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{{short description|Indian provisional government in Japanese-occupied Singapore during World War II}}
{{about|the organisation formed during World War II in Singapore|the Provisional Government formed by Raja Mahendra Pratap during World War I|Provisional Government of India|the military unit raised during World War II in Nazi Germany|Indian Legion|the body created in 1946|Interim Government of India}}
{{EngvarB|date=March 2020}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2020}}
{{Infobox Former Country
| conventional_long_name = {{nowrap|Provisional Government of Free India}}
| native_name            = {{lang|hi-Latn|ʻĀrẓī Ḥukūmat-e-Āzād Hind}}
| common_name            = Azad Hind Fauj
| era                    = World War II
| year_start             = 1943
| date_start             = 21 October
| date_end               = 18 August
| year_end               = 1945
| p1                     = British Raj{{!}}British India
| flag_p1                = British Raj Red Ensign.svg
| s1                     = British Raj{{!}}British India
| flag_s1                = British Raj Red Ensign.svg
| today                  = [[India]]
| languages_type         = Official language<br />{{Nobold|and national language}}
| languages              = [[Hindustani language|Hindustani]]<ref>{{cite web|title=Seal of Azad Hind|url=https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Seal_of_the_Provisional_Government_of_Free_India.png}}</ref>
| image_flag             = 1931 Flag of India.svg
| flag_type              = [[Flag of India|Flag]] (''de facto'')
| image_coat             = File:Interpreted Azad Hind Gov. emblem.svg
| coat_type              = 
| symbol_type            = [[Emblem of India|Emblem]]<ref>{{cite book | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_ACwkShmNzUC | title=The Springing Tiger: A Study of the Indian National Army and of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose | isbn=978-81-8424-392-5 | last1=Toye | first1=Hugh | date=2009 | publisher=Allied Publishers }}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=https://archive.org/details/azad-hind-gazette-PGAH | title=Azad Hind Gazette }}</ref>
| other_symbol           = <div style="padding:0.3em;">[[File:Seal of Azad Hind.svg|90px]]</div>
| other_symbol_type      = Seal
| image_map              = Free India orthographic map.png
| image_map_caption      = {{ubl|Light green: Claimed territory|Dark green: Controlled territory (with Imperial Japanese assistance)}}
| national_anthem        = {{ubl|[[Hindustani language|Hindustani]]: {{lang|hi-Latn|[[Shubh Sukh Chain]]}} |'auspicious happiness'|{{center|}} }}
| motto                  = {{ubl|[[Hindustani language|Hindustani]]: {{lang|hi-Latn|Ittehad, Itmad aur Qurbani}} |'Unity, Faith and Sacrifice' }}
| capital                = {{ubl| [[New Delhi]] (''de jure'')| [[Central Area, Singapore|Singapore]] (''de facto'')| [[Port Blair]] (''provisional'') }}
| title_leader           = [[President (government title)|President]]
| year_leader1           = 1943–1945
| leader1                = [[Subhas Chandra Bose]]
| status                 = [[Puppet state]] of the [[Empire of Japan]]<ref>[[Christopher Bayly|Bayly, C. A.]] & T. Harper ''Forgotten Armies. The Fall of British Asia 1941–5''. London 2004, p. 325.</ref><ref>Dasgupta. ''Red Sun over Black Water'', pp. 67, 87, 91–95; Mathur ''Kala Pani'', pp. 249–251</ref>
| government_type        = {{nowrap|[[Provisional government]]}}
| leader_title1          = [[President (government title)|President]]
| area_km2               = 30620
| stat_pop1              = 
| demonym                = [[Indian people|Indian]]
}}

The '''Provisional Government of Free India''' or, more simply, '''Azad Hind''',<ref name=":0">{{cite book |last=Rudolph |first=Lloyd I. |author2=Hoeber Rudolph, Susanne |title=Explaining Indian Democracy: The realm of institutions: state formation and institutional change |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]]; Original from: [[University of California Press]] |year=2008 |page=58 |isbn=978-0-19-569365-2}}</ref><ref name=":1">{{cite book |last=Ghose |first=Sankar |title=Political ideas and movements in India |publisher=Allied Publishers; Original from: [[University of Michigan Press]] |year=1975 |page=136 }}</ref> was a short-lived Japanese-controlled provisional government in India.<ref>{{cite book |last=Pant |first=H. V. |title=The Routledge Handbook of Indian Defence Policy: Themes, Structures and Doctrines |publisher=Taylor & Francis |year=2020 |isbn=978-1-000-07435-2 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=YbfjDwAAQBAJ |page=72}}</ref> It was established in [[Japanese occupation of Singapore|Japanese occupied Singapore]] during [[World War II]] in October 1943 and has been considered [[List of World War II puppet states|a puppet state]] of the [[Empire of Japan]].<ref>{{cite book |last1=Cribb |first1=R. |last2=Li |first2=N. |title=Imperial Japan and National Identities in Asia, 1895–1945 |publisher=Taylor & Francis |year=2020 |isbn=978-1-000-14401-7 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-pzyDwAAQBAJ |page=242|quote=Japanese postal authorities prepared stamps for use in the foreshadowed puppet state of Azad Hind}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Dunphy |first=J. J. |title=Unsung Heroes of the Dachau Trials: The Investigative Work of the U.S. Army 7708 War Crimes Group, 1945–1947 |publisher=McFarland, Incorporated, Publishers |year=2018 |isbn=978-1-4766-3337-4 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6tt8DwAAQBAJ |page=116|quote=Imperial Japan in 1943 had established a puppet state known as the Provisional Government of Free India}}</ref><ref name="toye" />

It was a part of the political movement originating in the 1940s outside India with the purpose of allying with the [[Axis powers]] to liberate India from [[British Raj|British rule]]. It was established by Indian nationalists in exile during the latter part of [[World War II]] in Singapore with monetary, military and political assistance from Imperial Japan.<ref name="toye">{{cite book|last=Toye|first=Hugh|title=The Springing Tiger: A Study of the Indian National Army and of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose|date=1959|publisher=Allied Publishers|isbn=978-8184243925|page=187|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_ACwkShmNzUC&pg=PA187}}</ref>

Founded on 21 October 1943, the government was inspired by the concepts of [[Subhas Chandra Bose]] who was also the leader of the government and [[head of state]]. The government proclaimed authority over Indian civilian and military personnel in Southeast Asian British colonial territory and prospective authority over Indian territory to fall to the Japanese forces and the [[Indian National Army]] during the [[Burma Campaign#First Arakan campaign|Japanese thrust towards India]]. The government of Azad Hind had its own currency, court and civil code, and in the eyes of some Indians, its existence gave a greater importance to the independence struggle against the British.<ref name="Singh102">Singh, Harkirat (2003). ''The INA trial and the Raj''. Atlantic Publishers & Distributors, pp. 102–103. {{ISBN|81-269-0316-3}}</ref><ref name=":3b">{{citation|last=Sarkar|first=S.|year=1983|title=Modern India: 1885–1947|place=Delhi|publisher=Macmillan India|isbn=978-0-333-90425-1|page=[https://archive.org/details/modernindia1885100sark/page/412 412]|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/modernindia1885100sark/page/412}}</ref><ref name="Bandyopadhyaya428">Bandyopādhyāẏa, Śekhara (2004). ''From Plassey to partition''. Orient Blackswan, p. 428. {{ISBN|81-250-2596-0}}</ref> Japan also handed over nominal authority of the [[Japanese occupation of the Andaman Islands|Japanese occupied Andaman and Nicobar Islands]] in 1943, though the government continued to be dependent on Japanese support.

Immediately after the formation of the provisional government, Free India declared war against the [[Allies of World War II|Allied forces]] on the Indo-Burma Front.<ref name=":4">Pandit, H. N. (1988) ''Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose'', Sterling Publishers, New Delhi, p. 331.</ref> Its army, the [[Indian National Army]] (''Azad Hind Fauj''), went into action against the [[British Indian Army]] and the allied forces as part of the [[Imperial Japanese Army]] in the Imphal-Kohima sector. The INA had its first major engagement at the [[Battle of Imphal]] where, under the command of the [[Fifteenth Army (Japan)|Japanese Fifteenth Army]], it breached the British defences in Kohima, reaching the salient of [[Moirang]] before suffering a catastrophic defeat as the Allied forces held, and Allied air dominance and compromised supply lines forced both the Japanese and the INA to retreat.<ref name=":5">Das, S. "Indian National Army in South East Asia". ''The Hindustan Times''. Special Edition. {{cite web|url=http://www.hindustantimes.com/news/specials/Netaji/enlisting3.htm |title=Hindustan Times – Archive News |access-date=28 November 2007 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070930040644/http://www.hindustantimes.com/news/specials/Netaji/enlisting3.htm |archive-date=30 September 2007 }}</ref> The existence of Azad Hind was essentially coterminous with the existence of the Indian National Army. While the government itself continued until the civil administration of the Andaman Islands was returned to the jurisdiction of the [[British Raj|British]] towards the end of the war, the limited power of Azad Hind was effectively ended with the surrender of the last major contingent of INA troops in [[Yangon|Rangoon]]. The [[Death of Subhas Chandra Bose|death of Bose]] is seen as the end of the entire Azad Hind Movement.<ref name=":4" /><ref name="toye" />

The legacy of Azad Hind is, however, open to judgment. After the war, the Raj observed with alarm the transformation of the perception of Azad Hind from traitors and collaborators to liberators.<ref>Edwardes, Michael (1964). ''The Last Years of British India'', Cleveland, World Pub. Co., p. 93: {{qi|The Government of India had hoped, by prosecuting members of the INA, to reinforce the morale of the Indian army. It succeeded only in creating unease, in making the soldiers feel slightly ashamed that they themselves had supported the British. If Bose and his men had been on the right side – and all India now confirmed that they were – then Indians in the Indian army must have been on the wrong side. It slowly dawned upon the Government of India that the backbone of the British rule, the Indian army, might now no longer be trustworthy. The ghost of Subhas Bose, like Hamlet's father, walked the battlements of the Red Fort (where the INA soldiers were being tried), and his suddenly amplified figure overawed the conference that was to lead to independence.}}</ref><ref name=":6">{{Cite encyclopedia |encyclopedia=Encyclopædia Britannica |url=https://www.britannica.com/ebi/article-9311795 |title=Indian National army}}</ref> After returning to India the veterans of the INA posed a difficult problem for the British government. The British feared that a public trial for treason on the part of the INA members might embolden anti-British sentiment and erupt into widespread protest and violence. The [[British Empire]], which was seriously threatened by the INA, charged 300 INA officers with treason in the [[INA trials]], but eventually backtracked in the face of opposition by the Congress.<ref>{{cite book|last=Moreman|first=Tim|title=The Jungle, Japanese and the British Commonwealth Armies at War, 1941–45: Fighting Methods, Doctrine and Training for Jungle Warfare|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=bsoy_-Ep_0EC|year=2013|publisher=Routledge|isbn=978-1-135-76456-2}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last=Marston|first=Daniel|title=The Indian Army and the End of the Raj|series=Cambridge Studies in Indian History and Society, 23|publisher=Cambridge University Press|year=2014|isbn=978-0-521-89975-8|author-link=Daniel Marston (historian)}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Singh |first=H. |title=The INA Trial and the Raj |publisher=Atlantic Publishers & Distributors |year=2003 |isbn=978-81-269-0316-0 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=P53UqWnGrOgC&pg=PA98 |page=98}}</ref><ref name=":6"/>

== Establishment ==
[[File:Subhas Chandra Bose proclaims the Provisional Government of Free India on 21 October 1943, Singapore.jpg|thumb|[[Subhash Chandra Bose]] proclaims the Provisional Government of Free India on 21 October 1943, Singapore]]
[[File:Bundesarchiv Bild 146-1985-130-30, Berlin, Gründung Zentrale "Freies Indien".jpg|thumb|250px|right| National celebration at the founding of the Provisional National Indian government at the Free India Center, Berlin, with [[Secretary of State#Germany|Secretary of State]] [[Wilhelm Keppler]] speaking, on 16 November 1943.]]
The direct origins of Azad Hind can be linked to two conferences of Indian expatriates from across Southeast Asia, the first of which was held in Tokyo in March 1942.<ref>{{Cite book|title=From policemen to revolutionaries: a Sikh diaspora in global Shanghai, 1885–1945|last=Cao|first=Yin|publisher=Brill|year=2017|isbn=9789004344082|location=Leiden|pages=144–145|oclc=982651998}}</ref> At this conference, convened by [[Rash Behari Bose]], an Indian expatriate living in Japan, the [[Indian Independence League]] was established as the first move towards an independent Indian state politically aligned with the [[Empire of Japan]]. Rash also moved to create a sort of independence army that would assist in driving the British from India – this force would later become the Indian National Army. The second conference, held later that year in Bangkok, invited [[Subhas Chandra Bose]] to participate in the leadership of the League. Bose was living in Germany at the time and made the trip to Japan via submarine.<ref>{{Cite web|title={Indian National Army: Provisional Government of Azad Hind}|url=https://www.nas.gov.sg/archivesonline/online_exhibit/indian_national_army/provi.htm|access-date=2022-01-23|website=www.nas.gov.sg}}</ref>

Rash Behari Bose, who was already ageing by the time the League was founded, struggled to keep the League organised and failed to secure resources for the establishment of the Indian National Army. He was replaced as president of the Indian Independence League by Subhas Chandra Bose; there is some controversy as to whether he stepped down of his own volition or by pressure from the Japanese who needed a more energetic and focused presence leading the Indian nationalists.<ref>{{Cite web|date=2021-10-21|title=Azad Hind Formation Anniversary: Interesting Facts about Azad Hind Fauj and Subhas Chandra Bose|url=https://www.firstpost.com/india/azad-hind-formation-anniversary-interesting-facts-about-azad-hind-fauj-and-subhas-chandra-bose-10071231.html|access-date=2022-01-23|website=Firstpost|language=en}}</ref>

Bose arrived in Tokyo on 13 June 1943 and declared his intent to make an assault against the eastern provinces of India in an attempt to oust the British from control of the subcontinent. Bose arrived in Singapore on 2 July, and in October 1943 formally announced the establishment of the Provisional Government of Free India at the [[Cathay Building|Cathay Cinema Hall]]. In defining the tasks of this new political establishment, Subhas declared: {{qi|It will be the task of the Provisional Government to launch and conduct the struggle that will bring about the expulsion of the British and their allies from the soil of India.}}<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.aicc.org.in/indian_national_army.php |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090423194421/http://www.aicc.org.in/indian_national_army.php |archive-date=23 April 2009 |title=Indian National Army|publisher=aicc.org.in}}</ref> Bose, taking formal command of the demoralised and undermanned Indian National Army from Rash Bose, turned it into a professional army with the help of the Japanese. He recruited Indian civilians living in Japanese-occupied territories of South-east Asia and incorporated vast numbers of Indian POWs from British forces in Singapore, Malaya and Hong Kong to man the brigades of the INA.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Azad Hind Formation Anniversary|url=https://www.drishtiias.com/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/azad-hind-formation-anniversary|access-date=2022-01-23|website=Drishti IAS|language=en}}</ref>

== Ministers ==
The Provisional Government of Free India consisted of a Cabinet headed by [[Subhas Chandra Bose]] as the Head of the State, The Prime Minister and the Minister for War and Foreign Affairs.{{citation needed|date=February 2022}}

Captain Dr. [[Lakshmi Swaminadhan]] (later married as [[Lakshmi Sahgal]]) was the Minister in Charge of Women's Organization. She held this position over and above her command of the Rani Jhansi Regiment, a brigade of women soldiers fighting for the Indian National Army. For a regular Asian army, this women's regiment was quite visionary; it was the first of its kind established on the continent. Lakshmi was one of the most popular and prosperous gynaecologists in [[Singapore]] before she gave up her practice to lead the troops of the [[Rani of Jhansi Regiment]].

Other public administration ministers of the Provisional Government of Free India included:
* [[Lakshmi Swaminadhan]] – The Minister in Charge of Women's Organization
* [[S. A. Ayer]] – The Minister of Broadcasting and Publicity
* Lt. Col. A. C. Chatterji – The Minister of Finance

The Indian National Army was represented by Armed Forces ministers, including:
* Lt. Col. Aziz Ahmed<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://a2o.nas.sg/a2o/public/html/online_exhibit/indian_national_army/provi.htm |title=Indian National Army|publisher=nas.sg |access-date=15 July 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131102012053/http://a2o.nas.sg/a2o/public/html/online_exhibit/indian_national_army/provi.htm |archive-date=2 November 2013 |url-status=dead }}</ref>
* Lt. Col. N. S. Bhagat
* Lt. Col. [[Jaganath Rao Bhonsle|J. K. Bhonsle]]
* Lt. Col. Guizara Singh
* Lt. Col. [[M. Z. Kiani]]
* Lt. Col. [[A. D. Loganathan]]
* Lt. Col. Ehsan Qadir
* Lt. Col. [[Shah Nawaz Khan (general)|Shahnawaz Khan]]

The Provisional Government was also constituted and administered by a number of Secretaries and Advisors to Subhas Chandra Bose, including:
* Capt. Dilip Singh Siwach
* A. M. Sahay – Secretary
* [[Karim Ghani]]
* Debnath Das
* D. M. Khan
* A. Yellapa
* [[J. Thivy]]
* Sardar Ishar Singh Narula
* A. N. Sarkar – the government's official Legal Advisor

All of these Secretaries and Advisory officials held Ministerial rank in the Provisional Government. The extent of the Provisional Government's day-to-day management of affairs for Azad Hind is not entirely well-documented, so their specific functions as government officials for the state outside their positions as support ministers for Subhas Chandra Bose is not entirely certain.

== Recognition ==
[[File:Greater East Asia Conference.JPG|thumb|300px|[[Greater East Asia Conference]] in November 1943, participants left to right: [[Ba Maw]], [[Zhang Jinghui]], [[Wang Jingwei]], [[Hideki Tojo]], [[Wan Waithayakon]], [[José P. Laurel]], [[Subhas Chandra Bose]].]]
Azad Hind was recognised as a legitimate state by only a small number of countries limited solely to Axis powers and their allies.<ref name="Recognition">{{cite web |title=Indian National Army : Provisional Government of Azad Hind |url=https://www.nas.gov.sg/archivesonline/online_exhibit/indian_national_army/provi.htm |publisher=National Archives of Singapore |access-date=25 May 2020 |archive-date=31 December 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221231145132/https://www.nas.gov.sg/archivesonline/online_exhibit/indian_national_army/provi.htm |url-status=dead }}</ref> Azad Hind had diplomatic relations with nine countries: [[Nazi Germany]], the [[Empire of Japan]], [[Italian Social Republic]], and [[Wang Jingwei Government]], [[Thailand in World War II|Thailand]], the [[State of Burma]], [[Manchukuo]] and the [[Second Philippine Republic]].<ref name="Relations">{{cite news |title=Can we declare Bose as India's first head of the state of a provisional government? |url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/blogs/indus-calling/can-we-declare-bose-as-indias-first-head-of-the-state-of-a-provisional-government/ |access-date=25 May 2020 |work=The Times of India |agency=he Times Group |publisher=Bennett, Coleman & Co. Ltd. |date=20 October 2018}}</ref>  [[Vichy France]], however, although being an Axis collaborator, never gave formal political recognition to Azad Hind. This government participated as an observer in the [[Greater East Asia Conference]] in November 1943.<ref>{{Cite web|date=2021-10-21|title=Explained: Why Azad Hind Diwas Is Celebrated On October 21|url=https://www.indiatimes.com/explainers/news/on-october-21-the-anniversary-of-the-formation-of-azad-hind-government-is-celebrated-552243.html|access-date=2022-01-23|website=IndiaTimes|language=en-IN}}</ref>

== Government administration and World War II ==
{{Main|Indian National Army|India during World War II|Invasion and Occupation of the Andaman Islands during World War II}}
The same night that Bose declared the existence of Azad Hind, the government took action to declare war against the United States and Britain. The government consisted of a Cabinet ministry acting as an advisory board to Subhas Bose, who was given the title "Netaji" (translating roughly to "leader") and was no doubt the dominant figure in the Provisional Government. He exercised virtual authoritarian control over the government and the army. With regards to the government's first issuances of war declarations, Hugh Toye writes:{{r|toye|p=91}} {{blockquote|The Cabinet had not been unanimous about the inclusion of the U.S.A. Bose had shown impatience and displeasure – there was never any question then or later of his absolute authority: the Cabinet had no responsibility and could only tender advice{{nbsp}}...}}

[[File:Azad Hind Currency.jpg|thumb|right|Currency issued by the [[Azad Hind Bank]]]]
At the end of October 1943, Bose flew to Tokyo to participate in the Greater East Asia Conference as an observer to Japan's [[Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere]]; it could not function as a delegate because India had technically fallen outside the jurisdiction of Japan's definition of "Greater East Asia", but Bose gave speeches in opposition to Western colonialism and imperialism at the conference. By the end of the conference, Azad Hind had been given a limited form of governmental jurisdiction over the [[Andaman and Nicobar Islands]], which had been captured by the [[Imperial Japanese Navy]] early on in the war.<ref name=":3b" />

[[File:Azadhindpostage.jpg|thumb|right|[[Azad Hind Stamps|Unreleased postage stamps]] of the Azad Hind government]]

Once under the jurisdiction of Azad Hind, the islands formed the government's first claims to territory. The islands themselves were renamed "Shaheed" and "Swaraj", meaning "martyr" and "self-rule" respectively. Bose placed the islands under the governorship of [[Lt Col A. D Loganathan]],<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.yorozubp.com/netaji/75birthday/dhillon.htm |title=The Last Straw That Broke the Back of the British Empire |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20030605082123/http://www.yorozubp.com/netaji/75birthday/dhillon.htm |archive-date=5 June 2003}}</ref> and had limited involvement with the official governorship of the territory, instead involving himself in plans to expand the [[Indian National Army]], ensure adequate men and materiel, and formulate its course of actions and the administrations and relations of the Indian population in southeast Asia and determining Japanese designs in India and his provisional government. In theory, the government itself had the power to levy taxes on the local populace, and to make and enforce laws: in practice, they were enforced by the police force under Japanese control. Indians were willing to pay these taxes at first but became less inclined to do so towards the end of the war when the Provisional Government enacted legislation for higher war-time taxes to fund the INA. During his interrogation after the war, Loganathan admitted that he had only had full control over the islands' vestigial education department, as the Japanese had retained full control over the police force, and in protest, he had refused to accept responsibility for any other areas of Government. He was powerless to prevent the [[Homfreyganj massacre]] of 30 January 1944, where forty-four Indian civilians were shot by the Japanese on suspicion of spying. Many of them were members of the [[Indian Independence League]], whose leader in [[Port Blair]], Diwan Singh, had already been tortured to death in the [[Cellular Jail]] after doing his best to protect the islanders from Japanese atrocities during the first two years of the occupation.<ref name=":2">Dasgupta, Jayant (2002) ''Japanese in Andaman & Nicobar Islands. Red Sun over Black Water''. Delhi: Manas Publications. pp. 67, 87, 91–95. {{ISBN|9788170491385}}</ref><ref>Mathur, L. P. (1985). ''Kala Pani. History of the Andaman & Nicobar Islands with a study of India's Freedom Struggle''. Delhi: Eastern Book Corporation, pp. 249–251.</ref>

Azad Hind's military forces in the form of the INA saw some successes against the British and moved with the Japanese army to lay siege to the town of [[Imphal]] in eastern India. Plans to march towards [[Delhi]], gaining support and fresh recruits along the way, stalled both with the onset of monsoon season and the failure to capture Imphal. British [[bombing]] seriously reduced morale, and the Japanese along with the INA forces began their withdrawal from India.<ref name=":5" />

In addition to these setbacks, the INA was faced with a formidable challenge when the troops were left to defend [[Rangoon]] without the assistance of the Japanese in the winter of 1944–1945. Loganathan was relocated from the Andaman Islands to act as field commander. With the INA garrison about 6,000 strong, he manned the Burmese capital in the absence of any other police force or troops during the period between the departure of the Japanese and the arrival of the British. He was successful in maintaining law and order to the extent that there was not a single reported case of [[dacoit]]y or of looting during the period from 24 April to 4 May 1945.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":6" />

== Indian areas under the administration of the Provisional Government ==
Almost all of the territory of the Provisional Government lay in the Andaman Islands, although the Provisional Government was allowed some authority over Indian enclaves in Japanese-occupied territories. Provisional Government civil authority was never enacted in areas occupied by the INA; instead, Japanese military authority prevailed and responsibility for administration of occupied areas of India was shared between the Japanese and the Indian forces.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Azad Hind Formation Anniversary: Facts about Azad Hind Fauj and Subhas Chandra Bose|url=https://www.timesnownews.com/the-buzz/article/azad-hind-formation-anniversary-facts-about-azad-hind-fauj-and-subhas-chandra-bose/825342|access-date=2022-01-23|website=www.timesnownews.com|date=21 October 2021 |language=en}}</ref>

== INA defeat and Provisional Government collapse ==
Left to defend Rangoon from the British advance without support from the Japanese, the INA was soundly defeated. Bose was suggested to leave Burma to continue his struggle for Indian independence and returned to Singapore before the fall of Rangoon; the government Azad Hind had established on the Andaman and Nicobar Islands collapsed when the island garrisons of Japanese and Indian troops were defeated by British troops and the islands themselves retaken. Allegedly Bose himself was killed in a plane crash departing from [[Taiwan]] attempting to escape to the Soviet Union. The Provisional Government of Free India ceased to exist with the deaths of the Axis, the INA, and the disappearance of Bose in 1945.

[[File:2 Annas Token currency (Unclassified exonumia › Miscellaneous token), minted in August 1947 in remembrance of the Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose led Azad Hind Government, photo taken by Yogabrata Chakraborty.jpg|thumb|Two Annas Token currency, minted in August 1947, in remembrance of the Azad Hind]]

The troops who manned the brigades of the Indian National Army were taken as [[prisoners of war]] by the British. A number of these prisoners were brought to India and tried by British courts for treason, including a number of high-ranking officers such as Colonel Gurbaksh Singh Dhillon. The defence of these individuals from [[prosecution]] by the British became a central point of contention between the [[British Raj]] and the [[Indian Independence Movement]] in the post-war years.<ref>{{Cite web|title=नेताजी की जयंती: यूं अस्तित्व में आई आजाद हिंद फौज, पंजाब के जनरल मोहन सिंह ने की थी स्थापना|url=https://www.amarujala.com/chandigarh/netaji-s-birth-anniversary-azad-hind-fauj-came-into-existence-like-this-was-founded-by-general-mohan-singh-of-punjab|access-date=2022-01-23|website=Amar Ujala|language=hi}}</ref>

== Relations with the Axis Powers ==
{{see also|Collaboration with Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy|Collaboration with Imperial Japan}}
{{multiple image |perrow=2 |total_width=400
| caption_align = center
| align = left
| image_style = border:none;
| image1 = Bundesarchiv Bild 101III-Alber-064-03A, Subhas Chandra Bose bei Heinrich Himmler.jpg
| image2 = Subhas Chandra Bose meeting Adolf Hitler.jpg
| footer = (left) Bose with [[Heinrich Himmler]], the Nazi Minister of Interior, head of the [[Schutzstaffel|SS]], and the [[Gestapo]], 1942; (right) Subhas Bose shaking hands with [[Adolf Hitler]]
}}
Since [[Subhas Chandra Bose]] aligned with [[Empire of Japan]] and the [[Axis Powers]], which also included [[Nazi Germany]] and [[Fascist Italy (1922-1943)|Fascist Italy]], Britain portrayed him as a controversial figure for his official stance against [[imperialism]] which would run in opposition against Japanese imperialism in Asia during World War II. Bose himself claimed to oppose all manner of colonial practices but claimed Britain as [[hypocritical]] in {{qi|fighting a war for democracy}} while refusing to extend the same respect for democracy and equal rights to their colonial subjects in India. Bose opposed [[Racial Equality Proposal, 1919|British racial policy]] and declared [[Greater East Asia Conference#Joint Declaration|working for the abolition of racial discrimination]] with [[Burma|Burmese]], Japanese and other Asians.<ref>{{Cite news|title=After Centre's rejection, Netaji tableau to be displayed at Kolkata Republic Day programme|work=The Economic Times|url=https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/politics-and-nation/after-centres-rejection-netaji-tableau-to-be-displayed-at-kolkata-republic-day-programme/articleshow/88980433.cms|access-date=2022-01-23}}</ref>

Britain accused Bose of [[fascism]], citing his role in the Provisional Government of Azad Hind as evidence of this; and pointed to him wanting to establish a [[totalitarian]] state in India with the blessings of the Axis powers. Bose believed that parliamentary democracy was unsuitable for India immediately after independence and that a centrally organised, self-sufficient, semi-socialist India under the firm control of a single party was the best course for Indian government. Some of his ideas would help shape Indian governmental policy in the aftermath of the country's independence from Britain.<ref>{{Cite news|title=Netaji had vision for economic strength of India, was champion of gender equality: Daughter|work=The Economic Times|url=https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/india/netaji-had-vision-for-economic-strength-of-india-was-champion-of-gender-equality-daughter/articleshow/89043872.cms|access-date=2022-01-23}}</ref>

It has been argued that the fact that Azad Hind was aligned politically with Japan and the Axis Powers may have had more to do with what Bose saw as a pragmatic approach to Indian independence. Disillusioned with Congress's non-violent movement, Bose was clearly of the camp that supported exploiting British weakness to gain Indian independence. Throughout the existence of Azad Hind, Bose sought to distance himself from Japanese collaboration and become more self-sufficient but found this difficult since the existence of Azad Hind as a governmental entity had only come about with the support of the Japanese, on whom the government and army of Azad Hind were entirely dependent. Bose, however, is considered a hero by some in present-day India and is remembered as a man who fought fiercely for Indian independence.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://sarvadharma.org/Museum/heroes/subbose.htm |title=Subhash Chandra Bose |access-date=16 February 2006 |archive-date=14 January 2006 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060114034900/http://sarvadharma.org/Museum/heroes/subbose.htm |url-status=dead }}</ref> However, Subhas Chandra Bose had supported Fascism and Nazism before the start of WWII, declaring that India needed {{qi|a synthesis of what modern Europe calls socialism and fascism}} in a speech in made in Calcutta in 1930.<ref>Pasricha, Ashu (2008). "The Political Thought of Subhas Chandra Bose". ''Encyclopaedia Eminent Thinkers'', 16, Concept Publishing Company.</ref>

Although Japanese troops saw much of the combat in India against the British, the INA was certainly by itself an effective combat force, having faced British and allied troops and making their mark in the [[Battle of Imphal]]. On 18 April 1944 the suicide squad led by Col. Shaukat Malik broke through the British defence and captured [[Moirang]] in Manipur. The Azad Hind administration took control of this independent Indian territory.<ref name=":7">''The Hindustan Times'' {{cite web|url=http://www.hindustantimes.com/news/specials/Netaji/enlisting9.htm |title=Hindustan Times – Archive News |access-date=8 July 2007 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070930014458/http://www.hindustantimes.com/news/specials/Netaji/enlisting9.htm |archive-date=30 September 2007 }}</ref> Following Moirang, the advancing INA breached the Kohima road, posing a threat to the British positions in both [[Silchar]] and [[Kohima]]. Col. Gulzara Singh's column had penetrated 250 miles into India. The Azad Brigade advanced, by outflanking the Anglo-American positions.<ref name=":8">Majumdar, R. C. (1978). ''Jibanera Smritideepe (Bengali)''. Calcutta, General Printers and Publishers, pp. 229–230.</ref>

However, INA's most serious, and ultimately fatal, limitations were the reliance on Japanese logistics and supplies and the total air-dominance of the allies, which, along with a supply line deluged by torrential rain, frustrated the INA's and the Japanese bid to take [[Imphal]].<ref name=":1" />

With the siege of Imphal failing, the Japanese began to shift priority for resource allocation from South Asia to the Pacific, where they were fighting United States troops advancing from island to island against Japanese holdings there. When it had become clear that Bose's plans to advance to Delhi from the borders of Burma would never materialise due to the defeat of the INA at [[Imphal]] and the halt of Japanese armies by British [[Air force|aerial]] and later [[naval]] superiority in the region, Japanese support for Azad Hind declined, and then fully collapsed with the surrender of Japan to the Americans on 2 September 1945.<ref name=":7" />

== See also ==
{{Portal|India}}
* [[Collaboration with Imperial Japan]]
* [[List of World War II puppet states]]
* [[List of Indian independence activists]]
* [[Subhas Chandra Bose]]
* [[Indian National Army]]
* [[Azad Hind Bank]]
* [[Azad Hind stamps]]
* [[Azad Hind Radio]]
* [[Decorations of Azad Hind]]
* [[Free India Centre]]
* [[Indian Legion]]
* [[Battaglione Azad Hindoustan]]
* [[Hindu–German Conspiracy]]

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

== External links ==
* {{cite web |url=http://www.yorozubp.com/netaji/75birthday/dhillon.htm |title=The Last Straw That Broke the Back of the British Empire |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20030605082123/http://www.yorozubp.com/netaji/75birthday/dhillon.htm |archive-date=5 June 2003}}
* [http://bengalonline.sitemarvel.com/netaji2.html Netaji Subhas Bose]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20060206034428/http://andaman.org/book/app-m/textm.htm Lecture notes on Bose]

{{Collaboration with Axis Powers}}
{{Azad Hind Fauj}}
{{Indian independence movement}}
{{States in the sphere of influence of Imperial Japan during World War II}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Azad Hind| ]]
[[Category:Axis powers]]
[[Category:Client states of the Empire of Japan]]
[[Category:Indian collaborators with Imperial Japan]]
[[Category:Indian independence movement]]
[[Category:Indian National Army]]
[[Category:Japanese occupation of Singapore]]
[[Category:Military history of India during World War II]]
[[Category:Provisional governments]]
[[Category:Resistance to the British Empire in World War II]]
[[Category:States and territories established in 1943]]
[[Category:States and territories disestablished in 1945]]
[[Category:Subhas Chandra Bose]]
[[Category:Organisations of Indian independence movement]]