KALABURAGI: A military uniform, cap, jackets and a German-made wristwatch dating back to the World War. Could these be the belongings of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose, believed to have died in a plane crash in Taiwan in 1945? Many contend that he survived the crash and lived a mysterious life after that.
The ‘Bose belongings,’ which include a 1932 model compass, in an ashram near Humnabad, has triggered speculation that Netaji could have lived here. His disciples aver that the aged man they fondly addressed as ‘Laldhari Mutya,’ was Netaji. Mutya died in 2001 but the contents of his trunk were discovered only recently.
Did Netaji Bose live a mysterious life near Bidar?
Did Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose die in a plane crash in Taiwan in 1945 as officially declared or did he survive the crash and live a mysterious life after that?
A definite answer to this question has remained elusive to this day. But the discovery of material such as a military uniform, cap and jackets besides a German-made wristwatch released during the World War I, a 1932 model compass and binocular made in France in an ashram abutting the Kalaburagi-Bidar highway near Humnabad, has once again sparked off speculation about the survival of Netaji after the plane crash and him leading a secret life.
Based on these findings, which include some foreign currency, military badges, etc., from Laldhari Ashram and the personal accounts of some of the disciples, it is now speculated that the aged person whom they fondly addressed as ‘Laldhari Mutya’ (Laldhari is the name of the village where the Ashram is and Mutya means elderly person), was in fact Netaji.
The speculation has gained credence nearly 15 years after his death due to a kidney ailment in a hospital at Umarga in Maharashtra on May 13, 2001. Reason: The trunk, in which the material was kept in the Ashram, remained locked till recently.
Mr Santharam, who hails from Umarga, was quite dismayed to find the material in the trunk when he visited the Ashram in January. He is understood to have written to the Osmanabad deputy commissioner requesting him to take measures to find out whether the material belonged to Netaji.
Subsequently, Osmanabad MP Ravindra Gaikwad is also said to have written to PM Narendra Modi requesting him to send experts for examining the material. Santharam’s father Athmul Muzani is said to have chanced upon a Punjabi-looking man at Solapur bus stand in 1971.
Impressed by the conversation he had with him, he took him home and gave him shelter till his death in 1985. After Muzani’s death, the ‘Punjabi’ left for Bidar and set up an ashram at Laldhari.
According to his disciples, Mutya used to celebrate Independence Day and Republic Day by hoisting the tricolour at the Ashram. He was said to have confided to some of his devotees that he was Netaji.
But this comment of Mutya is said to have evoked sniggers among his disciples. Mr Santharam, who has in his possession samples of the teeth and hair of Mutya, feels a DNA test would establish the true identity of Laldhari Mutya.
