said that he would request foreign Governments to declassify files on Netaji available with them beginning with Russia during his visit in December 2015. Although till now there is no word from the PM or his office about the outcome of his recent trip to Russia regarding this issue, the nation eagerly waits for 23rd January 2016 when the process of declassification of files relating to Netaji by the Central Government is supposed to begin. Will the Netaji mystery be solved or the will the truth continue to remain elusive? As of now the dominant hypotheses about what may have happened to Netaji are as follows -