the palm leaf

Subhash Chandra Bose, after death seems to have become the Indian version of Elvis Presley. His death remains a mystery to date with many people suspecting that he did not die in that plane crash in Taipei in 1945. After that there have been many theories - he was a Soviet prisoner of war, he lived as a Hindu monk named Bhagwanji etc. Recently Pakistan Cricket Board Chief Shaharyar Khan wrote about any eye-witness account of Bose's death based on the statement of Brigadier Habib-ur-Rehman.

"They had boarded the aircraft at Saigon and after a refueling stop, the plane was flying over Northern Taiwan when one of the engines began to sputter. "The plane rapidly lost height but the pilot managed to bring it down on a clearing where it crashed into heavy undergrowth. The occupants were severely injured, some dying instantly, others escaping with injuries. Habib himself had been thrown clear as the plane plunged into a thicket because he was sitting near the tail of the aircraft," Khan wrote. "Though bruised and groggy, Habib found he could still move and ran immediately towards the burning aircraft to see if he could rescue his leader and others who may have survived. When he reached, he saw the charred body of Bose lying beside the aircraft. Bose had seemingly died because...his suit had caught fire and burnt his body beyond recognition," Khan wrote in his book. [I saw Netaji dying: Pak Brigadier]

This indeed is a fascinating story, but for one small problem. According to the Taiwanese, there was no air crash in Taipei between August 14 and September 20, 1945. This information was revealed to Justice M K Mukherjee, heading the one-man commission of inquiry into Netaji's disappearance. The commission has been asked to wrap up and submit its report by May 2005 and hopefully we will get a treasure trove of conspiracy theories.