Indian National Army: Difference between revisions

| commander2 = [[Jaganath Rao Bhonsle]]

| commander2_label = Chief of Staff

| battles = [[World War II]]

*[[Burma Campaign]]

**[[Battle of Central Burma]]

}}

The '''Indian National Army''' ('''INA'''; ''Azad Hind Fauj'' {{IPAc-en|ˈ|ɑː|z|ɑː|ð|_|ˈ|h|i|n|ð|_|ˈ|f|ɔː|dʒ}}; {{Literally}} 'Free Indian Army') was a [[Collaboration with Imperial Japan|collaborationist armed unit]] of Indian collaborators that fought under the command of the [[Empire of Japan|Japanese Empire]].<ref>{{cite book|title=The Cold War and the New Imperialism: A Global History, 1945–2005|page=87|author=Henry Heller|quote=By 1943 Bose had organized the 40,000 - strong Indian National Army, a force based in Malaya and commanded by the Japanese|publisher=[[Monthly Press]]|year=2006}}</ref> It was founded by [[Mohan Singh (general)|Mohan Singh]] on September 1942 in [[Southeast Asia]] during [[World War II]].

 

It fought under the command of the Japanese military in the British campaign in the [[South-East Asian theatre of World War II|Southeast Asian theatre of WWII]], with its aim to secure [[Indian Independence movement|Indian independence]] from [[British Raj|British rule]].<ref name="Fayviiii">{{Harvnb|Fay|1993|p=viii}}</ref> The army was [[First Indian National Army|first formed]] in 1942 under Mohan Singh by Indian [[prisoners of war]] (PoWs) of the [[British Indian Army]] captured by Japan in the [[Malayan campaign]] and [[Battle of Singapore|at Singapore]].<ref name="Ray 1984 p. ">{{cite book | last=Ray | first=N.R. | title=Challenge, a Saga of India's Struggle for Freedom | publisher=People's Publishing House | year=1984 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_SVuAAAAMAAJ | page=586}}</ref><ref name="Ghosh 2006 p. ">{{cite book | last=Ghosh | first=R. | title=Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose and Indian Freedom Struggle (Set in 2 Vols.) | publisher=Deep & Deep Publications | year=2006 | isbn=978-81-7629-842-1 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=H3MwAQAAIAAJ | page=32}}</ref><ref name=Lebraviiitox>{{Harvnb|Lebra|2008|loc=Foreword, pp. viii–x}}</ref> This first INA, which had been handed over to Rash Behari Bose and Mohan Singh, collapsed and was disbanded in December that year after differences between its leadership and the Japanese military over its role in Japan's war in Asia. The INA was handed over to [[Subhas Chandra Bose]].<ref name=Lebra2008p99/> It was revived under the leadership of Subhas Chandra Bose after his arrival in Southeast Asia in 1943. The army was declared to be the army of Bose's ''[[Arzi Hukumat-e-Azad Hind]]'' (the Provisional Government of Free India). The INA came to be known as the puppet army of the Japanese empire.<ref name="Seaman">{{cite book | last=Seaman | first=Harry | title=The Battle At Sangshak: Prelude to Kohima | publisher=L. Cooper | year=1989 | isbn=978-0-85052-720-9 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=S8yXAwAAQBAJ&pg=PA23 | quote=puppet army composed of Indian prisoners of war | page=23}}</ref><ref name="Tanaka">{{cite book | author=[[Yuki Tanaka (historian)|Yuki Tanaka]] | title=Hidden Horrors: Japanese War Crimes in World War II | publisher=Rowman & Littlefield Publishers | series=Asian Voices | year=2017 | isbn=978-1-5381-0270-1 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=CCkzDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA215 | quote=a puppet army under Japanese control | page=215}}</ref>

 

 

After the INA's initial formation in 1942, there was concern in the British Indian Army that further Indian troops would defect. This led to a reporting ban and a propaganda campaign called "[[Jiffs]]" to preserve the loyalty of the [[Sepoy]].<ref name=Fayp423>{{Harvnb|Fay|1993|p=423}}</ref> Historians consider the INA not to have had significant influence on the war.<ref name=Fay138/>

| access-date=2007-09-03

}}</ref>

| publisher = Provisional Assembly of Punjab (Lahore-Pakistan). Govt of Pakistan

| url=http://pap.gov.pk/legislators/last/dist2.htm

| access-date=2007-09-19

|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20071101134400/http://pap.gov.pk/legislators/last/dist2.htm <!-- Bot retrieved archive --> |archive-date = 2007-11-01}}</ref> Of the very few ex-INA members who joined the Indian Armed Forces after 1947 [[R. S. Benegal]], a member of the Tokyo Boys, joined the [[Indian Air Force]] in 1952 and later rose to be an [[air commodore]].<ref name=BenegalForeword>{{Harvnb|Benegal|2013|loc=Foreword}}</ref> Benegal saw action in both [[1965 War|1965]] and [[Indo-Pakistani War of 1971]], earning a [[Maha Vir Chakra]], India's second-highest award for valour.<ref name=BharatRakshak>{{cite web

| url=http://www.bharat-rakshak.com/IAF/Database/Record/view.php?srnum=4220

| access-date=2015-09-18

}}</ref>

 

| work= Rediff on the net

| url=http://www.rediff.com/news/feb/22anthem.htm

title=Freedom struggle through Hindi films

| access-date=2007-07-09

More recently, a 2017 Hindi movie Rangoon, starring Kangna Ranaut, Saif Ali Khan, Shahid Kapoor is based against the backdrop of the INA presence in Rangoon, with the movie centred around the protagonists trying to get across a jewelled sword to the INA. In 2020 [[Amazon Prime Video]] released a five-part series called [[The Forgotten Army - Azaadi Ke Liye]]! Which tells the story of the INA through the eyes of one of its Captains and the woman he loves. In 2017 only, a show was released namely, Bose: Dead/Alive, it showed Netaji's mysterious disappearance in 1945. In this show too Azad Hind Fauj was shown.

 

* [https://web.archive.org/web/20120220043836/http://www.hindustantimes.com/ Mystery behind Netaji's Disappearance – 2]

* [http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/3684288.stm BBC Report: Hitler's secret Indian army]

 

{{Azad Hind Fauj}}