Some exerpts from a grandson of an INA Army person: Courtesy Rediff.com (see the link above).
In post-Independent India the INA’s role was played down. The official evaluation was that its activities had little effect. Militarily speaking that was true because the army was not that well equipped, but the British made a great political mistake by putting three INA officers on trial at the Red Fort (in Delhi), expecting that people would look down on them as traitors. The opposite happened and the trial publicized the efforts of the INA, which had previously been censored.
Until the trial little had been known of the INA or the Government of India in exile in 1943 when they tried to send food to Bengal during the Great Famine. All of a sudden this trial made everything known and it revived the struggle for independence in India, which had been lagging because the leadership of the Congress party and other groups mostly had been imprisoned. Their efforts like the Quit India movement had not been successful and so this gave a new dawn to the movement.
As a consequence of the INA’s efforts, large numbers within the British Indian Army — which was not just British but for the most part Indian — became unreliable. There was a mutiny in Bombay (by the Royal Indian Navy), which showed the armed forces could not be depended on. The administrative system was what had controlled India and with the army unreliable the British realised India could not be held as a colony any more. This led to the transfer of power. It was meant to have taken place a few months later, but it was brought forward to August 1947.
You could therefore say the INA had this effect of destabilising the British hold on the Indian army and reviving the independence movement within India.
The INA certainly has its place in Indian history.
When the first few INA soldiers returned to India they were treated as heroes, but I must say in the later stages India has not treated them very well. The INA veterans were not recognised as army veterans and for a very long time they were not even recognised as freedom fighters, which meant that certain benefits such as a pension and free rail travel were denied to them. Many members of the INA were reduced to poverty and some of them died in hunger. These were simple people and could not find their way that easily in the country to which they returned.
India has not behaved towards this group in an honorable or fair way.
May
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5 comments
Santoshi Kotian says:
November 26, 2006 at 12:14 am (UTC 0 )
These Heroes,are still a far cry from the ones we already knew of.
Honouring unknown heroes is a distant fetch–but what about the Heroes we already know?
If Mahatma Gandhi was a Hero…Why is he being Garlanded with Shoes?—Is this our expression of Gratitude????
We knew that Subhash Chandra ji was somehwere around,These rumours were around since I was a child,What did we do about that.
What happend to that hero?,A movie is now based on that Hero..But is that all?,Infact Publicty and financial gain is acheived even at the cost of narrating a story about a Heroes life,But what happens about giving due Credit to the actual hero?.
Does anyone try to find the root cause behind the Political background on the disappearance of this hero?.Does anyone try to Bring him Back to light?
Recently there was a rumour that someone died in the north.
His age matches exactly with the age of SUBHASHJI ,they find a letter from him,written a few days prior to his death,that “My actual name is Subhash Chandra Bose..etc etc”.
The way the neibours narrated about this man,is he lived a very Mysteriously anonymous life…did not want to disclose his identity till he lived,lead a very secluded life…..
I guess Subhasji must be ashamed at the state of the Country that he so Passionately fought to be Freed…He did not want any acclaim,as he thought he had nothing to rejoice..Who knows???
But these are a few things that comes to ones mind.
May his soul rest in peace.
Santoshi Kotian.(Murrieta,CA)
MITHUN says:
December 1, 2007 at 3:14 am (UTC 0 )
JAI HIND MY NAME IS MITHUN FROM MYSORE I THINK WE HAD GO TO DELHI AND WE HAD TO FIGHT ABOUT MYSTERIOUS DEATH OF THE NETAJI. WE HAD TO FIGHT FOR OUR GREAT HERO IN FRONT OF POLITICIONS, THESE POLITICS DONT WANT TO DO ANY SEARCH ABOUT SUBASHJI BECAUSE OF VOTE.COMMON INDIA JAGO ? AND FIGHT FOR THE TRUTH.
Sanjay says:
January 2, 2008 at 7:18 pm (UTC 0 )
I have heard that Subhash Chandra Bose had died recently.” He had escaped the plane crash, he could survive the injuries. He left for Tamil Nadu and stayed in a vilage for the next 50-60 years. But before dying he said that his name was Netaji, for the proof, he showed his belongings which he bought. And now the Tamil Nadu government is not ready to disclose the news to the media.
Information feed back may please be submitted to the following address: sanjayjc1992@gmail.com.
Thank you.
Ahaudhry Raza Arshi Jamal says:
December 20, 2008 at 4:36 pm (UTC 0 )
Infact the greatesr Hero in the Modern time Independence of uor country. Though the country did not paid him the due respect he deserved. The real icon of national leader was Netaji, salams to him and may his soul rest in peace. If he there during independence the country would not have been divided and people would have known the value of independence which we recieved without blood. If it would have been achived with blood the value of blood would have been known to us.
JAI HIND
Chaudhry Raza Arshi Jamal
karthik says:
April 13, 2009 at 10:21 am (UTC 0 )
i have subash chandra bose thoughts