216 HIS MAJESTY’S OPPONENT
strategists, had to “occur soon in order to bring the war to a speedy and
happy conclusion.” The Japanese even advocated a separate peace be-
tween Germany and the Soviet Union, to facilitate Germany’s ability to
focus on the Mediterranean and link up with the Japanese in the In-
dian Ocean. Hitler, however, would not entertain the possibility of a
truce on the Eastern Front and was determined to wrestle once more
with the Russian bear during the summer.^35 With Germany and Japan
out of sync, Ribbentrop turned down Bose’s request that he be permit-
ted to travel to Asia. Bitter at being let down yet again, Bose left Berlin
in a huff for Badgastein. When the Germans sent an emissary to per-
suade him to return, Bose denounced their lack of seriousness about
Indian in de pen dence and suggested that he and the Indian cause were
being used as a bargaining chip for a possible German compromise
with the British.^36
An Indian compromise with the British raj, however, was something
that Bose was not prepared to allow without having his say on the mat-
ter. He came back to Berlin to wage a pro pa ganda battle against the
Cripps mission. On March 24, 1942, British news agencies reported
that Subhas Chandra Bose had been killed in an air crash on his way
to attend an im por tant conference in Tokyo. Having heard the news of
his own death on the BBC News, Bose was very concerned about what
effect it would have on his old and ailing mother. Before Bose could
contradict the false news by making a statement on Azad Hind Radio,
Gandhi sent a condolence message to Prabhabati: “The whole nation
mourns with you the death of your brave son. I share your sorrow
to the full. May God give you courage to bear this unexpected loss.”
Fortunately, Prabhabati suspected that the news of her son’s death was
not true, and Sisir was able to reassure her and other family members.
Subhas himself made a radio broadcast on March 25: “My death is per-
haps an instance of wishful thinking.” He could imagine that the Brit-
ish government would like to see him dead, since they were trying to
win India over for “the purpose of their imperialistic war.” He warned
the Indian people to be wary of Britain’s divisive policies—the sort that
had been deployed with such damaging effect in Ireland and Palestine.
Gandhi wired Prabhabati again, expressing his joy and relief. The reac-
tion in India to the fabricated news had only con firmed Bose’s high