Revolutionary Nationalism, INA & Subhas Chandra Bose

Revolutionary Nationalism vs Gandhian Non-Violence

Two major ideological strands shaped India's freedom struggle:

Both streams were complementary — revolutionary martyrdoms mobilised public opinion that Gandhian campaigns channelled into political pressure.

Early Revolutionary Groups — Bengal

Bengal was the cradle of revolutionary nationalism in India:

Anushilan Samiti (est. 1902):

• Founded by Satish Chandra Bose and Pramathanath Mitra in Calcutta
• Initially a fitness and cultural organisation that evolved into a revolutionary body
• Promoted physical training as preparation for armed resistance
• Two branches: Calcutta Anushilan (moderate) and Dhaka Anushilan (more militant)
• Produced revolutionaries like Aurobindo Ghosh, Bagha Jatin (Jatin Mukherjee)
• Participated in the Partition of Bengal (1905) agitation and Swadeshi movement

Yugantar (est. 1906):

• Militant wing that split from Anushilan Samiti
• Yugantar (meaning "New Age") — a Bengali revolutionary newspaper that became the movement's voice
• Key figure: Bagha Jatin (Jatindranath Mukherjee) — died in the famous Balasore Battle (1915)
• Alipore Bomb Case (1908): Aurobindo Ghosh tried; acquitted; retired to spiritual life in Pondicherry

Hindustan Republican Association (HRA) and HSRA

Kakori Conspiracy (1925)

Significance: The Kakori Conspiracy galvanised a new generation of revolutionaries. Bhagat Singh was deeply influenced by the martyrdom of Bismil and Ashfaqullah Khan (notable for their Hindu-Muslim unity in death).

Bhagat Singh and the Lahore Conspiracy Case

Background

• Born: 27 September 1907, village of Banga, Lyallpur district, Punjab
• Inspired by Kakori martyrs; joined HRA → HSRA
• Founding member of the reorganised Hindustan Socialist Republican Association (HSRA, 1928)

Key Actions

Saunders Assassination (1928):

• Lala Lajpat Rai died after a police lathi charge during anti-Simon Commission protests (October 1928)
• HSRA decided to avenge his death
• On 17 December 1928, Bhagat Singh, Shivaram Rajguru, and others shot John P. Saunders (Assistant Superintendent of Police, Lahore) outside the District Police Headquarters — intending to kill J.A. Scott (Superintendent of Police), who had ordered the lathi charge

Central Legislative Assembly Bombing (April 1929):

• On 8 April 1929, Bhagat Singh and Batukeshwar Dutt threw two low-intensity smoke bombs in the Central Legislative Assembly, Delhi, to protest the passage of the Public Safety Bill and Trade Disputes Bill
• They did not flee; courted arrest; shouted "Inquilab Zindabad" (Long Live the Revolution)
• Bhagat Singh's statement: "It takes a loud noise to make the deaf hear" — referring to the British government
• The bombing was intended for publicity, not casualties; none were injured

Hunger Strike (1929):

• While in jail, Bhagat Singh and other revolutionaries undertook a prolonged hunger strike demanding political prisoner status
• The hunger strike lasted 63 days; Jatindra Nath Das (fellow prisoner) died on 13 September 1929 after 63 days of fasting — his martyrdom shocked India

Execution:

• Convicted in the Lahore Conspiracy Case for Saunders' murder
• Sentenced to death along with Sukhdev Thapar and Shivaram Rajguru
• Hanged on 23 March 1931 at Lahore Central Jail — one day earlier than the scheduled date (24 March), to avoid mass protests
• Bhagat Singh was 23 years old at the time of his martyrdom

Chandrashekhar Azad

Chittagong Armoury Raid (1930)

Subhas Chandra Bose — Early Career

Bose in Europe (1941–1943) and Japanese Connection

Berlin (April 1941 – February 1943):

• Arrived in Nazi Germany via the USSR and Afghanistan
• Met Hitler once (May 1942) — the meeting was unproductive; Hitler gave no concrete help
• Organised the Free India Centre (Azad Hind) in Berlin
• Broadcast anti-British messages on Azad Hind Radio
• Formed Indian Legion (Indische Legion) — a unit of ~3,000 Indian POWs from North Africa, under German command

Transfer to Japan (1943):

• Undertook a dangerous submarine journey — German U-boat to Japanese I-boat handover in the Indian Ocean (April–May 1943)
• Arrived in Southeast Asia (Tokyo, then Singapore) in July 1943

Indian National Army (INA) / Azad Hind Fauj

First INA (1942)

• Formed by Captain Mohan Singh from Indian POWs captured after the fall of Singapore (February 1942)
• Organised under Rash Behari Bose (an older revolutionary who had fled to Japan in 1915) at the Indian Independence League
• First INA collapsed by December 1942 after Mohan Singh was arrested by the Japanese due to tensions over the INA's autonomy

Second INA (1943) — Bose's INA

Azad Hind Government (1943)

INA Campaigns — Imphal and Kohima (1944)

The INA, together with the Japanese Army, launched the Imphal-Kohima Campaign (codenamed Operation U-Go / "March on Delhi") in March 1944:

• INA and Japanese forces crossed from Burma into Manipur
• Moirang (Manipur) — INA hoisted the Indian national flag on 14 April 1944 — the first raising of the tricolour on Indian soil by an Indian force (though under Japanese aegis)
• The battles of Imphal and Kohima (March–July 1944) were among the largest land battles of WWII
• Japanese and INA forces were defeated due to supply failures, British air superiority, and the monsoon
• Retreat from Imphal-Kohima was catastrophic — thousands died of starvation and disease
• The campaign effectively ended the INA's offensive capability

INA Trials (1945–46)

After Japan's surrender (August 1945), ~20,000 INA soldiers surrendered or were captured by British forces.

Red Fort Trials:

• The British government decided to try INA officers for treason and war crimes at Red Fort, Delhi (November 1945 onwards)
• First batch: Shah Nawaz Khan (Muslim), P.K. Sahgal (Hindu), Gurbaksh Singh Dhillon (Sikh) — deliberately chosen to represent communal unity
• Defence counsel: Bhulabhai Desai (Congress) led the defence; assisted by Jawaharlal Nehru and Tej Bahadur Sapru; Nehru wore his barrister's gown for the first time in decades

Public reaction:

• Massive public outrage across India — INA soldiers seen as heroes, not traitors
• "INA Defence Fund" raised crores
• Congress officially supported the INA soldiers
• The trials became a propaganda disaster for the British — every trial hearing amplified anti-British sentiment
• The British eventually released all INA prisoners and abandoned prosecutions

Royal Indian Navy (RIN) Mutiny — 1946

Clement Attlee later stated that the "activities of the Indian National Army and the RIN mutiny" were among the key reasons that convinced his government that British rule in India was no longer tenable.

Bose's Disappearance — Commissions of Inquiry

The official position remains that Bose died from burns sustained in the Taihoku plane crash on 18 August 1945. The Mitsubishi Ki-21 bomber crashed on takeoff from Taihoku Airfield (modern Taipei, Taiwan). His ashes are preserved at Renkoji Temple, Tokyo.

Impact and Legacy of Revolutionary Nationalism

1. Psychological impact: Martyrdoms of Bhagat Singh, Azad, and Bismil inspired a generation; British brutality made them national heroes
2. INA trials as turning point: The trials made British military hold over India uncertain; the loyalty of the Indian Army to the Crown was shaken
3. RIN mutiny: Confirmed that the British military apparatus in India was crumbling
4. Attlee's admission: Britain accelerated the independence transfer (Mountbatten Plan, 1947) partly because of these developments
5. Azad Hind legacy: Bose's "Jai Hind!" became the national salutation; "Give me blood" remains the most famous speech of the independence movement
6. Women's participation: Rani of Jhansi Regiment (INA) — Capt. Lakshmi Sahgal — showed women's combat capability; a milestone in feminist history of the freedom struggle

Previous Year Questions (PYQs)

Prelims

1. With reference to the period of extremist nationalism in India, which of the following statements is/are correct? (a) Lal, Bal, Pal were the major leaders of extremism (b) The Partition of Bengal (1905) was the immediate cause (c) The extremists advocated Swaraj, Swadeshi, Boycott and National Education (d) All of the above (UPSC CSP 2012 — adapted)

2. Who among the following organised the Kakori Conspiracy (Train Action) of 1925? (a) Chandrashekhar Azad and Bhagat Singh (b) Ram Prasad Bismil and Ashfaqullah Khan (c) Surya Sen and Batukeshwar Dutt (d) Subhas Chandra Bose and Rash Behari Bose (UPSC CSP 2014 — adapted)

3. Consider the following statements about the Indian National Army (INA):

   1. The INA was first formed by Captain Mohan Singh in 1942
   2. Subhas Chandra Bose took command of the INA in 1943
   3. The INA Rani of Jhansi Regiment was an all-women unit Which of the above statements are correct? (UPSC CSP 2017 — adapted)

4. The Provisional Government of Free India (Azad Hind Government) was formally declared on: (a) 21 October 1943, Singapore (b) 8 August 1942, Bombay (c) 26 January 1930, Lahore (d) 18 February 1946, Bombay (UPSC CSP 2020 — adapted)

Mains

1. "The revolutionary nationalists made a significant, though indirect, contribution to India's independence." Critically examine. (UPSC GS1 2015)

2. How did the Indian National Army (INA) trials of 1945–46 hasten India's independence? What was the role of the Royal Indian Navy Mutiny in the same context? (UPSC GS1 2016)

3. Assess the contributions of Subhas Chandra Bose to India's freedom struggle, with particular reference to the formation of the Azad Hind Government and the campaigns of the INA. (UPSC GS1 2022)

Recent Developments (2024–2026)

Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose — Archives, Jayanti Commemoration (2024–25)

Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose's 127th Jayanti was observed on January 23, 2024 (his birth anniversary), observed as Parakram Diwas (Courage Day) — a national observance established in 2021. PM Modi and other national leaders paid tributes at the Netaji statue in Parliament premises and at Victoria Memorial, Kolkata. The National Archives of India has digitized 304 declassified files on Netaji — comprising 58 from PMO, 37 from MHA, 200 from MEA, and 9 from Cabinet Secretariat — available at netajipapers.gov.in.

The mystery surrounding Netaji's death (1945 plane crash in Taiwan vs. alternative theories) remains a topic of continued public and scholarly interest.

UPSC angle: Prelims — Parakram Diwas (January 23), Netaji files (303 digitized), netajipapers.gov.in. Mains GS1 — Bose's ideology and contribution; INA trials as catalyst for independence.

Bhagat Singh, Sukhdev, Rajguru — 93rd Martyrdom Anniversary Commemoration (2024)

March 23, 2024 marked the 93rd anniversary of the martyrdom of Bhagat Singh, Sukhdev Thapar, and Shivaram Rajguru (hanged March 23, 1931, at Lahore Central Jail). The Indian government and state governments held commemorations. The Ministry of Culture's Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav initiative has extensively documented the revolutionary nationalist movement, including digital archives on HSRA (Hindustan Socialist Republican Association) members, their writings, and trial records.

UPSC angle: Prelims — martyrdom date (March 23, 1931), Lahore Conspiracy Case. Mains GS1 — revolutionary nationalists' contribution; ideology of Bhagat Singh vs. Gandhi's non-violence.

Exam Strategy

For Prelims:

• Kakori Train Action: 9 August 1925; HRA; Bismil and Ashfaqullah Khan hanged 19 December 1927
• HSRA founded 1928; added "Socialist" to HRA
• Assembly bombing: 8 April 1929 (not 1928); Bhagat Singh + Batukeshwar Dutt
• Bhagat Singh hanged: 23 March 1931 (one day early — originally scheduled 24 March)
• Chandrashekhar Azad died: 27 February 1931, Alfred Park, Allahabad
• Chittagong Raid: 18 April 1930; Surya Sen (Masterda); hanged 12 January 1934
• Haripura Congress: 1938; Tripuri: 1939; Forward Bloc: 3 May 1939
• Bose escaped: night of 16–17 January 1941, disguised as Muhammad Ziauddin (Pathan insurance inspector)
• Azad Hind Government: 21 October 1943, Singapore
• "Give me blood" speech: 5 July 1943, Singapore
• INA Red Fort trials: November 1945; defence by Bhulabhai Desai + Nehru
• RIN Mutiny: 18–23 February 1946

For Mains:

• Revolutionary nationalism and Gandhism were complementary, not contradictory — use this framing
• The INA trials are the single most important event linking revolutionary nationalism to independence — British realised their military hold was uncertain
• Distinguish the two INAs: Mohan Singh's (1942, collapsed) and Bose's (1943, actual campaigns)
• For 250-word answers, structure: background → action → trial → impact on British policy
• Bose's legacy is contested — address the Axis collaboration issue while contextualising it as "enemy of my enemy" realpolitik
• Women in INA (Rani of Jhansi Regiment, Capt. Lakshmi Sahgal) is a strong example for gender in freedom struggle answers