Which leader of Bengal is regarded as the political guru (mentor) of Subhas Chandra Bose?

Chittaranjan Das (C. R. Das) is regarded as the political guru (mentor) of Subhas Chandra Bose.

How Bose came to C. R. Das:

• Bose passed the Indian Civil Service examination in 1920, standing fourth, but resigned from the service in 1921 to join the freedom struggle.
• On his return to India in July 1921, he met Gandhi at Bombay.

Gandhi advised him to work with C. R. Das in Calcutta.

Bose became a close associate and disciple of C. R. Das.

Work with C. R. Das:

• Bose became the principal of the National College, Calcutta, set up during the Non-Cooperation Movement.
• He was in charge of the Congress volunteers in Bengal during the protests against the visit of the Prince of Wales (1921); both Das and Bose were arrested.

He worked as the editor of the newspaper "Forward", started by C. R. Das.

When C. R. Das became the Mayor of the Calcutta Corporation (1924), Bose became its Chief Executive Officer.

Bose was arrested in 1924 and sent to Mandalay jail in Burma, where he remained until 1927.

Influence of C. R. Das:

• R. Das believed in Hindu-Muslim unity; his Bengal Pact (1923) gave Muslims a fair share of seats and jobs in Bengal.
• He combined nationalism with a concern for the poor.
• Bose was deeply influenced by his ideas, and regarded him as his mentor all his life.
• R. Das died in June 1925, and Bose was greatly saddened by the loss.

Other influences on Bose:

Bose was also influenced by the teachings of Swami Vivekananda, which he read in his youth.

About C. R. Das:

• He was a famous lawyer of Calcutta, who defended Aurobindo Ghosh in the Alipore Bomb Case.
• He gave up his large income from law to join the Non-Cooperation Movement.

Why not the other options?

• ✗Surendranath Banerjea, Bipin Chandra Pal and Aurobindo Ghosh were leaders of Bengal, but they were not Bose's political guru.