In News: Recently, Manipur Chief Minister N. Biren Singh hoisted the Indian tricolour flag at the INA Martyr’s complex in Moirang, Bishnupur district to mark the 77th anniversary of the flag hoisting day of the Indian National Army (INA).
About Flag hoisting day INA
- It was on 14 April 1944 that the flag of the Indian National Army (INA) was for the second time hoisted on the Indian Soil of Moirang,about 45 km away from Imphal, the capital of Manipur.
- Moirang, which is about 45 km from the state capital Imphal, was chosen as the headquarters of the INA led by Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose, after they liberated a part of Manipur from the British rule and established the provincial independent government.
- Subsequently, on April 14 1944, Colonel Shaukat Ali Malik hoisted the flag of the provincial government in Moirang.
- The INA flag comprises yellow, white and green. The image of a springing tiger was in the middle of the flag.
INA Museum at Moirang
- The INA Museum at Moirang is a treasure of relics connected with Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose’s struggle against British imperialism to emancipate the Indian motherland.
- A museum dedicated to the soldiers was inaugurated by the then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi on September 23, 1969. The museum houses memorabilia and important documents related to the INA during World War II in the Burma theatre.
Note: First time tri colour flag for Indian Independence hoisted by himself Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose, INA Chief Commander & President of Indian National Government in Port Blair- Shahid Swaraj Dweep on 30 December 1943.
Indian National Army (INA)
- Bose had set up an Indian Legion in Berlin in 1941, but developed difficulties with the Germans.
- He reached Japanese-controlled Singapore from Germany in July 1943, issued from there his famous call, ‘Delhi Chalo’, and announced the formation of the Azad Hind Government and the Indian National Army on 21st October 1943.
- Indian prisoners of war in Japanese camps provided a ready recruiting ground for the INA which was able to rally about 20,000 out of the 60,000 prisoners of war, and financial aid and volunteers came from Indian trading communities settled in South East Asia.
- The INA was essentially non-communal, with Muslims quite prominent among its officers and ranks, and it also introduced the innovation of a women’s detachment named after the Rani of Jhansi.
- Between March and June 1944, the INA was in action on Indian soil, besieging Imphal (Manipur) along with Japanese troops in a campaign which ended in total failure.
- The Japanese collapse in 1945 made the INA men prisoners again, while Bose mysteriously disappeared, allegedly killed in an air-crash which some still believe to have been faked.
- In November, 1945, a British move to put the INA men on trial immediately sparked off massive demonstrations all over the country.
Additional Link: https://journalsofindia.com/indian-flag/
Source: Indian Express
