The day Congress lost Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose

medium120726256On April 29, 1939, Subhas Chandra Bose rose before the All India Congress Committee (AICC) and placed his resignation on the table. He had been elected president of the Indian National Congress just weeks earlier — defeating Mahatma Gandhi’s chosen candidate in a contest that had shaken the foundations of the grand old party.It was not merely the end of a leadership term. It was the breaking point of a deeper conflict — one that revealed fractures the Congress would never fully mend. A clash not just between two men, but between two competing dreams for India’s future. As The Times of India reported, Kolkata erupted in pandemonium.The consequences of Bose’s exit would ripple across the freedom movement, changing the shape of India’s fight for independence.Bose’s Pyrrhic victoryThe seeds of the break-up were sown earlier that year. At the Tripuri Congress session in March 1939, Bose stunned the establishment by defeating Pattabhi Sitaramayya, Gandhi’s handpicked candidate.It was a startling outcome, revealing that a large section of the Congress grassroots yearned for more assertive leadership to accelerate India’s march towards full independence. But victory came at a cost. Gandhi, in an uncharacteristically sharp intervention, declared: “Pattabhi’s defeat is my defeat.” medium120726441The statement shifted the entire political mood. What had been an internal organisational election now became a test of personal loyalty to Gandhi. Many Congressmen, even those sympathetic to Bose’s ideas, drifted away, unwilling to be seen as opposing the Mahatma.A few days later, Bose spoke about the turn of events: “There was no reflection at all either against Mr Gandhi or his principles or policy in any of my statements. Nevertheless, after the result was declared, Mr Gandhi issued a statement declaring that the defeat of Dr Pattabhi was his own defeat. This came as an utter surprise to everybody.”Different ideas of India’s futureAt its core, the Bose-Gandhi clash reflected two competing ideas of India’s destiny. Bose envisioned the Congress not merely as a movement to achieve freedom, but as a political party that would govern, modernise, and rebuild the nation after independence. In his Haripura address in 1938, he warned against the assumption that the Congress should simply “wither away” after the British left.“The party that wins freedom for India,” he insisted, “should also be the party that will put into effect the entire programme of post-war reconstruction.” Gandhi, by contrast, believed the Congress should dissolve after independence, leaving its leaders free to pursue grassroots social reform. In Gandhi’s eyes, the wielding of political power itself risked corruption and moral decay.This divergence — between an activist, modernist state and a moral, decentralised society — made reconciliation between the two leaders increasingly impossible.Letters between Gandhi and BoseFollowing the Tripuri session, Bose attempted to negotiate a compromise. He proposed that a majority of the old Working Committee members be retained, while introducing four new faces for renewal.During these talks in Sodepur and Calcutta, Bose welcomed the idea of Jawaharlal Nehru becoming general secretary. But the situation rapidly deteriorated. Letters exchanged between Gandhi and Bose — now a key part of historical records — revealed the growing bitterness. medium120726842 medium120726855In these communications, Gandhi refused to nominate the Working Committee or endorse a formula for Bose’s leadership. He suggested instead that the old Working Committee be reinstated entirely, effectively stripping Bose of his right to appoint his own executive team.Bose, in his final letter to Gandhi, expressed sorrow but stood firm, stating that under such circumstances, he would be forced to place his resignation before the AICC. The breakdown of these talks — reflected poignantly in the tone of the letters — showed how far the divide had widened between the two men.What Bose said about quittingOn April 29, 1939, Bose formally resigned before the AICC. As The Times of India reported the next day, Kolkata witnessed waves of violent anger.Right-wing Congress leaders like Bhulabhai Desai were heckled and assaulted by crowds. Stones were hurled; Desai’s secretary was injured. Inside the AICC tent, pandemonium reigned, with jeering and shouting during the announcement of Bose’s resignation. medium120726310For many Congress volunteers and workers, the episode symbolised a betrayal — of democracy, of the spirit of internal debate, and of hope for faster action towards independence. Meanwhile, the British press saw it as a “victory for Mr Gandhi”, noting that the moderate line within the Congress had prevailed.In his powerful speech at Hazra Park a week later, Bose explained why he had chosen to resign. He said he had fought not for personal power but for the right of an elected president to exercise constitutional authority.“I had no desire to remain a dummy president, or to hang on to the office at any cost,” Bose declared. “I have no doubt in my mind that in submitting my resignation, I adopted the right course.”What this meant for CongressBose’s departure also highlighted a more troubling trend: the corruption and decay creeping into the Congress. Throughout 1938-39, Bose had warned about bogus memberships and opportunists joining the party purely for personal advancement.In January 1939, he stated bluntly: “Other people are now coming into the Congress who have their axes to grind or who consider the Congress to be a safe organisation. This largely accounts for the tendency towards enlisting bogus members.” medium120726396Even Gandhi, writing in Harijan, admitted that Congress registers were becoming “fast corrupted”. Bose’s battle, in that sense, was not just for control — it was a last stand to cleanse the organisation before it succumbed to rot.What Bose did post quittingAfter resigning from the Congress presidency, Bose did not retreat into silence. In May 1939, he founded the Forward Bloc, aiming to consolidate the left-wing, socialist forces within the nationalist movement. The Forward Bloc sought to keep alive the dream of an uncompromising, radical push for independence.However, his moves were met with growing hostility from the Congress establishment. Facing political marginalisation — and soon placed under house arrest by the British — Bose engineered a daring escape from his home in Elgin Road, Kolkata, in January 1941.Disguised, he travelled through Peshawar to Kabul, and from there to Berlin, eventually reaching Japanese-occupied Southeast Asia. There, he took charge of the Indian National Army (INA) — a force composed mainly of Indian prisoners of war and expatriates — to launch an armed assault on British India.His rallying cry, “Give me blood, and I will give you freedom,” became one of the most stirring slogans of India’s struggle.Though the INA campaign ultimately failed militarily, its emotional and political impact was enormous. The INA trials of 1945-46 ignited nationalist passions across India and seriously weakened British resolve to hold on to the colony.In the annals of history, the Congress’s failure to accommodate Subhas Chandra Bose in 1939 was more than a mere political setback — it was a missed opportunity for India. By choosing to suppress an internal call for renewal, the party lost a unique combination of idealism, pragmatism, and energy that Bose embodied. In leaving the Congress, Bose did not abandon India. He carried with him an unfulfilled dream — of a bold, confident, modern India, willing to stake its claim in the world.