Indian National Army and Armed Struggle

The Indian National Army (INA), or the Azad Hind Fauj, represented an armed campaign against British colonial rule during the Second World War. Originating in Southeast Asia among Indian prisoners of war and civilian expatriates, the movement gained momentum under the political and military leadership of Subhas Chandra Bose. The INA opened a military front on India’s eastern border, challenged the loyalty of the British Indian Army, and created a post-war nationalist upsurge. The subsequent trials of INA officers triggered widespread public agitation, accelerating the final withdrawal of the British Empire from the Indian subcontinent.

Origins and First Phase of the INA (1941–1942)

The idea of utilizing Indian prisoners of war (POWs) captured by Japanese forces in Southeast Asia to fight British colonial rule originated during the early stages of World War II.

Key Factors in Formation

• Role of F-Kikan: Major Iwaichi Fujiwara, head of the Japanese intelligence unit F-Kikan, established contact with Indian officers and civilian nationalists in Malaya.
• Giani Pritam Singh Dhillon: Represented the Indian Independence League in Thailand and collaborated with Fujiwara to mobilize captured soldiers.
• Captain Mohan Singh: A captain in the 1/14th Punjab Regiment of the British Indian Army who surrendered to Japanese forces in Malaya. He agreed to organize Indian POWs into a liberation army.
• First INA Establishment: Formed officially on September 1, 1942, comprising roughly 16,300 Indian POWs captured after the fall of Singapore.

Breakdown of the First INA

• Friction emerged between Captain Mohan Singh and Japanese military commanders regarding the army’s size, operational independence, and delays in accepting the Bangkok Conference resolutions.
• Mohan Singh ordered the dissolution of the first INA in December 1942 after resisting Japanese attempts to use the force as a secondary auxiliary unit.
• Japanese authorities arrested Captain Mohan Singh, leaving the remaining troops under the care of veteran revolutionary Rash Behari Bose.

Leadership of Subhas Chandra Bose and Second Phase

Subhas Chandra Bose arrived in Southeast Asia in July 1943 following a journey from Germany aboard German submarine U-180 and Japanese submarine I-29.

• Transfer of Command: Rash Behari Bose handed over the presidency of the Indian Independence League to Subhas Chandra Bose on July 4, 1943, at Singapore’s Cathay Cinema Hall.
• Reconstruction: Bose reorganized the army, opening recruitment to civilian volunteers across Malaya, Singapore, Burma, and Thailand.
• Slogans and Greetings: Bose popularized the national greeting “Jai Hind” and gave the call “Chalo Delhi” (March to Delhi) alongside his declaration: “Give me blood, and I will give you freedom!”

Provisional Government of Free India (Arzi Hukumat-e-Azad Hind)

Subhas Chandra Bose established the Provisional Government of Free India in Singapore on October 21, 1943.

Structure and Recognition

• Head of State and Supreme Commander: Subhas Chandra Bose.
• Cabinet Portfolios: Captain Lakshmi Swaminathan (Women’s Affairs), S. A. Ayer (Broadcasting and Publicity), A. C. Chatterji (Finance).
• International Recognition: Recognized by Axis powers and neutral states, including Japan, Germany, Italy, Croatia, Nanjing China, Thailand, Burma, Manchuria, and the Philippines.
• Territorial Jurisdiction: Japan handed over the administration of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands to the Provisional Government in November 1943. Bose renamed them Shaheed Dweep (Martyr Island) and Swaraj Dweep (Self-Rule Island).

Military Campaigns: Imphal and Kohima (1944)

The INA established its headquarters in Rangoon in January 1944 and prepared to march toward India alongside the Japanese 15th Army under General Renya Mutaguchi.

Frontline Engagement

• Battles of Imphal and Kohima: The Subhas Regiment, led by Shah Nawaz Khan, advanced into the Arakan sector in Burma and entered the Manipur and Nagaland frontiers.
• Hoisting the Flag: On March 18, 1944, INA troops crossed the Indian border. Colonel Shaukat Malik hoisted the Azad Hind flag at Moirang, Manipur, setting up an administrative base.
• Failure and Retreat: Severe monsoon rains, broken supply lines, lack of air support, and the Allied counter-offensive forced Japanese and INA units to retreat in mid-1944. Over half of the 6,000 INA troops deployed on the Indian front died from starvation, disease, or combat wounds.

Post-War INA Trials and Public Outrage

Following the surrender of Japan in August 1945, British forces captured over 20,000 INA soldiers. The colonial government decided to hold public court-martials at the Red Fort in Delhi.

Red Fort Trials (1945–1946)

• First Trial Defendants: Colonel Prem Sahgal (Hindu), Colonel Gurbaksh Singh Dhillon (Sikh), and Major General Shah Nawaz Khan (Muslim). The joint trial brought communal unity among the public.
• Congress Defense Committee: The Indian National Congress formed a legal defense team comprising Jawaharlal Nehru, Bhulabhai Desai, Tej Bahadur Sapru, Kailash Nath Katju, and Asaf Ali.
• Public Mobilization: Mass demonstrations erupted across cities. The slogan “Red Fort se aayi aawaz: Sahgal, Dhillon, Shahnawaz!” echoed across public rallies.
• Mitigation of Sentences: Although the military court found the officers guilty of treason, Commander-in-Chief Field Marshal Claude Auchinleck remitted their prison sentences due to public hostility and unrest within British Indian armed forces.

Impact on Colonial Armed Forces

The INA campaign undermined the primary pillar of British rule in India: the military loyalty of Indian personnel.

• Royal Indian Navy (RIN) Mutiny (February 1946): Ratings on HMIS Talwar in Bombay went on strike, explicitly citing the INA trials and racial discrimination. The strike spread to 78 ships and 20 shore establishments.
• Royal Indian Air Force and Army Strikes: Strikes and insubordination occurred at air force stations in Kanpur, Ambala, and Karachi, alongside mutinies in Indian Signal Corps units at Jabalpur.
• Accelerated Transfer of Power: The British administration recognized that it could no longer rely on Indian troops to suppress domestic political uprisings, hastening the decision to grant independence.

Key High-Yield Facts

• Major Iwaichi Fujiwara operated the Japanese intelligence unit F-Kikan to coordinate with Indian nationalists.
• Captain Mohan Singh raised the first Indian National Army in Singapore in September 1942.
• Rash Behari Bose established the Indian Independence League in East Asia and served as its first president.
• Subhas Chandra Bose traveled from Kiel, Germany, to Madagascar aboard German submarine U-180, transferring to Japanese submarine I-29 in April 1943.
• The Provisional Government of Free India was declared on October 21, 1943, at the Cathay Cinema Hall in Singapore.
• Subhas Chandra Bose renamed the Andaman and Nicobar Islands as Shaheed Dweep and Swaraj Dweep in December 1943.
• Colonel Shaukat Malik hoisted the INA flag at Moirang, Manipur, on April 14, 1944.
• Captain Lakshmi Swaminathan commanded the Rani of Jhansi Regiment, one of the world’s first all-female combat infantry units.
• Bhulabhai Desai led the legal defense team for the INA officers during the 1945 Red Fort trials.
• Field Marshal Claude Auchinleck used his extraordinary executive powers to commute the prison sentences of Sahgal, Dhillon, and Shah Nawaz Khan in January 1946.