How Ananta Maharaj row exposed old fault lines over Netaji

For the longest time, January 23 in 1990s Kolkata would mean small street-side political meetings where leaders of all hues would ask the youth to draw inspiration from Netaji's patriotism and ideals on his birthday. Netaji was one of the most prominent politicians who disappeared before India became independent, and yet left a firm imprint on people's minds. The conversation around him was often about what people knew and what, they believed, had been concealed, be it the mystery surrounding his disappearance, the classified files or his political views, which parties have tried to appropriate and yet conveniently stayed away from at different times. His own political party, the Forward Bloc, a junior partner in the long-running Left Front government in West Bengal, is now a pale shadow of its glory days.