Bangkok Conference
Encyclopedia
The Bangkok Conference was a conference held on 15 June 1942 by Indian Nationalist groups and local Indian Independence leagues at Bangkok
to proclaim the formation of the All-India Independence league. The conference further saw the adoption by the league of a thirty-four set resolution known as the Bangkok resolutions that attempted to define the role of the league in the Independence movement, relations with the nascent Indian National Army
, and clarify the grounds and conditions for obtaining Japanese support for it. The resolution further attempted to clarify the relations of Japan
and the GEACPS with a free India.
operated from the 1920s to the 1940s to organize those living outside of India into seeking the removal of British colonial rule over India. Some accounts indicate it was founded in 1928 by Indian nationalists Subhas Chandra Bose and Jawaharlal Nehru
, By the start of the war the organisation was located in various parts of South-East Asia and included Indian expatriates, and later, Indian nationalists in-exile under Japanese occupation following Japan's successful Malayan Campaign during the first part of the Second World War. Among the most prominent of the leaders was Giani Pritam Singh. The IIL also had links with local Indian clubs.
was founded in December 1941 in Bangkok
by another group of Indian nationalists
resident in Thailand
. This organisation was founded from the Thai-Bharat Cultural Lodge
on 22 December 1941. The founding president of the Council was Swami Satyananda Puri
, along with Debnath Das as the founding secretary. Along with the Indian Independence League
, it came to be one of the two prominent Indian associations that corresponded with I Fujiwara's F Kikan
on the scopes of Japanese assistance to the Indian movement. However, the Indian National Council emphasised solidarity with the Indian National Congress
and, at a time when Japan began her successful Malayan Campaign, the council reflected the Congress leadership's reluctance to appear Quisling
of the Japanese. The council also had differences with the Indian Independence League
, with Puri openly questioning Tokyo's anti-imperialist credibility in light of her actions in Korea
and China
. Puri was killed in a plane crash, along with Giani Pritam Singh en route to the Conference in Tokyo in 1942 that saw Rash Behari Bose
accepted as the leader of the expatriate Indian movement in South-east Asia. Later, the council sent delegates to attend the Bangkok Conference.
prisoners of war who were captured either during the Malayan campaign or surrendered at Singapore. Although not formally proclaimed until September 1942, the unit rapidly came to be an important component of the Indian movement in South-east Asia and of Japanese projects and agenda in the region, especially with regards to her subsequent plans in the South-east Asian theatre.
in February 1942. It was while en route to this conference that the plane carrying Pritam Singh and Satyananda Puri crashed. However, although divided on the interests of different communities and regions and on the scopes and limits of Japanese interventions, the delegates agreed to a reorganisation of the Indian Independence League
and accepted Rash Behari Bose
as the leader of the organisation. The Tokyo conference, however, failed to reach any definitive decisions. A number of the Indian delegations held differences with Rash Behari, especially given his long connection with Japan
and the current position of Japan as the occupying power in South-east Asia, and were wary of vested Japanese interests. The conference agreed to meet again in Bangkok
at a future date. The Indian delegation returned to Singapore in April with Rash Behari.
and the delegates who did attend the
with an opening address by the Thai deputy foreign minister Wichit. Amongst the guests to this conference were the Japanese Ambassador Tsubokami Teiji, German minister Ernst Wendler, and the Italian minister Guido Crolla.
The committee of representatives took members from the 12 territories with Indian population, with representation proportional to the representative Indian population.
The Bangkok resolution further decided that the Indian National Army was to be subordinate to it.
The resolution itself adopted a thirty-four point resolution, to each of which it expected the Japanese government to respond to. These included the demand that the Japanese government clearly, explicitly and publicly recognise India as an independent nation and the league as the nation's representatives and guardians. Other points also demanded assurances from the Japanese on Free India's relation with Japan
, respect for her sovereignty
and her territorial integrity, to all of which the council unanimously demanded that Japan clearly and unequivocally commit themselves before the league proceeded any further in collaboration. The resolution further demanded that the Indian National Army be accorded the status of an allied army and treated as such, and that all Indian PoWs be released to the INA. The Japanese must help the army with loans, and not to ask it to march in any other purpose than for the liberation of India.
The resolution was duly passed on to what was then the Japanese liaison office, the Iwakuro Kikan.
Bangkok
Bangkok is the capital and largest urban area city in Thailand. It is known in Thai as Krung Thep Maha Nakhon or simply Krung Thep , meaning "city of angels." The full name of Bangkok is Krung Thep Mahanakhon Amon Rattanakosin Mahintharayutthaya Mahadilok Phop Noppharat Ratchathani Burirom...
to proclaim the formation of the All-India Independence league. The conference further saw the adoption by the league of a thirty-four set resolution known as the Bangkok resolutions that attempted to define the role of the league in the Independence movement, relations with the nascent Indian National Army
Indian National Army
The Indian National Army or Azad Hind Fauj was an armed force formed by Indian nationalists in 1942 in Southeast Asia during World War II. The aim of the army was to overthrow the British Raj in colonial India, with Japanese assistance...
, and clarify the grounds and conditions for obtaining Japanese support for it. The resolution further attempted to clarify the relations of Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
and the GEACPS with a free India.
Indian Independence League
The Indian Independence League was a political organisationResistance movement
A resistance movement is a group or collection of individual groups, dedicated to opposing an invader in an occupied country or the government of a sovereign state. It may seek to achieve its objects through either the use of nonviolent resistance or the use of armed force...
operated from the 1920s to the 1940s to organize those living outside of India into seeking the removal of British colonial rule over India. Some accounts indicate it was founded in 1928 by Indian nationalists Subhas Chandra Bose and Jawaharlal Nehru
Jawaharlal Nehru
Jawaharlal Nehru , often referred to with the epithet of Panditji, was an Indian statesman who became the first Prime Minister of independent India and became noted for his “neutralist” policies in foreign affairs. He was also one of the principal leaders of India’s independence movement in the...
, By the start of the war the organisation was located in various parts of South-East Asia and included Indian expatriates, and later, Indian nationalists in-exile under Japanese occupation following Japan's successful Malayan Campaign during the first part of the Second World War. Among the most prominent of the leaders was Giani Pritam Singh. The IIL also had links with local Indian clubs.
Indian National Council
The Indian National CouncilIndian National Council
The Indian National Council was an organisation founded in December 1941 in Bangkok by Indian Nationalists residing in Thailand. The organisation was founded from the Thai-Bharat Cultural Lodge on 22 December 1941. The founding president of the Council was Swami Satyananda Puri, along with Debnath...
was founded in December 1941 in Bangkok
Bangkok
Bangkok is the capital and largest urban area city in Thailand. It is known in Thai as Krung Thep Maha Nakhon or simply Krung Thep , meaning "city of angels." The full name of Bangkok is Krung Thep Mahanakhon Amon Rattanakosin Mahintharayutthaya Mahadilok Phop Noppharat Ratchathani Burirom...
by another group of Indian nationalists
Indian independence movement
The term Indian independence movement encompasses a wide area of political organisations, philosophies, and movements which had the common aim of ending first British East India Company rule, and then British imperial authority, in parts of South Asia...
resident in Thailand
Thailand
Thailand , officially the Kingdom of Thailand , formerly known as Siam , is a country located at the centre of the Indochina peninsula and Southeast Asia. It is bordered to the north by Burma and Laos, to the east by Laos and Cambodia, to the south by the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia, and to the...
. This organisation was founded from the Thai-Bharat Cultural Lodge
Thai-Bharat Cultural Lodge
The Thai-Bharat Cultural Lodge is one of the most prestigious Indian cultural organisation in Thailand that seeks to promote comparative studies and exchange between Thai and Indian history and culture. It was founded in 1940 in Bangkok by Swami Satyananda Puri with encouragement from the Indian...
on 22 December 1941. The founding president of the Council was Swami Satyananda Puri
Prafulla Kumar Sen
Prafulla Kumar Sen, also known as Swami Satyananda Puri, was an Indian revolutionary and philosopher. Puri, had in his youth taught Oriental philosophy at the University of Calcutta and later at Rabindranath Tagore's Visva-Bharati University at Santiniketan. Encouraged by Tagore, he arrived in...
, along with Debnath Das as the founding secretary. Along with the Indian Independence League
Indian Independence League
The Indian Independence League was a political organisation operated from the 1920s to the 1940s to organize those living outside of India into seeking the removal of British colonial rule over India...
, it came to be one of the two prominent Indian associations that corresponded with I Fujiwara's F Kikan
F Kikan
was a military intelligence operation established by the Imperial Japanese Army in the early stages of the Pacific War. Set up in Bangkok in late 1941, the unit was headed by Major Fujiwara Iwaichi, chief of intelligence of the 15th army, and was tasked to contact the Indian independence movement,...
on the scopes of Japanese assistance to the Indian movement. However, the Indian National Council emphasised solidarity with the Indian National Congress
Indian National Congress
The Indian National Congress is one of the two major political parties in India, the other being the Bharatiya Janata Party. It is the largest and one of the oldest democratic political parties in the world. The party's modern liberal platform is largely considered center-left in the Indian...
and, at a time when Japan began her successful Malayan Campaign, the council reflected the Congress leadership's reluctance to appear Quisling
Quisling
Quisling is a term used in reference to fascist and collaborationist political parties and military and paramilitary forces in occupied Allied countries which collaborated with Axis occupiers in World War II, as well as for their members and other collaborators.- Etymology :The term was coined by...
of the Japanese. The council also had differences with the Indian Independence League
Indian Independence League
The Indian Independence League was a political organisation operated from the 1920s to the 1940s to organize those living outside of India into seeking the removal of British colonial rule over India...
, with Puri openly questioning Tokyo's anti-imperialist credibility in light of her actions in Korea
Korea
Korea ) is an East Asian geographic region that is currently divided into two separate sovereign states — North Korea and South Korea. Located on the Korean Peninsula, Korea is bordered by the People's Republic of China to the northwest, Russia to the northeast, and is separated from Japan to the...
and China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
. Puri was killed in a plane crash, along with Giani Pritam Singh en route to the Conference in Tokyo in 1942 that saw Rash Behari Bose
Rash Behari Bose
Rashbehari Bose was a revolutionary leader against the British Raj in India and was one of the key organisers of the Ghadar conspiracy and later, the Indian National Army.-Early life:...
accepted as the leader of the expatriate Indian movement in South-east Asia. Later, the council sent delegates to attend the Bangkok Conference.
First INA
The Indian National Army was initially formed under Capt Mohan Singh with Japanese aid and support after the Fall of Singapore and consisted of approximately 20,000 IndianBritish Indian Army
The British Indian Army, officially simply the Indian Army, was the principal army of the British Raj in India before the partition of India in 1947...
prisoners of war who were captured either during the Malayan campaign or surrendered at Singapore. Although not formally proclaimed until September 1942, the unit rapidly came to be an important component of the Indian movement in South-east Asia and of Japanese projects and agenda in the region, especially with regards to her subsequent plans in the South-east Asian theatre.
Tokyo Conference
Following the end of the Malayan Campaign, and after Thailand's support to the Japanese campaign, these organisations were encouraged by Japan to unify the overseas Indian movement. Although differences existed between the organisations, they met at the Tokyo ConferenceTokyo Conference
The Tokyo Conference was a conference held between March 28 and 30, 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. This conference led to the decision to...
in February 1942. It was while en route to this conference that the plane carrying Pritam Singh and Satyananda Puri crashed. However, although divided on the interests of different communities and regions and on the scopes and limits of Japanese interventions, the delegates agreed to a reorganisation of the Indian Independence League
Indian Independence League
The Indian Independence League was a political organisation operated from the 1920s to the 1940s to organize those living outside of India into seeking the removal of British colonial rule over India...
and accepted Rash Behari Bose
Rash Behari Bose
Rashbehari Bose was a revolutionary leader against the British Raj in India and was one of the key organisers of the Ghadar conspiracy and later, the Indian National Army.-Early life:...
as the leader of the organisation. The Tokyo conference, however, failed to reach any definitive decisions. A number of the Indian delegations held differences with Rash Behari, especially given his long connection with Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
and the current position of Japan as the occupying power in South-east Asia, and were wary of vested Japanese interests. The conference agreed to meet again in Bangkok
Bangkok
Bangkok is the capital and largest urban area city in Thailand. It is known in Thai as Krung Thep Maha Nakhon or simply Krung Thep , meaning "city of angels." The full name of Bangkok is Krung Thep Mahanakhon Amon Rattanakosin Mahintharayutthaya Mahadilok Phop Noppharat Ratchathani Burirom...
at a future date. The Indian delegation returned to Singapore in April with Rash Behari.
and the delegates who did attend the
Bangkok Conference
The Bangkok conference opened on 15 June 1942 at the Silpakon theatre in BangkokBangkok
Bangkok is the capital and largest urban area city in Thailand. It is known in Thai as Krung Thep Maha Nakhon or simply Krung Thep , meaning "city of angels." The full name of Bangkok is Krung Thep Mahanakhon Amon Rattanakosin Mahintharayutthaya Mahadilok Phop Noppharat Ratchathani Burirom...
with an opening address by the Thai deputy foreign minister Wichit. Amongst the guests to this conference were the Japanese Ambassador Tsubokami Teiji, German minister Ernst Wendler, and the Italian minister Guido Crolla.
Outcomes
The conference defined the structure of the league as consisting of a Council for Action and a Committee of representatives below it. Below the committee was to be the territorial and local branches. Rash Behari Bose was to chair the council, while K.P.K Menon, Nedyam Raghavan were among the civilian members of the counil. Mohan Singh and an officer by the name of Gilani were to be the INA's members.The committee of representatives took members from the 12 territories with Indian population, with representation proportional to the representative Indian population.
The Bangkok resolution further decided that the Indian National Army was to be subordinate to it.
Bangkok Resolutions
The introduction to the resolution states:The resolution itself adopted a thirty-four point resolution, to each of which it expected the Japanese government to respond to. These included the demand that the Japanese government clearly, explicitly and publicly recognise India as an independent nation and the league as the nation's representatives and guardians. Other points also demanded assurances from the Japanese on Free India's relation with Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
, respect for her sovereignty
Sovereignty
Sovereignty is the quality of having supreme, independent authority over a geographic area, such as a territory. It can be found in a power to rule and make law that rests on a political fact for which no purely legal explanation can be provided...
and her territorial integrity, to all of which the council unanimously demanded that Japan clearly and unequivocally commit themselves before the league proceeded any further in collaboration. The resolution further demanded that the Indian National Army be accorded the status of an allied army and treated as such, and that all Indian PoWs be released to the INA. The Japanese must help the army with loans, and not to ask it to march in any other purpose than for the liberation of India.
The resolution was duly passed on to what was then the Japanese liaison office, the Iwakuro Kikan.