Azad Hind

Last updated

Provisional Government of Free India
ʻĀrẓī Ḥukūmat-e-Āzād Hind
1943–1945
Seal of Azad Hind.svg
Seal
Motto: Ittehad, Itmad aur Qurbani (Hindustani)
"Unity, Faith and Sacrifice"
Anthem:  Subh Sukh Chain (Hindustani)
"Auspicious Happiness"
Free India orthographic map.png
Light green: Claimed territory
Dark green: Controlled territory (with Imperial Japanese assistance)
Status Puppet state of the Empire of Japan [1] [2]
Capital New Delhi (de jure)
Singapore (de facto)
Port Blair (provisional)
Demonym(s) Indian
Government Provisional government
Head of the state  
 1943–1945
Subhas Chandra Bose
Historical era World War II
 Established
21 October 1943
 Disestablished
18 August 1945
Preceded by
Succeeded by
British Raj Red Ensign.svg British India
British India British Raj Red Ensign.svg

The Provisional Government of Free India or, more simply, Azad Hind, [3] [4] was a short-lived Japanese-supported provisional government in India. [5] It was established in Japanese occupied Singapore during World War II in October 1943 and has been considered a puppet state of the Empire of Japan. [6] [7] [8]

Contents

It was a part of the political movement originating in the 1940s outside India with the purpose of allying with the Axis powers to liberate India from British rule. It was established by Indian nationalists in exile during the latter part of the World War II in Singapore with monetary, military and political assistance from Imperial Japan. [8]

Founded on 21 October 1943, the government was inspired by the concepts of Subhas Chandra Bose who was also the leader of the government and Head of state. The government proclaimed authority over Indian civilian and military personnel in Southeast Asian British colonial territory and prospective authority over Indian territory to fall to the Japanese forces and the Indian National Army during the Japanese thrust towards India. The government of Azad Hind had its own currency, court and civil code, and in the eyes of some Indians, its existence gave a greater importance to the independence struggle against the British. [9] [10] [11] Japan also handed over nominal authority of the Japanese occupied Andaman and Nicobar Islands in 1943, though the government continued to be dependent on Japanese support. Immediately after the formation of the provisional government, Free India declared war against the Allied forces on the Indo-Burma Front. [12] Its army, the Indian National Army (Azad Hind Fauj), went into action against the British Indian Army and the allied forces as part of the Imperial Japanese Army in the Imphal-Kohima sector. The INA had its first major engagement at the Battle of Imphal where, under the command of the Japanese Fifteenth Army, it breached the British defences in Kohima, reaching the salient of Moirang before suffering a catastrophic defeat as the Allied forces held, and Allied air dominance and compromised supply lines forced both the Japanese and the INA to retreat. [13] The existence of Azad Hind was essentially coterminous with the existence of the Indian National Army. While the government itself continued until the civil administration of the Andaman Islands was returned to the jurisdiction of the British towards the end of the war, the limited power of Azad Hind was effectively ended with the surrender of the last major contingent of INA troops in Rangoon. The death of Bose is seen as the end of the entire Azad Hind Movement. [12] [8]

The legacy of Azad Hind is, however, open to judgment. After the war, the Raj observed with alarm the transformation of the perception of Azad Hind from traitors and collaborators to liberators. [14] [15] The British Empire, which was seriously threatened by the INA, charged 300 INA officers with treason in the INA trials, but eventually backtracked in the face of opposition by the Congress. [16] [17] [18] [19]

Establishment

Subhash Chandra Bose proclaims the Provisional Government of Free India on 21 October 1943, Singapore Subhas Chandra Bose proclaims the Provisional Government of Free India on 21 October 1943, Singapore.jpg
Subhash Chandra Bose proclaims the Provisional Government of Free India on 21 October 1943, Singapore
National celebration at the founding of the Provisional National Indian government at the Free India Center, Berlin, with Secretary of State Wilhelm Keppler speaking, on 16 November 1943. Bundesarchiv Bild 146-1985-130-30, Berlin, Grundung Zentrale "Freies Indien".jpg
National celebration at the founding of the Provisional National Indian government at the Free India Center, Berlin, with Secretary of State Wilhelm Keppler speaking, on 16 November 1943.

The direct origins of Azad Hind can be linked to two conferences of Indian expatriates from across Southeast Asia, the first of which was held in Tokyo in March 1942. [20] At this conference, convened by Rash Behari Bose, an Indian expatriate living in Japan, the Indian Independence League was established as the first move towards an independent Indian state politically aligned with the Empire of Japan. Rash also moved to create a sort of independence army that would assist in driving the British from India – this force would later become the Indian National Army. The second conference, held later that year in Bangkok, invited Subhas Chandra Bose to participate in the leadership of the League. Bose was living in Germany at the time and made the trip to Japan via submarine. [21]

Rash Behari Bose, who was already ageing by the time the League was founded, struggled to keep the League organised and failed to secure resources for the establishment of the Indian National Army. He was replaced as president of the Indian Independence League by Subhas Chandra Bose; there is some controversy as to whether he stepped down of his own volition or by pressure from the Japanese who needed a more energetic and focused presence leading the Indian nationalists. [22]

Bose arrived in Tokyo on 13 June 1943 and declared his intent to make an assault against the eastern provinces of India in an attempt to oust the British from control of the subcontinent. Bose arrived in Singapore on 2 July, and in October 1943 formally announced the establishment of the Provisional Government of Free India at the Cathay Cinema Hall. In defining the tasks of this new political establishment, Subhas declared: "It will be the task of the Provisional Government to launch and conduct the struggle that will bring about the expulsion of the British and their allies from the soil of India." [23] Bose, taking formal command of the demoralised and undermanned Indian National Army from Rash Bose, turned it into a professional army with the help of the Japanese. He recruited Indian civilians living in Japanese-occupied territories of South-east Asia and incorporated vast numbers of Indian POWs from British forces in Singapore, Malaya and Hong Kong to man the brigades of the INA. [24]

Ministers

The Provisional Government of Free India consisted of a Cabinet headed by Subhas Chandra Bose as the Head of the State, The Prime Minister and the Minister for War and Foreign Affairs.[ citation needed ]

Captain Dr. Lakshmi Swaminadhan (later married as Lakshmi Sahgal) was the Minister in Charge of Women's Organization. She held this position over and above her command of the Rani Jhansi Regiment, a brigade of women soldiers fighting for the Indian National Army. For a regular Asian army, this women's regiment was quite visionary; it was the first of its kind established on the continent. Lakshmi was one of the most popular and prosperous gynaecologists in Singapore before she gave up her practice to lead the troops of the Rani of Jhansi Regiment.

Other public administration ministers of the Provisional Government of Free India included:

The Indian National Army was represented by Armed Forces ministers, including:

The Provisional Government was also constituted and administered by a number of Secretaries and Advisors to Subhas Chandra Bose, including:

All of these Secretaries and Advisory officials held Ministerial rank in the Provisional Government. The extent of the Provisional Government's day-to-day management of affairs for Azad Hind is not entirely well-documented, so their specific functions as government officials for the state outside their positions as support ministers for Subhas Chandra Bose is not entirely certain.

Recognition

Greater East Asia Conference in November 1943, participants left to right: Ba Maw, Zhang Jinghui, Wang Jingwei, Hideki Tojo, Wan Waithayakon, Jose P. Laurel, Subhas Chandra Bose. Greater East Asia Conference.JPG
Greater East Asia Conference in November 1943, participants left to right: Ba Maw, Zhang Jinghui, Wang Jingwei, Hideki Tojo, Wan Waithayakon, José P. Laurel, Subhas Chandra Bose.

Azad Hind was recognised as a legitimate state by only a small number of countries limited solely to Axis powers and their allies. [26] Azad Hind had diplomatic relations with nine countries: Nazi Germany, the Empire of Japan, Italian Social Republic, Independent State of Croatia and Wang Jingwei Government, Thailand, the State of Burma, Manchukuo and the Second Philippine Republic. [27] On the declaration of its formation in occupied Singapore the Taoiseach of Ireland, Éamon de Valera, sent a note of congratulations to Bose.[ citation needed ] Vichy France, however, although being an Axis collaborator, never gave formal political recognition to Azad Hind. This government participated as an observer in the Greater East Asia Conference in November 1943. [28]

Government administration and World War II

The same night that Bose declared the existence of Azad Hind, the government took action to declare war against the United States and Britain. The government consisted of a Cabinet ministry acting as an advisory board to Subhas Bose, who was given the title "Netaji" (translating roughly to "leader") and was no doubt the dominant figure in the Provisional Government. He exercised virtual authoritarian control over the government and the army. With regards to the government's first issuances of war declarations, the "Cabinet had not been unanimous about the inclusion of the U.S.A. Bose had shown impatience and displeasure – there was never any question then or later of his absolute authority: the Cabinet had no responsibility and could only tender advice..."[ citation needed ]

Currency issued by the Azad Hind Bank Azad Hind Currency.jpg
Currency issued by the Azad Hind Bank

At the end of October 1943, Bose flew to Tokyo to participate in the Greater East Asia Conference as an observer to Japan's Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere; it could not function as a delegate because India had technically fallen outside the jurisdiction of Japan's definition of "Greater East Asia", but Bose gave speeches in opposition to Western colonialism and imperialism at the conference. By the end of the conference, Azad Hind had been given a limited form of governmental jurisdiction over the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, which had been captured by the Imperial Japanese Navy early on in the war. [10]

Unreleased postage stamps of the Azad Hind government. Azadhindpostage.jpg
Unreleased postage stamps of the Azad Hind government.

Once under the jurisdiction of Azad Hind, the islands formed the government's first claims to territory. The islands themselves were renamed "Shaheed" and "Swaraj", meaning "martyr" and "self-rule" respectively. Bose placed the islands under the governorship of Lt Col A. D Loganathan, [29] and had limited involvement with the official governorship of the territory, instead involving himself in plans to expand the Indian National Army, ensure adequate men and materiel, and formulate its course of actions and the administrations and relations of the Indian population in southeast Asia and determining Japanese designs in India and his provisional government. In theory, the government itself had the power to levy taxes on the local populace, and to make and enforce laws: in practice, they were enforced by the police force under Japanese control. Indians were willing to pay these taxes at first but became less inclined to do so towards the end of the war when the Provisional Government enacted legislation for higher war-time taxes to fund the INA. During his interrogation after the war, Loganathan admitted that he had only had full control over the islands' vestigial education department, as the Japanese had retained full control over the police force, and in protest, he had refused to accept responsibility for any other areas of Government. He was powerless to prevent the Homfreyganj massacre of 30 January 1944, where forty-four Indian civilians were shot by the Japanese on suspicion of spying. Many of them were members of the Indian Independence League, whose leader in Port Blair, Diwan Singh, had already been tortured to death in the Cellular Jail after doing his best to protect the islanders from Japanese atrocities during the first two years of the occupation. [30] [31]

Azad Hind's military forces in the form of the INA saw some successes against the British and moved with the Japanese army to lay siege to the town of Imphal in eastern India. Plans to march towards Delhi, gaining support and fresh recruits along the way, stalled both with the onset of monsoon season and the failure to capture Imphal. British bombing seriously reduced morale, and the Japanese along with the INA forces began their withdrawal from India. [13]

In addition to these setbacks, the INA was faced with a formidable challenge when the troops were left to defend Rangoon without the assistance of the Japanese in the winter of 1944–1945. Loganathan was relocated from the Andaman Islands to act as field commander. With the INA garrison about 6,000 strong, he manned the Burmese capital in the absence of any other police force or troops during the period between the departure of the Japanese and the arrival of the British. He was successful in maintaining law and order to the extent that there was not a single reported case of dacoity or of looting during the period from 24 April to 4 May 1945. [3] [15]

Indian areas under the administration of the Provisional Government

Almost all of the territory of the Provisional Government lay in the Andaman Islands, although the Provisional Government was allowed some authority over Indian enclaves in Japanese-occupied territories. Provisional Government civil authority was never enacted in areas occupied by the INA; instead, Japanese military authority prevailed and responsibility for administration of occupied areas of India was shared between the Japanese and the Indian forces. [32]

INA defeat and Provisional Government collapse

Left to defend Rangoon from the British advance without support from the Japanese, the INA was soundly defeated. Bose was suggested to leave Burma to continue his struggle for Indian independence and returned to Singapore before the fall of Rangoon; the government Azad Hind had established on the Andaman and Nicobar Islands collapsed when the island garrisons of Japanese and Indian troops were defeated by British troops and the islands themselves retaken. Allegedly Bose himself was killed in a plane crash departing from Taiwan attempting to escape to the Soviet Union. The Provisional Government of Free India ceased to exist with the deaths of the Axis, the INA, and the disappearance of Bose in 1945.

Two Annas Token currency, minted in August 1947, in remembrance of the Azad Hind. 2 Annas Token currency (Unclassified exonumia > Miscellaneous token), minted in August 1947 in remembrance of the Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose led Azad Hind Government, photo taken by Yogabrata Chakraborty.jpg
Two Annas Token currency, minted in August 1947, in remembrance of the Azad Hind.

The troops who manned the brigades of the Indian National Army were taken as prisoners of war by the British. A number of these prisoners were brought to India and tried by British courts for treason, including a number of high-ranking officers such as Colonel Gurbaksh Singh Dhillon. The defence of these individuals from prosecution by the British became a central point of contention between the British Raj and the Indian Independence Movement in the post-war years. [33]

Relations with the Axis Powers

Bundesarchiv Bild 101III-Alber-064-03A, Subhas Chandra Bose bei Heinrich Himmler.jpg
Subhas Chandra Bose meeting Adolf Hitler.jpg
(left) Bose with Heinrich Himmler, the Nazi Minister of Interior, head of the SS, and the Gestapo, 1942; (right) Subhas Bose shaking hands with Adolf Hitler.

Since Subhas Chandra Bose aligned with Empire of Japan and the Axis Powers, which also included Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy, Britain portrayed him as a controversial figure for his official stance against imperialism which would run in opposition against Japanese imperialism in Asia during World War II. Bose himself claimed to oppose all manner of colonial practices but claimed Britain as hypocritical in "fighting a war for democracy" while refusing to extend the same respect for democracy and equal rights to their colonial subjects in India. Bose opposed British racial policy and declared working for the abolition of racial discrimination with Burmese, Japanese and other Asians. [34]

Britain accused him of fascism, citing his strict control over the Provisional Government of Azad Hind as evidence of this; and pointed to him wanting to establish a totalitarian state in India with the blessings of the Axis powers. Bose believed that parliamentary democracy was unsuitable for India immediately after independence and that a centrally organised, self-sufficient, semi-socialist India under the firm control of a single party was the best course for Indian government. Some of his ideas would help shape Indian governmental policy in the aftermath of the country's independence from Britain. [35]

It has been argued that the fact that Azad Hind was aligned politically with Japan and the Axis Powers may have had more to do with what Bose saw as a pragmatic approach to Indian independence. Disillusioned with Congress's non-violent movement, Bose was clearly of the camp that supported exploiting British weakness to gain Indian independence. Throughout the existence of Azad Hind, Bose sought to distance himself from Japanese collaboration and become more self-sufficient but found this difficult since the existence of Azad Hind as a governmental entity had only come about with the support of the Japanese, on whom the government and army of Azad Hind were entirely dependent. Bose, however, is considered a hero by some in present-day India and is remembered as a man who fought fiercely for Indian independence. [36] However, Subhas Chandra Bose had supported Fascism and Nazism before the start of WWII, declaring that India needed "a synthesis of what modern Europe calls socialism and fascism" in a speech in made in Calcutta in 1930. [37]

Although Japanese troops saw much of the combat in India against the British, the INA was certainly by itself an effective combat force, having faced British and allied troops and making their mark in the Battle of Imphal. On 18 April 1944 the suicide squad led by Col. Shaukat Malik broke through the British defence and captured Moirang in Manipur. The Azad Hind administration took control of this independent Indian territory. [38] Following Moirang, the advancing INA breached the Kohima road, posing a threat to the British positions in both Silchar and Kohima. Col. Gulzara Singh's column had penetrated 250 miles into India. The Azad Brigade advanced, by outflanking the Anglo-American positions. [39]

However, INA's most serious, and ultimately fatal, limitations were the reliance on Japanese logistics and supplies and the total air-dominance of the allies, which, along with a supply line deluged by torrential rain, frustrated the INA's and the Japanese bid to take Imphal. [4]

With the siege of Imphal failing, the Japanese began to shift priority for resource allocation from South Asia to the Pacific, where they were fighting United States troops advancing from island to island against Japanese holdings there. When it had become clear that Bose's plans to advance to Delhi from the borders of Burma would never materialise due to the defeat of the INA at Imphal and the halt of Japanese armies by British aerial and later naval superiority in the region, Japanese support for Azad Hind declined, and then fully collapsed with the surrender of Japan to the Americans on 2 September 1945. [38]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Indian National Army</span> Army of mostly Indian POWs of Japan in WW2

The Indian National Army was a collaborationist armed unit of Indian collaborators that fought under the command of the Japanese Empire. It was founded by Mohan Singh on 1 September 1942 in Southeast Asia during World War II.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Subhas Chandra Bose</span> Indian nationalist leader and politician (1897–1945)

Subhas Chandra Bose was an Indian nationalist whose defiance of British authority in India made him a hero among many Indians, but his wartime alliances with Nazi Germany and Imperial Japan left a legacy vexed by authoritarianism, anti-Semitism, and military failure. The honorific 'Netaji' was first applied to Bose in Germany in early 1942—by the Indian soldiers of the Indische Legion and by the German and Indian officials in the Special Bureau for India in Berlin. It is now used throughout India.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lakshmi Sahgal</span> Officer in the Indian National Army (INA) and former presidential candidate of India

Lakshmi Sahgal was a revolutionary of the Indian independence movement, an officer of the Indian National Army, and the Minister of Women's Affairs in the Azad Hind government. Lakshmi is commonly referred to in India as Captain Lakshmi, a reference to her rank when taken prisoner in Burma during the Second World War.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">India in World War II</span> Involvement of India in World War II

During the Second World War (1939–1945), India was a part of the British Empire. British India officially declared war on Nazi Germany in September 1939. India, as a part of the Allied Nations, sent over two and a half million soldiers to fight under British command against the Axis powers. India was also used as the base for American operations in support of China in the China Burma India Theater.

Azad Hind Radio was a radio service that was started under the leadership of Subhas Chandra Bose 1942 to encourage Indians to fight against the British. Though initially based in Nazi Germany, its headquarters were shifted to Japanese occupied Singapore following the course of the war in Southeast Asia. After Netaji's departure to Southeast Asia, the German operations were continued by A.C.N. Nambiar, the head of the Indian Legion in Nazi Germany and later ambassador of the Arzi Hukumate Azad Hind in Germany.

<i>Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose: The Forgotten Hero</i> 2004 Indian film

Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose: The Forgotten Hero is a 2004 Indian epic biographical war film, written and directed by Shyam Benegal. The film starred an ensemble cast of Sachin Khedekar, Kulbhushan Kharbanda, Rajit Kapur, Arif Zakaria, and Divya Dutta, among others. The film depicts the life of the Indian Independence leader Subhas Chandra Bose in Nazi Germany: 1941–1943, and In Japanese-occupied Asia 1943–1945, and the events leading to the formation of Azad Hind Fauj.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Indian Legion</span> Indian volunteer unit in Nazi Germany

The Indian Legion, officially the Free India Legion or 950th (Indian) Infantry Regiment, was a military unit raised during the Second World War initially as part of the German Army and later the Waffen-SS from August 1944. Intended to serve as a liberation force for British-ruled India, it was made up of Indian prisoners of war and expatriates in Europe. Due to its origins in the Indian independence movement, it was known also as the "Tiger Legion", and the "Azad Hind Fauj". As part of the Waffen-SS it was known as the Indian Volunteer Legion of the Waffen-SS.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Shah Nawaz Khan (general)</span> Azad Indian National Army General and MP

Shah Nawaz Khan was an Indian politician who served as an officer in the Indian National Army (INA) during World War II. He was profoundly influenced by Subhas Chandra Bose's speeches asking POWs to join the Indian National Army and to fight for a free India, Khan led the army into North-Eastern India, seizing Kohima and Imphal which were held briefly by the INA under the authority of the Japanese. In December 1944, Shah Nawaz Khan was appointed Commander of the 1st Division at Mandalay. After the war, he was tried, convicted for treason, and sentenced to death in a public court-martial carried out by the British Indian Army. The sentence was commuted by the Commander-in-chief of the Indian Army following unrest and protests in India. After the trial, Khan declared that he would henceforth follow the path of non-violence espoused by Mahatama Gandhi and joined the Congress party. Having successfully contested the first Lok Sabha in 1952 from Meerut, Khan had an illustrious parliamentary career. He was elected four times to the Lok Sabha from Meerut constituency in 1951, 1957, 1962 and 1971. He lost in the 1967 and 1977 Lok Sabha election from Meerut.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Indian National Army trials</span> British Indian trial by courts-martial

The Indian National Army trials was the British Indian trial by court-martial of a number of officers of the Indian National Army (INA) between November 1945 and May 1946, on various charges of treason, torture, murder and abetment to murder, during the Second World War.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">A. D. Loganathan</span>

Major General Arcot Doraiswamy Loganadan was an officer of the Indian National Army, and was also a minister in the Azad Hind Government as a representative of the Indian National Army there. Loganadan also served briefly as the Governor of the Andaman Islands while these islands were occupied by the Japanese during the war, and afterwards moved to Burma for the duration of the war.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mohammed Zaman Kiani</span> Azad Hind Patriot Army Commander against British India

Mohammed Zaman Kiani was an officer of the British Indian Army who later joined the Indian National Army (INA), led by Subhas Chandra Bose, and commanded its 1st Division.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">S. A. Ayer</span>

Subbier Appadurai Ayer was the Minister for Publicity and Propaganda in Subhas Chandra Bose's Azad Hind Government between 1943 and 1945, and later a key defence witness during the first of the INA trials. Ayer had travelled to Bangkok in November 1940 as a Special correspondent for Reuters before joining the Indian Independence League. In October 1943, Ayer was appointed the Minister of publicity and propaganda in the nascent Azad Hind Government.

The First Indian National Army was the Indian National Army as it existed between February and December 1942. It was formed with Japanese aid and support after the Fall of Singapore and consisted of approximately 12,000 of the 40,000 Indian prisoners of war who were captured either during the Malayan campaign or surrendered at Singapore. It was formally proclaimed in April 1942 and declared the subordinate military wing of the Indian Independence League in June that year. The unit was formed by Mohan Singh. The unit was dissolved in December 1942 after apprehensions of Japanese motives with regards to the INA led to disagreements and distrust between Mohan Singh and INA leadership on one hand, and the League's leadership, most notably Rash Behari Bose. Later on, the leadership of the Indian National Army was handed to Subhas Chandra Bose. A large number of the INAs initial volunteers, however, later went on to join the INA in its second incarnation under Subhas Chandra Bose.

The Nehru Brigade or 4th Guerrilla Regiment was a unit of the Indian National Army, that formed a part of the First INA and later part of the 1st Division after the INA's revival under Subhas Chandra Bose. Subhas Bose named the regiment after Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, the 1st Prime Minister of India.

The Battles and Operations involving the Indian National Army during World War II were all fought in the South-East Asian theatre. These range from the earliest deployments of the INA's preceding units in espionage during Malayan Campaign in 1942, through the more substantial commitments during the Japanese Ha Go and U Go offensives in the Upper Burma and Manipur region, to the defensive battles during the Allied Burma campaign. The INA's brother unit in Europe, the Indische Legion did not see any substantial deployment although some were engaged in Atlantic wall duties, special operations in Persia and Afghanistan, and later a small deployment in Italy. The INA was not considered a significant military threat. However, it was deemed a significant strategic threat especially to the Indian Army, with Wavell describing it as a target of prime importance.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Azad Hind stamps</span>

The Azad Hind stamps are a set of prepared but never issued stamps for the planned Provisional Government of Free India under Subhas Chandra Bose. All stamps were printed by photogravure in sheets of 100 at the Reichsdruckerei, the Government Printing Bureau in Berlin.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Habib ur Rahman (Indian National Army officer)</span> Indian National Army officer

Habib ur Rahman (1913–1978) was an army officer in the Indian National Army (INA) who was charged with "waging war against His Majesty the King Emperor". He served as Subhas Chandra Bose's chief of staff in Singapore, and accompanied Bose on his alleged last fatal flight from Taipei to Tokyo, sharing the last moments of his life. Rahman also played an important role in the First Kashmir War. Convinced that Maharaja Hari Singh was out to exterminate the Muslims of Jammu and Kashmir, he joined Major General Zaman Kiani, in launching a rebellion against the Maharaja from Gujrat in Pakistani Punjab. Rehman and his volunteer force launched an attack on the Bhimber town. But, the records of the 11th Cavalry of the Pakistan Army indicate that their efforts did not succeed, and eventually the Cavalry was responsible for conquering Bhimber.

The Indian National Army (INA) and its leader Subhash Chandra Bose are popular and emotive topics within India. From the time it came into public perception in India around the time of the Red Fort Trials, it found its way into the works of military historians around the world. It has been the subject of a number of projects, of academic, historical and of popular nature. Some of these are critical of the army, some — especially of the ex-INA men — are biographical or autobiographical, while still others historical and political works, that tell the story of the INA. A large number of these provide analyses of Subhas Chandra Bose and his work with the INA.

The INA treasure controversy relates to alleged misappropriation by men of Azad Hind of the Azad Hind fortune recovered from belongings of Subhas Chandra Bose in his last known journey. The treasure, a considerable amount of gold ornaments and gems, is said to have been recovered from Bose's belongings following the fatal plane crash in Formosa that reportedly killed him, and taken to men of Azad Hind then living in Japan. The Indian government was made aware of a number of these individuals allegedly using part of the recovered treasure for personal use. However, despite repeated warnings from Indian diplomats in Tokyo, Nehru is said to have disregarded allegations that men previously associated with Azad Hind misappropriated the funds for personal benefit. Some of these are said to have travelled to Japan repeatedly with the approval of Nehru government and were later given government roles implementing Nehru's political and economic agenda. A very small portion of the alleged treasure was repatriated to India in the 1950s.

The Indian National Army (INA) was a Japanese sponsored Indian military wing in Southeast Asia during the World War II, particularly active in Singapore, that was officially formed in April 1942 and disbanded in August 1945. It was formed with the help of the Japanese forces and was made up of roughly about 45 000 Indian prisoner of war (POWs) of British Indian Army, who were captured after the fall of Singapore on 15 February 1942. It was initially formed by Rash Behari Bose who headed it till April 1942 before handing the lead of INA over to Subhas Chandra Bose in 1943.

References

  1. Bayly, C. A. & T. Harper Forgotten Armies. The Fall of British Asia 1941–5. London 2004, p. 325.
  2. Dasgupta. Red Sun over Black Water, pp. 67, 87, 91–95; Mathur Kala Pani, pp. 249–251
  3. 1 2 Rudolph, Lloyd I.; Hoeber Rudolph, Susanne (2008). Explaining Indian Democracy: The realm of institutions: state formation and institutional change. Oxford University Press; Original from: University of California Press. p. 58. ISBN   978-0-19-569365-2.
  4. 1 2 Ghose, Sankar (1975). Political ideas and movements in India. Allied Publishers; Original from: University of Michigan Press. p. 136.
  5. Pant, H. V. (2020). The Routledge Handbook of Indian Defence Policy: Themes, Structures and Doctrines. Taylor & Francis. p. 72. ISBN   978-1-000-07435-2.
  6. Cribb, R.; Li, N. (2020). Imperial Japan and National Identities in Asia, 1895–1945. Taylor & Francis. p. 242. ISBN   978-1-000-14401-7. Japanese postal authorities prepared stamps for use in the foreshadowed puppet state of Azad Hind
  7. Dunphy, J. J. (2018). Unsung Heroes of the Dachau Trials: The Investigative Work of the U.S. Army 7708 War Crimes Group, 1945–1947. McFarland, Incorporated, Publishers. p. 116. ISBN   978-1-4766-3337-4. Imperial Japan in 1943 had established a puppet state known as the Provisional Government of Free India
  8. 1 2 3 Toye, Hugh (1959). The Springing Tiger: A Study of the Indian National Army and of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose. Allied Publishers. p. 187. ISBN   978-8184243925.
  9. Singh, Harkirat (2003). The INA trial and the Raj. Atlantic Publishers & Distributors, pp. 102–103. ISBN   81-269-0316-3
  10. 1 2 Sarkar, S. (1983), Modern India: 1885–1947 , Delhi: Macmillan India, p.  412, ISBN   978-0-333-90425-1
  11. Bandyopādhyāẏa, Śekhara (2004). From Plassey to partition. Orient Blackswan, p. 428. ISBN   81-250-2596-0
  12. 1 2 Pandit, H. N. (1988) Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose, Sterling Publishers, New Delhi, p. 331.
  13. 1 2 Das, S. "Indian National Army in South East Asia". The Hindustan Times. Special Edition. "Hindustan Times – Archive News". Archived from the original on 30 September 2007. Retrieved 28 November 2007.
  14. Edwardes, Michael (1964). The Last Years of British India, Cleveland, World Pub. Co., p. 93: "The Government of India had hoped, by prosecuting members of the INA, to reinforce the morale of the Indian army. It succeeded only in creating unease, in making the soldiers feel slightly ashamed that they themselves had supported the British. If Bose and his men had been on the right side – and all India now confirmed that they were – then Indians in the Indian army must have been on the wrong side. It slowly dawned upon the Government of India that the backbone of the British rule, the Indian army, might now no longer be trustworthy. The ghost of Subhas Bose, like Hamlet’s father, walked the battlements of the Red Fort (where the INA soldiers were being tried), and his suddenly amplified figure overawed the conference that was to lead to independence."
  15. 1 2 Encyclopædia Britannica. Indian National army. After returning to India the veterans of the INA posed a difficult problem for the British government. The British feared that a public trial for treason on the part of the INA members might embolden anti-British sentiment and erupt into widespread protest and violence. URL Accessed on 19 August 2006.
  16. Moreman, Tim (2013). The Jungle, Japanese and the British Commonwealth Armies at War, 1941–45: Fighting Methods, Doctrine and Training for Jungle Warfare. Routledge. ISBN   978-1-135-76456-2.
  17. Marston, Daniel (2014). The Indian Army and the End of the Raj. Cambridge Studies in Indian History and Society, 23. Cambridge University Press. ISBN   978-0-521-89975-8.
  18. Singh, H. (2003). The INA Trial and the Raj. Atlantic Publishers & Distributors. p. 98. ISBN   978-81-269-0316-0.
  19. Encyclopædia Britannica. Indian National army.
  20. Cao, Yin (2017). From policemen to revolutionaries: a Sikh diaspora in global Shanghai, 1885–1945. Leiden: Brill. pp. 144–145. ISBN   9789004344082. OCLC   982651998.
  21. "{Indian National Army: Provisional Government of Azad Hind}". www.nas.gov.sg. Retrieved 23 January 2022.
  22. "Azad Hind Formation Anniversary: Interesting Facts about Azad Hind Fauj and Subhas Chandra Bose". Firstpost. 21 October 2021. Retrieved 23 January 2022.
  23. "Indian National Army". aicc.org.in. Archived from the original on 23 April 2009.
  24. "Azad Hind Formation Anniversary". Drishti IAS. Retrieved 23 January 2022.
  25. "Indian National Army". nas.sg. Archived from the original on 2 November 2013. Retrieved 15 July 2013.
  26. "Indian National Army : Provisional Government of Azad Hind". National Archives of Singapore. Archived from the original on 31 December 2022. Retrieved 25 May 2020.
  27. "Can we declare Bose as India's first head of the state of a provisional government?". The Times of India. Bennett, Coleman & Co. Ltd. he Times Group. 20 October 2018. Retrieved 25 May 2020.
  28. "Explained: Why Azad Hind Diwas Is Celebrated On October 21". IndiaTimes. 21 October 2021. Retrieved 23 January 2022.
  29. "The Last Straw That Broke the Back of the British Empire". Archived from the original on 5 June 2003.
  30. Dasgupta, Jayant (2002) Japanese in Andaman & Nicobar Islands. Red Sun over Black Water. Delhi: Manas Publications. pp. 67, 87, 91–95. ISBN   9788170491385
  31. Mathur, L. P. (1985). Kala Pani. History of the Andaman & Nicobar Islands with a study of India's Freedom Struggle. Delhi: Eastern Book Corporation, pp. 249–251.
  32. "Azad Hind Formation Anniversary: Facts about Azad Hind Fauj and Subhas Chandra Bose". www.timesnownews.com. 21 October 2021. Retrieved 23 January 2022.
  33. "नेताजी की जयंती: यूं अस्तित्व में आई आजाद हिंद फौज, पंजाब के जनरल मोहन सिंह ने की थी स्थापना". Amar Ujala (in Hindi). Retrieved 23 January 2022.
  34. "After Centre's rejection, Netaji tableau to be displayed at Kolkata Republic Day programme". The Economic Times. Retrieved 23 January 2022.
  35. "Netaji had vision for economic strength of India, was champion of gender equality: Daughter". The Economic Times. Retrieved 23 January 2022.
  36. "Subhash Chandra Bose". Archived from the original on 14 January 2006. Retrieved 16 February 2006.
  37. Pasricha, Ashu (2008). "The Political Thought of Subhas Chandra Bose". Encyclopaedia Eminent Thinkers, 16, Concept Publishing Company.
  38. 1 2 The Hindustan Times "Hindustan Times – Archive News". Archived from the original on 30 September 2007. Retrieved 8 July 2007.
  39. Majumdar, R. C. (1978). Jibanera Smritideepe (Bengali). Calcutta, General Printers and Publishers, pp. 229–230.