By Sambeet Dash
In 1939 just before the World War II, Netaji Subhas Bose called Nilakantha Das to his 32/8, Elgin Road residence in Calcutta. He had heard about the impressive leadership quality and charisma of Pandit Das. Despite an extremely busy schedule, he huddled a conference with the triumvirate of Pandit Nilakantha, Jadumani Mangaraj and Godabarish Mishra.
Netaji told them – “My hunch is Japan …it is going to win this war as British are on the decline”. Anticipating this, he laid out his vision of an independent India where the Eastern region is going to play an important role. He continued further, “It’s now time to start the groundwork of governance for the eastern states of Bengal, Bihar and Odisha. So, Mr. Das, I would leave Odisha to your leadership as I can’t think of anyone better than you. ”
Nilakantha interacted extensively with both Nehru and Subhas Bose. No doubt, Bose was a more charismatic, fiery and arousing speakers compared to Nehru. Nilakantha fell to Netaji’s charm and his blood -curdling, Goosebumps -arousing slogan – “Give me blood, I will give you freedom”.
Alas, he was missing UTKALAMANI Gopabandhu Das and the later’s poem which was no less inspiring:
MISU MORA DEHA E DESA MATIRE
DESA BASI CHALI JAANTU PITHIRE,
DESARA SWARJYA PATHE JETE GAADA,
PURI TAHIN PADI MORA MANSA HADA.
(May my body blend in this country’s soil
May on my back my countrymen take a walk,
The potholes on path of self rule of my nation,
May it get filled with my flesh and bone.)
Wholly moved by Subhas Bose and after returning to Odisha, the troika went on political blitzkrieg, building a formidable combination of personalities from different spectrum, as diverse as the King of Paralakhemundi and Suhaan Khan of Muslim League – a party who at that point riding the crest of Jinnah wave was giving Congress run for money, drastically cutting into the latter’s support among the Muslims.
In the meantime, Hitler’s tanks bombarded into Poland on 1st of September, 1939 – marking the beginning of World War II. Later that month Subhas Bose came to Odisha. As President of State Congress, Nilakantha Das took Netaji around Cuttack atop an elephant. During that trip, both stayed in the same house. Netaji would consult Nilakantha, his Man Friday in Odisha before taking any decision during his campaign in the state.
Many of his colleagues were trying to persuade Netaji to give speech in Bengali. Nilakantha told him bluntly – “Please give speech in Hindi, English or Odia. Not in Bengali”. Subhas Bose duly obliged. In Puri BADA DANDA Netaji gave a fiery speech in Hindi, mocking Gandhi SUTA KAAT KE KYA SWARAJ MILEGA (Isn’t it preposterous to achieve self- rule by making threads out of cotton?)
(My grandfather, then in his 20s heard this speech by Netaji and wrote it in his Diary which I still hold on to like a Precious Jewel. I used to ridicule him when he showed me his photograph of 1939, wearing starched DHOTI or loincloth, thick, well -drenched hair combed to a side divided by a prominently visible thin hairline, with ‘Rashi Tela’ or til oil conspicuously dripping from it. I, as the grandson was entitled to poke fun at my Grandpa).
As expected, Nilakantha Das’s closeness to Netaji aroused jealousy, especially in his native Satyavadi (Odias are champion in harboring jealousy towards the success of the fellow Odias, especially near and dear ones). It shows the difference between leaders like Subhas Bose and ordinary ones. Netaji Subash Bose was head above the rest as the proverb goes ‘GUNA CHINHE GUNIA, SUNA CHINHE BANIA’ (A talented person can spot a talent just as a goldsmith can truly judge the quality of gold). It was shameful and disgusting that the small time leaders of Odisha, rather than working under Pandit Das’s leadership and making our state progressive, did everything to clip his wings.
This trait of his fellow Odias neither surprised Nilakantha Das nor perturbed him. This was an expected, inevitable political hazard, about which he was well advised and warned in advance by his mentor Gopabandhu who once told him – “JETE TU SAPHALA HEBU,
SETE SHATRU SHRUSTI HEBE.
HELE KANA KARIBA.
EMANANKU NEI TA JATI NADNDIGHOSA KU AGAKU NEBA KU PADIBA
(The more successful you will be, the more enemies will be created. But what can we do, we have to live with them to keep the Juggernaut of Odia race chugging ahead).
Nilakantha harboured no ill will towards his jealous detractors, so also the pragmatic Gopabandhu whose thinking was well ahead of his time.
(This is the 14th in series of recapitulation in the writer’s own words portions of Pandit Nilakantha Das’s Biography in Odia.)
Sambeet Dash is an Odia technocrat living in Georgia US.
