Museum on Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose to open on January 23 at Red Fort

A new digitised museum that brings to the fore some unknown and interesting facts about Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose, as a narrative from his childhood days, to the trials of the personnel of the Indian National Army (INA) — a force Bose had put together to fight the British — is ready for inauguration at Red Fort in the national capital.

The museum is slated to be inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on January 23, on the occasion of the 123rd birth anniversary of Bose.

The first floor of the Red Fort barracks, on which the museum is built, is the place from where soldiers of the INA were court-martialed and tried by the British. The trials started on November 5, 1945, and continued till January 3,1946.

“Four barracks at the Red Fort have been converted into museums for visitors. Besides the museum on Bose, three more museums, including one on the 1857 Revolt, the Jallianwalla Bagh massacre, and contemporary paintings, have come up, “an official of the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) said.

There is also a redesigned museum named Azadi Ke Deewane.

The Red Fort Complex is managed directly by the ASI, which is also responsible for the protection of all national heritage sites in India and Indian cultural properties classified as World Heritage Sites.

On an average, around 5,000 to 6,000 tourists visit Red Fort daily. This can go up to more than 10,000 on weekends and public holidays.

The three-storeyed museum — named Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose and INA — will have a collection of more than 100 panels depicting his life.

The galleries, spread over three floors, depict the contributions of Bose since his childhood days. The role of the INA, since its inception till the trials of its soldiers, its organisation, the battles fought, the awakening it created and its popularity in the country are also documented.

“It will be a first-of-its-kind narrative that starts from Bose’s childhood, his disappearance and later on, the trials of the INA’s soldiers, and its impact on the country. The museum has highlighted the role of the people of Indian origin in South East Asia towards the INA — how they contributed money, soldiers and services. The assassination order given by British secret operations to its agents in

Cairo and Istanbul has been shown. It also shows the secret operation of Col Amrik Singh Gill and four others who landed by submarine at the Konark temple coast to establish their INA secret centres in India,” professor Kapil Kumar, chief historian of the museum, said.

“There will be a few films, the voice-over for which has been done by Bollywood actor Abhishek Bachchan. Apart from those, audio-visuals, archives and reports are also there for visitors. The more than 100 panels will give a complete idea of Bose’s life. We will also showcase interviews of some INA veterans,” Siddharth Bathla, director, Design Factory India, the firm that was engaged for building the museum, said.