Observe August 18 as Netaji's death anniversary: ​​Daughter | India News

: Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose's daughter Anita Bose-Pfaff has called on the Indian government to bring Netaji’s ashes home from Renkoji Temple in Japan and start his Death anniversary on August 18, the day on which Bose died in a plane crash in Taipei in 1945. In a statement from Stadtbergen, Germany, Bose Pfaff stressed: “On August 18, we mourn the 79th anniversary of the death of his father.^th Death anniversary of one of the most important architects of India’s independence, Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose.”
“On August 18, 1945, he left us forever after a plane crash in Taipei – without being able to return to his beloved homeland. For 79 years, Japan, especially three generations of chief priests of the Renkoji Temple in Tokyo, offered his mortal remains a home – in exile. Fortunately, even today, after all these years, many of his countrymen remember him, not only with gratitude but even with affection. It is time that the remains of one of the greatest heroes of the Indian freedom struggle can be welcomed home by them,” wrote Bose Pfaff.
Her statement confirms the Bose family's belief that Netaji did indeed die in the plane crash, a claim that was vehemently denied by many, including large parts of the Bose family.
Bose's grandnephew Chandra Kumar Bose has repeatedly requested the central government to bring back his ashes. On the eve of Independence Day, Bose wrote a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi requesting that his mortal remains be brought back.
“While there was genuine disbelief among some that Netaji perished in the manner described in numerous contemporary accounts from various sources… after the release of all the records, it is clear that Netaji perished on August 18, 1945. It is therefore imperative that the Government of India make a final statement so that misrepresentations about the liberator of India are dispelled,” Bose said in his letter.
Bose added that efforts must now be made to “bring the mortal remains of an immortal hero to his native India, the country he liberated.”
Chandra Bose added that the circumstances of Netaji's death were perceived by many, including his family members, as a pretext to escape the British and possibly reach Russia to continue the freedom struggle there.
“Like everyone else, his wife Emilie Schenkle and his family members longed for his return. But after 1945 there was no reliable information as to whether Subhas was still alive,” said Bose.
The Indian government had set up three commissions of inquiry to investigate Netaji's disappearance. The first was the Khosla Commission in 1956. This was followed by the Shah Nawaz Commission, whose findings were accepted by the government.
The last of its kind was the Mukherjee Commission in 2005. It found that Netaji did not die in a plane crash. Its report was rejected by the government on the grounds that it was based on fundamental errors.