234 HIS MAJESTY’S OPPONENT
consume. The only dif fi culty was Bose’s penchant for generously offer-
ing a share of his food to the German of fi cers, depleting the limited
supply of rice on board.^82
If Hasan had thought of passing his time lying on his bunk reading
books, he was soon in for a rude shock. Bose asked him to bring out
his typewriter and get down to work. The first few weeks were spent
completing revisions for a new edition of The Indian Struggle. That
manuscript was sent back to Germany at the time of the refueling ren-
dezvous with a U- tanker near Spain. Bose then turned his attention to
careful preparation for the challenges he would face in Asia. Hasan was
asked to play the role of Tojo and ask him dif fi cult questions. After for-
mulating his negotiating strategy vis- à- vis the Japanese, Bose discussed
ways to win the trust of the of fi cers of the British Indian Army, who
might be prepared to join the Indian National Army. He dictated or
wrote out in longhand the speeches he would make to soldiers of In-
dia’s army of liberation, and he had Hasan type them out for him. His
review of India’s struggle for in de pen dence since 1857 would have
been, in Hasan’s opinion, an excellent his tory textbook on the subject.
He made elaborate plans for the formation of a women’s regiment of
the INA, and discussed the psychology of women from different re-
gional and class backgrounds. When he broached the idea of put ting
women in uniform, Hasan was of the view that he would get Indian
women to fight but never to abandon the sari and the shalwar- kameez
for pants and bush shirts. Bose was convinced of his ability to persuade
Indian women to don military uniforms.^83
The long submarine voyage gave Hasan some unique insights into
the qualities of his leader. When they were up on the bridge of the ves-
sel and Bose could not dictate speeches to him, Hasan asked Netaji
questions. On being asked to name the worst fate that he might suf fer,
Bose answered without a moment’s hesitation: “To be in exile.” Hasan
came to admire his leader’s courage and composure in the face of great
danger. The U- 180 had a mandate to attack enemy ships, even though
it had an im por tant po lit i cal personality on board. On April 18, in the
southern Atlantic off the West African coast, the submarine sighted the
British merchant ship S.S. Corbis. Torpedoes were fired from the U-
180, and the ship went down in flames. Hasan noticed that the Indian