The Indian National Army and Netaji: From Command to the Red Fort Trials

Subhas Chandra Bose took command of an army in exile. Within four months, he had declared a government. This article covers that government, its women’s regiment, and the trial that followed.

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ModHist0101

4 JUL 1943

Bose Takes Command

Assumes leadership of the INA in Singapore

12 OCT 1943

Rani of Jhansi Regiment

All-women combat unit, led by Captain Lakshmi Sahgal

21 OCT 1943

Azad Hind Proclaimed

Provisional Government of Free India declared

5 NOV 1945

Red Fort Trials Begin

Three INA officers court-martialled for treason

The irony: a trial meant to punish the INA as traitors instead turned its officers into shared heroes across religious lines.

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Timeline

• 4 July 1943: Bose reaches Singapore and takes command of the Indian National Army. He renames it Azad Hind Fauj the next day.
• 12 October 1943: The Rani of Jhansi Regiment is formed, an all-women combat unit led by Captain Lakshmi Sahgal.
• 21 October 1943: Bose proclaims the Provisional Government of Free India, known as Azad Hind, at Cathay Cinema Hall.
• 5 November 1945: The Red Fort Trials begin. Three INA officers face court-martial for waging war against the King-Emperor.

Command and the Provisional Government Need to Know

• Subhas Chandra Bose took command of the Indian National Army (INA) in Singapore on 4 July 1943, renaming it Azad Hind Fauj.
• On 21 October 1943, he proclaimed the Provisional Government of Free India, known as Azad Hind. Nine Axis-aligned states recognised it, including Japan, Germany, and Italy.
• The Rani of Jhansi Regiment, formed on 12 October 1943, was an all-women combat unit. Captain Lakshmi Sahgal commanded it.
• The Red Fort Trials (November 1945 to May 1946) court-martialled three INA officers: Shah Nawaz Khan, Prem Sahgal, and Gurbaksh Singh Dhillon. One was Muslim, one Hindu, one Sikh.

Related Articles and Parakram Diwas Good to Know

• The INA’s own military campaign, including the fighting at Imphal and Kohima, is covered in ModHist0022 — The INA’s Military Campaign: Imphal and Kohima.
• Bose’s earlier escape from India to reach Axis support is covered in ModHist0023 — Netaji’s Escape: From Calcutta to Kabul to Berlin.
• Congress leaders including Bhulabhai Desai, Jawaharlal Nehru, and Tej Bahadur Sapru defended the accused INA officers at the Red Fort Trials.
• The Government of India observes 23 January, Bose’s birth anniversary, as Parakram Diwas. It marked his 129th birth anniversary in January 2026. (Source)

Test Yourself

Please wait…

1. On 4 July 1943, Subhas Chandra Bose took command of which force in Singapore?

The Indian National Army

The Indian National Congress

The Royal Indian Navy

The Hindustan Socialist Republican Association

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Death and the Red Fort Trials’ Fallout Great to Know

• Bose reportedly died on 18 August 1945, in a plane crash in Taipei. Some historians still dispute the circumstances, making it one of modern India’s most persistent unresolved questions.
• The Red Fort Trials backfired on the British. They were meant to show imperial authority. Instead, they united Hindu, Muslim, and Sikh opinion behind the accused — a unity the official freedom movement had struggled to build on its own.
• Massive public agitation followed the trials, including protests and riots across India through 1945-46. Historians widely see this as a major factor pushing Britain toward a faster exit.
• Azad Hind was recognised by nine foreign states. This gave the Indian independence movement something it had never had before — a government, however wartime and provisional, acknowledged abroad.