Singapore : Paying tributes to freedom fighter Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose on his 125th birth anniversary on Sunday, Singapore’s renowned author Asad Latif said Netaji is as important a part of Singapore’s history as his contribution to the history of India. “The revival of the Indian Independence League and the Azad Hind Fauj (INA) by Bose actually led to the advent of Malaya (historic political organization in the Malay Peninsula of South Asia) folk politics as they worked with the workers,” Latif said at the symposium organized by the Indian High Commission. Worked and instilled a rare sense of respect in them.
Highlighting Netaji’s role in Singapore, Latif said, “He destroyed the imperialist hold in both India and Singapore. Unlike Raffles (Singapore’s founder Sir Stanford Raffles), Netaji is as much a part of Singapore’s history as India. Presenting on the book ‘Netaji in the Indian Making of Singapore’, Latif said, “The interesting fact is that till 1867, Singapore port was second only to Calcutta among Indian government ports. In short, Singapore was an extension of colonial India.’
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Influence of Indians in the making of Singapore indelible
“The influence of Indians in the making of Singapore is indelible,” he said. Latif underlined that the British Raj built colonial Singapore from Kolkata instead of London. Kolkata-born and Singapore-based writer Nilanjana Sengupta also highlighted Netaji’s role in Singapore, underlining that Netaji had declined an invitation to Durga Puja from the influential Chettiar community in Singapore, saying he wanted to visit such religious places. where not only Indians of other religions are not allowed, but the so-called lower castes of Hindus are also barred.
South Asia Chapter Important Part of Life
Sengupta, who was involved in research on the IN movement and published the first book on Netaji ‘A Gentleman’s Word’ in 2012, said that Chettiar was the biggest donor to the INA movement. Sengupta said that the South Asia chapter of Netaji’s life was significant as it was here that he got the freedom to embody his political views and that is why his strong presence and legacy is felt here.
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