As an institution, Presidency College, now University, has expanded with time. The latest step towards the accommodation towards the need to offer more space to the departments in the campus was the construction of the Netaji Subhas Building, or N.S building as it is commonly called now. Named after the great patriot Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose, the four-storied building currently houses the departments of Philosophy, Bengali, Sociology and Hindi. The department of Political Science was for a period housed here, before moving back to the Derozio building. The youngest of the academic buildings in the Presidency University (save the Central Library building), the foundation stone of the N.S. Building was laid on 30^th January, 1989. The Director of Education of Bengal, Dr Gauri Nag graced the event, and formally laid the foundation stone of the building. The construction of the N.S. Building would take six more years; it was formally inaugurated for the students and faculty in 1995.

This plaque is inserted into the wall of the N.S. Building, at its entrance (the one closer to the Derozio building). The inscription reads:

A name taught to children from a very early age, Subhas Chandra Bose, lovingly called Netaji, needs little introduction. Hailed as a war hero and a patriot for his significant contribution towards the Indian Struggle for Independence, Bose is among the most eminent alumni of Presidency College. Keeping his link with the College in mind, this overview will emphasize his years as a student rather than delving into the deepest details of his war years.

Born on 23 January 1897 in Cuttack, Orissa to Prabhavati Devi and Janakinath Bose. He was educated in the Protestant European School (presently Stewart High School) in Cuttack from 1902-09, and then was shifted to the Ravenshaw Collegiate School. After finishing second in the matriculation examination in 1913, he joined Presidency College. While studying at Presidency College, Bose actively participated in social and nationalistic activities. In 1913-14, there was a First Year Debating Union of which Bose seems to have been the leader. The students of the institution engaged in aiding the flood-stricken areas of Bengal in 1915; the Flood Relief Committee, which raised nearly Rs. 2000, had as its secretaries Subhaschandra Bose and Harischandra Sinha. Bose seems to have been deeply interested in the study of Philosophy. The Philosophy Seminar, the club initiated by the Dr. P.K Roy, maintained a proceedings book from 1914, and a unique attendance book and record of work from 1909 to 1927 with occasional entries thereafter. In this volume successive batches of students have recorded the books they studied and the work they put in in the Seminar, date by date. Here we find Subhaschandra Bose recording his study of Martineau in September 1915; of Caird’s Philosophy of Religion on November 25, 1915 ; of Schiegel’s History of Philosophy on February 15,1916. On the last-mentioned date he has noted that he was writing a paper on the ’Transition from Locke to Kant”. He was the correspondent for Seminars and Societies in the Presidency College Magazine Committee for the session 1915-16, and also the class-representative in his third year of college,

A student upheaval took place in 1916, where Bose was named as one of chief participants. Professor Oeten, who had reportedly manhandled some Indian students, was assaulted in this movement. Bose was accused and expelled on this charge, although he appealed that he had not actually participated in the assault but only witnessed it. The period saw significant animosity towards the foreign faculty of the college, and the Principal, Mr H.R. James resigned from his post.

After leaving Presidency College, Bose joined the Scottish Church College and received a Bachelor’s Degree in Philosophy. He left India for Europe on 15 September 1919, arriving in London on 20 October. He came fourth in the ICS examination and was selected, but hesitating about the moral implications of accepting the post, he eventually resigned from the civil service and returned to India, not wishing to serve the British. He started the newspaper Swaraj and took charge of publicity for the Bengal Provincial Congress Committee; in 1923, he was elected President of All India Youth Congress and Secretary of Bengal State Congress. In 1927, after a period of imprisonment in Mandalay for his nationalist activities, Bose became the general secretary of the Indian National Congress.

By 1938 Bose had become a leader of national stature and agreed to accept nomination as Congress President. He stood for unqualified Swaraj (self-governance), including the use of force against the British. This meant a confrontation with Mohandas Gandhi, who in fact opposed Bose's presidency, splitting the Indian National Congress party. Eventually, due to his difference with Gandhi, Bose resigned from Congress and organised the All India Forward Bloc.

On the outbreak of World War II, Bose advocated a campaign of mass civil disobedience to protest against Viceroy Lord Linlithgow's decision to declare war on India's behalf without consulting the Congress leadership. Having failed to persuade Gandhi of the necessity of this, Bose organised mass protests in Calcutta calling for the 'Holwell Monument' commemorating the Black Hole of Calcutta. He was imprisoned by the British, but was released following a seven-day hunger strike. Bose's house in Calcutta was kept under surveillance by the CID. Bose, however, escaped from his house arrest in disguise on the night of 17^th January 1941, and eventually journeyed to Germany, via Afghanistan and the Soviet Union. After a failed alliance with Hitler, Bose left for Japan, where the alliance between the Japanese and the Indians led to the conception of the Indian National Army (INA). Even when faced with military reverses, Bose was able to maintain support for the INA. Spoken as a part of a motivational speech for the Indian National Army at a rally of Indians in Burma on 4 July 1944, Bose's most famous quote was "Give me blood, and I shall give you freedom!" The INA and Japanese forces took possession of the Andaman and Nicobar Island, and fought against British domination in many surrounding lands.

Subhas Chandra Bose's death reportedly took place on 18 August 1945 after his overloaded Japanese plane crashed in Japanese-ruled Formosa (now Taiwan). However, many among his supporters, especially in Bengal, refused at the time, and have refused since, to believe either the fact or the circumstances of his death. Conspiracy theories appeared within hours of his death and have thereafter had a long shelf life, keeping alive various martial myths about Bose.

Bose continues to be celebrated as a central figure of Indian nationalism, and his birthday is celebrated all across the country, and is a declared state holiday in Bengal. This bust in Presidency University, located adjacent to N.S. Building entrance (near Derozio building), pays a tribute to him, as does the N.S building which was named after him. It was sculpted by Gautam Paul and unveiled on 9^th April 2013.

The inscription below the bust reads: