Axis Satellite Armies of World War II: A Case Study of the Azad Hind Fauj, 1942–45

Abstract

During the Second World War, Japan and Germany raised several auxiliary armies in South East Asia and Europe. One such Japanese sponsored army was the Indian National Army (INA). The historiography of the Second World War gives marginal importance to the INA because of its low combat effectiveness. Neither the mainstream historiography of modern India nor the literature on decolonization did attach much importance to the INA. In contrast, a minority group (mostly ex-INA personnel, including some historians) overemphasizes the INA's contribution to India's struggle for independence. However, it would be interesting to analyse how the Japanese and some Indian nationalist leaders attempted to structure an army out of the British controlled Sepoy Army. Much light could be thrown on this complex interaction by studying the managerial format of the INA. Moreover, the INA also influenced the genesis of post-1947 Indian Army. This article places the INA as an institution at the centre stage. It tries to figure out who joined the INA and why and the nature of interaction between the human materials of the INA and its command structure. The focus is on the social base of the INA and its managerial infrastructure. Recruitment techniques and disciplinary mechanism of the INA are highlighted. Instead of focussing merely on Subhas Chandra Bose, the functions of the middle and low ranking officers are emphasized. The INA utilized the social and cultural ethos of pre-colonial India and also the organizing principles of the Western armies. This blend of pre-British Indian martial traditions with the institutions of professional militaries of the West, in the context of alliance with the Axis powers, had its own contradictions. Though this contradiction made the INA an ineffective combat organization, it had a multiplier effect on the process of erosion of the Raj's legitimacy. The strength of this essay lies in utilizing untapped sources like The Oracle, Fauji Akhbar, the INA files in the National Archives and oral interview transcripts of the leading figures.