Bhubaneswar, Jan. 10: The Partition of India might have been avoided if Netaji and Gandhi had worked together, said historian and grandnephew of Subhas Chandra Bose, Sugata Bose.

"Gandhi admired Netaji and had high regard for him. Had their paths not been divergent, I think it might have been avoided," the Trinamul Congress MP told The Telegraph on the sidelines of the Tata Steel Bhubaneswar Literary Meet here today.

"It is far more important for the youngsters to first read about the 99.9 per cent of the files and documents on Netaji that are available. The rest 0.1 per cent would be available through declassification. One should first read them to know about Netaji," said the Harvard University professor.

Youths should not get influenced by the meaningless controversies surrounding Netaji's death, he added.

"They should follow his ideas and take more interest in his life and works. Taking interest in controversies is not the right way to honour Netaji."

But none of the documents related to Netaji, including the private ones, should be kept hidden from the public, the historian said.

"They are old enough, and I feel it is very important that they reach out to the masses. It will also not hamper India's ties with other countries in any way."

While some of Netaji's family members and historians, including Bose, hold that the revolutionary leader died in an accident, some of his kin don't believe in this.

Describing Netaji's death as a national issue, Bose said: "This is not at all a family matter. I also feel it is gross to reduce him to the level of a Gumnami Baba. Testimonies of six of the seven survivors of the crash, and also that of doctors and paramedics who treated Netaji at the Taipei Military Hospital, have been recorded."

The historian has put forth his views in his book, His Majesty's Opponent.

The lit fest was a part of Odisha Utsav, a festival of art, literature and sports, organised by Tata Steel.

A three-day art camp was organised between January 5 and 7 where 16 artists from across the country gathered in the city to showcase their skills.

This was followed by the two-day literary meet where a number of prominent personalities like Dinanath Pathy, Kunal Basu, Balaji Vittal, Nila Madhab Panda and Yajnaseni Chakraborty spoke on a variety of issues such as culture and the digital world, politics, water wars, Netaji and the destiny of the east.

Devdutt Pattanaik, a researcher on Indian mythology, also spoke at the event, which came to an end today.