The meeting was held after the Union Minister for Human Resource Development Minister and senior BJP leader Dr Murli Manohar Joshi's three-day visit to Calcutta, state BJP sources disclosed. The long-standing demand on the Centre to act on scholars' wish to carry on unfinished studies has reportedly been taken in earnest by the new BJP-led government. Though it is not immediately known when exactly the government would approach its Russian counterpart, `the meeting only indicates the seriousness of the government on the issue.'

The West Bengal state unit president Tapan Sikdar said, ``We see a silver lining on the issue because, besides other top party leaders, Dr Joshi is taking personal interest in the subject.''

``We have already submitted our two-point agenda on Bose:First, to unveil the mysteries surrounding his last days, secondly, gathering and collection of historical materials and information pertaining to Netaji lying scattered in Europe and Southeast Asia,'' Sikdar said, adding ``and the response of the government seems to be quite hope-inspiring.''

Incidentally, Dr Purobi Roy, with a handful of other scholars stumbled on some secret official documents on Bose in the Russian Archive in '94, agreed with the contention of the state BJP leaders that Dr Joshi's initial response was hope-inspiring, unlike the representatives of the previous governments. Dr Roy during brief her probe into the Russian archival material even found evidence of the Indian National Army's consulate office during the Second Great War in Omsk, Siberia and has been seeking a formal permission from the Indian Foreign Office since '94 to start her research based on both Russian and British archival materials.

Dr Roy, who met Dr Joshi during his recent stay in Calcutta, was called for a meetingin Delhi. However, Dr Roy could not confirm if such high-level meeting took place in Delhi. ``At least, none from the government's side approached me back after my meeting with Dr Joshi here nor I am informed how and when I would be able to meet him,'' she told The Indian Express.

Interestingly, facing the bureaucratic red tape, Dr Roy's diverted efforts to garner public opinion for this sensitive cause. According to Russian law, the Indian Government has to approach the Russian Government formally for permission for scholars to carry on with their research.