Consider the following statements regarding Subhash Chandra Bose when he endeavored to consolidate the Muslim League Party in 1940:

1. The agitation to remove the Holwell Monument, erected by G. Holwell during his short tenure as Calcutta Governor in 1760, was to commemorate those deceased in the Black Hole.
2. The Holwell Monument was a symbol representing the alleged savagery of the last Nawab of Bengal, Sirajuddowla, and the bravery of British soldiers who sacrificed their lives.

Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

Correct option is D

The correct answer is (d) Both 1 and 2

Explanation:

Statement 1 is correct: Subhash Chandra Bose led an agitation to remove the Holwell Monument in Calcutta in the early 1940s. The monument commemorated those who supposedly died in the Black Hole incident of 1756 — a controversial event where British prisoners were allegedly suffocated in a small prison cell.

·       Statement 2 is also correct: The monument was used by the British to portray Siraj-ud-Daula, the last Nawab of Bengal, as barbaric, thereby justifying colonial conquest. It glorified British resistance and sacrifice, feeding colonial propaganda. Bose opposed this symbol of imperial distortion of Indian history.

Information Booster:

·       Bose viewed the monument as an insult to Indian nationalism and a tool of British historical propaganda.

·       His agitation was part of a broader movement to reclaim Indian historical narratives and challenge colonial memory structures.

·       The Holwell Monument was eventually removed in 1940, partly due to the pressure of such nationalistic campaigns.

·       Subhash Chandra Bose’s efforts often blended symbolic resistance with political mobilization, targeting both British rule and communal division.