Indian National Army (INA): Notes for UPSC Indian
The Indian National Army (Also known as the Azad Hind Fauj) was an armed force formed by
Indian Nationalists in 1942, through the patronage of the Imperial Japanese Army, to secure the
Independence of India.
This article will further highlight the details of the Azad Hind Fauj within the context of the IAS
Exam.
Background of the Indian National Army
Following the outbreak of World War II, Japan invaded South East Asia. At the time 70,000
troops were stationed in the region, most of them along the Malayan coast. Japan conducted a
lightning campaign which culminated in the fall of the Malayan peninsula and Singapore in
1942. In the Singapore campaign alone, 45,000 Indian prisoners of war were captured. It was
from these prisoners of war that the Japnese decided to create an auxiliary army which would
fight against the British.
The first INA was formed under Mohan Singh, a former officer of the British Indian Army
captured during the Malay campaign. Conditions in the prisoner of war camps, as well as
resentment against the British in general, saw many prisoners of war volunteer join the Indian
National Army
The initiative received considerable support from the Imperial Japanese Army and from the
ethnic Indian population of South-East Asia. However, disagreements between Mohan Singh
and Japanese Army Command regarding the autonomy of the Indian National Army led to the
disbandment of the first INA in December 1942
Subash Chandra Bose and the second INA
Although Mohan Singh had angered the Japanese Army Command through his actions, they
relented to form a second Indian National Army. Mohan Singh himself recommended that
Subash Chandra Bose for the leadership role. His reputation as a committed nationalist was
known to both the Indian diaspora of South East Asia and the Imperial Japanese Army. As
such, they were more open to the idea of a nationalist army led by Subash Chandra Bose. The
activities of Subash Chandra Bose in India had forced the British authorities to imprison him, but
he escaped and reached Berlin in 1941.
Although the German leadership were sympathetic to his cause, logistic problems prevented
them from granting any support to his quest for raising an army to fight the British. However, the
Japanese were ready to support him and upon their personal invitation, Subash Chandra Bose
arrived in Singapore in July 1943 to take command of what would be known as the second
Indian National Army, now known by its alternative name as the Azad Hind Fauj.
Operations of the Azad Hind Fauj
After Subash Chandra Bose took command of the Azad Hind Fauj, there was a swell of
volunteers looking to join the INA. Although Subash Chandra Bose agreed for the INA to remain
subordinate to the Japanese Army, he saw it as a necessary sacrifice towards the fulfilment of
the ultimate goal of freeing India from the British Empire. The Azad Hind Fauj participated in
operation U-Go, the 1944 Japanese campaign towards British India. Although the INA saw initial
success during the early phases of the operation, they were forced to withdraw during the battle
of Imphal and battle of Kohima (Fought on April 4th, 1944) which saw the disastrous defeat for
the Japanese Army at the hands of the British.
The INA lost a substantial number of men and materiel in this retreat. A number of units were
disbanded or used to feed into new divisions of the now declining Japanese Army
Following the Japanese defeat in World War 2, most of the members of the INA were captured
by the British. Subash Chandra Bose himself eluded capture and was reported to have died in a
plane crash near Taiwan in September 1945.
Fate after World War 2
The surviving members of the INA were to be tried by the British Colonial government for
treason. The trials would take place at the Red Fort. However, their decision to make the Red
Fort trials public proved to be a grave miscalculation on the part of the British as it led to a new
wave of nationalism unseen during the entirety of the Independence Struggle. The Indian
population saw them as patriots fighting for independence rather than traitors to an empire they
never wanted to fight for.
The progress of the trial also led to mutiny within the British Indian Army, most notable being the
mutiny of the Royal Indian Navy. although the mutiny was quickly put down, the British realised
that they were effectively losing the support of the very institution that kept them in power for so
long - the army.
Coupled with the launching of the Quit India Movement, the British sought to hasten the
independence of India which was the ultimate aim of the Azad Hind Fauj at the very beginning
of its inception.
It can be safely said that even in defeat, did the Indian National Army win against its colonial
oppressors.
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