Thread by @thebetterindia

#DidYouKnow #TimeLapse
1/ According to Kanailal Basu’s book 'Netaji: Rediscovered', the Azad Hind Bank was formed in Rangoon (now Yangon) in Burma (now Myanmar) in April 1944 for the purpose of organising funds to finance the war effort against the British. (Contd.👇)

2/ The bank printed currency & managed contributions from Indians from across the world.
In 1980s, Ram Kishore Dubey, a retired contractor with the irrigation dept,, discovered one of these notes in his granddad’s book, but didn't realise its historical significance till later.

3/ “My grandfather, Praagilal, worked for Netaji in the Azaad Hind Fauj and passed away in 1958,” says Dubey.
“He used to stay away from the family for months on end working covertly for the INA in the Bundelkhand region on a recruitment drive for its Jhansi ki Rani Regiment..."

4/ "...He gave up his land for the cause. So Netaji rewarded him with this note promising him the amount in independent India.”

The currency found by Dubey had a photo of Bose on the left & a pre-independence map of India with the inscription "swatantra bharat” on the other.

5/ In the middle were inscribed the words “Jai Hind” in English, with the words “I promise to pay the bearer the sum of one Lac” below it.

At the top was a series of flags of the Azad Hind Fauj over a bold inscription saying “Bank of Independence”.

6/ P.S. For those who'd like a firsthand glimpse of these rare pieces of history, Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose Birthplace Museum in Cuttack, Odisha has a rare collection of coins and currency notes which were issued by the Azad Hind Bank.