Forward bloc and INA Class 10 ICSE Notes
Subhas Chandra Bose generally known as Netaji (literally "Respected Leader"), was one of the most prominent and highly respected leaders of the Indian independence movement against the British Raj.
In 1920, he cleared the Indian Civil service Examination and joined the civil service. He resigned in 1921 as he did not wish to serve the British crown. He was imprisoned ten times and spent almost eight years in prison cells. At the age of twenty four he entered active politics and in 1923 he became a Swarajist.
Bose was elected president of the Indian National Congress for two consecutive terms but resigned from the post following ideological conflicts with Mahatma Gandhi. Bose believed that Mahatma Gandhi's tactics of non-violence would never be sufficient to secure India's independence, and advocated aggressive resistance. He established a separate political party, the Forward Bloc and continued t o call for the full and immediate independence of India from British rule.
His stance did not change with the outbreak of the Second World War, which he saw as an opportunity to take advantage of British weakness. At the outset of the war, he fled from India and travelled to the Soviet Union, Germany and Japan, seeking an alliance with the aim of attacking the British in India. With Japanese assistance, he re-organised and later led the Indian National Army (INA), formed from Indian prisoners-of-war and plantation workers from Malaya, Singapore and other parts of South-East Asia, against the British forces. With Japanese monetary, political, diplomatic and military assistance, he formed the Azad Hind Government in exile and led the Indian National Army in the battle against the allies at Imphal and in Burma.
During the war (and possibly as early as the 1930s) Bose seems to have decided that no democratic system could be adequate to overcome India's poverty and social inequalities, and he wrote that an authoritarian state, similar to that of Soviet Russia (which he had also seen and admired) would be needed for the process of national re-building.
•Rift with Gandhi
His Fundamental Difference with Gandhiji
1. Subhas Chandra was against Gandhian policies and programme. He had little belief in the consitutional means and peaceful methods for the attainment of freedom. He was a veritable revolutionary and favoured armed struggle to oust and end the British imperialism. He was ready to seek foreign assistance to achieve his goal. He believed in employing tact and diplomacy while dealing with his opponents.
He said that - "Gandhiji's logic cannot convince the British rulers. He has failed as he always keeps his cards open."
2. He was in favour of socialism and formed the 'Forward Bloc' to establish a socialist society in India after Independence. This was against the policy of Mahatma Gandhi.
3. Bose advocated that the political instability of war-time Britain should be taken advantage of-rather than simply waiting for the British to grant independence after the end of the war. Gandhiji and Nehru wanted to adopt a compromising attitude and opposed the national struggle during the war.
4. In 1939, Bose launched the National Planning Committee for drawing up a comprehensive plan of industrialization. However, Gandhiji was opposed to it. He favoured small scale industries to make the villages self-sufficient.
5. The leaders of the movement of the people of Princely States expected sympathy and cooperation. Bose wanted the Congress to help the people in their struggle for freedom whereas Gandhiji was opposed to any intervention.
Formation of Forward Bloc
The Forward Bloc was formed on 3 May, 1939 by Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose, who had resigned from the presidency of the Indian National Congress on April 29 after a rift with Gandhiji. The formation of the Forward Bloc was announced to the public at a rally in Calcutta (Kolkata). Bose became the president of the Forward Bloc and S.S. Cavesheer its vice-president. A Forward Bloc Conference was held in Bombay (Mumbai) in the end of June. In August, the same year, Bose began publishing a newspaper titled Forward Bloc. He travelled around the country, rallying support for his new political project.
Ideals of the Forward Bloc
(i) The initial aim of the Forward Bloc was to rally all the leftwing sections within the Congress and to develop an alternative leadership. But the Congress Working Committee passed a resolution disqualifying Bose to be a member of any Congress Committee for three years.
(ii) The Forward Bloc held its first All India Conference in Nagpur where the conference declared it to be a socialist political party. Its immediate objective was liberation of India with the support of workers, peasants, youths and all radical organisations. The conference passed a resolution "All power to the Indian people."
(iii) The Bloc urged militant action for struggle against the British.
(iv) The Bloc wanted to establish a Socialist Society through :
- State planning for the reorganisation of agriculture and industry on socialist lines.
- Abolition of landlordism i.e., Zamindari system.
- A new monetary and credit system.
- World peace, disarmament, and friendly relations with socialist nations like Russia.
Subhas was an eye-sore to the British. He was arrested on July 2, 1940. He went on a hunger strike in jail, and was released on the 11th day. He was kept under house arrest in his Calcutta (Kolkata) residence. On January 17, 1941, he disguised himself as a Pathan, went to Peshawar, and from there he reached Afghanistan. Then, he moved on to Moscow from where, on March 28, 1941, he flew over to Berlin (Germany).
Circumstances leading to the formation of INA
1. The Indian Independence League (IIL) :The Indians living in territories freed from European domination organized themselves into association for the liberation of India and serving the interests of overseas Indians. Out of these associations was born the idea of an Indian Independence League.
After the fall of Singapore in Feb. 1942, Japan handed over some 40,000 Indian Prisoners of War to Captain Mohan Singh who had earlier surrendered to them. Britain's defeat roused great hopes among the Indian soldiers which led to the formation of Indian Independence League (IIL). The organiser of the League was Rash Behari Bose, an old revolutionary who had fled to Japan in 1915. The League aimed at mobilising the members of the Indian community for the purpose of securing Indian independence. The League came under the headship of S.C. Bose after he arrived in South East Asia.
2. The Tokyo Conference : It was held between March 28 and 31, 1942 at Tokyo by South-East Asian Indian Nationalist groups including the Indian Independence League and the Indian National Council, as well as smaller local Indian associations and clubs. The Conference was held at the invitation of Rash Behari Bose who was instrumental in persuading the Japanese authorities to stand by the Indian nationalists and ultimately to support actively the Indian freedom struggle abroad. The following decisions were taken at the Conference .
(i) to expand and strengthen the Indian Independence League.
(ii) to form under the overall command of the League an Indian National Army (INA), i.e., an army for Indian liberation.
(iii) to hold a conference at Bangkok to consolidate these decisions.
3. Bangkok Conference : The Bangkok Conference was held from June 15 to June 23, 1942. More than 150 delegates from Malaya, Singapore, Burma, Thailand, Hongkong, Manila and Java were present at the Conference. It passed many resolutions, such as
(i) Invitation to Subhas Chandra Bose to come from Europe to lead this movement.
(ii) Formation of a Council of Action to control and guide the whole movement.
4. Indian National Army : The Indian National Army (INA) or Azad Hind Fauj was an armed force formed by Indian nationalists on 1st September, 1942 in Southeast Asia during World War II. It became the military arm of Indian Independence League.
The aim of the army was to overthrow the British Raj in colonial India, with Japanese assistance. Initially composed of Indian prisoners of war captured by Japan in her Malayan campaign and at Singapore, it later drew large numbers of volunteers from Indian expatriate population in Malaya and Burma.
•Role of INA in the freedom struggle
In a series of meetings between the INA leaders and the Japanese in 1943, it was decided to cede the leadership of the Ill and the INA to Subhas Chandra Bose. On August 26, 1943 he took the charge of the Indian National Army and became its supreme commander.
1. Provisional Government of Free India : On 21st October, 1943 A.D., Subhas Chandra Bose established the Interim Government of Independent India which was recognised by countries like Japan, Germany, Italy, China, Burma, Korea and Ireland, etc. The slogans-Jai Hind (Victory to India), Delhi Chalo (March to Delhi), Give me blood and I shall give you freedom - became the battle cry of the INA.
Soon, Japan gave the islands of Andaman and Nicobar to Subhas Chandra Bose. In that way, these Indian territories came under the occupation of the interim Government. Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose kept the names of these islands as 'Shahed' and 'Swaraj'. In December, 1943 A.D., the Indian flag was hoisted on these islands.
2. Declaration of the war : On 23rd October 1943 A.D., the cabinet of the Interim Government called a special meeting. In that meeting, it was decided to start war against the United States of America and England. Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose himself broadcast that decision on the radio. Soon after that the Indian National Army started advancing towards India. Bose set up two INA headquarters in Rangoon and Singapore. The women regiment Rani of Jhansi was commanded by Dr. Laxmi Swaminathan.
3. INA's Victories in S.E. Asia : The INA, along with the Japanese army, overran many territories in South-East Asia. By March 1944, they had reached the very frontier of India.
The Indian tricolour was hoisted on the hilltops of Kohima and later at Imphal (now in Nagaland and Manipur respectively) on 19 March, 1944. But Japanese reverses in the Second World War weakened the position of the Azad Hind Fauj. Moreover with the early arrival of the monsoon, the supply of ration and ammunition was cut off. In this situation, the INA had no other option but to surrender to the British troops. The INA men were taken prisoners and the Indian Independence movement in the South-East Asia came to an end.
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