Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose’s daughter, Anita Bose Pfaff, has said that she wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi “at least twice or thrice” seeking his support to bring back her father’s ashes to India, but received neither a reply nor an acknowledgement.

In a 26-minute virtual interview with journalist Karan Thapar for The Wire, aired on Saturday, Pfaff said: “There were a couple of times when I approached the Prime Minister (Narendra Modi). The last time was when the statue of my father was erected in Delhi (in 2022). I was invited for the unveiling... I had agreed to come if I would get an appointment with the Prime Minister to discuss the... return of the remains. To that, there was no answer.”

She said she had earlier written to former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh but did not receive a response.

When Thapar asked her how many times she had written to the current Prime Minister, Pfaff replied: “At least twice or thrice.”

Pfaff also said she had sought an appointment with the current President of India, but it was declined.

On Friday, Netaji’s 129th birth anniversary, Pfaff released a video message seeking the support of the people of India to bring back her father’s remains from Japan.

The Modi government has never been shy about attempting to co-opt Bose, often seeking to pit him against the Nehru-Gandhi dynasty. Academics and political commentators have called this out, pointing to Netaji’s ideals of inclusiveness and secularism that sit uneasily with the Hindutva narrative.

On January 23, 2016, the Centre declassified 100 files related to Bose in its possession. The move was projected by the Right-wing ecosystem as corrective to what they described as years of neglect by Congress governments. But the files did not resolve the questions surrounding Bose’s disappearance.

The unveiling of a 28-foot statue of Netaji under the India Gate canopy in September 2022 was presented as a milestone.

Thapar brought up the contradiction. “... remember Netaji is the leader whose statue he erected at the India Gate... If Netaji’s daughter were to write to request an appointment... surely at least an acknowledgement is expected,” he said.

He asked Pfaff: “Why do you think this government... is reluctant... Is it for political reasons?”

“Certainly,...” she replied. “A politician will do things that do not harm him, do not jeopardise his elections. Even though there are many issues that keep the public and the politicians occupied, this is an emotional issue which might antagonise some people, both in his own party and in the public at large. I think a politician can be expected to do something if he is fairly certain that it would benefit him.”

Pfaff added: “I quite accept that Prime Minister Modi probably respects my father and wants to honour him and all that. But he would at the same time not do something which he would find controversial...”

Historian Sugata Bose, Netaji’s grand-nephew, told Metro: “This matter is a national issue, not a family issue. If it is to happen ever, it has to be done with the highest dignity at the highest levels of government. It is obvious that it cannot happen at this moment.”