"Netaji's INA had completely shaken the loyalty of the Indian soldier to the British Raj": Major General GD Bakshi fires back at The Telegraph (UK) for slandering Subhas Chandra Bose and 'rag-tag' INA

Major General GD Bakshi has delivered a sharp and succinct counter to The Telegraph (UK) which slandered revered freedom fighter Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose by calling him a radical Hindu nationalist and his Azad Hind Army "rag-tag".

READ | FOR SHAME! UK Daily Insults Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose By Branding Him As ‘Radical Hindu Nationalist’ And Azad Hind Fauj As ‘rag-tag Army’

In an exclusive to Republic World, Major General Bakshi rubbished Netaji Bose being given a communal colour by saying, "To call Netaji a Hindu nationalist leader is bizarre and betrays a complete lack of understanding of recent history. The author appears to be an anglophile and apologise for the Raj which looted India to the tune of $45 trillion. Netaji was known for his secular outlook and nationalism beyond caste and creed."

Coming to the INA being called "rag-tag", he added, "Of 60,000 INA soldiers, 26,000 were martyred. They may have lost the battles of Imphal and Kohima but they won the war for independence. It was the INA which was really responsible for forcing the British to leave. They had completely shaken the loyalty of the Indian soldier to the Raj".

Earlier, speaking to Republic TV, Netaji Bose's grandnephew Chandra Kumar Bose and suggested that penal action was the only way to deal with such slander. Meanwhile, Netaji's nephew Ardhendu Bose, writing exclusively for Republic World, detailed exactly why he says that Netaji was one of the most secular leaders to be born in India and extolled the INA. Both members of the Bose family alluded to there being a political motive to the article. Major Gaurav Arya, meanwhile, hit back on the 'rag-tag' descriptor, hailing Netaji's army for fighting for what they believe in and the honour that entails.