Did Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose End the '90-Hour-Work' Debate Just 100 Years Ago?

As India prepares to observe Parakram Diwas tomorrow, January 23, 2026-the 129th birth anniversary of Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose, the timing could hardly be more poignant. In the latter half of the previous year, 2025, the nation had witnessed an intense debate unfold on whether the younger working generation of Indians needs to start following a 70-90 hour work week.The idea, most prominently championed by Infosys co-founder N.R. Narayana Murthy in late 2024–early 2025 and later echoed by figures like L&T Chairman S.N. Subrahmanyan (who advocated even Sunday work) and the Ola founder Bhavish Aggarwal, was met with severe criticism and soul-searching on the issue of work-life and exploitation.Yet exactly 100 years ago, in 1924—while still a young revolutionary

fresh from prison and resignation from the ICS—Subhash Chandra Bose articulated a radically different vision in his article 'Amra Ki Chai?' translated from bengali “What Do We Want?” (published in Subhash Chandra Bose’s Complete Works, Volume 1, p. 310).In it, he declared:

“"No human being requires to work more than 4 hours - at most 6 hours a day, in order to stay alive. Because not only in their body, in their thoughts, ideologies, pursuits, beauty, love and creations, they need to remain alive- alive every moment till the end of their life. They need to be stay alive in their soul, and so they need to pursue the 'amrit'. Because they are born of "Amrit, the son of "Amrit" and the immortal desire for that "Amrit" within them has been constantly hammering them with "Yenāhaṃ nāmṛta syāṃ kiṃ ahaṃ tena kuryām!" We want all to have the right to that "Amrit"."The Sanskrit verse Bose invokes—“Yenāhaṃ nāmṛta syāṃ kiṃ ahaṃ tena kuryām?” (“What shall I do with that by which I shall not become immortal?”)—comes from the Brihadaranyaka Upanishad, a profound dialogue between sage Yajnavalkya and his wife Maitreyi. It rejects the ultimate value of material wealth or mere survival unless it leads to spiritual immortality.In the light of the contemporary discussion pertaining to the 90-hour workweek, Netaji’s statements seem almost prophetic. Did Netaji, a hundred years ago, already resolve the dispute that we discuss even now?The Modern 90-Hour Debate: Context and Key VoicesThe push for extreme work hours resurfaced prominently in 2024–2025.

1. Narayana Murthy repeatedly advocated 70-hour weeks for young Indians, citing post–World War II recoveries in Japan and Germany, and arguing that India’s productivity lags global leaders.
2. L&T Chairman S.N. Subrahmanyan went further in early 2025, suggesting 90-hour weeks including Sundays, and controversially remarking, “How long can you stare at your wife?”—a comment that drew widespread outrage.
3. Ola CEO Bhavish Aggarwal defended long hours as “work as worship,” even as reports surfaced about high-pressure work cultures in his company.

Proponents argue that the schedules are necessary for India to be able to compete effectively with China and the rest of the world. Those against the schedules, however, comprise mental health professionals, labor union representatives, and workers. They state the schedules ignore India's labor legislation and increase the incidence of burnout and the breakdown of families while producing less. Worldwide experiments involving the 4-day or 32-hour workweek are steadily indicating increased productivity and happiness.Bose’s 1924 Vision: A Radical CounterpointWhile writing during the colonial period when Indian workers toiled for 12 to 16 hours a day, Bose defied the conventional assertion that excessive work is the hallmark of a nation's progress and a measure of a person's value.

• Minimal Labor for Survival

Bose was of the view that in a just society, a person can do no more than 4-6 hours of meaningful work, envisaging the advancements of technology in automation and efficiency, which would take place much later in the future.

• Holistic Human Aliveness

Humans must remain alive not only in body, but in thought, love, creativity, beauty, and soul. Overwork, Bose warned, reduces people to machines.

• The Spiritual Imperative: Amrit

Drawing from Vedanta, Bose emphasized humanity’s innate drive toward transcendence. Work that leaves no time for reflection or self-realization is ultimately meaningless.

• The Right to Amrit for All

Swaraj, for Bose, meant freeing time and energy for every Indian—not just elites—to pursue education, art, science, and higher purpose.Why Bose’s Words Feel Like a Direct Rebuttal TodayModern scientific studies have proven what Bose knew instinctively: long hours reduce creativity, boost errors, and lead to health breakdowns.The 90-hour push is often driven by billionaires who lack any real consequences. Bose, who drove the fight against exploitation in the workplace, would surely realize that there is colonial-era labor extraction in the modern-day startup rush.However, the civilizational wisdom of his own country, founded on the Upanishads and the Gita, is to live a balanced life, not one of utter fanaticism. Bose combined all of this with socialism, which believed that labor should emancipate, not enslave.Countries with shorter workweeks often lead in innovation and happiness. Bose’s 4–6 hour ideal feels less utopian in an age of AI and automation.

Such results have been gathered from government-driven pilots, academic, and corporate-scale trials, where the monitoring of worker well-being (stress, burnout, work-life balance) is done in association with business results (productivity, revenue, retention). Although the pattern deviates slightly based on the sector and the mode of adoption, the universally observed trend reveals that the impact on productivity is either neutral or positive, in addition to substantial levels of enhanced happiness and wellness.1. Four-Day Week Pilot - UK (2022 - 2023) by 4 Day WeekThis is the world's largest trial of a four-day working week and is being conducted by 4 Day Week Global. It involves 61 firms and nearly 2,900 workers. It is being carried out along with researchers from the universities of Cambridge and University College Dublin and Boston College. The 32-hour workweek will see no reduction in pay.Key findings:

• 71% of employees reported reduced burnout
• Stress levels fell by 39%
• Sick days dropped by 65%
• Work-life balance improved for 54% (household management) and 62% (social life)
• Productivity was maintained or increased in most firms
• Average company revenue rose by 1.4%
• 92% of companies chose to continue the model after the trial, citing higher morale and retention

2. Iceland’s Four-Day Week Trials (2015–2019) — Autonomy Institute & AldaGovernment-led pilots covered around 2,500 public-sector workers (about 1% of Iceland’s workforce), including offices, hospitals, and preschools. Weekly hours were reduced to 35–36 hours without pay cuts.Key findings:

• Productivity remained stable or improved across most workplaces
• Meetings became shorter and more focused
• Stress and burnout declined sharply
• Health and work-life balance improved significantly

The success led to nationwide change: by 2021, 86% of Iceland’s workforce had either shorter working hours or the right to negotiate them.3. Microsoft Japan Four-Day Week Experiment (2019)Microsoft Japan ran a one-month trial with 2,300 employees, shifting to a 32-hour week as part of its “Work-Life Choice Challenge.”Key findings:

• Productivity increased by 40%, measured by sales per employee
• 92% of employees reported higher job satisfaction
• Electricity use dropped by 23%
• Printing fell by 59%
• Meetings were capped at 30 minutes

Employees consistently cited better focus, lower stress, and improved work-life balance.4. Scottish Public Sector Pilot (2024–2025) — Autonomy InstituteThis pilot involved public bodies such as Accountant in Bankruptcy and South of Scotland Enterprise, moving to a 32-hour workweek.Key findings:

• 98% reported improved morale and motivation
• Mental health scores improved by 18.4%
• Work-related stress fell by 18.4%
• Productivity and service delivery improved alongside well-being

5. Perpetual Guardian, New Zealand (2018)An eight-week trial involving 250 employees at a trust company reduced working hours to 32 per week with no pay cut.Key findings:

• Productivity was maintained or improved
• Stress levels dropped by 7%
• Work-life balance rose by 24%
• Employee engagement increased by 20%
• 73% of staff wanted the model to continue, leading to permanent adoption

Additional Supporting Evidence

• American Psychological Association Review (2025):Summarized global trials showing consistent improvements in well-being, lower stress, stronger retention, and no loss of productivity.
• SAP Analysis (2025):Highlighted Microsoft Japan’s productivity gains and Iceland’s workforce outcomes, concluding that condensed workweeks improve focus and motivation.
• Walden University Reports (2023–2025):Aggregated evidence showing shorter workweeks improve well-being, environmental outcomes, and profitability.
• Blue Zones Study (2023):Reported 39% lower stress, 71% reduced burnout, and revenue spikes in companies adopting four-day weeks.

Human value is not determined by clock time, but by the quality of living. Bose did not call for idle living—he demanded balanced effort so that every citizen could realize their Amrit of meaning, creativity, love, and self-realization.In a world suffering from burnout and inequality, Netaji’s vision seems shockingly contemporary. Maybe the key to devoloped India is not in making 90-hour weeks mandatory, but in constructing a system that honors the immortal desire of our souls.As the Upanishad asks:What use is work that does not make us truly immortal?Netaji answered that question a hundred years ago.His answer still echoes.