KASARAGOD: The second tallest statue of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose in Kerala is nearing completion at Thrikaripur here. The 12-ft-tall statue is being built in the courtyard of the house of Dr Sudhakaran K, whose father N Kunhiraman was a member of Netaji’s Indian National Army (INA) or Azad Hind Fauj. Sculptor Thrikaripur Raveendran is building the statue.
It could be first Netaji statue on the premises of a private house, said Dr Sudhakaran, a paediatrician and a professor in Kannur Government Medical College at Pariyaram. His father joined the INA at age 25 in Malaysia, where he ran a small eatery for plantation workers. “He left home after a fight with his father. Back then, there were many people from Thrikaripur working in rubber plantations in Malaysia. He joined them,” said Dr Sudhakaran.
In 1942, Netaji was in Malaysia recruiting soldiers to fight the British. “My father was mesmerised by Netaji. He later told us that he did not return to his eatery and joined the INA,” he said. Kunhiraman was part of Netaji’s ‘Dilli Chalo’ movement. They reached the border of Manipur in 1945, but by the then, Japan was defeated by the Allies and INA soldiers were taken prisoners.
“My father was among the 10,000 prisoners of war lodged in the detention camp at Nilaganj in North 24 Parganas district of West Bengal,” Dr Sudhakaran said. “He was lucky to survive the Nilaganj Massacre where British soldiers had indiscriminately opened fire at prisoners killing around 2,300 of them. The Nilaganj Massacre did not get the attention like the Jallianwala Bagh killings,” he said.
Those who survived were shifted to Alipore prison. They were freed when India got independence in 1947. Kunhiraman returned home to a hero’s welcome. He opened a restaurant ‘Netaji Bhavan’ near Thrikaripur railway station. It is still being run by his nephews A Ramachandran and A Kishore Kumar. “We are five siblings and he taught all of us well,” said Dr Sudhakaran. His eldest sister K Dakshayani, a teacher, is no more. Two younger sisters, K Subhashini and K Vinodini, are working as teachers. His brother K Raveendran retired from Federal Bank as area manager.
“It was our father’s desire that we build a lasting monument to Netaji in Thrikaripur so that the coming generations will cherish the role he played in our Independence movement,” he said. The tallest statue of Netaji in the state stands on Museum Road in Thiruvananthapuram. The 13-ft-tall structure was built by ace sculptor Kanai Kunjuraman.