Why a building in Vietnam, said to have links with Subhas Chandra Bose, lies ‘dilapidated, neglected’

Few would think, looking at this two-storey building in the heart of Vietnam’s Ho Chi Minh city today, that the dilapidated structure now serving as a shelter for hawkers had once played host to India’s legendary freedom fighter Subhas Chandra Bose, fondly remembered as Netaji.

This is how Supreme Court lawyer Joydeep Mukherjee describes the building that historians say had briefly served as the secretariat of the India Independence League (IIL), an organisation formed by revolutionary Rashbehari Bose in Japan in 1942 and later handed over to Netaji.

Mukherjee, also the author of Cheka: A Road of Bones, a book about the mystery surrounding Bose’s demise, was in Vietnam recently and says he visited the mansion to pay floral tributes to the leader, but was left saddened by its state of disrepair.

“The mansion is in poor condition owing to a lack of care and maintenance. Some portions of the building are occupied by hawkers. Even though I have written to the Vietnamese government as well as the Indian government to convert the building into a memorial for Netaji, no decision has been taken. If immediate steps are not taken, we will lose this historic building soon,” claims Mukherjee.

The businessman from Pondicherry

The story goes that a Tamil businessman from Pondicherry, Leon Prouchandy, was among those who had supported Bose in his attempts to free India from the British. Prouchandy, it is said, not only provided financial assistance to the movement but also vacated his mansion in Saigon (now Ho Chi Minh city) for Bose. The building at 76, rue Paul Blanchy (now known as Hai Bha Trung) served as the secretariat of the IIL following the surrender of the Japanese in the Second World War in July 1945, say historians. In his attempts to secure India’s independence, Bose had joined hands with Japan — a member of the Axis including Germany, Italy and Japan — against the allied forces of UK, France, Russia and China, among others.

It is believed that Bose had visited the building in Vietnam, then a French colony, on August 17, 1945, just a day before he is claimed to have died in a plane crash. Doubts have, however, persisted about whether the freedom fighter actually died in the crash and the mystery of his 'disappearance' has disturbed many over the years.

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“I sent an email to Prime Minister Narendra Modi two weeks ago. I have sent emails to the Ministry of External Affairs with photographs explaining the present situation of the building at 76, Hai Bha Trung Road, asking them to take over the property and convert it into a memorial for Netaji and his men,” JB Prashant More, a Paris-based historian and Prouchandy’s grandson, told The Federal.

Earlier, in 2017, says More, the author of books such as Bose and his Movement: From Nazi Germany to French Indochina, he had also submitted a petition to the Prime Minister of Vietnam, requesting the transfer of the building to India, so that it could be preserved as a symbol of Bose’s struggle for India’s independence. However, the historian alleges, no action was taken, and the structure “remains in ruins”.

More has in his possession black and white photographs, purportedly shot at 76, rue Paul Blanchy, on 18 August 1945. The image appears to show Prouchandy bidding farewell to Bose, with Colonel Habibur Rehman, Bose’s aide de camp, coming down the stairs, surrounded by the Japanese soldiers. The building in Vietnam attains significance as it is claimed to have been the last building visited by Bose before his purported death in a plane crash. Neither Mukherjee, nor More, however believe in the plane crash theory.

“I have been working hard to preserve the building, which is in ruins. It originally belonged to the Prouchandy family of Pondicherry. Even though some hawkers have occupied a major portion of the building, the Vietnam government is the sole authority of the property now. Some time ago, I submitted a petition to the Vietnamese Embassy in New Delhi. They told me that they would look into the matter if the Indian government approached them. But it seems the Indian government has not done so,” claims More.

More also claims that Bose had been in possession of the treasure he had amassed to fund his struggle for Indian independence when he came to the mansion in Vietnam.

The visit that is rarely mentioned

According to Mukherjee, despite the presence of eyewitnesses to Bose’s visit to the Vietnam mansion, details of it were never disclosed, owing to the circumstances following the incident. “At that time, Vietnam was under French colonial rule, and Ho Chi Minh was engaged in a struggle against the French. The French intelligence agency received information that Bose was at this house. While the leader fled from the premises, Prouchandy was arrested and subjected to torture. He later returned to Pondicherry and eventually passed away there. Another individual who was arrested was AC Chatterjee, the finance minister of the INA [Indian National Army, the armed wing of the IIL]. Although Chatterjee authored a memoir titled India’s Struggle for Freedom, he did not mention the Prouchandy house in it,” says Mukherjee.

He adds: “Habibur Rahman, another notable figure [who was purportedly present at the mansion at the time of Bose’s visit there], relocated to Pakistan after the India-Pakistan war of 1947-48. The Government of India was unable to obtain a comprehensive account from the witnesses of the events that transpired at the Prouchandy house.”

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Talking about the current state of the building, Mukherjee alleges: “I have heard from various sources that it is slated for demolition soon. Numerous new buildings have emerged in the area, and the local authorities [it is claimed] consider this old structure to be out of place. They are [allegedly] intending to tear it down. If that occurs, we will lose a significant historical edifice.”

He asks: “I have travelled to Chonburi (Thailand), the site of the first INA training camp established by Netaji. I have also been to the INA Memorial Marker located in the heart of Singapore’s Esplanade. Many nations preserve INA memorials as a homage to Netaji and his comrades. Why can’t the government of Vietnam do the same?”

The Prouchandy villa, it is claimed, once stood within a 2533 square meter compound, which included gardens, outhouses, and apartments. “Currently, what remains is the dilapidated villa, along with a compound dotted with shacks, that covers approximately 1000 square meters,” says More.

Both Mukherjee and More say they now plan to write to the President of India, seeking his intervention in the matter.

However, historians believe a lack of awareness about the building’s legacy is behind the alleged neglect in its conservation.

S Anand Kumar, a businessman and heritage enthusiast from Chennai, who frequently travels to Vietnam, told The Federal that “many historians have been documenting the deplorable state of the building for a long period. I don’t think it will help. We must persuade our own government about the importance of the building. Only then will they respond promptly. It is regrettable that a structure that played a crucial role in India's struggle for freedom is now facing an uncertain future.”

The doubts surrounding the Vietnam mansion are only a part of the large enigma of his death that has for decades shadowed Netaji’s legacy. Responding to a recent plea to bring back ashes kept in Japan’s Renkoji temple, believed to be those of Subhas Chandra Bose, a Supreme Court bench of Chief Justice Surya Kant, responded: “First of all, where are the ashes? What is the proof?”