The work is based on original sources in the archives and libraries of France, England, India and Vietnam. It recounts the activities of Subhas Chandra Bose and his freedom movement in Germany and brings out certain hidden features of his life as found in the records, with adequate supporting evidence. The study also elaborates on Bose's activities in Southeast Asia, with a special focus on French Indochina. Incidentally it was from Saigon that he disappears from the face of the world. After rejecting the air crash theory in which Bose was supposed to have died as well as the Russian escape theory as untenable for want of factual evidence, the study concludes that Bose never left Saigon or Indochina after 17 August 1945, where he died in mysterious circumstances, before the arrival of the Cabinet Mission to India. The war treasures of Bose were confiscated by the Allied troops in Saigon during a search operation.
The war treasures of Bose were confiscated by the Allied troops in Saigon during a search operation.
List of Illustrations 6
Acknowledgements 7
Abbreviations 9 Introduction 11
1. Subhas Chandra Bose in Europe 26
2. Love Life and After 54
3. Indians in East Asia and Indochina 65
4. Freedom Struggle in Indochina: Early Phase 74
5. Freedom Struggle under Bose 83
6. Direct Japanese Rule in French Indochina 115
7. The Last Days of Subhas Chandra Bose: First Phase 137
8. Disappearance of Bose and Related Events 158
9. New Findings, Observations and Conclusions 184
Some Biographical Sketches 211
Bibliography 217
Index 229
J.B.P. More (also known as J.B. Prashant More) is a historian. He obtained his Ph.D. in history from Paris and taught there. He Knows French, English and Tamil and has authored 24 books including Pondicherry, Tamilnadu and South India under French Rule: From François Martin to Dupleix, 1674-1754.
