The Indian National Army

In my previous articles on these pages I have been writing about various resistance movements against the British Raj in India. These movements varied in nature, scope, and dynamics. One such resistance movement was initiated by the Japanese government in collaboration with the Indian Independence League (IIL) and the Indian National Army (INA).

The Indian National Army was the brainchild of Major Fujiwara who was assigned by the Japanese the task of intelligence gathering in British occupied areas. The major objective of the INA was to demonstrate to the world that the Indians were tired of the British rule and had as a last resort formed their own army to fight against the British Raj.

The other objective was to build the image of Japan as a country that loved freedom and helped other nations for their liberation. The INA was a collection of different major ethnic groups, Hindus, Muslims, and Sikhs.

There were three major reasons for joining the INA. Some joined the INA for the love for their country. Their motivational force was nationalism. Another group of people were prisoners of war who preferred to join the INA instead of leading a miserable life in prison camps. Yet another group joined the INA under coercion by the Japanese who threatened Indian prisoners of dire consequences if they did not join. Despite the diversity of the groups, the INA emerged as a symbol of Indian nationalism – which was the essential objective of setting it up.

The first INA was established in 1942 and was headed by Mohan Singh. The Indian Independence League (IIL), which was a political organisation of Indian expatriates, was led by Rash Behari Bose who was an Indian revolutionary married to a Japanese woman and was very close to the Japanese government. Two important conferences were held in Tokyo and Bangkok to sort out the relationship dynamics between the IIL and the INA led by Rash Behari Bose and Mohan Singh but there was some conflict between the two leaders.

Rash Behari Bose wanted to orchestrate all the activities of the INA though the IIL. Mohan Singh, who had a different view of the INA as a credible and sovereign army, refused to get dictation from IIL leader Rash Behari Bose and preferred to resign from the INA under protest. Mohan Singh was arrested and ultimately the INA was dissolved on December 20, 1942. Rash Behari Bose, however, did not give up on the INA and made constant efforts to resurrect it. He succeeded in his efforts in February, 1943 when he appointed Lt-Col M Z Kiani as head of the INA.

The INA, however, emerged as a vibrant organisation under the leadership of Subhash Chandra Bose. Bose was a seasoned politician who had resigned from the Indian Civil Service and joined the All India Congress. With his dynamic personality and passion for politics he soon rose to the top and became president of the party in 1938. He again won the top slot in 1939. He was considered as a hawk in the party who openly defied the British Raj and, unlike his colleagues, took an unambiguous stand against the British rule.

Openly defying the Gandhian pacifist philosophy, he resigned from his party position and established a left-wing ‘forward bloc’. Because of his open defiance to the British Raj he was put under house arrest from where he secretly escaped and went to Russia. From there he went to Germany where he presented the idea of Azad Hind (Free India). His reputation as a rebel reached Japan and Japanese intelligence invited him to lead both the IIL and INA.

Bose was a great orator and a strict disciplinarian. After joining the INA in 1943 he brought new life to it. That same year he announced the establishment of the Aarzi Hukumat-e-Azad Hind meaning ‘Free Indian Provisional Government’ (FIPG). For this Japan gave them the Andaman and Nicobar Islands for physical visibility to the FIPG. This was a clever move to challenge the authenticity of the British Raj in India.

Bose tried his best to turn the INA into a professional army in terms of discipline, training, and equipment. There were about 10,000 army personnel in the INA besides thousands of civilians who registered their names. Bose persuaded the Japanese to trust the INA and instead of keeping it just as a showpiece give it an opportunity to actually take part in the war. This opportunity did come as the INA fought the Imphal-Kohima war. The war, however, ended with a big disappointment for the Japanese and the INA as they met an embarrassing defeat. In later days, the INA was stationed at Malaya and Singapore.

There could be different views about the success of the INA but it did play a significant role to boost the morale of the Indian people. It is important to note that there was an air of despair in India because of the sudden end of the Quit India movement launched by Gandhi. In such circumstances the INA emerged as a symbol of nationalism.

Once the INA was put to an end in 1945 a number of INA members were repatriated to India and tried in the Red Fort. Bose died mysteriously on August 18, 1945 in an air crash. The heroic accounts of these soldiers stirred a wave of inspiration among the India people. On the one hand, these trials motivated their fellow countrymen and on the other hand put tremendous pressure on the British rulers to expedite the process of liberation of India.

The writer is an educationist.

Email: shahidksiddiqui@gmail.com