Gumnami Baba not Netaji: Commission

LUCKNOW: The Justice (retired) Vishnu Sahai Commission has concluded that the mysterious Gumnami Baba alias Bhagwanji was not freedom fighter Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose, but a follower of his.

The commission’s report, tabled in the assembly on Thursday which HT has seen, also observed that Gumnami Baba’s voice was very similar to that of Netaji’s.

Gumnami Baba, who many believed was Bose, died on September 16, 1985, and was cremated at Guptar Ghat (Ayodhya) a couple of days later.

“From items recovered from the part of Ram Bhawan (Faizabad, now Ayodhya) where Gumnami Baba lived till his death, it cannot be ascertained that he was Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose,” observed Justice Sahai in the concluding paras of the 130page report.

He has given 11-points to show that Gumnami Baba was Netaji’s follower. “He (Gumnami Baba) was a follower of Netaji. But he moved when people started saying he was Netaji.”

He has observed that Gumnami Baba was proficient in Bengali, English and Hindi, had an in-depth knowledge of war and contemporary politics.

The Allahabad high court had ordered the setting up of the commission on January 31, 2013, in response to two writ petitions; filed by Bose’s niece and Subhash Chandra Bose Rashtriya Vichar Kendra respectively.

In the concluding paras of the report, Justice Sahai has noted that he came across evidence demolishing the claims that Gumnami Baba was Netaji.

He said Gumnami Baba had willpower and self-discipline that gave him the strength to live behind the curtains. The commission observed he was someone who preferred death to the mystery surrounding his identity being solved.

“Under the provisions of Article 21 of the Constitution of India, he had the choice and right of leading his life as per his wishes. In this right was enshrined his right of remaining anonymous,” it said.