75th Year of Establishment of Azad Hind Government

Prelims level : Azad Hind Govt. Mains level : Contribution of AHG in Indian Independence
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Why in News?

  • Hon’ble PM will unveil the plaque to celebrate the 75th anniversary of the formation of Azad Hind Government, at the Red Fort, Delhi.

Azad Hind Government:

  • The Provisional Government of Free India, or, more simply, Free India (Azad Hind), was an Indian provisional government established in occupied Singapore in 1943.
  • C. Bose was the leader of Azad Hind Government (AHG) and also the Head of State of this Provisional Indian Government-in-exile.
  • It was established by Indian nationalists-in-exile during the latter part of the Second World War in Singapore with monetary, military and political assistance from Imperial Japan.
  • It was a part of the freedom movement, originating in 1940s outside India with a purpose of allying with Axis powers to free India from British rule.
  • Pertinently, the role of Azad Hind Fauj or the Indian National Army (INA) had been crucial in bequeathing a much-needed impetus to India’s struggle for Independence.

Administration of the AHG:

  • Azad Hind was recognised as a legitimate state by only a small number of countries limited solely to Axis powers and their allies. Azad Hind had diplomatic relations with nine countries: Nazi Germany, the Empire of Japan, Italian Social Republic, Independent State of Croatia and Wang Jingwei Government, Thailand, the State of Burma, Manchukuo and the Second Philippine Republic.

Territories under AHG:

  • AHG 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.
  • 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 respectively.

Collapse of AHG:

  • INA under the leadership of Bose got defeated severely at Rangoon due to lack of support of Japanese. Bose was suggested to leave Burma to continue his struggle for Indian independence and returned to Singapore before the fall of Rangoon.
  • The AHG govt in the islands collapsed when the island garrisons of Japanese and Indian troops were defeated by British troops and the islands themselves retaken.
  • The Provisional Government of Free India ceased to exist with the deaths of the Axis, the INA, and Bose in 1945.
  • It was followed by the Famous Trials at Red Fort. Importance of INA and AHG:
  • The true extent to which the AHG and INA activities weakened the very foundation of the British Empire in India was the sparking of mutiny among Indian Soldiers.
  • The Royal Indian Navy Mutiny made the British realize that the support of the Indian armed forces could no longer be relied upon.
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