Indian Independence League
Encyclopedia
The Indian Independence League (also known as IIL) 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. Founded in 1928 by Indian nationalists Rash Bihari Bose (High probability of this being incorrect, It was Subhash Chandra Bose according to Bipin Chandra, India's struggle for independence ISBN 0-14-010781-9, also Rash Bihari Bose was a militant nationalist and it is highly improbable that Jawaharlal who was a mainstream leader would come together with the former in an open association) and Jawaharlal Nehru
, 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. During the Japanese Occupation in Malaya
, the Japanese encouraged Indians in Malaya to join the Indian Independence League.
Established primarily to foster Indian Nationalism and to obtain Japanese support for the Indian Independence Movement
, the League came to interact and command the first Indian National Army
under Mohan Singh
before it was dissolved. Later, after the arrival of Subhas Chandra Bose in South East Asia and the revival of the INA, the League came under his leadership, before giving way to Azad Hind.
a large expatriate Indian population had come under the Japanese occupation. A framework of local Indian associations had existed even before the war reached Malaya. The largest of these included the likes of the pre-war Central Indian Association, the Singapore Indian Independence league and other organisations, and had amongst their members eminent Indian expatriates, e.g. K. P. K. Menon
, Nedyam Raghavan, Pritam Singh, S.C. Goho and others. With the occupation authority's encouragement, these groups began amalgamating into the local Indian Independence leagues and became the predominant liaising organisation between the local Indian population and the Japanese occupation force.
Joining the Indian Independence League brought security and perks. Displaying an IIL card smoothed the purchase of a railway ticket and allowed purchase at the IIL headquarters of hard-to-get items like tooth paste and soap at reasonable prices. It was also the means by which rations were issued. In addition, since the IIL was allowed to work with the Swiss Red Cross
, members could receive and send letters to then hard to reach places, such as Ceylon.
, married a Japanese woman, and became a naturalised Japanese citizen.
Before and during the Malayan Campaign, Rash Behari had tried to interest Japanese efforts to aims of the Indian Independence movement
. With encouraging reports from Fujiwara and the establishment of the local Independence leagues, the IGHQ sought Rash Behari's help to expand and amalgamate the Indian movement taking shape.
Rash Behari advised the IGHQ to attach the evolving INA to a political organisation that would also speak for the civilian Indian population in South-east Asia.
. This invitation was taken up and the delegation met at a Tokyo hotel in late March 1942.
The Tokyo conference, however, failed to reach any definitive decisions. A number of the Indian delegation 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.
, Rash Behari was invited to chair a public meeting that saw the proclamation of the All-Malayan Indian Independence League. The League was headed by Nedyam Raghavan, a Penang
Barrister
and a prominent Malayan Indian. The governing board included K.PK. Menon and S.C Goho, the latter the chairman of the Singapore Indian Independence League. The league made a number of proposals including creation of a Council of Action as the executive arm, formation of a body which the regional leagues would report to, as well as the relations between the INA and the council as well as those between the council and the Japanese authority. The decision was made to vote on these proposals by a representation larger than that had met at Tokyo, and meeting elsewhere than on Japanese soil. There also remains suggestions that members of the League, including Niranjan Singh Gill who directed the PoW camps, were apprehensive about Japanese intentions with regards to the league, and the Independence movement.
The league found widespread support among the Indian population; membership was estimated to be close to a hundred-thousand at the end of August. Membership in the league was of advantage for the population in the middle of war-time emergency and when dealing with the occupation authorities. The League's membership card identified the holder as Indian (and thus an ally), it was used to issue rations. Further, the League took efforts to improve the conditions of the local Indian populace, including the cause of the now jobless plantation labourers.
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 Bangkok conference adopted a thirty-four point resolution to and expected the Japanese government to respond to each point. 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 be 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 forwarded to what was then the Japanese liaising office, the Iwakuro Kikan.
In November 1943, the Greater East Asia Conference was held in Tokyo. The head of state who were the member of the Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere was gathered. Subhas Chandra Bose participated as a Head of State of Provisional Government of Free India.
took part in both the Indian Independence League and also Indonesia's struggle for independence.
In 1972, the Centre introduced the Swathantra Sainik Samman Pension Scheme through which freedom fighters were entitled to a pension. However, there was significant resistants to implementing the scheme. For example, it took 24 years of legal fighting for S. M. Shanmugam to finally receive his pension in August 2006.
In Amitav Ghosh
's novel The Glass Palace
(2000), Ghosh chronicles the fictional Rangoon teak trade fortunes of Rajkumar Raha and his extended family. In that book, Uma Dey is a widow and Indian Independence League activist. Her appearance in the later half of the book is used as a device to characterize the post-colonial divisions for the remainder of the novel.
Resistance 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. Founded in 1928 by Indian nationalists Rash Bihari Bose (High probability of this being incorrect, It was Subhash Chandra Bose according to Bipin Chandra, India's struggle for independence ISBN 0-14-010781-9, also Rash Bihari Bose was a militant nationalist and it is highly improbable that Jawaharlal who was a mainstream leader would come together with the former in an open association) 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...
, 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. During the Japanese Occupation in Malaya
British Malaya
British Malaya loosely described a set of states on the Malay Peninsula and the Island of Singapore that were brought under British control between the 18th and the 20th centuries...
, the Japanese encouraged Indians in Malaya to join the Indian Independence League.
Established primarily to foster Indian Nationalism and to obtain Japanese support for the Indian Independence Movement
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...
, the League came to interact and command the first 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...
under Mohan Singh
Mohan Singh Deb
Mohan Singh was an Indian Military officer and member of the Indian Independence Movement most famous for his role in organising and leading the First Indian National Army in South East Asia during World War II...
before it was dissolved. Later, after the arrival of Subhas Chandra Bose in South East Asia and the revival of the INA, the League came under his leadership, before giving way to Azad Hind.
Background
With the occupation of South-East Asia,a large expatriate Indian population had come under the Japanese occupation. A framework of local Indian associations had existed even before the war reached Malaya. The largest of these included the likes of the pre-war Central Indian Association, the Singapore Indian Independence league and other organisations, and had amongst their members eminent Indian expatriates, e.g. K. P. K. Menon
K. P. K. Menon
K.P.K Menon was an Indian lawyer and freedom fighter who was a key proponent of the formation of the Indian Independence League. K.P.K, as he came to be called, later became a fierce critic of Japanese imperialist designs with regards to India and the Indian independence league and was later...
, Nedyam Raghavan, Pritam Singh, S.C. Goho and others. With the occupation authority's encouragement, these groups began amalgamating into the local Indian Independence leagues and became the predominant liaising organisation between the local Indian population and the Japanese occupation force.
Joining the Indian Independence League brought security and perks. Displaying an IIL card smoothed the purchase of a railway ticket and allowed purchase at the IIL headquarters of hard-to-get items like tooth paste and soap at reasonable prices. It was also the means by which rations were issued. In addition, since the IIL was allowed to work with the Swiss Red Cross
International Committee of the Red Cross
The International Committee of the Red Cross is a private humanitarian institution based in Geneva, Switzerland. States parties to the four Geneva Conventions of 1949 and their Additional Protocols of 1977 and 2005, have given the ICRC a mandate to protect the victims of international and...
, members could receive and send letters to then hard to reach places, such as Ceylon.
Rash Behari Bose
Rash Behari Bose was an Indian revolutionary noted for his planning of the Delhi-Lahore conspiracy of 1912 to assassinate the then Viceroy Lord Hardinge, and his involvement in the Ghadr Conspiracy of 1915. Sought by the Raj, Rash Behari fled to Japan where he found sanctuary among Japanese patriotic societies. Rash Behari subsequently learned the Japanese LanguageJapanese language
is a language spoken by over 130 million people in Japan and in Japanese emigrant communities. It is a member of the Japonic language family, which has a number of proposed relationships with other languages, none of which has gained wide acceptance among historical linguists .Japanese is an...
, married a Japanese woman, and became a naturalised Japanese citizen.
Before and during the Malayan Campaign, Rash Behari had tried to interest Japanese efforts to aims of the Indian Independence movement
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...
. With encouraging reports from Fujiwara and the establishment of the local Independence leagues, the IGHQ sought Rash Behari's help to expand and amalgamate the Indian movement taking shape.
Rash Behari advised the IGHQ to attach the evolving INA to a political organisation that would also speak for the civilian Indian population in South-east Asia.
The Tokyo Conference
In March 1942, he invited the local leaders of the Indian Independence leagues to a conference in TokyoTokyo
, ; officially , is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan. Tokyo is the capital of Japan, the center of the Greater Tokyo Area, and the largest metropolitan area of Japan. It is the seat of the Japanese government and the Imperial Palace, and the home of the Japanese Imperial Family...
. This invitation was taken up and the delegation met at a Tokyo hotel in late March 1942.
The Tokyo conference, however, failed to reach any definitive decisions. A number of the Indian delegation 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.
All Malayan Indian Independence League
In SingaporeSingapore
Singapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the...
, Rash Behari was invited to chair a public meeting that saw the proclamation of the All-Malayan Indian Independence League. The League was headed by Nedyam Raghavan, a Penang
Penang
Penang is a state in Malaysia and the name of its constituent island, located on the northwest coast of Peninsular Malaysia by the Strait of Malacca. It is bordered by Kedah in the north and east, and Perak in the south. Penang is the second smallest Malaysian state in area after Perlis, and the...
Barrister
Barrister
A barrister is a member of one of the two classes of lawyer found in many common law jurisdictions with split legal professions. Barristers specialise in courtroom advocacy, drafting legal pleadings and giving expert legal opinions...
and a prominent Malayan Indian. The governing board included K.PK. Menon and S.C Goho, the latter the chairman of the Singapore Indian Independence League. The league made a number of proposals including creation of a Council of Action as the executive arm, formation of a body which the regional leagues would report to, as well as the relations between the INA and the council as well as those between the council and the Japanese authority. The decision was made to vote on these proposals by a representation larger than that had met at Tokyo, and meeting elsewhere than on Japanese soil. There also remains suggestions that members of the League, including Niranjan Singh Gill who directed the PoW camps, were apprehensive about Japanese intentions with regards to the league, and the Independence movement.
The league found widespread support among the Indian population; membership was estimated to be close to a hundred-thousand at the end of August. Membership in the league was of advantage for the population in the middle of war-time emergency and when dealing with the occupation authorities. The League's membership card identified the holder as Indian (and thus an ally), it was used to issue rations. Further, the League took efforts to improve the conditions of the local Indian populace, including the cause of the now jobless plantation labourers.
Bangkok Conference
In June 1942, the Bangkok conference was held. This saw the constitution of the Indian Independence League. The league consisted 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 council. 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.
The Bangkok conference adopted a thirty-four point resolution to and expected the Japanese government to respond to each point. 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 be 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 forwarded to what was then the Japanese liaising office, the Iwakuro Kikan.
Greater East Asia Conference
In November 1943, the Greater East Asia Conference was held in Tokyo. The head of state who were the member of the Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere was gathered. Subhas Chandra Bose participated as a Head of State of Provisional Government of Free India.
Later in time
In 1945, noted Jakarta's Indian community leader Pritam SinghPritam Singh
Dr Pritam Singh, current Director of IMI , New Delhi, is a professor of eminence in the field of management studies and has been awarded the Padma Shri for his outstanding contribution in the field of management education.In 2003, he became the second Padam Shri recipient in the field of management...
took part in both the Indian Independence League and also Indonesia's struggle for independence.
In 1972, the Centre introduced the Swathantra Sainik Samman Pension Scheme through which freedom fighters were entitled to a pension. However, there was significant resistants to implementing the scheme. For example, it took 24 years of legal fighting for S. M. Shanmugam to finally receive his pension in August 2006.
Popular culture
Indian Independence League received a prominent role in film maker K. A. Devarajan's 1998 film "Gopuram." In the film, the maternal grandfather of an Indian journalist is a 1930s freedom fighter in Japan who is wanted by the British police. Eventually, the grandfather joins the Indian Independence League in Japan and his exploits are presented.In Amitav Ghosh
Amitav Ghosh
Amitav Ghosh , is a Bengali Indian author best known for his work in the English language.-Life:Ghosh was born in Calcutta on July 11, 1956, to Lieutenant Colonel Shailendra Chandra Ghosh, a retired officer of the pre-independence Indian Army, and was educated at The Doon School; St...
's novel The Glass Palace
The Glass Palace
The Glass Palace is a 2000 historical novel by Indian writer Amitav Ghosh. The novel sets in Burma, India, and Malay, spans a century from the fall of the Konbaung Dynasty in Mandalay, through the Second World War to modern times...
(2000), Ghosh chronicles the fictional Rangoon teak trade fortunes of Rajkumar Raha and his extended family. In that book, Uma Dey is a widow and Indian Independence League activist. Her appearance in the later half of the book is used as a device to characterize the post-colonial divisions for the remainder of the novel.