21. INDIAN NATIONAL ARMY (INA) & SUBHAS CHANDRA BOSE

21. INDIAN NATIONAL ARMY (INA) & SUBHAS CHANDRA BOSE

21.1 Background — Subhas Chandra Bose

• Radical Congress leader; twice INC President (Haripura, 1938, and Tripuri, 1939, defeating Gandhi's nominee Pattabhi Sitaramayya — but resigned from Congress in 1939 due to differences with Gandhi over methods).
• Founded the Forward Bloc (1939) — a left-wing party within/alongside Congress advocating a more militant approach.
• Escaped house arrest in Calcutta (January 1941), travelled via Afghanistan and the Soviet Union to Germany, then by submarine to Southeast Asia (1943).
• Adopted the title "Netaji"; gave the famous calls "Give me blood, and I shall give you freedom" ("Tum mujhe khoon do, main tumhe azadi doonga") and "Jai Hind" (which he popularised as a greeting, later adopted as India's national greeting/military slogan).

21.2 Formation and Growth of INA (Azad Hind Fauj)

• The INA was originally formed by Rash Behari Bose and Captain Mohan Singh in 1942 in Southeast Asia, from Indian POWs of the British Indian Army captured by Japan after the fall of Singapore, with support from the Japan-backed Indian Independence League.
• Subhas Chandra Bose took over leadership of the INA in 1943 in Singapore, reorganised and expanded it; proclaimed the Provisional Government of Free India ("Azad Hind Government") on 21 October 1943 in Singapore — with its own currency, postage stamps, and civil code; recognised by Japan, Germany, Italy, and a few other Axis-aligned states.
• Rani of Jhansi Regiment — an all-women combat regiment of the INA, led by Captain Lakshmi Sahgal (Dr. Lakshmi Swaminathan) — a pioneering example of women in armed combat roles in the freedom struggle.
• INA fought alongside Japanese forces against the British in the Imphal and Kohima campaigns (1944) in Northeast India/Burma border — INA troops briefly entered Indian territory (Moirang, Manipur) and hoisted the tricolour, but the campaign ultimately failed due to logistics, monsoon, and Allied counter-offensive.
• Subhas Chandra Bose died in an air crash in Taipei, Taiwan, on 18 August 1945 (circumstances remain a subject of some historical debate/conspiracy theories, though the air-crash account is the mainstream historical position).

21.3 INA Trials (Red Fort Trials), 1945–46

• After Japan's surrender (WWII ended, August 1945), captured INA officers were brought to trial by the British Indian government at the Red Fort, Delhi, on charges of treason/waging war against the King.
• First and most famous trial (Nov 1945): three officers of different religions tried together — Colonel Prem Sahgal (Hindu), Colonel Gurbaksh Singh Dhillon (Sikh), and Major General Shah Nawaz Khan (Muslim) — a symbolic act by the British that backfired by uniting Indian public opinion across religious lines.
• Defended by a stellar legal team including Bhulabhai Desai, Tej Bahadur Sapru, Jawaharlal Nehru (returned to legal practice specifically for this) and K.N. Katju.
• Massive nationwide public sympathy and protests in support of the INA officers — seen as patriots, not traitors — considered one of the key events that shook British confidence in continued control over the Indian Army and administration.
• Under pressure of public opinion, the accused officers' sentences (transportation for life) were remitted; they were released.

Key Facts / Quick Revision Points — INA & Subhas Chandra Bose

• Subhas Chandra Bose — Forward Bloc (1939); took over INA, 1943, Singapore.
• Azad Hind Government proclaimed: 21 October 1943, Singapore.
• Rani of Jhansi Regiment — led by Captain Lakshmi Sahgal.
• INA slogans: "Jai Hind," "Give me blood, and I shall give you freedom," "Delhi Chalo," "Chalo Dilli."
• Bose died in air crash, Taipei, 18 August 1945.
• Red Fort Trials 1945-46 — Sahgal, Dhillon, Shah Nawaz Khan; defended by Bhulabhai Desai, Nehru, others.