Anita Pfaff salutes India, says Netaji was a man of thought and action

"I salute India and I pray for the Indian people in the trying time of pandemic... Netaji was a man of thought and also of action. He envisaged for his country which would be modern, enlightened and at the same time would rooted in her history, philosophy and her religious traditions," she said in a video interview that was shared on the social media.

Pfaff thanked the initiative by the Centre and the West Bengal government for celebrating the occasion throughout the year. The Narendra Modi-led government at the Centre also included her in the high-power committee on Netaji that will commemorate the 125th birth anniversary of the freedom legend.

She said Netaji could foresee that there would be many challenges to be faced after attaining independence. "Of course he had hoped to be a part of those people who would face them but unfortunately that was not to be," she added.

Anita Bose Pfaff is a German economist and the only daughter of Indian nationalist leader Subhas Chandra Bose and Emilie Schenkl. She has previously been a professor at the University of Augsburg as well as a politician in the Social Democratic Party of Germany.

Pfaff also urged every Indian to contribute for the welfare of the Nation and for the citizens of the world.

"All of us, the normal people, even we cannot contribute as great things as freedom fighters did but we can make our small contributions for the nation," she pointed out.