Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose’s grandnephew, Chandra Kumar Bose, has written to President Droupadi Murmu urging the repatriation of Netaji’s remains from Japan.
The appeal comes as India marks 80 years of the Provisional Government of Azad Hind and as the 129th birth anniversary of Subhas Chandra Bose is near on 23 January 2026.
Netaji’s remains have been kept at Tokyo’s Renkoji Temple since 1945, and his family and INA veterans want them brought back to India before his birth anniversary.
The grandnephew of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose, Chandra Kumar Bose, has written a letter to the President dated December 24, 2025. In his letter, he urged the government to take concrete steps to further commemorate Netaji’s legacy and to bring back his mortal remains from Japan to India.
“I am writing to you as a member of the family of Sarat Chandra Bose and Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose and to place before you a proposal for the further commemoration of their legacy for the present and future generations of India,” he wrote in the letter.
Chandra Kumar Bose, born in 1960, is the spokesperson and convenor of The Open Platform for Netaji since 2012. He appealed to the President to support the long-standing demand for the repatriation of Netaji’s remains from the Renkoji Temple in Tokyo.
The letter highlighted the historic milestone of October 21, 2025, which marked the 80th anniversary of Netaji’s proclamation of the Provisional Government of Azad Hind in Singapore. Bose noted that the occasion renewed calls to honour the Indian National Army (INA) and its decisive role in the final phase of India’s struggle against British imperialism.
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Referring to reports of a proposed INA monument in Delhi, he said such a memorial would honour the soldiers who participated in what Netaji described as the final onslaught against colonial rule, evoking his iconic call of “Chalo Delhi.”
However, the family stressed that a complete commemoration of Netaji’s legacy would remain unfinished as long as his mortal remains stayed abroad in a faraway land.
“You are also aware that Netaji’s remains rest in faraway Japan at the Renkoji Temple in Tokyo. INA veterans through the decades, as well as Netaji’s daughter Professor Anita Bose-Pfaff and members of his family, have approached the Government of India on numerous occasions to bring back the hero’s remains to his motherland. We appeal to you to take positive action in this matter,” the letter said.
Ahead of Netaji’s 129th birth anniversary on January 23, 2026, Chandra Kumar Bose also released a video message expressing disappointment that the remains of one of India’s greatest freedom fighters continue to lie outside the country. He urged the government to ensure their return to India before the anniversary as a symbolic act of national closure and respect.
Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose, born on January 23, 1897, in Cuttack, Odisha, was one of the most prominent leaders of India’s freedom movement and a fierce critic of British colonial rule. Arrested multiple times by the British, Bose rejected Mahatma Gandhi’s doctrine of non-violence and instead advocated armed resistance. He eventually formed the Indian National Army with Japanese support during the Second World War.
After proclaiming the Provisional Government of Free India (Azad Hind) in Singapore on October 21, 1943, Netaji led the INA in military campaigns against British forces, including the historic advance into Indian territory at Moirang in Manipur in April 1944.
According to the official version accepted by the Government of India, Netaji died on August 18, 1945, after suffering severe burns in a plane crash near Taihoku (now Taipei) airport in Taiwan while attempting to travel to Japanese-occupied Manchuria. He succumbed to his injuries later that night at a Japanese military hospital.
Following his death, Netaji’s ashes were brought to Tokyo and placed at the Renkō-ji Buddhist Temple on September 18, 1945. The temple houses a bronze statue of Netaji and a small golden pagoda containing the ashes. However, Netaji’s death has remained one of the most controversial episodes in India’s modern history.
[VP]
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