43.
Even when he knew there was little chance of success, Netaji's eagerness-heart pined to help his suffering countrymen. A compatriot in exile records:"Every day Netaji used to listen eagerly to the news from India; and when he knew of the terrible famine in Bengal which was taking a heavy toll of human lives, Netaji was greatly perturbed. He was always thinking how he could come to the aid of his starving countrymen, especially the people of Bengal for whom his heart bled."
In Germany, Subhas gathered around him Indian expatriates. They addressed him as Netaji (great leader) and agreed to greet each other with the salute Jai Hind! (Victory to India). They also chose as their national anthem Rabindranath Tagore’s song Jana Gana Mana. These major resolutions were taken at the first meeting of the Free India Centre in Berlin on 2 November 1941.
[In this picture Netaji is shown addressing an Indian Independence Day meeting in Berlin on 26 January 1943.]
