Women’s Regiment of Indian National Army

Indian National Army

Indian National Army has its roots in the Indian Independent Leagues, formed in Southeast Asia by eminent soldiers like Pritam Singh and Mohan Singh. The initial stages of the Indian National army coincided with that of the imperial expansion of Japan in the pacific in the 1940s. The revolutionaries in India along with the Japanese military personnel and later the government in their fight against the imperial British forces....

History of the Indian National Army

The Indian National Army was established in the year 1942, by the prisoners of war of India in Singapore. They were captured by the Japanese and the Japanese aided them in creating a force of resistance against the British imperial rule. With the help, the Indian Independence League was founded, and the main base was Indian National Army. Mohan Singh, who was a former captain in British Indian Army, called upon prisoners from India to take up the arms against the unjust rule of the Britishers. Over 20,000 members have volunteered and INA was placed under Rash Behari Bose, who was a leading Indian revolutionary....

Subhas Chandra Bose and INA

When Subhas Chandra Bose arrived in Japan, the idea of reforming INA was revived. In July 1943, Rash Behari gave the control of Indian Independence League to SC Bose. Bose Revived INA again. Due to the fame of SC Bose and his reputation as a committed nationalist, not only the PoW but some of the civilians join INA too. INA got a lot of financial support from South East Asian Countries. There were 4 Brigades:...

Women’s Regiment of Indian National Army

The Women’s Regiment of INA was led by Lakshmi Sahgal and the unit was named after Jhansi ki Rani Regiment. Each female soldier was combat-trained. The recruits for this regime mostly belonged to Malaya and Burma. The unit came into being on 12 July 1943, initial members of the force were established with its training camp in Singapore. Later camps were established in places like Rangoon and Bangkok....

Impact of Indian National Army

Indian National Army has had a significant impact on the freedom struggle of India. Some of the important contributions and impacts of INA are as follows:...

Role of INA in Freedom Struggle

The Indian National Army has helped to bring forward the youths of India and inspired them when ideas on their activities and also motivations were released to the general public. INA has impacted many facts of Southeast Asian history which includes Lakshmi Sahgal, Janaki Athinahappan, and so forth. Feelings of patriotism and of love for the nation were generated within the masses by the INA. INA has positively impacted the culture and society of India in many ways and helped to forge a community of harmony and a desire for independence....

Indian National Army after World War II

The surviving members of the INA were tried by the British government for treason and the trials took place at Red Fort. The public humiliation of the INA members backfired on the Britishers, as it started a new wave of nationalism, unseen previously in the national movement. The population of India was attracted to the soldiers as freedom fighters, rather than seeing them as negatives. There was mutiny with the British Indian Army, the most important being Royal Indian Navy. With this British realized, they were losing control of the basic pillar of their existence in India, the Indian army. At the same time, the Quit India movement began and the process of independence was accelerated which was the main aim of the INA....

How did INA collapse?

Logistics was very bad in shape there. There was no ammunition and food left with the army. Eventually, the Britishers conducted a series of  Air raids on all the occupied areas. Japan withdrew its forces in Imphal and INA lost the battle. The combined forces of INA and Japan had to retreat and they had to escape from the Indian National Front. In August 1945 it was aired that Netaji died in a Plane Crash. On September  2nd, 1945, World War 2 ended with the allied powers, i.e. Britain and America. With that, all the 16000 Pow were recaptured by Japan. Thus INA failed to achieve its ultimate objective which was Independence....

Conclusion

Indian National Army, although wasn’t able to secure the whole of the Indian territories, it did play an important part in the Indian struggle for freedom. Some steps taken by the British, like the Red fort trials, helped to ignite feelings of nationalism among the masses, and INA is remembered as one of the most important steps in the freedom struggle of India....

FAQs on Indian National Army

Question 1: Who is the founder of the Indian National Army?...