Subhas Chandra Bose And His Undying Love For Odisha

Born and brought up in Odisha’s Cuttack, Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose is a pride of our history. His association with the oldest town and the then capital of Odisha is clearly evident with him reminiscing about his days at Ravenshaw Collegiate School in his unfinished autobiography, ‘an Indian Pilgrim’.

Bose writes, “Though at that time a comparatively small town with a population of 20,000, Cuttack had an importance of its own owing to a variety of factors. It had an unbroken tradition since the days of the early Hindu kings of Kalinga. It was de facto capital of Orissa which could boast of such a famous place of pilgrimage as Puri and glorious art relics as those of Konarka, Bhubaneswar and Khandagiri-Udayagiri. It was the headquarters not only for the British administration in Orissa, but also for the numerous ruling chiefs in that province. Although Cuttack afforded a healthy environment for the growing child, it had some of the virtues of both city and country life.”

He was born on January 23, 1897 to Prabhavati Devi and Janakinath Bose, who had migrated to Cuttack in 1880s and established himself there as a lawyer. They stayed at Odia Bazar and their home has now been converted into a museum.

“In 1902, he joined Protestant European School and then in 1909, he shifted to the Ravenshaw Collegiate School where he completed his matriculation. The headmaster, Beni Madhav Das, was pleased to see the brilliance of Bose. Beni Madhav had a great impact on young Bose. He has, in fact, mentioned in his autobiography, ‘I secretly said to myself that if I wanted an ideal for my life it should be to emulate him’. In 1913, Bose shifted to Calcutta and studied at Presidency College. Janakinath Bose stayed in Cuttack though, so Bose would visit Odisha frequently,” said retired History professor Ashok Patnaik.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *