The Great Escape 🧵Part 2: From Kabul to Berlin ,a perilous journey...

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The Great Escape 🧵Part 2: From Kabul to Berlin ,a perilous journey .
Illustrations in the 🧵done by @horek_rokom

The Great Escape by Subhas Bose ~Part 1 🧵 from Calcutta to Kabul with illustrations by @horek_rokom
Subhas Bose great escape from Calcutta is a stuff of legend,though the broad story is known but there are fine details during the escape which makes it fascinating & thrilling.

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Subhas Bose made a daring escape from Calcutta to Kabul ,on 27 th Jan 1941 it became known to the world that Bose managed to hood wink the British & the ruthless British intelligence was searching frantically for Bose .

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The waiting period : In Kabul Bose had to wait for 45 days for making his way to Berlin . Bose & Bhagat ran had at first taken shelter in a sarai near the Lahori Gate upon reaching Kabul on 31st January

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In Kabul, Bose wanted to contact Soviet Ambassador , he firmly believed only Soviet Russia with its anti imperialist stand can help India in its struggle for freedom from Britain.

m.tribuneindia.com/news/nation/ne…

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Bhagat Ram’s effort to estd contact with Russians proved futile,he even stopped the car of the Russian Ambassador and indicated that he had Subhas Chandra Bose with him, but the Ambassador did not believe him.

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As time was running out on Feb 6th,Subhas himself went to the German Embassy and met Hans Pilger, the German ambassador in Kabul. Pilger advised Bose to "keep himself hidden amongst the Indian friends in the bazaar"

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Bhagat Ram sought out Uttamchand Malhotra’s help who ran a retail shop in Kabul . Bose was accommodated in Uttam Chand’s home .

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In 1939 Germany & Soviet had a non aggression & cooperation pact known as Molotov Ribbentrop , which meant Germans cud be persuaded for facilitating contact with Russians

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The German Ambassador contacted the Russian Ambassador on Bose's behalf. The Russian Envoy had suspected that there was a hidden British plot in Bose's wish to travel through Russia. The distrust was mainly due to feedback from Indian communist who were not very kind to Subhas

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On the 23rd feb , the German embassy directed Bose to meet the Italian Ambassador Alberto Quaroni in Kabul. Bhagat Ram arranged the meeting in March at the Italian Consulate.

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The Negotiations:Bose & Quaroni had a long discussions on issues,from safe passage to Moscow to his plan for liberating India.He used his negotiation skill to convince axis powers,as he once said “The secret of political bargaining is to look more strong than what you really are”

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Meanwhile in Serai, Bose & Bhagat Ram’s activities aroused suspicion of an Afghan police & he had to be bribed. First by giving Rs 10 & later the greedy police personnel snatched the wristwatch of Subhas Bose, which was a gift from his father.

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On March 10, Mrs. Quaroni, the wife of the Italian Ambassador secretly visited Uttamchand's shop .Bose was asked to get photographed. That photograph was to be used in the passport of an Italian diplomat Orlando Mazzotta.

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Bose’s hectic meetings resulted in 3 govts of the USSR, Germany & Italian for a unanimous decision that Bose would travel across Russia on an Italian diplomatic Pass Port impersonating a clerk at the Italian Embassy in Kabul, Orlando Mazzotta

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The Escape : Bose's photo was snapped for the original passport and his clothing was made ready by Italian embassy .Bose himself was shifted to Italian ambassador’s residence.

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Bose handed over few documents to Bhagat Ram which included the thesis, "Forward Bloc - its justification," written during his stay in Kabul & a letter to his Mejda -Sarat Bose

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Subhas Chandra Bose left Kabul from Italian Embassy on March 18 by a car along with two Germans & one Italian, traveled through the mountainous passes of Hindu Kush & crossed the Afghan frontier post at Pata Kisar range & reached Samarkand.

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From there he and his companions boarded a train to Moscow. On 31st March Bose reached Moscow .

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From Moscow ,On 2nd April Bose & his companions took a flight from Moscow & landed in Berlin. One of the Germans traveller who had accompanied Bose from Kabul was Dr. Weller , he escorted Bose to Berlin.

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The British chase up : On February 27, 1941, the British intelligence had intercepted & decoded an Italian embassy telegram that indicated that Bose might be in Kabul.

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Immediately The British Special Operations group operatives in the middle East was alerted ,British Intelligence guessed that Bose might travel from Afghanistan to Germany via Iran, Iraq and Turkey.

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Irish historian Prof Eunan O'Halpin of Trinity College Dublin after reading in detail British intelligence documents declassified in 2004, found out that Britain actually ordered the assassination of Bose on March 7, 1941 to its operatives in the Middle East.

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Logical to conclude that Bose being aware of British capabilities avoided the route & managed to hoodwink them once again .

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After Subhas left Kabul ,Bhagat Ram went to Lahore to meet acting President of Forward Bloc Shardul Singh Kavishwar & handed over him the letters of Subhas.
He then went to Calcutta to meet Sarat Bose & gave him the articles & the message of Subhas.

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Meanwhile in Bengal, British police made a sweeping arrest of Bengal Volunteer’srevolutionaries.Shantimoy, Satya Ranjan Bakshi, Jyotish Guha were among them On British insistence Uttamchand was caught by Afghan police & was expelled from Kabul. Only exception was Bhagat Ram.

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Slowly the British began to find out the entire plan ,Everybody who was involved with Bhagat was caught .

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A British spy code named ‘silver’ betrayed the revolutionaries & passed on all information to British & nobody knew about his betrayal until recently when the classified intelligence documents were available.

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In 2004 British Intelligence declassified reports revealed that Bhagat Ram was the agent ‘silver’ who betrayed the cause of Netaji when Germany declared war on Soviet Russia.

hindustantimes.com/books/silver-s…

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Operation Barbarossa on 22-June -1941 by Nazi Germany on Soviet Russia had changed the political equation in Europe , it is possible that the betrayal was done on the insistence of Moscow as trade off deal with British .

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The Empire was close to nab or assassinate Bose ,but Bose managed to hoodwink multiple times .Bose appearance in Berlin & Radio broadcast against British caused huge embarrassment & heart burn .
Bose became top enemy of the British Empire.

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The Impact : Subhas Bose daring escape invigorated the revolutionary spirit in India ,specially in Bengal . A brave patriot who has taken on the might of British empire .With public sympathy & support growing for Bose, it also forced Congress to launch Quit India movement

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As Netaji Said “Never lose your faith in the destiny of India. There is no power on Earth that can keep India in bondage. India will be free, that too, soon.”

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From Berlin ,Bose immediately started working on his liberation plan,which eventually shook the pillars of empire, the myth that “sun never sets in British empire “ was soon to become History.

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As one of Tagore’s short story “Bodnam” sketched on Netaji says
“ আমারে বাঁধবি তোরা
সেই বাঁধন কি তোদের আছে"
“Do you possess the shackles for capturing me?”
And the liberation struggle for Free India was set on a roll .

The Great Escape 🧵Part 2: From Kabul to Berlin ,a perilous journey...

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