Ever since Narendra Modi took over Prime Minister’s office, the whole nation has been eagerly waiting for the release of declassified files on Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose and to get first hand information of his ‘disappearance’ after Taihoku plane crash. Incidentally, we often forget the contribution of the 'other' Bose, Rash Behari Bose, who actually paved the path for Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose in his journey with the Indian National Army (INA).Rash Behari Bose was not just another Indian revolutionary, but a symbol of hope against all odds. His whole life was devoted to India’s struggle for freedom. His iconic dialogue still reverberates in the pages of history, "Gandhi is a person whom I respect but he is an Indian saint and 'a person of yesterday' whereas Subhas Chandra Bose is the 'person of today'."

Rash Behari Bose was brought up in a mixed culture in Chandernagore in Bengal with substantial British and French influence. Born in the late 80's of the nineteenth century, he lost his mother early and his maternal aunt Vama Sundari raised him. He was deeply influenced by writings of eminent Bengali novelists Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay, Navin Sen and others. He was moved by the speeches of Swami Vivekananda, Surendra Nath Bonerjea and patriotism was deeply ingrained in him. When he read details on the French revolution of 1789, he was excited by the possibility of such change in his own motherland. He frequently changed jobs. He joined Fort William in the beginning, from where he was transferred to the Government Press in Simla. His command over english language and type writing skills improved a lot in this phase. Later he shifted to Pasteur Institute in Kasauli. Finally he became a Head Clerk at the Dehra Dun Forest Research Institute. However his heart was in none of these conventional jobs.

The rebel in Rash Behari Bose started his journey in 1905 when he was mentored by eminent revolutionary leader Jatin Banerjee. The Bengal revolutionaries were motivated by the success of anti-partition movement and it was a stepping stone for Rash Behari Bose too. His next assignment was a milestone moment for Indian freedom struggle. He was an integral part of the squad which masterminded bomb attack on Lord Hardinge on 23^rd December 1912. The Viceroy was seriously injured in the attack and Rash Behari Bose escaped the police unhurt. Interestingly he organized a meeting in Dehradun condemning the attack on the Viceroy, erasing all suspicions on him, if at all.

This was soon followed by a bigger ploy to attack the British base in India. For the first time in the history of India, there was planning from overseas to destabilize the British forces. By the year 1914, there were several phases when explosives were imported or sent from far away countries like USA, Canada or the countries in the Far East. The successful attack on Lord Hardinge had made Rash Behari Bose a known name among revolutionaries so he was called upon for this new venture. World War I had just started and the British had thrown their hat in the ring. UK Based Ghadar Party backed Indian freedom struggle and this time around it was Rash Behari Bose's leadership, which spearheaded a probable revolution against the British. Some Ghadrites even infiltrated the British Indian army. Unfortunately, the proposed revolution on February 21, 1915 fizzled out as some Indian soldier disclosed the whole plan to the opponents, leading to a premature death of the great uprising.

Rash Behari Bose and INA have become synonymous now. Rash Behari Bose's journey in Japan became the pivotal one with regard to Indian independence. He left Calcutta on May 12, 1915 disguised as Raja PNT Tagore; distant relative of Nobel Laureate Rabindranath Tagore. He first reached Singapore and then entered Tokyo.  As Japan was an ally of British in the World War I, there was a significant effort from the British to extradite him. Rash Behari Bose managed to become a Japanese citizen and married Tosiko, daughter of the Soma family, who were aware of Rash Behari Bose's sincere efforts of freeing India from the clutches of the British. The couple had a boy, Masahide, and a girl, Tetaku. In between, Rash Behari excelled in journalism and in writing. He mastered Japanese language. After a conference in Tokyo on 28^th March 1942, solely based on the individual efforts of Rash Behari Bose's efforts it was decided to establish the Indian Independence League. It was also decided to make Subhas Chandra Bose the President of this League. All the Indian prisoners of Japan were encouraged to join this new organization. The Indian National Army aka Azad Hind Fauj was formed on September 1, 1942 where Rash Behari Bose played a key role along with Captain Mohan Singh and Sardar Pritam Singh. The formation of Azad Hind Fauj and its journey under Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose changed the course of Indian freedom struggle forever.

Japanese government had highest regards for him as he was bestowed upon 'The Second Order of Merit of the Rising Sun', which is the highest title given to a foreigner in Japan. Rash Behari Bose died in Tokyo on 21^st January 1945. On his death, as per the orders of the Japanese Emperor, Imperial coach was sent to carry his dead body. Unfortunately, India even after half a century of his demise, has failed to bring the ashes of Rash Behari Bose to India.

Last year, eminent historian and author, Ramachandra Guha in of his interviews remarked," I was recently in Japan, and asked my hosts what memories remained in that country of Subhas Chandra Bose, the great Indian patriot who fought alongside the Japanese against the British and whose ashes are believed to be housed in a temple in Tokyo. They answered that Subhas Bose was familiar only to students of Indian history; on the other hand, another Bose, Rash Behari, was well known in Japan and among the citizens of Tokyo in particular. This was because he had patented an 'Indian curry' that is still served in one of the city's most popular restaurants.

Recently, I located a biography of Rash Behari Bose, written by Takeshi Nakajima of Hokkaido University, and translated into English by Prem Motwani, professor of Japanese at the Jawaharlal Nehru University. According to this biography, Rash Behari Bose first arrived in Japan in June 1915, almost a hundred years ago. He was on the run from the British Raj, having played a key role in a plot to assassinate the viceroy three years previously. Interestingly he also added, "The name of Rash Behari Bose was not unfamiliar to me. I knew that he was a revolutionary of the pre-Subhas-Bose, indeed even pre-Mahatma-Gandhi, generation, and that he had taken refuge outside India. But the knowledge that, in the year 2015, he was better known in Japan than in his homeland intrigued me."

With naval mutiny and nationwide unrest over trials of INA soldiers, the British government understood that their days are over and henceforth they had no other choice but to quit India. All credit for this goes to Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose, the brave soldiers of INA, and of course Rash Behari Bose. He paved the path for a pro active strong Indian diaspora, which at present, has become even stronger force for India on the global stage.