Subhas Chandra Bose (January 23, 1897 - August 18, 1945) also known as Netaji, was a Orissa born and Bengal based Indian leader of the movement to win independence from British rule. Bose helped organize and later lead the Indian National Army put together with Indian prisoners-of-war and plantation workers from Singapore and Southeast Asia. Early life

He was educated at the Protestant European School and the Ravenshaw Collegiate School in Cuttack, now in Orissa, the Scottish Church College, Calcutta and the University of Cambridge . He had resigned from the prestigious Indian Civil Service, despite scoring the fourth place on the merit list, as he wanted to serve his nation, then a colony of the British. Bose was once president of the Indian National Congress. He was elected for a second term against the wishes of senior party official Mohandas Gandhi, who supported Pattabhi Sitaramayya. Although Bose won the election, Gandhi`s continued opposition led to the resignation of the Working Committee which further put pressure on Bose to finally resign. After having left the Congress Bose formed a separate party, the All India Forward Bloc.

At the start of World War II, Bose traveled to Germany where he joined the Special Bureau for India under Adam von Trott zu Solz, broadcasting on the German-sponsored Azad Hind Radio . He founded the Free India Centre in Berlin and established the Indian Legion, (consisting of some 3500 soldiers) from Indian prisoners of war who had previously fought for the British in North Africa. The Azad Hind legion was attached to the Waffen SS, and they swore their allegiance to Hitler. At a time when none in Germany dared to criticise Hitler, Bose had openly criticised Hitler`s treatment of Jews, annulment of democratic institutions in Germany and Hitler`s invasion of the Soviet Union. Disappointed with the support for Indian independence from Hitler, he travelled by submarine around the Cape of Good Hope to Imperial Japan, which helped him to raise his army. This was the only civilian-transfer across two different submarines of two different navies in World War II.