Roads to Delhi 255mation’s Irish predecessor: “The Provisional Government is en ti tled to,
and hereby claims, the allegiance of ev ery Indian. It guarantees reli-
gious liberty, as well as equal rights and equal opportunities to its citi-
zens. It declares its firm resolve to pursue the happiness and prosperity
of the whole nation equally and transcending all the differences cun-
ningly fostered by an alien government in the past.”^37
The ceremonies surrounding the proclamation of the Provisional
Government were held at the Cathay Theater, where Bose had assumed
leadership of the movement. As head of state, he held the foreign af-
fairs and war portfolios. His voice choked with emotion as he took his
oath: “In the name of God, I take this sacred oath—that to liberate In-
dia and the thirty- eight crores [three hundred eighty million] of my
countrymen, I, Subhas Chandra Bose, will continue this sacred war of
freedom till the last breath of my life.”^38 He gave A. C. Chatterjee charge
of fi nance; S. A. Ayer became minister of publicity and pro pa ganda;
and Lakshmi Swaminathan was made responsible for women’s affairs.
Eight representatives of the armed forces—Aziz Ahmed, N. S. Bhagat,
J. K. Bhonsle, Gulzara Singh, Mohammad Zaman Kiani, A. D. Logana-
than, Ehsan Qadir, and Shah Nawaz Khan—found places in his cabi-
net, and Anand Mohan Sahay became cabinet secretary with ministe-
rial rank. Rashbehari Bose was designated supreme adviser; and seven
others, drawn from Burma, Thailand, and Malaya—Karim Gani, Deb-
nath Das, D. M. Khan, Attavar Yellappa, John Thivy, Sardar Ishar Singh,
and A. N. Sarkar—fig ured on his panel of advisers. What was notable
about the composition of his cabinet was the strong representation
given to members of religious minorities and the diversity of regional
backgrounds.
Bose achieved remarkable success in forging a spirit of unity and
solidarity among different religious communities and linguistic groups.
He did so without asking his followers to give up their own ethnic af-
fili a tions in pledging their loyalty to the Indian nation. Bridging the
disparities of class posed a somewhat greater challenge. Poorer Indians
initially responded to Netaji’s call with greater alacrity. He could barely
conceal his exasperation with the niggardliness of a few of the richer
Indians, though there were also stunning instances in which million-
aires chose to become fakirs. “When the INA is getting trained either to