Escape of Netaji from India to Germany
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I deem it fair to state at the very beginning that prior to my meeting with Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose in Kabul in 1941, I had had no contact with him, and my meeting with him in Kabul was like a windfall. In the month of February 1941 I was sitting at my shop turning over newspapers. Icy cold wind was blowing. Snow was falling and the whole countryside — the roads and the houses — presented a dazzling white colour. Bitter cold had brought about a sense of ennui. But my pensive mood was disturbed by a granger dressed in a Khaki Peshawar Salwar, a Khaki shirt, a leather 'jerkin' and leather waistcoat. The stranger had a turban of the Pathan type. He was in a dress of a perfect border-tribesman. The stranger entered my shop and looking around accosted me in a low tone, "Is your name Uttam Chand?" The stranger only softly smiled when I told him that that was so. I requested the stranger to tell me what I could do for him, but the presence of a fifteen-year-old boy named Amar Nath who was working in my shop made him suspicious. I could read his mind. So I sent Amar Nath away to bring tea for us. The stranger then opened his heart and said, "My name is Bhagat Ram. I belong to Ghalla Dher in the Mardan district. My brother attempted to shoot the Punjab Governor." My aunt belongs to that village and everybody in that village knew that my uncle had a shop in Kabul. |
"What can I do for you then?"
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"I am on a mission. I have brought Subhas Chandra Bose here to smuggle him across the Russian border," said Bhagat Ram, the stranger. The very name of Subhas Babu made my heart jump up and I felt as if I was in a trance. Bhagat Ram continued, "We are staying at present in a Serai but an Afghan C.I.D. man has been pestering us. He has also been bullying us. I had known your brother by face and as we are in a tight corner we have to think of every possible means to get out of this impasse. This C.I.D. man has been harassing us for five days, and we have to bribe him every time he comes. But he is getting more and more importunate and dangerous, and so we had to think of you. You may not be able to help us in sending Subhas Babu across the frontier, but certainly you can help us in getting shelter and devising means of escape, and the greatest relief to us under your shelter will be that there will be no apprehension of betrayal. We have been here for the last thirteen days staying in a small room of the Serai near Lahori Darwaza. The place is awfully filthy. I tried to establish contact with the Russian Ambassador but my attempt failed."
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Bose as Orlando Mazzotta |
"After my failure with the Russian Legation, I tried to contact the Italian Ambassador who promised to send Bose Babu to Berlin or Rome after the arrangements were complete. But our first anxiety is to find a safe place for the period we have to stay here."
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"You are welcome to my place; but you should bear in mind that there is another person sharing the house I live in. My neighbour occupies the ground floor while I am on the upper flat. And then my house is in the dirtiest locality." I said to Bhagat Ram. Bhagat Ram simply laughed and said, "Do not worry about dirt and filth. The only consideration is safe quarter." It was arranged that Bhagat Ram should come with Bose Babu at four o'clock. At the time of his departure I asked him whether he was passing by his real name, Bhagat Ram said, "I go by the name of Rahmat Khan and Subhas Babu's name is Ziauddin."
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After Rahmat Khan's departure I felt a sense of weakness creeping over me and there was a battle royal in my mind about the consequences in case of the discovery of Subhas Babu in my house. A veil of darkness about the fate of my children and wife hung heavily before my eyes, but soon this weakness passed away.
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Hours passed by and at ten to four Rahmat Khan arrived all alone. He told me that Bose Babu was waiting on the opposite of the Kabul river which flowed in front of my shop. I accompanied Rahmat Khan, crossed the river bridge at a distance of a furlong from my shop. Subhas Babu was not to be found at the bridge and therefore we proceeded ahead and then Rahmat Khan pointed out a man dressed in an unwashed salwar and a dirty shirt. Every inch of him looked like a Pathan. The new man was coming to us negotiating with difficulty the snow-covered road. The man — Rahmat Khan told me — was Subhas Babu. I was simply nonplussed to see Subhas Babu in that disguise. His identity could not be betrayed. The road was treacherous and there were deep holes and Subhas Babu sometimes stumbled. We decided from our place of meeting to walk one after another in order to ward off any lurking suspicion. By the time I reached my house, followed by Rahmat Khan and Ziauddin, my neighbours had closed their doors owing to intense cold and one or two stray travellers could not be a source of any difficulty.
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Once inside the house Subhas Babu felt at home and changed his clothes and put on spectacles. With spectacles on it was very easy to recognise him in spite of his beard. Tea was ordered and we all felt refreshed after taking tea. Rahmat Khan was asked to bring the luggage from the Serai and my servant Amarnath was sent to help him. Subhas Babu instructed Rahmat Khan that he should be very careful lest he should be shadowed by any C.I.D. man. Rahmat Khan was to give the luggage to Amamath and was to follow him later on. In case of any suspect on the track Rahmat Khan was ordered to loiter about till he could give him the slip.
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After the departure of Rahmat Khan and Amarnath to bring the luggage from the Serai I had my difficulties in my own petticoat Government. My wife sensed trouble and was suspicious. She wanted me to tell her categorically who the strangers were and why I wanted her to take a Muslim for a Hindu. She got furious and said that she had known every thing about them as the stranger first talked to me in Pushto and then in Hindustani. I knew that Subhas Babu was going to stay for a few days with me, but it was difficult to keep my wife ignorant about my distinguished guest. So I promised that she would know everything later on.
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I then had a prolonged talk with Subhas Babu. He told me that he had left Peshawar on January 19, 1941 and reached Kabul in three days. He was a perfect stranger to Kabul and Rahmat Khan was no better. After great hardship in the way he tumbled into the Serai near Lahori Darwaza. The little knowledge of Pushto which Rahmat Khan had, was of considerable help. They were ushered into a shabby dingy cell filled with smoke. Some dry faggots were procured and a fire was prepared. Rahmat Khan purchased some dry bread and meat. It was not possible to eat that bread and so the bread had to be dipped in tea. But more trouble was in store as soon after a man in white clothes began to pay special attention to them. This happened after they had spent a week only in the Serai. Theman in white clothes was one of the Afghan C.I.D. men. The C.I.D. man asked in Pushto who they were and why they had come to Kabul. Rahmat Khan told him that they were travellers and that he (Subhas Babu) was Rahmat Khan's elder brother and was deaf and dumb and he was being taken to pilgrimage to Sukhi Saheb. As a heavy snow-fall had closed the route to Sukhi Saheb, they were forced to stay. They would start on their journey as soon as the road was open. But the C.I.D. man did not believe them and wanted them to go along with him to the Kotwali. Rahmat Khan then changed tactics and prepared himself to accompany him to Kotwali telling him that his brother was sick and could not go. The C.I.D. man then softened a little and asked Rahmat Khan to stay till the road was clear and requested him to give him some money for tea. He was given a two-rupee Afghan note but the C.I.D. man had tasted the blood and returned on the third day and threatened to take them to Kotwali. It was then that Subhas Babu decided to shift to some other place. It was equally dangerous to shift to some other Serai and therefore it became necessary to find out my residence. A true revolutionary has to take risks and Subhas Babu then ordered Rahmat Khan to take risk in finding me out.
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But the C.I.D. man again returned to the game and threatened them with severe consequences as the sub-inspector of Afghan police had wanted to see the two strangers. He told Rahmat Khan that he suspected them to be rebels as the road to Sukhi Saheb was open. The C.I.D. man further asserted that he would care a two-pence for a dumb and deaf man. The situation was getting serious. It was plain that the C.I.D. man had come to squeeze as much money as possible. Rahmat Khan got ready to accompany the C.I.D. man and handed over a five-rupee note to him with the request that his dumb and deaf brother should be spared. This led to a great deal of haggling and bargaining and the settlement was made for Rupees seventeen, but the C.I.D. man further extorted a fine wrist-watch which Rahmat Khan had on his wrist. That watch belonged to Subhas Babu. After the departure of the C.l.D. man, it was with great difficulty that Rahmat Khan could contact me. But for the creative imagination of Subhas Babu it would not have been possible for Rahmat Khan to locate my shop.
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The return of Amarnath and Rahmat Khan with the luggage from the Serai gave great relief. After dinner we listened to the Radio news and I had to summarise to Subhas Babu all the important news of the last week as he had not listened to or read any news since January 19, 1941. Subhas Babu was simply amused to hear the radio story of the Sadhu's arrest in Hardwar and Sardar Sardul Singh Caveesher s view of his renunciation and becoming a Sadhu.
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Before I could request Subhas Babu to tell me the story of his escape from India I had to pacify my wife who had grown more suspicious. She seemed to conjure up fantastic ideas and she told me plainly that it was not possible for her to keep the two strangers in my absence, so I had to take her into confidence. I told her the whole story, with the result that her agitated mind took a new turn. Fear and suspicion gave place to trust and responsibility and she considered it her moral duty to help me and Subhas Babu in our project. It would not have been possible to give such a safe shelter to Subhas Babu without her meticulous care. I was instructed by Subhas Babu to attend my shop at exact hours and the room in which Subhas Babu was staying used to remain locked up so that any neighbour or relative might not get into that room even by a chance.
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The Story of Escape from India
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I was very anxious to hear from Subhas Babu himself how he managed to penetrate the British barricade of espionage and came to Kabul. So I made a request to him and he was pleased to tell me the whole story. The following is the substance of the story in his own words:
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"I was anxious to get out of India in order to render greater service to my country. I was to be smuggled out to Moscow by a party which promised to make all arrangements but I could not avail myself of that opportunity then. There were two reasons for my refusal. First, I had to attend to some urgent business of the Calcutta Corporation, secondly, I had no beard which I considered so essential for proper disguise. The person who was to accompany me to Kabul had excellent contacts in the Russian Embassy here.
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"After attending to the Corporation business I ceased to get out of my house on the pretext to my shattered health. I gave very strict instructions that none should see me. Only a telephonic talk was possible in cases of urgency. Visitors were strictly prohibited. On the 15 of January, 1941 when my beard was forty days old, I set out of the house at midnight in the guise of a Maulvi. I got into a car, and 40 miles away from Calcutta I caught the Mail. The next day a military Sikh passenger came into the compartment. During the course of conversation I told him that I was coming from Lucknow, and was going to Rawalpindi as an Insurance Organiser and that my name was Ziauddin.
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"I was putting on a sherwani and a fez cap. The tight pyjama and my long beard made me look like a perfect Maulvi. I reached Peshawar at 9 p.m. on the 17th January. An already waiting car for me drove me to the appointed place. I spent two days in Peshawar and the arrangements which my friend made at Peshawar for my stay were simply splendid. Nobody knew anything about my stay. On January 19, I put on Pathan clothes, entered a car and drove out of Peshawar on my way to Jamrud. A little distance from the Jamrud Fort a kachcha road bifurcates. We proceeded on that road and reached a village, Gurhi where I had to leave the car as the road was not motorable. I passed the night in Gurhi. Next day Rahmat Khan, the two Pathans and myself started on foot for Kabul. The friends who had escorted me returned to Peshawar with the car. From Gurhi I was to pretend that I was deaf and dumb.
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"Next evening we crossed the Indian border and spent the night in the famous shrine of Addah Sharif as guests of the Pir. The two armed Pathans were replaced by three others who were equally armed. We reached Lalpura in the evening and were the guests of a very influential Khan of the place.
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"I left Lalpura with a very important letter of introduction from the Chief. The letter was in Persian and its contents were that Rahmat Khan and Ziauddin were going on a pilgrimage to Sukhi Saheb's shrine and that they were inhabitants of the tribal area and that nobody should molest them. That letter of introduction when shown to the Afghan C.I.D. man saved us from his clutches. But that C.I.D. man was more after money than after a certificate of good character.
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From Netaji: His Life and Work, edited by Shri Ram Sharma, published in 1948 by Shiva Lal Agarwala & Co. Ltd., Agra
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