'A thoughtful narrative of the actions and words of Bose during his war years in Germany. The author has set out a valuable description that follows the evidence very closely.'
Professor Michael H. Fisher, Oberlin College 'As the only Indian to lead a military assault against the British empire in the twentieth century, Subhas Chandra Bose is an important figure ... Read morewho interrupts the conventional narrative of India's nonviolent resistance against colonialism. The fact that Bose fought Britain with German and Japanese help during the Second World War, however, has led to his efforts being glossed over, downplayed or dismissed merely as an example of collaboration with fascism. This book's great achievement is to demonstrate that Bose's relations with the Nazis were far more complex than has generally been thought, and in doing so it allows us to see both German diplomacy and Indian nationalism in a new light. Rather than dealing with imperialism as a side issue in the war, Hayes shows us that it was an integral part of this great conflict, so often seen only as a battle between freedom and tyranny.'-
'A thoughtful narrative of the actions and words of Bose during his war years in Germany. The author has set out a valuable description that follows the evidence very closely.'
Professor Michael H. Fisher, Oberlin College 'As the only Indian to lead a military assault against the British empire in
'Egotistical, autocratic, hubristic, Subhas Chandra Bose was an ambivalent figure but also widely admired; a tragic hero who stood on the wrong side of history. This book is a nuanced elucidation of a complex national leader, one both impressive and infuriating. Hayes effectively evokes the subtleties of Bose's relations with the Congress Party, a Party he once led, and with the masses of his fellow Indians. And above all the moral ambiguities: neither Nazi nor Quisling, he nevertheless made fatal moral compromises with ascendant totalitarian power. - A highly original, erudite and scholarly work based on intensive new research and new sources, this book represents a lucid contribution to our understanding of both India's independence movement and its relationship to the great global conflict of nations wherein it struggled to make its voice heard; and to the massive propaganda fight engaged in with frenzy by all the warring parties of World War Two.'
Nicholas O'Shaughnessy, Professor of Communication, Queen Mary, University of London
'[A] short and fascinating study of Bose in Germany ... The thrust of the argument in the book is to dispute an account of Bose as an Indian Quisling and to insist on his credentials as an anti-imperialist nationalist. ... Written with a great economy of style ... [it throws] the whole story of wartime India into a new perspective to discover how engaged the Nazi leadership became with Bose and India. ... This is Hayes' first book and it is an impressive beginning.'
Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society
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