My mother suffered as she had to play second fiddle, says Netaji’s daughter

Emilie Schenkl, wife of Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose, led a tough life even as her husband remained engaged in his quest for freedom for India, said Anita Bose Pfaff, Netaji’s daughter.In an exclusive conversation with TOI on the eve of Netaji’s 126th birth anniversary, Anita said: “His first and foremost, and almost only, interest was his fight for his country’s freedom. My mother had to suffer because of this as she always had to play second fiddle. Whatever time they got together, could only be sort of taken away from his first, and most important love, that is his country.”“At that time, it was not uncommon in my generation -- and in Europe, where I lived – of children of my age growing up without a father, because I was born during the World War II. In my generation, there were a number of children whose fathers had been a soldier during the war and either killed or became a prisoner of war,” said the Austrian-born economist. Now 80, Anita recalls growing up without his father around. “You had many single mothers, fending for themselves and their children at the time. I wished I had a father, who was there, and who would care for me.“I had my mother and maternal grandmother, who certainly did very much for me. I was taken care of well. But, of course, one misses a father too, particularly as a teenager as one grows up and sort of breaks away from the parents,” she said.Anita, who now lives in Germany, used to be a professor at the University of Augsburg and was a member of the Social Democratic Party of Germany. Anita’s mother Emilie Schenkl used to tell her stories about her father’s escapades, how they worked together when she was his secretary, and the little time they spent with each other.“My father saw me when I was four weeks old and, evidently, I do not remember that. My mother, over the years, told some stories about him,” said Anita.“One story I can recall was when my father was in Vienna in the 1930s. The Prince of Wales, the later King, was visiting Vienna, and my father was considered a dangerous person. The police shadowed him, and he made it an opportunity to drag them through the woods in Vienna during a not so nice weather period. He was very fond of walking and so his shadows had to follow him all through the woods. He eventually returned into the city and dashed for a tram, hopped onto it and my mother was with him. And his shadows could not follow them immediately,” she added.On the mystery around Netaji’s deathAnita now believes her father had died in the plane crash in Taiwan on August 18, 1945. In 2022, she had petitioned the Indian government for a DNA test to be conducted on the ashes preserved at the Renkoji Temple in Japan, which she believes are her father’s remains.On her father’s legacy“His legacy was to not only see India free but to see India become a successful country. He wished education, healthcare and the social situation should improve,” said Anita.“One thing he certainly would not have approved of and that is the partition of India, I think he would have tried to prevent that,” she added.On his ideology“Netaji was a Leftist leader, like Nehru. And he was a modern leader for those days. He had ideas for his country, which may now sound matter of fact. But at that time, certainly were quite advanced and modern.”“He was forced to seek the support of countries who were in a totally different ideological spectrum. Germany, Italy and Japan -- the Axis powers -- were fascist countries. And that was far off from what my father believed in. But they were willing to support him and support India in her struggle for independence.”“The US and the Soviet Union were not willing to support India as they both ended up on the same side of the war as Britain did. And there was very little choice. So, it was a question of getting the support of the enemy of your enemy,” said Anita.Anchor: Surjan SinghAudio production: Sahil Gupta