Netaji wanted secular India with equal rights for all: Daughter Anita Bose
Kolkata, Jan 22: A day before the 126th birth anniversary of Subhas Chandra Bose, his daughter Anita Bose Pfaff on Sunday noted that the freedom fighter believed in equal rights for all, irrespective of their gender, religion, caste and social position.
Bose Pfaff said that her father was a deeply religious person but wanted India to be a secular state.
In a statement issued from Germany, she pointed out, "Members of all parties, across the entire political spectrum, parties who share his ideas and his ideology and those who do not, pay tribute to him and thank him for his sacrifice for India."
The statement comes in the wake of a controversy over the RSS holding a rally to honour Netaji and many questioning the ideological incongruity of the event, given Netaji's secular credentials.
The economist pointed out that education for all men and women was of utmost importance to the freedom fighter.
She described her father "as a politician inspired by socialism who envisioned India to become a modern, socialist or in today's terms social-democratic state, with equal opportunities for the well-being of all".
Bose Pfaff also renewed her call for bringing back the ashes preserved at Renkoji temple in Japan, believed to be that of the freedom fighter.
"Even though he died in a foreign country more than 77 years ago and his remains are kept in a foreign land, many of his countrymen and his country women have not forgotten him...
"Let us bring Netaji's remains back home," the statement said.
Bose Pfaff also stated that the revolutionary leader, during the freedom movement, was forced to seek the cooperation of fascist countries which did not share his ideology.
"In his struggle for India's independence, he saw himself forced to seek the cooperation and support of fascist countries who did not share his ideology and his political agenda. At that time, they were the only countries willing to support this struggle against a common adversary," she added.
Several reports, over the years, have claimed that Netaji had on August 18, 1945, boarded a plane from Taihoku Airport in Taiwan, which crashed soon after leading to his death.
The reports have also suggested that his remains are kept at Renkoji temple.
Three inquiry commissions were formed by the Centre to unravel the mystery of Netaji's death. Two of them - the Shah Nawaz Commission (1956) and Khosla Commission (1970) -- said that
Bose died in an air crash.
The third one the Mukherjee Commission (1999) -- had said he did not die in it.
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Israel's military says it has fully disabled Yemen's main airport with airstrikes
Jerusalem, May 6 (AP): Israel's military said Tuesday it launched airstrikes against Iranian-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen, fully disabling the country's international airport in the capital, Sanaa, and striking several power plants.
The strikes, the second in two days, came after Israel launched airstrikes in retaliation for a Houthi missile strike the previous day on Israel's international airport.
The Houthis' satellite news channel al-Masirah reported the strikes, confirming the airport had been hit.
Footage aired on Israeli television showed thick black plumes of smoke rising above the skyline of Sanaa. Social media video purported to show multiple strikes around Sanaa, with black smoke rising as the thumps of the blast echoed against the surrounding mountains.
There was no immediate information on any casualties.
Tuesday's strike came shortly after the military issued a warning on social media for people to evacuate the area of Yemen's international airport.
“We urge you to immediately evacuate the area of the airport and to warn anyone nearby to distance themselves immediately,” spokesperson Avichay Adraee wrote on social media, attaching a map of Sanaa International Airport. “Failure to evacuate the area endangers your lives.”
On Monday night, Israel targeted the Iranian-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen's Red Sea province of Hodeida, killing at least one person and wounding 35.
The rebels' media office said at least six strikes hit the crucial Hodeida port. Others hit a cement factory in the district of Bajil, 55 kilometres northeast of Hodeida, the rebels said. The Houthi-run Health Ministry said the strikes killed at least four people and wounded 39 others.
The Houthis on Sunday launched a missile that struck an access road near Israel's main airport near Tel Aviv, briefly halting flights and commuter traffic. Four people were lightly injured.
It was the first time a missile struck the grounds of Israel's main airport, Ben Gurion, since the October 2023 start of the war in Gaza. It prompted a flurry of flight cancellations. While most missiles launched by the Houthis have been intercepted, some have penetrated Israel's missile defence systems, causing damage.
The Houthis have targeted Israel throughout the war in solidarity with Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, raising their profile as the last member of Iran's self-described “Axis of Resistance” capable of launching regular attacks on Israel.
The US military under President Donald Trump has launched an intensified campaign of airstrikes targeting the Houthis since March 15.
Israel has repeatedly struck against the rebels in Yemen. It struck Hodeida and its oil infrastructure in July after a Houthi drone attack killed one person and wounded 10 in Tel Aviv.
In September, Israel struck Hodeida again, killing at least four people after a missile targeted Ben Gurion airport as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was returning to the country. In December, Israeli strikes killed at least nine people in Hodeida.
