Subhas Chandra Bose, known as Netaji, was a great freedom fighter who believed in armed struggle. He organised the Indian National Army (INA), also called the Azad Hind Fauj, to fight the British. His life and the INA are important topics for exams.
Early Life and Congress Role
Bose was born on 23 January 1897 in Cuttack, Odisha. He was elected Congress President at the Haripura Session (1938) and again at Tripuri (1939). After differences with Gandhi, he resigned and formed the Forward Bloc in 1939.
Formation of the INA
The Indian National Army was first formed by Captain Mohan Singh and Rash Behari Bose in 1942. Subhas Chandra Bose took over its leadership in 1943 in Singapore and gave it new energy.
Azad Hind Government and Slogans
Bose set up the Provisional Government of Free India (Azad Hind Government) in 1943 in Singapore. The INA had units named after Gandhi, Nehru and Azad, and a women's regiment called the Rani of Jhansi Regiment.
- Famous slogan: Give me blood, and I shall give you freedom.
- He popularised the greeting Jai Hind.
- He called Gandhi the Father of the Nation.
INA Trials and Legacy
After the war, the British held the INA Trials at the Red Fort (1945). Public anger over these trials boosted the freedom movement. Bose is believed to have died in a plane crash in 1945.
Quick Revision Points
- Subhas Chandra Bose born on 23 January 1897.
- Formed the Forward Bloc in 1939.
- INA first formed by Mohan Singh and Rash Behari Bose.
- Bose led the INA from 1943.
- Slogan: Give me blood, and I shall give you freedom.
- Women's unit: Rani of Jhansi Regiment.
- INA Trials held at the Red Fort in 1945.