Exile in Europe 95completing his engagements in Rome, Bose traveled to Milan, where he
addressed the renowned Circolo Filologico Milanese (Philological So-
ciety of Milan) on the subject of “Italy and India.” He dwelt on the way
in which Italy’s nineteenth- century movement toward national uni fi ca-
tion was relevant to the challenges facing India.^25
From his base in Vienna, Bose embarked on another major tour:
Germany, Italy, Czechoslovakia, Hungary, Romania, Turkey, Bulgaria,
and Yugoslavia—a trip lasting from late March to early June of 1934.
He had two clear aims. First, he sought to mobilize Indian students and
young professionals residing in each of those countries to become part
of the Indian freedom movement. Second, he wanted to lay the foun-
dation of bilateral friendship associations between India and those
European countries, in an effort to counteract what he saw as perni-
cious anti- Indian British pro pa ganda.
As before, there was much unpleasantness during the trip to Ger-
many. On April 5, 1934, Bose submitted a memorandum to the German
Foreign Office listing his grievances regarding Indo- German relations.
He complained about the negative attitude of the German press toward
India; unfriendly statements by German leaders, including Hermann
Göring’s bizarre depiction of Gandhi as a “Bolshevik agent”; and the
pernicious racial pro pa ganda. He had been called Neger in the streets
of Munich, and Indian students had suf fered similar abuse while being
pelted with stones. Indians resented the draft legislation against Jews
and people of color. Bose called for a halt to the anti- Indian pro pa-
ganda and asked that the proposed racial legislation be dropped.^26
Later in the year, he started exploring opportunities to shift talented
Indians—eager to receive practical training after their formal studies—
from Germany to Czechoslovakia.^27
Beyond his dedication to promoting the cause of Indian in de pen-
dence, Subhas took pure joy in traveling and in discovering new places
and peoples. He found Budapest “picturesque and the natural scenery
to be very attractive.” He had been a great admirer of Turkish national-
ist resistance in the aftermath of World War I and held Kemal Atatürk
in high regard. He was inspired by Atatürk to press for the adoption
of the Roman script in India, to further the pro cess of moderniza-
tion and uni fi ca tion. Istanbul, however, fell short of his expectations