KOLHAPUR: A yellow dog-eared book with a special message from Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose is the prized possession of a septuagenarian in Karad.
Sharada Vilasrao Patil has preserved the book, which she got from her father — freedom fighter Vishnu Tatya Janugade.
As India celebrates Azadi Ka Amrit Mohatsav, Patil wants the future generations to preserve and cherish the book the way she has for the past 30 years.
Janugade was just 16 years old in 1931 when Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose had addressed a large gathering at Karad, a town near the confluence of the Krishna and Koyna rivers. Janugade and his friends had walked a long distance to hear the leader speak.
“My father stayed back to meet Netaji, who was staying in the house of a local Congress leader. There were a lot of people to meet Netaji. Despite all odds, my father was able to reach Netaji who told him to join the army and help the freedom fighters. Then, Netaji wrote a message that my father has carried with him for his entire life,” said Patil, Janugade’s only daughter.
Netaji wrote in his signature style: “Self-sacrifice and self-effacement constitute the price we have to pay for freedom.”
The message written on December 25, 1931, inspired Janugade to join Netaji’s Azad Hind Fauj. Janugade was jailed in 1945 for his association with the Fauj. Janugade hid the book from the British, and gave it to his wife to be kept safely till he was released from a Singapore jail. He was released after India got freedom and the notebook remained with him all the time.
Vishwas Patil, former bureaucrat and writer of the ‘Mahanayak’ novel based on Bose’s life, said, “In 1931, Netaji was the general secretary of Congress and Jawaharlal Nehru president. They made extensive tours of India. They held meetings in small towns and cities and thousands used to gather to listen to them. There were over 400 to 500 captains in Netaji’s force. Janugade was one of them.”
Patil said that Jagunade played an important role in getting army officers and jawans to join Netaji’s Indian National Army. “Jagannath Bhosale, who rose to the rank of a General in the INA, was initially reluctant to join the INA. But Janugade persuaded him saying that they are from the land of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj. They should be on the battle lines fighting the British,” said Patil.
A few years ago, Shrinivas Patil, then governor of Sikkim, and current Satara MP had got the photostat of the page on which Netaji had written the message. He has kept in the library of Sikkim governor’s office, said Suresh Patil, Janugade’s grandson..
