New Delhi: India’s road towards freedom was extremely difficult and fraught with danger at every corner. It was a perilous journey, one that required numerous sacrifices from the bravehearts of this land and the steely determination of the oppressed people. But India was not alone in this journey, as several other countries extended their support to their struggle for Independence. Notably, Japan actively helped India to become free from British colonial rule with armed forces. How? Read on to find more.
How did Japan help India in its fight for freedom?
It began during World War II when the Axis and the Allied powers faced each other in a war that shook the entire human civilisation. Since India was a part of the British Empire, it was also made a part of the war and Indian soldiers fought the Japanese army on the Eastern front as Imperial Japan was an Axis power. India became the enemy of the Japanese Empire during the war as Japanese forces committed several atrocities and war crimes on the Burmese Front.
Indian National Army and Japan
Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose, the leader of the Indian National Army (INA) joined hands with Japan to gather help in forming the army and expanding it. Notably, it comprised mostly of war prisoners whom the Japanese forces had captured after Singapore’s fall in 1942. One of the main reasons behind their shifting loyalty was the harsh conditions of the Japanese camps for the Prisoner of War.
The INA also had volunteers from Southeast Asia’s Indian expatriates and Bose asked the Japanese to attack India along with the INA to liberate the country. Imperial Japan found the idea of having its western boundary controlled by a more friendly government attractive and never expected India to be part of its Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere. Hence, it agreed to help. The Japanese government helped in forming and organising the INA and helped the INA units in many battles, including the Battle of Imphal and the Battle of Kohima. In the end, however, the British troops emerged as victorious as the Japanese forces were pushed back and the INA was completely routed.
Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose, the leader of the Indian National Army (INA) joined hands with Japan to gather help in forming the army and expanding it. Notably, it comprised mostly of war prisoners whom the Japanese forces had captured after Singapore’s fall in 1942. knowledge Knowledge News, Photos and Videos on General Knowledge
