“As a part of their general drive against the Left, they imposed the three years ban on Bose. The first reaction of the Forward Bloc was to defy it. … - Puran Chand Joshi

In People’s War dated August 23, 1942 Joshi came out with an editorial appeal-Tsolate the Fifth Columnists : “ True to their black role, the Fifth-columnists suggest blows that help their masters. The Boseites who till yesterday with their ‘nation wide struggle’ and ‘non-compromise’ slogans were the objects of every Congressman’s contempt as national disruptors, find that the present situation means half their job done. How are we to isolate and nail down this black crewl For isolate and nail them down, we must. Keep the peace. Isolate the Fifth-columnist as the arch goonda that trades on people’s blood. ” Joshi was too thick-headed to understand that the one and only Fifth-column, the Communist Party of India, had already been isolated, though elsewhere in the same issue of the People’s War he had admitted: “ The Boseites stood isolated as unscrupulous disruptors inside the national movement ; to-day they are coming back as ‘honest patriots’. The hidden Jap agents dared not show their faces ; to-day they are active among the patriots !” Of course, the Russian agent could see nothing but agents all around himself !

Joshi warned : “ In the world of to-day, with the great political awakening in India the British imperialists dare not directly and openly deny Indian freedom. Their present-day strategy is based on their firm belief that Indian parties will never come together and they will be able to impose their own plan for the future constitution of India. It is against this danger that our Party will rouse the people. In the extremely critical and difficult period that is coming ahead, we will ceaselessy work for CongressLeague unity as also for Congress-Communist united front inside one joint front for India’s freedom. ”

We called it a transformation in the situation and not a mere change of degree. We said that the war which was so far an imperialist war now became a people’s war because of the changed re-grouping of forces, changed prospects before the world (P- 49).