The monsoon clouds hung like a black curtain over Calcutta. It was August 15, 1947 — one day after the birth of free India. But in the eastern lands of Bengal, freedom was still contested — and Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose had no intention of letting it slip into chaos or into the hands of Pakistan.
Inside the underground command post — a repurposed colonial telegraph station near Barasat — the faint light of oil lamps flickered on a large map spread across a mahogany table. The red and blue pins across Dhaka, Khulna, Chittagong, and Jessore glimmered like battle scars. The air was thick with damp humidity and determination.
Netaji stood upright, in his khaki uniform without insignia. The man who had vanished into mystery years ago had reappeared not as a ghost, but as a strategist reborn. His eyes scanned the field commanders seated before him — men and women who once served the Indian National Army and now wore the insignia of the Provisional Defence Force of Eastern Command.
Beside him stood Captain Leela Bose, his niece and chief signals officer, and Colonel Jatindra Banerjee, once an INA hero in Burma.
> "We will not allow Bengal to bleed again," Bose began, his voice carrying through the stone walls.
"Yesterday India became free, but Bengal still burns under the illusion of division. Noakhali was stopped because of Anirban and his silent hand. Today, we finish what he began. Operation Trident begins now."
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1. The Strategic Web
Leela stepped forward, unrolling a secondary map layered with telegraph lines, railway routes, and coded drop-points.
"Sector One — Jessore to Khulna," she said crisply, "Major Roy's battalion has already entered under disguise as relief convoys. The local militia, trained by RSS and Mukti Dal, will secure the crossings."
"Sector Two — Dhaka," added Banerjee. "We have 3,000 volunteers inside the city. Our men have already neutralized the Muslim League militia that planned to declare allegiance to Karachi."
Bose nodded, his hand tapping on Chittagong. "And the port?"
"Secured," Leela confirmed. "Our submarine crew from Rangoon has made contact with the British naval officers who chose to stay loyal to us. They will ensure no Pakistani flag rises there."
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2. The Message from Delhi
At midnight, a coded radio transmission crackled through.
> "This is Anirban, code Visnu."
"Execute full containment. No retaliation beyond defensive lines. Preserve civilian life. Maintain total press silence. You have full authority till September."
Leela smiled faintly. "So he's alive," she whispered.
Bose looked at the ceiling, almost hearing the voice of his younger comrade — the man who had once fought beside him under assumed names in the Bengal underground.
> "Good," Bose said. "That means Delhi still breathes with a heart of fire. Let's give him a united Bengal."
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3. The Fall of Division
Over the next ten days, Bose's forces executed surgical operations across East Bengal.
In Dhaka, local militias funded by Karachi were arrested without bloodshed.
In Barisal, INA veterans disarmed Pakistani recruiters.
In Chittagong, a symbolic tricolor was hoisted atop the port office at dawn on August 23, 1947, marking India's control.
British officers stationed in the eastern garrisons, many still sympathetic to Bose, provided intelligence and even discreet supplies — the same empire's remnants now helping undo its final partition.
By September 3, every major administrative office in East Bengal functioned under the Provisional Indian Authority, commanded by Bose.
Publicly, Delhi called it "civil stabilization."
Privately, it was reunification by stealth.
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4. The Telegram
In Delhi, Anirban Sen read the coded telegram:
> "Operation Trident Complete. No major casualties. East Bengal rejoined under interim Indian command. Awaiting integration order. – S.C. Bose"
He smiled faintly. For a moment, he looked out toward Raisina Hill, the tricolor waving under the pale dawn light.
> "History won't know," he murmured,
"but India was never divided — only delayed."
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5. The Last Note
In Calcutta, Bose lit a cigarette and dictated a message to his aide.
> "To Prime Minister Anirban Sen — we've done it. East Bengal stands with you. Now go fix the west. Kashmir, Junagadh, Hyderabad — your stage awaits."
He paused, smiled, and looked toward the eastern sky
> "The sun rises from here, my friend. Always remember that."
The Bengal rain fell again, not as a curse this time — but as baptism over the reborn soil of a united India.