Azad Hind Formation Anniversary

Context

The anniversary of the formation of the Azad Hind Government is celebrated on 21st October  every year.

• The day marks the announcement of India's first independent provisional government named Azad Hind Government.

Key-Points

• On 21st October 1943, Subash Chandra Bose announced the formation of the Interim Government of Azad Hind (Free India) in Singapore, with him as Head of State, Prime Minister and Minister of Defense.

• The Interim Government not only enabled Bose to negotiate equally with the Japanese but also facilitated the mobilization of East Asian Indians to join and support the Indian National Army (INA).

• The liberation struggle was fought by Subhash Chandra Bose abroad. He found that the outbreak of World War II (1939-45) was a good opportunity to strike for Indian independence.
• Bose had been put under house arrest in 1940 but he managed to escape to Berlin on 28th March, 1941. The Indian community there acclaimed him as the leader (Netaji). He was greeted with ‘Jai Hind’ (Salute to the motherland).
• In 1942, the Indian Independence League was formed and a decision was made to establish the Indian National Army (INA) to liberate India.
• With an invitation from Ras Bihari Bose, Subash Chandra Bose came to East Asia on June 13, 1943. He was made president of the Indian Independence League and INA leader known as 'Azad Hind Fauj'.
  • The INA was first built under Mohan Singh and Major Major Iwaichi Fujiwara and there were Indian prisoners of the British-Indian Army army captured by Japan in the Malayan (modern-day Malaysia) and Singapore campaigns.
  • In November 1945, the British move to prosecute INA men quickly sparked widespread protests across the country.
• He gave the famous battle cry 'Chalo Dilli'. He promised to stand up for the Indians by saying, ‘tum mujhe khoon do, main tumhe Azadi dunga’ (You give me blood, I will give you freedom).

About Subhash Chandra Bose

• Subhas Chandra Bose was born on 23 January 1897, in Cuttack, Orissa Division, Bengal province, to Prabhavati Dutt Bose and Janakinath Bose.
• By 1919, he had canceled the Indian Civil Services (ICS) examination. Bose, however, resigned later.
• He was greatly influenced by the teachings of Vivekananda and regarded him as his spiritual Guru.
• His political adviser was Chittaranjan Das.
• He worked as the editor of Das newspaper, Forward, and later founded his own newspaper, Swaraj.
• He represented an unqualified swaraj (independence), and opposed the Motilal Nehru Report which spoke for dominion status for India.
• He actively participated in the 1930's Salt Satyagraha and strongly opposed the formation of the Civil Disobedience Movement and the signing of the Gandhi-Irwin Pact in 1931.
• In the 1930s, he was closely associated with left politics in Congress along with Jawaharlal Nehru and M.N. Roy.
• Bose won the Haripura presidential election in 1938.
• He again in 1939 in Tripuri, won the presidential election against his predecessor Gandhi Pattabhi Sitaramayya. Due to differences of opinion with Gandhi, Bose resigned and left the conference. Rajendra Prasad was appointed in his place.
• He has formed a new party, 'Forward Bloc'. The purpose was to consolidate the political left and major support base in his home state Bengal.
• He reportedly died in 1945 when his plane crashed in Taiwan. However, there are still many theories about his death.