Indian National Army: Subhas Chandra Bose and Azad Hind
Subhas Chandra Bose (1897–1945) founded the Azad Hind Government (1943) in Singapore and led the Indian National Army — an armed force of 43,000 Indian POWs and civilians — in the 1944 Imphal-Kohima campaign to liberate India through Japan-allied armed struggle, challenging the Gandhian path of non-violence.
Indian National Army (INA, also called Azad Hind Fauj — Free India Army) was a military force of approximately 43,000 soldiers, formed primarily from Indian prisoners of war (POWs) captured by Japan in Malaya and Singapore after the British surrender at Singapore (February 1942), and from the Indian civilian diaspora in Southeast Asia. The INA was founded initially by Captain Mohan Singh in 1942 with Japanese military support and reconstituted under Subhas Chandra Bose (who became its Supreme Commander in 1943) as the armed wing of the Azad Hind Government (Provisional Government of Free India, established 21 October 1943 in Singapore). The INA fought alongside the Japanese Imperial Army in the Imphal-Kohima campaign (March–July 1944) — the attempt to break through the northeastern Indian frontier into Assam and trigger a national uprising against British rule. The campaign failed militarily (Imphal-Kohima was the largest Japanese defeat in World War II), Bose died in a plane crash over Taiwan on 18 August 1945, and the INA was dissolved. However, the INA's political legacy — particularly the INA trials at Red Fort (1945–46), which generated mass public sympathy — became one of the factors that convinced the British that maintaining India was no longer feasible.
Subhas Chandra Bose's political career before the INA illustrates the tension within Indian nationalism between Gandhian non-violence and revolutionary armed struggle. Born in 1897 in Cuttack (Orissa) into a Bengali Kayastha family, Bose passed the Indian Civil Service examination in London (1920) but resigned to join the independence movement. He rose rapidly in Congress ranks — becoming President of the Indian National Congress twice (1938, 1939). His second presidency was controversial: he was re-elected against Gandhi's preferred candidate (Pattabhi Sitaramayya) but resigned when Gandhi withdrew support, forming the Forward Bloc (1939) as an alternative left-nationalist platform. Arrested in 1940, he escaped from house arrest in January 1941, travelled secretly through Afghanistan and the Soviet Union to Berlin, and spent 1941–43 in Germany attempting to build an Indian Legion from Indian POWs in Europe. Finding German support inadequate, he transferred by submarine to Southeast Asia (1943), where Japanese-controlled territory gave him the opportunity to build a larger force from the massive pool of Indian POWs from Singapore.
The Azad Hind Government established by Bose in Singapore (October 1943) had a Cabinet, a national bank (with its own currency), a women's regiment (the Rani of Jhansi Regiment under Lakshmi Sahgal), and was recognised by Germany, Japan, Italy, and the Axis powers as the legitimate government of India. The Rani of Jhansi Regiment was one of the first all-women combat units in Asian history — approximately 1,500 women volunteers served in it, with women in both medical and combat capacities. The INA's march toward India through Burma was accompanied by Bose's famous exhortation: "Give me blood, and I will give you freedom" (Tum mujhe khoon do, main tumhe azadi dunga). The Imphal-Kohima campaign (1944) was logistically disastrous — the Japanese and INA forces were denied supply lines; monsoon and disease killed as many as combat; the British General Slim's counter-offensive was devastating. Bose's death in the plane crash (18 August 1945) ended any prospect of reorganising the movement.
What Were the Key Events of the INA and Azad Hind?
| Event | Date | Significance |
|---|---|---|
| Fall of Singapore | 15 February 1942 | 85,000 British-Indian troops surrendered to Japan; vast pool of Indian POWs became INA recruits |
| First INA founded | 1942 | Captain Mohan Singh formed the first INA from Indian POWs with Japanese support; dissolved after disputes |
| Bose reaches Southeast Asia | June 1943 | Bose transferred from Germany by submarine; took command of reconstituted INA |
| Azad Hind Government | 21 October 1943 | Provisional Government of Free India proclaimed in Singapore; recognised by Axis powers; Rani of Jhansi Regiment formed |
| Imphal-Kohima campaign | March–July 1944 | INA and Japanese forces advanced into northeast India; siege of Imphal and Kohima; largest Japanese defeat of WWII |
| Bose's death | 18 August 1945 | Bose died in a plane crash over Taiwan (Japanese-controlled Formosa) on the way to Tokyo; death never conclusively proven to all supporters |
| INA trials (Red Fort) | November 1945 | British tried INA officers for treason; mass public sympathy; naval mutiny (1946) partly inspired; British decided trials were politically counterproductive |
Why Did the INA Trials Shake British Confidence?
- Defence team: The INA defence team was headed by Bhulabhai Desai (Congress's Nehru, Tejbahadur Sapru, and Kailashnath Katju also appeared); the trial transformed the accused — Shah Nawaz Khan, G.S. Dhillon, and P.K. Sehgal — into national heroes
- Public sympathy: The INA soldiers were celebrated across India as patriots regardless of the methods used; Congress passed a resolution of sympathy with the INA; the contrast between the British effort to punish them and Indian public opinion was politically unsustainable
- Royal Indian Navy Mutiny (February 1946): Indian sailors in Bombay mutinied, hoisting INA flags alongside the Congress tricolour and the Muslim League flag — the first major armed force mutiny since 1857; the British quickly released the INA prisoners and abandoned plans for further trials
- Attlee's statement: British Prime Minister Clement Attlee, announcing the Cabinet Mission in 1946, privately noted that the weakening of British authority in India — partly caused by the INA and the naval mutiny — made the transfer of power urgent
Frequently Asked Questions
Who was Subhas Chandra Bose and what was his ideology?
Subhas Chandra Bose (1897–1945) was a Bengali nationalist leader, twice President of the Indian National Congress (1938, 1939), who believed that armed struggle was necessary for independence; he rejected Gandhi's non-violent approach as insufficient; he founded the Forward Bloc (1939), escaped British house arrest (1941), built the INA and Azad Hind Government, and led the 1944 Imphal-Kohima campaign before dying in a plane crash in 1945.
What was the Indian National Army and how was it formed?
The Indian National Army was formed primarily from Indian POWs captured by Japan after the fall of Singapore (February 1942); initially organised by Captain Mohan Singh (1942) and reconstituted under Bose in 1943; it eventually had approximately 43,000 soldiers, a women's regiment (Rani of Jhansi Regiment), and fought in the 1944 Imphal-Kohima campaign alongside the Japanese.
What was the Imphal-Kohima campaign (1944) and why did it fail?
The Imphal-Kohima campaign (March–July 1944) was the INA and Japanese attempt to cross into northeastern India, capture Imphal (Manipur) and Kohima (Nagaland), and trigger a national uprising; it failed due to logistical disaster — supply lines could not sustain the advance, monsoon and disease killed soldiers, and General Slim's British counteroffensive was decisive; Imphal-Kohima was the largest Japanese defeat of World War II.
What was the significance of the INA trials at Red Fort (1945–46)?
The British tried INA officers for treason at Red Fort (November 1945); the trials generated massive public sympathy as INA soldiers were regarded as patriots; the defence team led by Bhulabhai Desai turned the trial into an indictment of British rule; the Royal Indian Navy Mutiny (February 1946) was partly inspired by solidarity with the INA; the British abandoned further trials after recognising their political cost.
What was Netaji Bose's famous slogan?
"Give me blood, and I will give you freedom" (Tum mujhe khoon do, main tumhe azadi dunga) was Bose's rallying cry to INA soldiers and the Indian diaspora in Southeast Asia; his other famous slogan was "Jai Hind" (Victory to India), which became India's national salutation and was adopted by the Indian government and armed forces after independence.
Sources and Further Reading
According to IGNOU's BHIC-134, the Indian National Army represents the armed revolutionary strand of Indian nationalism — a direct challenge to Gandhi's non-violent path that, while militarily unsuccessful, generated political consequences (the INA trials, the naval mutiny) that contributed significantly to the British decision to transfer power in 1947.
- IGNOU BHIC-134: Units on INA and Subhas Chandra Bose
- Leonard Gordon, Brothers Against the Raj: A Biography of Indian Nationalists Sarat and Subhas Chandra Bose
- Sugata Bose, His Majesty's Opponent: Subhas Chandra Bose and India's Struggle Against Empire
- Ravindra Kumar, The INA Story