A Life Immortal 317the Japanese imperial army, and how it found its final resting place in
the Renko- ji temple.^27
Following the hearings conducted from April to June 1956, the three
members of the committee signed a draft of principal find ings on
July 2. According to this draft, all three members agreed that “the
plane carrying Netaji did crash.” There was no reason to doubt the wit-
nesses, belonging to various nationalities and walks of life, who all tes-
tified that Netaji had met his death as a result of this crash. After put-
ting his signature to this draft, one of the members, Suresh Chandra
Bose, changed his mind and wrote a rambling dissent claiming that the
crash had not occurred and that his brother was alive. To be sure, there
were several minor discrepancies in the versions given by various wit-
nesses eleven years after the event. The time of death, for example,
ranged between eight in the evening and midnight of August 18, 1945.
Dr. Yoshimi and Dr. Tsuruta did not agree on whether or not a blood
transfusion had been given. The original death certificate signed by
Dr. Yoshimi could not be found. Nevertheless, the direct witnesses pro-
vided evidence that was broadly consistent; Shah Nawaz Khan and
S. N. Maitra marshaled it with great skill, and placed it in a co gently
argued majority report that was subsequently issued by the govern-
ment of India.^28
The report stated categorically that Netaji’s mortal end came as the
result of the plane crash in Taipei on August 18, 1945. “There is no rea-
son to disbelieve the large number of witnesses, both Japanese and
non- Japanese,” it said. “There is no evidence before us to show that the
plane in question did not crash at Taihoku.” The report also noted that
there was “no break in the chain” in the depositions regarding the
movement of Netaji’s ashes from the crematorium to Nishi Honganji
temple in Taipei to Minami aerodrome to Tokyo Imperial Headquar-
ters to Mr. Rama Murti’s house to Mrs. Sahay’s house and fi nally to the
Renko- ji temple. It conceded that “such precautions as were necessary
to prove indisputable identity,” such as, seals, receipts, and continuous
watch, were not taken. Nevertheless, the committee was of the consid-
ered view that “in all probability the ashes kept in Renko- ji temple,
Tokyo, are the ashes of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose.”^29
The final recommendation of the Shah Nawaz committee had three