The Mystery of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose's Missing Cap

'My colleague Naveen Bamel -- he is an advocate of the Supreme Court -- went to the museum at the Red Fort specifically to look for the cap.'
'He inquired with the ASI officials there, and nobody had a clue.'
'So I thought this is not right. This must be brought to the notice of the prime minister.'

When Chandra Kumar Bose, Subhas Chandra Bose's grandnephew, handed Netaji's personal cap to Prime Minister Narendra Modi on January 23, 2019 -- on the occasion of Netaji's 122nd birth anniversary (born January 23, 1897), which is also celebrated as 'day of valour in his remembrance, it was placed with ceremony inside a glass display case at the newly inaugurated Subhas Chandra Bose Museum at Red Fort, part of the Kranti Mandir complex.

The museum, which Modi himself inaugurated that day (external link), was built to honour India's freedom fighters, with Netaji's artefacts prominently featured at the entrance. But today, that glass box in which Netaji's cap was kept ceremonially in 2019 stands empty, according to Chandra Kumar Bose.

Chandra Kumar Bose says officials at the culture ministry, which maintains jurisdiction over the Subhas Chandra Bose Museum at the Red Fort in New Delhi maintain that the cap has been 'in transit' since a 2022 exhibition at the Victoria Memorial in Kolkata where it was brought to celebrate Netaji's 125th birth anniversary -- and nobody in the Union ministry of culture or the Archaeological Survey of India can say where it is today.

To bring it to Prime Minister Narendra Modi's notice, Chandra Kumar Bose posted a message on a social media platform on the evening of March 12.

"The ministry of culture is in charge of the ASI and the Red Fort Museum. When Naveen (Bamel) inquired with them, they said it was in transit. That is all they could say. What kind of answer is that?", Chandra Kumar Bose asks Prasanna D Zore/Rediff.

'I thought, this is really not right. This must be brought to the notice of the prime minister'

A few hours ago, you tweeted, tagging Prime Minister Modi, about Netaji's cap going missing from the Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose Museum at Red Fort (external link).
Can you tell us when you gave the cap to the prime minister, why you gave it, and what he said to you at the time?

It was January 23, 2019, Netaji's birthday. We presented the cap to the prime minister on behalf of the Bose family. He placed it right at the front entrance of the Netaji Museum, which he inaugurated at Red Fort that same day.

And the cap remained there since?

Yes, it was there for quite some time. But now, the board is still there, the glass box is still there -- empty -- and the cap is missing.

What happened is that it was brought to Calcutta for a temporary exhibition set up at the Victoria Memorial on the occasion of Netaji's 125th birth anniversary (on January 23, 2022). But it never came back to its original position. It appears to have returned to the Red Fort, but it is simply not where Mr Modi had placed it.

How did you come to know the cap was missing?

We didn't think much of it initially. Transit, we thought -- it would come back. But it came to my notice about a month ago. My colleague Naveen Bamel -- he is an advocate of the Supreme Court -- went to the museum specifically to look for the cap.

He inquired with the ASI officials there, and nobody had a clue. No one could give a proper answer. So I thought, this is really not right. This must be brought to the notice of the prime minister.

'Modi has done a genuinely good thing -- setting up the INA Museum and Netaji Museum'

When did the cap leave Kolkata for Delhi?

The programme in Kolkata was in 2022. It was a temporary museum, so after the event the items were to be returned. But since then, that cap has been 'in transit.' Three, four years in transit -- what does that even mean?

And the photograph you posted on Twitter -- is that the original cap?

Yes, that is the original cap. I personally handed it to Modi, and he placed it inside that glass box himself.

Naveen took that photograph on the 10th of this month. You can see him standing in front of the empty box -- my name is written on that box. The cap is gone.

Did you feel the cap should not have been taken to Kolkata in the first place?

Frankly, yes. It should not have been moved. There were people who told me earlier, why did you give it at all? It's a family heirloom, keep it.

But then Netaji is a national icon. He may be family to us, but I felt his personal cap deserved to be at the Red Fort, where Modi has done a genuinely good thing -- setting up the INA Museum and Netaji Museum there.

So I thought it was the right place. But a cap is a small item. It can easily get misplaced. It can be stolen. It should never have been shifted around.

'I cannot blame him directly for this, but he must respond'

What did Prime Minister Modi tell you when you gave him the cap in 2019?

He said it would be kept there to honour Netaji. That was the understanding. And that is why I feel it is his responsibility too -- I placed it in his hands personally.

Who do you hold responsible for this?

The ministry of culture is in charge of the ASI and the Red Fort Museum. When Naveen (Bamel) inquired with them, they said it was in transit. That is all they could say. What kind of answer is that?

People go to visit the museum, they see an empty glass box, and there is no explanation. At the very least, if the cap is not there, they should remove the box. It is embarrassing.

Have you heard from the prime minister's office after your tweet?

Not yet. I am also writing a letter to him tomorrow. I will send him a detailed note on what has happened.

Do you expect him to respond?

I hope so. I really hope so. Because I personally presented it to him. And I think he would want to inquire and give us the correct picture. I cannot blame him directly for this, but he must respond. And I believe he will.

Some might say this could become a political issue, especially ahead of elections in West Bengal.

I am not interested in making this a political matter -- that is not my intention at all. My intention is simply to bring this to the notice of the prime minister. What is happening in that museum is not right. It should not be made into any kind of election issue. Netaji is above all that.

Photographs curated by Manisha Kotian/Rediff