Did Indian war hero Subhas Chandra Bose die in Taiwan? DNA test may give answers

Indian freedom fighter Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose died in a plane crash in 1945 – but rumours about his fate abound

Family members want a DNA test on his ashes in a Japanese temple to settle the matter

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Indian freedom fighter Subhash Chandra Bose, whose relatives are calling for DNA tests to verify that ashes in an urn at a temple in Japan are indeed his remains. Photo: Handout

Published: 4:00pm, 17 Nov 2019Updated: 4:11pm, 17 Nov 2019

A relative of Indian nationalist Subhas Chandra Bose has renewed family calls for ashes stored at a temple in Tokyo to undergo DNA testing in an effort to put an end to claims that the freedom fighter survived a plane crash in Taiwan in August 1945, and a number of subsequent rumours about his fate.

Surya Kumar Bose was recently in Japan and visited Renkoji Temple, in Tokyo’s Suginami Ward, to examine the urn that contains what are believed to be the remains of his great-uncle, who is also known as Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose.

As soon as the remains can be positively identified, the family wants them returned to India to become part of a permanent memorial to a man who played a significant part in gaining India’s independence from Britain.

“We need to put all the fairy tales about what happened to bed and it is essential now that we, the family and the nation, get closure,” said Surya Bose, who owns an information technology company in Germany.

Surya Kumar Bose next to a bust of his great-uncle, Subhas Chandra Bose. Photo: Handout

“All the rumours are not doing anyone any good and that is why we want to get this thing moving. His daughter is not getting any younger and she too wants closure.”

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