Indian National Army and Subhash Bose

At a Glance

• First phase Mohan Singh; 40,000 ready by the end of 1942
• Second phase Bose took over in July 1943; Supreme Commander from 25 August
• Provisional Government 21 October 1943, Singapore
• INA on Indian soil 18 March 1944; flag at Moirang on 14 April
• Exam link UPSC Prelims, Modern History: Quit India Movement, Demand for Pakistan and the INA

Where Does It Fit?

This is the sixth and last topic of the category on the Quit India Movement, the demand for Pakistan and the INA. The previous topic covered the Wavell Plan. This topic covers the INA and Subhash Bose’s role. The next category begins with the Red Fort, Delhi,…">post-war upsurge and the INA trials. Previous topic: Wavell Plan and the Simla Conference.

What Was Bose’s Background?

Subhash Chandra Bose was an intrepid man with a militant streak who reacted violently to any insult to Indians by Europeans. He passed the Indian Civil Services examination in fourth position but resigned in 1921 to join the freedom struggle through the Congress. His political guru was Chittaranjan Das, and he became mayor of Calcutta in 1923. He was jailed many times. When it became clear that he could not follow Gandhi’s way but that the Congress was determined to, he decided to go his own way. His differences with Gandhi are in Gandhi and Bose: Ideological Differences, and the 1939 conflict in Haripura and Tripuri Sessions and Subhash Bose’s Views.

How Did Bose Leave India?

In March 1940 Bose convened an Anti-Compromise Conference at Ramgarh, a joint effort of the Forward Bloc and the Kisan Sabha. It resolved that a world-wide struggle should be launched on 6 April, the first day of National Week, with a call not to help the imperialist war with any resource, and to resist all exploitation of Indian resources for the imperial cause. People took part enthusiastically.

Bose was arrested in July when he tried to launch a satyagraha against a proposed monument to Holwell in Calcutta. After a hunger strike he was released and placed under house arrest in December 1940. In January 1941 it was reported that he had escaped, and on 26 January 1941 he reached Peshawar under the pseudo-name Ziauddin, helped by Bhagat Ram. He approached Russia for help, but when Russia joined the Allies in June 1941 he was disappointed and went to Germany.

What Did Bose Do in Germany?

Bose met Hitler under a pseudonym. With Hitler’s help a Freedom Army, the Mukti Sena, was formed of Indian prisoners of war captured by Germany and Italy, with its office at Dresden. Bose came to be called Netaji by the people of Germany, and gave the slogan Jai Hind from the Free India Centre in Germany. He began regular broadcasts from Berlin radio in January 1942. In early 1943 he left Germany and travelled by German and later Japanese submarines to reach Japan and then Singapore in July 1943.

What Was the First Phase of the INA?

The idea of an army from Indian prisoners of war was Mohan Singh’s, an Indian Army officer who decided not to join the retreating British army in Malaya and turned to the Japanese. The Japanese handed him Indian prisoners of war. After the fall of Singapore, several joined, and by the end of 1942, 40,000 men were ready to join the INA. It was meant to act only on the invitation of the Indian National Congress and the people of India. Many saw the move as a check on Japanese misconduct towards Indians in South-East Asia and a bulwark against a future Japanese occupation of India.

The INA got a boost from the outbreak of the Quit India Movement, described in Spread of the Quit India Movement and Government Repression, and in September 1942 its first division was formed with 16,300 men. But serious differences arose between the Indian officers under Mohan Singh and the Japanese over the INA’s role: the Japanese wanted a token force of 2,000, while Mohan Singh wanted a much larger army. Mohan Singh was taken into custody by the Japanese.

What Was the Role of Rashbehari Bose?

Rashbehari Bose had fled to Japan in 1915 after the failed revolutionary activities, became a naturalised citizen, worked to interest the Japanese in Indian independence, founded the Indian Club of Tokyo and lectured on the evils of Western imperialism. He was excited by the formation of the INA and left Tokyo for South-East Asia. At a conference in Bangkok it was decided to place the INA under the Indian Independence League, which he had created in Tokyo in 1942, with himself as chairman. When the Japanese sought Subhash Bose to lead the INA, Rashbehari Bose happily transferred control of the League and the INA to him in July 1943. Subhash Bose built the INA on the organisational spadework of Rashbehari Bose, who died on 21 January 1945 aged 58. The earlier revolutionary activity abroad is in Revolutionary Activities Abroad.

What Happened in the Second Phase?

Subhash Bose reached Tokyo in June 1943, met the Japanese Prime Minister, Tojo, and became Supreme Commander of the INA on 25 August 1943.

The slogan Give me blood, I will give you freedom was given in Malaya. A women’s regiment, the Rani Jhansi Regiment, was formed. One INA battalion under Shah Nawaz took part with the Japanese in the Imphal campaign, but Indians received discriminatory treatment from the Japanese, including denial of rations and arms and menial work, which disgusted and demoralised the units. The INA advanced to Kohima and Imphal and held Moirang for three months, then shared the fate of the Japanese when Allied forces recovered the territory.

How Did It End?

The steady Japanese retreat ended any hope of the INA liberating the country, and the retreat continued till mid-1945. The Japanese surrender on 15 August 1945 brought the INA’s surrender. On 18 August 1945 Bose reportedly died in an air crash at Taipei, Taiwan, a death that has been the subject of debate. When the INA prisoners of war were brought back to India to be court-martialled, a powerful movement arose in their defence, covered in Post-War Upsurge and the INA Trials. As an analytical point, the INA’s military results were small but its political effect was large, because its soldiers and officers of different faiths served together and its trials turned them into national symbols.

Why Is This Topic Important?

• Two phases of the INA Mohan Singh, Rashbehari Bose and Subhash Bose are Prelims facts
• Dates 1943-44 events are frequently asked
• Impact The INA trials stirred the post-war upsurge

What Came Next?

The next category begins with the post-war upsurge and the INA trials. Next topic: Post-War Upsurge and the INA Trials.

Key People and Terms

• Mohan Singh Army officer who raised the first INA
• Rashbehari Bose Founder of the Indian Independence League who handed over to Subhash Bose
• Provisional Government of Free India Formed at Singapore on 21 October 1943
• Azad Hind Fauz The INA
• Rani Jhansi Regiment The INA’s women’s regiment
• Shahid Dweep and Swaraj Dweep The renamed Andaman and Nicobar islands

Exam Corner

Mains Angle

Questions ask about the INA and its significance. These points add depth.

• Phases Mohan Singh and then Bose
• Campaign Imphal and Moirang
• Significance Symbol after the war