In this four-part series, we explore the extraordinary journey of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose and his INA. We will explore the women’s regiment of the Azad Hind Fauj and the forgotten victory of the INA in Nagaland.
While on the papers the INA and the Japanese troops were defeated in the Battle of Imphal and Kohima, they are one of the major reasons for the British hastening their decision to leave India.
Yasuhisa Kawamura, deputy chief of mission at the Japanese Embassy in New Delhi, said, “The Battle of Imphal and Kohima is not forgotten by the Japanese. Military historians refer to it as one of the fiercest battles in world history.”
The Battles of Imphal and Kohima were fought on March 8 and July 18, 1944. After the exhausting bloody war in north-east India Japanese surrendered; however, the Jawans of INA were filled with confidence and ready to face more challenges.
The Kohima-Imphal war was significant in many counts: first, the two weeks of battle instilled confidence in the Indian soldiers from the INA that they could face top-class soldiers from anywhere around the world. Second, fighting alongside the Japanese troops helped them understand various war tactics.
The two weeks of bloody war resulted in the Japanese losing some of their best soldiers. The continuous firing by the British soldiers, many of who were Indians, resulted in the Japanese losing 53,000 soldiers.
The Imphal-Kohima battle has been forgotten by historians because of its colonial past. An article published on New York Times mentions the following:
“But the battle has been largely forgotten in India as an emblem of the country’s colonial past. The Indian troops who fought and died here were subjects of the British Empire. In this remote, northeastern corner of India, more recent battles with a mix of local insurgencies among tribal groups that have long sought autonomy have made remembrances of former glories a luxury.
The battlefields in what are now the Indian states of Nagaland and Manipur — some just a few miles from the border with Myanmar, which was then Burma — are also well preserved because of the region’s longtime isolation. Trenches, bunkers, and airfields remain as they were left 70 years ago — worn by time and monsoons but clearly visible in the jungle,” the article further states.
Netaji and his INA were one of the main reasons for the British leaving India. It is our duty as Indians to remember the courage of Netaji and INA this Independence Day, lest we forget one of the greatest episodes in the Indian history.
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