Subhas Chandra Bose (1897-1945) was one of India's great nationalist leaders of the first half of the 20th century. He led the revolutionary Indian National Army during World War II.

Subhas Chandra Bose was born on Jan. 23, 1897, at Cuttack, Orissa, the ninth child of a lawyer of Kayasth caste. He attended a private school for European and Anglo-Indian boys run by the Baptist Mission and later a preparatory school. He was religious and spent much time in meditation.

At college in Calcutta, Bose became politically and socially aware. British insults to Indians in public places were offensive to him. He was personally implicated in an incident involving an English professor who had manhandled some students, and as a result Bose left the college.

Bose matriculated at Cambridge, and his high score on civil service exams meant an almost automatic appointment. He then took his first conscious step as...