Escaping in the Wanderer

Anindita Mazumder

While planning his escape from British India, Subhas Chandra Bose chose the little known German made Wanderer saloon car over the sturdier and more imposing Studebaker President. An astute strategist who thought out the escape plan to the very last detail, Subhas Chandra knew the smaller car would draw less attention than the US made Studebaker. More than 80 years after he disappeared, we delve into the lesser known facts of the master plan which hoodwinked the British police and imperialist government, leaving them red faced and went down in history as the ‘great escape’.

On December 5, 1940, Subhas Chandra was released from prison, brought to his ancestral home at Elgin Road (Lala Lajpat Rai Sarani) in an ambulance and placed under house arrest. Bose, already planning his escape route during his imprisonment had requested elder brother, Sarat Chandra Bose to meet Miyaan Akbar Shah, leader of Forward Bloc from Frontier Province and urge him to visit Russia, undoubtedly as a part of the grand preparation.

He occupied the room belonging to his late father, Janakinath on the second floor and visitors were restricted, ostensibly to allow him recuperate. He hand-picked his young nephew, Sisir Bose, a third year medical student, for the task perhaps because of his keen interest in cars and motoring skills. Sisir later recalled while chronicling for posterity that Rangakakababu enquired about his driving skills. On learning that he was more or less adept, Bose further asked whether he had ever gone on a long drive. Sisir had no such experience and Subhas keenly guided him while putting his plan in execution.

The house on Elgin Road was thought to be perfect for the escape since the household seemed to be lax and less secured than Woodburn Park, the residence of his elder brother, Sarat Chandra Bose. His secluded existence had lulled the official machinery into thinking that he was more or less inactive.

Nevertheless, police and informers were keeping an eye on both houses. On December 25, 1940, Sisir was asked to drive to Burdwan, have lunch at the railway station and immediately return to Calcutta. This was an endurance test and Sisir reported that he had not felt much exhaustion after the long drive.

Meanwhile, Miyaan Saheb visited Bose and then accompanied Sisir to the establishment of Wachel Mollahat Dharamtala where he bought the pajama and fez cap for Netaji’s disguise. According to plan he deliberately left the package on the back seat of the car and got down at Howrah Station to catch a train to Frontier Province. Sisir later bought a suitcase, an attache case and hold all with the initials M Z inscribed on them. He bought toiletries, as suggested by Subhas, all finest British products and a pair of Kabuli slippers from a Chinese shoe shop in New Market. At Radhabazar, he ordered visiting cards for “Mohd. Ziauddin,Travelling Inspector, The Empire of India Life Assurance Co. Ltd” bearing “Civil Lines, Jubbulpore” as his permanent residence.

Now, it was time to choose the car for the great escape. Sarat Bose had two cars, one Studebaker President, a large car and the little known German made Wanderer saloon car. Sisir, because of his interest in motorcars had access to both cars though the first one was registered under his mother’s name. The Wanderer was registered under Sisir’s name. Initially, they had decided upon the Studebaker because of its sturdy reliability and speed. However, they later chose the Wanderer because the imposing Studebaker was easily recognisable as it was regularly used by Sarat Bose but the Wanderer would not draw attention since it was Sisir’s own car and could be accessed easily. Sisir immediately started taking extra care and bought a spare tyre, new battery for the impending journey. He also practised changing tyres at a deserted place near Park Circus. When the rest of his family left for Dhanbad, it gave Sisir an opportunity to recce the route through Grand Trunk Road under the guise of bringing them back. However, the Studebaker broke down en route causing enormous anxiety.

There were other hitches as well. One of the brothers of Subhas had an Alsatian dog which was left free every night. However, a few days before the planned escape, it attacked a guest and hence was kept leashed at night. In another stroke of good luck the designated driver for the Wanderer car took leave to go home after his mother fell sick.The D day was set on January 16, 1941. It was a Thursday. Sisir wanted to go get the car serviced before the drive but unfortunately could get an appointment only on Thursday. With only a day left for the departure there was another setback. Sisir discovered the boot space for the Wanderer was too small for the suitcase he had bought. Finally, he had to switch it with a smaller one of Sarat Bose and hastily wrote MZ with Chinese ink.

On January 16, Sisir got the luggage he had kept concealed at Woodburn Park residence and then told the durwaan he was leaving for Rishra where they had a garden house. He went to Lower Circular Road and fuelled up his car at a petrol pump. He once again checked the battery and tyre pressure and returned via Chowringhee to Elgin Road and parked the car near the staircase.

Subhas had announced he would live in solitude from the next day as he intended to observe a brata and eat only vegetarian fare. That night, he ate along with all family members before going into seclusion as a cover for his escape. Sisir’s cousin sister and brother would keep up the illusion, eating the food that would be left on the other side of a curtain.

After some nerve-racking moments, Sisir and his Rangakakubabu were able to get into the car unnoticed, with Subhas holding on to the door of the car instead of slamming it shut to avoid suspicion that there was a passenger on the back seat. Sisir drove out noisily and turned south instead of north. He drove into Allenby Road, past the slumbering CID officers deployed at the strategic crossing of Elgin Road and Woodburn Park, then into Justice Chandra Madhab Road to Lansdowne Road and then turned into Lower Circular Road. They entered Harrison Road, crossed Howrah Bridge and then drove on Grand Trunk Road to reach Barari near Dhanbad where Sisir’s elder brother was posted. Next day, Sisir drove him to Gomoh from where Subhas Chandra boarded Kalka Mail on his way to Peshawar, Kabul and Moscow and finally surfaced at Berlin. Nine days after he left, his absence was discovered, a deliberate act because of an upcoming court appearance.