Chandra Kumar Bose, grandnephew of freedom fighter Subhas Chandra Bose, has demanded an inquiry into the “authenticity” of Netaji’s hat currently on display at the Red Fort Museum. His request comes after an initial claim that the cover was missing, which the authorities clarified. He has now claimed that the cover – back in its glass case in Delhi – It may not be the original.
The controversy began when members of an organization called Open Platform for Netaji (OPN) discovered an empty display case at the INA Museum. Navin Pammel, a lawyer and member of the organization, recently visited the museum and found that the symbolic hat was missing.
Staff were reportedly unable to provide an immediate explanation.
Read also | SC asks Netaji’s daughter to move court herself to return the ashes from Japan temple
This prompted Chandra Kumar Bose, former leader of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party, to raise the alarm online, taking his concerns directly to the Prime Minister.
In his post on He said the hat’s disappearance was “very embarrassing.”
This ‘lost’ piece was quickly clarified as the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) said the artefact had been transported to the Andaman and Nicobar Islands as part of an exhibition in January. In its post on She said this prevented her immediate return to public view. The agency also confirmed that the lock was repaired and the cover was back on.
Following this, Chandra Kumar Bose on Friday claimed that the cap looked “different” from the one originally handed over to the government.
“Netaji researchers and those who have previously seen this said cover feel that this is not the original cover,” he said in another X post. He called for an investigation to be conducted for validation. ASI has not yet responded to this new allegation.
Chandra Kumar Bose also questioned the protocol for transporting such valuable personal items. Moving a small antique such as a cover increases the risk of it being misplaced or damaged, he said. “How can Netaji’s personal hat presented to the Prime Minister, which he placed in the display case at the Red Fort Museum, be transported everywhere for display?” question.
He also criticized the fact that visitors were not informed that the item had been sent elsewhere.
A similar situation occurred in 2021 when reports indicated the hat had disappeared from the museum. The cover had been loaned to the Victoria Memorial in Kolkata for temporary display alongside nearly two dozen other artefacts, ASI explained at the time.
Meanwhile, in another development related to Subhas Chandra Bose’s legacy,… The Supreme Court on Thursday asked his daughter Anita Bose Pfaff to “come forward” and file a petition in her name if she wants the court’s intervention in bringing Netaji’s ashes from Japan’s Renkoji Temple to India.
A bench comprising Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justices Joymalia Bagchi and Vipul M Pancholi refused to entertain a plea filed through Netaji’s grandson and author Ashish Rai, stating that the case involved reported disagreements within the Bose family over the circumstances of the leader’s death and the authenticity of the ashes and, therefore, the “direct heir” should approach the court.
