'Give me blood, and I shall give you freedom': Full text of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose's iconic speech

Prime Minister Narendra Modi paid tribute to freedom fighter Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose on his 122nd birth anniversary on Wednesday. 

"I bow to Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose on his Jayanti. He was a stalwart who committed himself towards ensuring India is free and leads a life of dignity. We are committed to fulfilling his ideals and creating a strong India," Modi tweeted, along with a video. 

Born on January 23, 1897 in Cuttack, Odisha, Subhas Chandra Bose was one of India’s most popular freedom fighters, who differed with Mahatma Gandhi’s methods of non-violence and wanted to wage war against our colonial rulers. A radical leader in Congress, he became the President of the party in 1938 but was ousted after differences with Gandhi and the party’s high command.

However, there’s no denying the impact Subhas Chandra Bose had on the Indian public, and he was an extremely loved leader, known for his motivational speeches. And of all the speeches he made, none was more popular than the ‘Give me blood, and I shall give you freedom’ speech that he made in Burma in 1944 to members of the Indian National Army.

Here's the full text of the speech:

Give me blood, and I shall give you freedom

“Friends! 12 months ago a new programme of total mobilization or maximum sacrifice was placed before Indians in East Asia. Today I shall give you an account of our achievements during the past year and shall place before you are demands for the coming year. But, before I do so, I want you to realize once again what a golden opportunity you have for winning freedom. The British are engaged in a worldwide struggle and in the course of struggle they have suffered defeat after defeat on so many fronts. The enemy having being thus considerably weakened, our fight for liberty has become very much easier than it was five years ago. Such a rare and God-given opportunity comes once in a century for liberating our motherland from the British yoke.

I am so very hopeful and optimistic about the outcome of our struggle, because I do not rely merely on the efforts on three million Indian s in East Asia. There is a gigantic movement going on inside India and millions of our countrymen are prepared for maximum suffering and sacrifice in order to achieve liberty. Unfortunately, ever since the great fight of 1857, our countrymen are disarmed, whereas the enemy is armed to the teeth. Without arms and without a modern army it is impossible for a disarmed people to win freedom in this modern age. Through the grace of Providence and through the help of generous Nippon, it has become possible for Indians in East Asia are united to a man in the endeavour to win freedom and all the religious and other differences that the British tried to engineer inside India, simply do not exist in East Asia. Consequently, we have now an ideal combination of circumstances favoring the success of our struggle-and all that is wanted is that Indians should themselves come forward to pay the price of liberty. According to the programme of ‘total mobilization’, I demanded of you men, money, and materials. Regarding men, I am glad to tell you that I have obtained sufficient recruits already. Recruits have come to us from every corner of east Asia-China, Japan, Indo-China, Philippines, Java, Borneo, Celebes, Sumatra, Malaya, Thailand, and Burma….

You must continue the mobilization of men, money and materials with greater vigour and energy, in particular, the problem of supplies and transport has to be solved satisfactorily.

We require more men and women of all categories for administration and reconstruction in liberated areas. We must be prepared for a situation in which the enemy will ruthlessly apply the scorched earth policy, before withdrawing from a particular area and will also force the civilian population to evacuate as was attempted in Burma.

The most important of all is the problem of sending reinforcements in men and in supplies to the fighting fronts. If we do not do so, we cannot hope to maintain our success at the fronts. Nor can we hope to penetrate deeper into India.

Those of you who will continue to work on the Home front should never forget that East Asia-and particularly Burma-form our base for the war of liberation. If this base is not strong, our fighting forces can never be victorious. Remember that this is a ‘total war’-and not merely a war between two armies. That is why for a full one year I have been laying so much stress on ‘total mobilization’ in the East.

There is another reason why I want you to look after the Home Front properly. During the coming months I and my colleagues on the war committee of the cabinet desire to devote our whole attention to the fighting front-and also to the task of working up the revolution in side India. Consequently, we want to be fully assured that the work at the base will go on smoothly and uninterruptedly even in our absence.

Friends, one year ago, when I made certain demands of you, I told you that if you give me ‘total mobilization’, I would give you a ‘second front’. I have redeemed that pledge. The first phase of our campaign is over. Our victorious troops, fighting side by side with Nipponese troops, have pushed back the enemy and are not fighting bravely on the sacred soil of our dear motherland.

Grid up your loins for the task that now lies ahead. I had asked you for men, money and materials. I have got them in generous measure. Now I demand more of you. Men, money and materials have the motive power that will inspire us to brave deeds and heroic exploits.

It will be a fatal mistake for you to wish to live and see India free simply because victory is now within reach. No one here should have the desire to live to enjoy freedom. A long fight is s till in front of us. We should have but one desire today-the desire to die so that India may live-the desire to face a martyr’s death, so that the path to freedom may be paved with the martyr’s blood.

Friends! My comrades in the War of Liberation! Today I demand of you one thing, above all. I demand of you blood It is blood alone that can avenge the blood that the enemy has spilt. It is blood alone that can pay the price of freedom. Give me blood and I promise you freedom!

Source: Indian National Congress Website