“Rani Jhansi Regiment” in Netaji’s Indian National Army (Azad Hind Fauj)
v 2.0 dt March 2021
“Rani Jhansi Regiment” in Netaji’s Indian National Army (Azad Hind Fauj)
The Indian National Army ( Azad Hind Fauj) of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose, whose motto were: Unity (Etihaad), Faith (Etmad) and Sacrifice (Kurbani). consisted of three segments.
(1) All the volunteers, men and women, from South East Asian countries, who got motivated by the speeches of Netaji. They were in the Guerilla, Infantry and Nursing group.
(2) those who were motivated by Capt. Mohan Singh, with the help of Japanese Army, from the British Indian forces who were taken PoW, after the Japanese won at Singapore. (The INA was formed after the fall of Singapore in 1942, under Mohan Singh, and then taken over by Subhas Chandra Bose in 1943.)
(3) those of the British Indian Army who changed their alliance/loyalty (“deserters” as British Army called them) during the Burma campaign, from British Army to INA.
The 60,000 plus, soldiers of INA were in four brigades named Gandhi Brigade, Nehru Brigade, Subhas Brigade and Azad Brigade. Each of these Brigades had different Battalions. There were eight Guerilla Regiments. Bahadur Group, Intelligence Group, SS ie Suicide Squad, Paratroop Bn, Rani Jhansi Regiment, Chandbibi Nursing Group, 1st Engineer Company, Units 79, 450, 451, 453, ; were often mentioned in the postings of different Jawans who joined INA in Burma, Malaya, Singapore..after leaving the British Indian Army’s various regiments like Punjab, Dogra, Garhwal, Hyderabad, Kumaun… etc.,.
Gandhi brigade went on Imphal Campaign,Subhas Brigade to Aarakan front, and Azad Brigade to Mayint sector. During the war, Prabhu Dayal of INA betrayed and revealed the plans to British Army. While retreating, through Burma , INA soldiers were bombed, In all about 26000 INA soldiers lost their lives. . After Japan accepted defeat, Britain demanded and got 20000 INA PoWs on barter and tortured them. Britain did not want to show any of these INA PoWs, as they were afraid of a rebuttal by Indian Civilian Population. Britain did a systematic anti-propaganda on INA, telling they were merceneries.
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The following references found in my searches for any Soldier from erstwhile Princely Mysore State (or Kannada speakers) in Mysore Infantry, yielded the following:
B. Yellapa: Belonged to Mangalore,Karnataka; He was a civilian employee in the British-Indian Army. He left the British service in 1942 and joined the Indian National Army in Malaya. He was employed to serve in the Ministry of the Provisioned Government of Azad Hind Fauj. He was killed by the British forces during their attack on the INA personnel in 1944. [INA Papers, F.No. 1/INA, NAI; ROH, pp. 796-97;WWIM, II, p. 13
Naidu.R, Lance Naik, in Mysore Infantry, Indian Army, joined the INA at Malaya, Served as Havaldar in the Intelligence Group. Died of wounds on October 11, 1944 in Myaung Hospital.
The only reference found regarding Netaji conferring title:
Kumaran Nair T. P: Born in 1903, s/o A.K. Krishna Panikar and T. P.Kalyani Amma, resident of v.Nellicode, Calicut, Kerala, he joined Malabar Special Police and married Kochumalu Amma. Resigning his job and reaching Singapur in 1939, he associated himself with the Indian Independence League, and later enrolled in the Indian National Army as a member of its Suicide Squad .Reached India through Burma in December 1942, he sustained injuries in an encounter and was captured and jailed. Charge-sheeted as an agent of Japan, sabotaging of British Indian government, and waging war against King Emperor, he was found guilty. Awarded capital punishment, he was hanged to death on 7 July1944; he walked to the gallows shouting “Vande Mataram,, Bharat mata ki Jai.” Netaji conferred the title of “Shaheed-E-Hind” on him, posthumously. Freedom Movement Files, I and II, F. No. 3451& F. No. 1309, 3-6-44; Extract from Convict Register, Central Jail Madras, No. 5963, 1-7-49; Martyrís File Bundle No. 97, Nos. 2038, 2045,KSAT]
The only one case found of a Mysore Infantry soldier was of Naik. R S Srikantaraj Urs, who did not join INA, but remained loyal to British, and gave his life for them at Singapore.
Netaji
Rani Jhansi Regiment:
In brief: Rani Jhansi Regiment the all women combat regiment of the INA The unit was raised with volunteers from the expatriate Tamil Indian Rubber Plantation Worker population in Southeast Asia. The unit was named after the Rani of Jhansi Regiment after Lakshmibai, Rani of Jhansi. It was one of the very few all-female combat regiments of the Second World War on any side. Led by Captain Lakshmi Swaminathan (better known as Lakshmi Sahgal). It was formed to fight and overthrow British Rule in India with the help of Imperial Japanese Forces. The strength was from 800 to 1000. This regiment was active from 12th October 1943 to disbanding in May 1945. The Commander in Chief was Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose. Lakshmi Swaminathan ( later Lakkshmi Sehagal) and Janaki Thevar were other notable leaders.
Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose announced the formation of the Regiment on 12 July 1943. Joined by teenage volunteers of Indian descent from Malayan rubber estates. The training camp in Singapore began on 23 October 1943, with about a hundred and seventy cadets,divided into sections and platoons. The cadets were given ranks of non-commissioned officer or sepoy according to their education. Later, camps were established in Rangoon and Bangkok These cadets underwent military and combat training with drills, route marches as well as training in rifles, hand grenades, and bayonet charges. Later, a number of the cadets were chosen for more advanced training in guerilla warfare in Burma. The Regiment had its first passing out parade at the Singapore training camp of five hundred troops on 30 March 1944. Some 200 of the cadets were also chosen for nursing training, forming the Chand Bibi Nursing Corps. Later the HQ of Azad Hind Govt. was shifted from Singapore to Rangoon.
Information on some of the Queens of RJR, that are available in the searchs, are given below. We know for sure, there were many whose details are not accessible at the present.
Janaki Thevar: Born and brought up in a well-to-do Tamil family of the British Malaya, Janaki was only 16 when Subhash Chandra Bose arrived in Singapore in July 1943. It was Netaji’s powerful words that kindled a fervour in the young girl to fight for the freedom of a country she had never seen but felt like she belonged to. Janaki’s first step was to remove all her expensive gold and diamond jewellery and donate it to the Indian National Army. Next, she announced her decision to participate in one of the most improbable events in World War II’s Asia-Pacific theatre — the creation of an all-female combat squad, INA’s ‘Rani of Jhansi’ Regiment (RJR)! Janaki’s announcement led to strong objections from her father. But the deeply patriotic girl stood her ground and after much persuasion, her father reluctantly agreed. (According to RJR’s rules, unmarried applicants needed the signature of their fathers and married women of their husbands on the application form.). By the time RJR was formally inaugurated on October 22, 1943, on Singapore’s Waterloo Street, Janaki was an integral part of INA’s 500 ‘fighting Ranis’. Here, they trained under the command of Captain Lakshmi Swaminathan (later Lakshmi Sahgal), the daughter of an Indian National Congress leader who had settled in Singapore after the onset of the war. “We may be the softer and fairer sex but surely I protest against the word ‘weaker’. All sorts of epithets have been given to us by man to guard his own selfish interests. It is time we shattered these chains of men along with the chain of Indian slavery”, wrote 17-year-old Janaki in a Malayan newspaper, giving voice to these aspirations. Janaki, soon rose through the ranks to become a Lieutenant. In April 1944, Captain Lakshmi was transferred permanently to the base hospital in Maymyo and 18-year-old Janaki (remembered as a strict disciplinarian by her subordinates) became the commander of the Burma contingent of RJR Janaki would go on to rescue wounded soldiers when the British bombed the Red Cross hospital in Rangoon. Later, when the INA was in retreat, she would trek through the swamps and forests of Burma with Netaji to get fellow fighters back to their homes safely.
When INA was disbanded after the British won the war, Janaki joined the Indian Congress Medical Mission in Malaya. Inspired by the work being done by the Indian National Congress, she helped John Thivy establish the Malayan Indian Congress in 1946. In 1948, she met Athi Nahappan (then the editor cum publisher of the Malayan Tamil daily Tamil Nesan) and married him the next year. Janaki played an active role in the Girl Guide Association and the National Council of Women’s Organization. Unsurprisingly, her tireless efforts also saw her being nominated as a Senator in the Upper House (Dewan Negara) of the Malaysian Parliament. Honoured with numerous national and international awards, Janaki also became the first woman of Indian origin outside India to be awarded one of India’s highest title, the Padma Shri.
Lakshmi Krishnan: With the thought of sacrificing my life for my country, I joined the regiment, at the age of 15” recalls the Chennai-based Lakshmi Krishnan, now 92, who was once a Section Commander in the RJR. My father listened to Netaji’s speech, and he was very impressed. When he came to know that girls from Singapore had joined the INA, he encouraged me to join as well. In Maymyo, [in Myanmar]( in Maymyo, near the Irrawaddy. (Maymyo is now referred to as Pyin Oo Lwin). I would cycle around to pass time; the roads were mostly deserted. Then, after a while, I would go and sit in the camp. I had six very close friends in the regiment with me: Shakuntala Gandhi, Maya Ganguly, Aruna Ganguly, Rani Bhattacharya, Gowri Sen, and Rama Mehta,” says Krishnan. “We used to chat and sing songs. .We unitedly stood for a free India. We finished our training and never once thought of returning home. I still think about those times.” Krishnan remembers Captain Sahgal’s strong presence and affectionate nature. She also recalls how on his birthday, Netaji invited all of them to his bungalow. “We talked to him over dinner.” “Within a few months of joining, we were asked to be at the frontline,” Krishnan recollects. “Netaji asked for volunteers, and 10 or 15 of us came forward. We trained in a forest area, practising rifle shooting. One day, a bomb fell directly on our camp and the building collapsed. At the sound of an approaching plane, about five of us, including Captain Lakshmi, squeezed into a small trench. The debris had covered the trench and fumes began to fill it up inside. If we had not been rescued when we were, we would have died.” On another occasion, the British opened fire on the soldiers while they were shifting camps. “We took cover in a ditch, but we could hear the bullets whizzing past our shoulders.” Clearly, despite what the British believed, the RJR was no “ornamental regiment”.
From the Book in Kannada titled:“Nigoodha Netaji” by Choodi Shivaram:
Mrs Momta Mehta: Mrs Momata Mehta a 90 year old (as on 17th Dec 2015) had joined the INA in 1943 when she was only 16 years old. gave interview to Choodi Shivaram, describing all the activities of the RJR..Rs 16 was paid as salary, and most of the young women, returned that money to INA. She was in Burma and Netaji had inspired everyone and the grandmother of Momatha advised her to join INA.. The INA’s RJR completed in 3 months whatever the British Army trained for over a year. Waking up at 5 in the morning and walking 15 to 25 km was a routine. After Break fast, parade and training for the entire day, using 303rifles, machine guns and operating wireless sets for broadcasting.,.,. They never wasted ammunition in trainings and saved in that front. They were treated equal to all male officers. While the young ladies handled machine guns and bren guns, the old ladies who had cropped hair and wearing pants, looked after cleaning the barracks, cooking, and sentry duties.
Lt. Rama Mehta Khandwala: Born in an affluent family in 1926, Mehta ( 94 yr old in 2020), 2nd Lt Rama Mehta Khandwala of Azad Hind Fauj, ,got her Best Tourist Guide award from President Ram Nath Kovind in 2017 ) joined the INA’s Rani Jhansi Regiment as a sepoy, at the age of 17 with her sister Neelam. She was put into the Rani Jhansi regiment by her mother Major Leelavati Mehta, who was the recruiting officer of training in INA and was a part of the Indian Freedom Movement for several years. “There were more than 1,000 queens (as Netaji would call them) in the regiment . They all assembled in Rangoon for the Chalo Dilli Movement,” she recalls. Headed by Dr Laxmi Sehgal, Mehta underwent rigorous training for around eight months and was trained to use stun guns, machine guns, rifles, and other war weapons. She also underwent nursing training to treat soldiers on the frontlines. “I used to cry a lot. I had never seen that life before. I had all the comforts of the world as a child. Waking up early and participating in marches was not easy,” she shares, further recounting that she later made friends with other women soldiers, and she was the first among other women officers to join Indian soldiers at the frontline.
Saraswathi Rajamani: was born in Burma, in a family of freedom fighters, in 1927. Her father, an affluent miner from Trichy, was a staunch supporter of the freedom struggle; he settled down in Burma to escape arrest by the British authorities. Rajamani grew up in a liberal household for the girls. The deeply patriotic girl was barely 10 when she met Mahatma Gandhi, who was visiting their palatial home in Rangoon (present day Yangon, the erstwhile capital of Burma). Rajamani’s entire household had gathered together to meet Gandhi ji, who was already an important leader of the freedom struggle by then. As the family excitedly introduced themselves to the Mahatma, it was discovered that little Rajamani was missing. After a frantic search (Gandhi ji joined in too), the 10-year-old was found in the garden, honing her shooting skills. Shocked to see the child with a gun, Gandhi ji asked Rajamani why she needed a gun. “To shoot down the Britishers, of course,” she crisply answered, without even looking at him. “Violence is not the answer, little girl. We are fighting the British through non-violent ways. You should also do that,” Gandhi ji urged. “We shoot and kill the looters, don’t we? The British are looting India, and I am going to shoot at least one Britisher when I grow up,” said a determined Rajamani. As Rajamani grew up, she heard a lot about Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose and his Indian National Army. While she had always supported the nationalist movement wholeheartedly, it was Netaji’s powerful words that kindled a fervour in her to fight for her nation.
Bose visited Rangoon at the height of World War II to collect funds and recruit volunteers for INA. Deeply impressed with his fiery speech, 16 yr old, Rajamani, removed all her expensive gold and diamond jewellery and donated it to the Indian National Army. This magnanimous action did not fail to attract the attention of Bose who, on enquiring, found out that Rajamani was the daughter of one of the wealthiest Indians in Rangoon. The very next day, he arrived at Rajamani’s residence to return all the jewellery. On meeting Rajamani’s father, Bose said, “Due to her innocence, she gave away all her jewellery. So, I have come to return it.” While her father, a freedom fighter who had himself made massive donations to Bose’s cause, simply smiled in reply, an indignant Rajamani said, “They are not my father’s, they are mine. I gave all of them to you, and I will not take them back.” So stubborn was the teenager that Bose could not but admire her determination. He told her, “Lakshmi (money) comes and goes but not Saraswathi. You have the wisdom of Saraswathi. Hence, I name you Saraswathi.” This was how Rajamani became Saraswathi Rajamani from that day onwards. In the very same meeting, the 16-year-old urged Bose to recruit her in his army. So persuasive was she that the very next day, Bose recruited Rajamani and four of her friends as spies in INA’s intelligence wing.
Disguised as young boys, the girls started working as errand boys at British military camps and officers’ houses. As covert agents behind enemy lines, they were responsible for intercepting government orders and military intelligence from the British officers and handing these over to INA. Rajamani (as a boy her name was Mani) and her friends masqueraded as boys for almost two years to gather intelligence on British movements. While the unit had been told to avoid getting caught at all costs, one of the girls was once caught by the British. Knowing the consequences of being caught, Rajamani decided that she would try and rescue her fellow spy. The gutsy teenager dressed herself as a dancing girl, drugged the officers at the prison, and rescued her colleague. As the girls were escaping, they were shot at by the Britishers and Rajamani suffered a bullet wound in her right leg. Still bleeding as she ran, Rajamani and her friend climbed up a tree, where they camped for three days while the British carried out their search operation. The bullet wound left her with a permanent limp, but Rajamani was proud of it. For her, it was a reminder of her exciting days as an INA spy.
Later, Rajamani would often recall how delighted Netaji was at their brave escape and the proud moment when she was given a medal by the Japanese emperor himself, along with the rank of Lieutenant in INA’s Rani of Jhansi Brigade
When INA was disbanded after the British won the war, Saraswathi and the other INA members returned to India on Netaji’s instructions. Saraswathi Rajamani and her family gave away everything they had and made their way to India. Sadly, the family that gave everything they had to the freedom struggle, had to live a life of penury on their return to India. For a long time, this veteran freedom fighter lived alone in a dilapidated and cramped one-room apartment in Chennai, adorned only by several photographs of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose. Recently, the Tamil Nadu government allotted her a house, albeit an old one in a housing colony. Age has hardly withered Rajamani’s spirit and determination to serve her nation. Even at this old age, she visits tailor shops and collects cloth scraps as well as rejected fabrics from them. She uses these materials to make clothes that she then donates to orphanages and old age homes. During the devastating tsunami of 2006, she also donated her meagre monthly pension as a freedom fighter to the relief fund. Smt. Saraswathi Rajamani died of cardiac arrest on January 13, 2018. Her last rites were held at Peters Colony, Royapettah, Chennai.
Somehow, history tends to forget its women. Many heroines, who walked shoulder to shoulder with the men during trying times, still remain in the shadows, their faces forgotten and their bravery unsung. Saraswathi Rajamani is one such heroine, a woman whose exceptional bravery and intelligence deserves to be recognised and respected by her country.
Capt.Lakshmi Sehagal: was born as Lakshmi Swaminathan in Anakkara, Pattambi In Kerala on 24 October 1914 to S. Swaminathan, a lawyer who practised criminal law at Madras High Court, and A.V. Ammukutty, better known as Ammu Swaminathan, a social worker and independence activist from an aristocratic Nair family known as "Vadakkath" family of Anakkara in Palghat, Kerala. She is the elder sister of Mrinalini Sarabhai. Lakshmi studied in Queen Mary's College and later studied medicine and received an MBBS degree from Madras Medical College in 1938. A year later, she received her diploma in gynaecology and obstetrics. She worked as a doctor in the Government Kasturba Gandhi Hospital located at Triplicane Chennai. In 1940, she left for Singapore after the failure of her marriage to pilot P.K.N. Rao. During her stay at Singapore, she met some members of Subhas Chandra Bose's Indian National Army. In 1942, during the surrender of Singapore by the British to the Japanese, Lakshmi aided wounded prisoners of war. Singapore at this time had several nationalist Indians working there including K. P. Kesava Menon, S. C. Guha and N. Raghavan, who formed a Council of Action. Their Indian National Army, or Azad Hind Fauj, however, received no firm commitments or approval from the occupying Japanese forces regarding their participation in the war. Subhas Chandra Bose arrived in Singapore on 2 July 1943. Lakshmi had heard that Bose was keen to draft women into the organisation and requested a meeting with him from which she emerged with a mandate to set up a women’s regiment, to be called the Rani of Jhansi regiment. Women responded enthusiastically to join the all-women brigade and Dr. Lakshmi Swaminathan became Captain Lakshmi, a name and identity that would stay with her for life.
The INA marched to Burma with the Japanese army in December 1944, but by March 1945, with the tide of war turning against them, the INA leadership decided to beat a retreat before they could enter Imphal. Captain Lakshmi was arrested by the British army in May 1945, remaining in Burma until March 1946, when she was sent to India – at a time when the INA trials in Delhi heightened popular discontent with and hastened the end of colonial rule.
Sahgal married Prem Kumar Sahgal in March 1947 in Lahore. After their marriage, they settled in Kanpur, where she continued with her medical practice and aided the refugees who were arriving in large numbers following the Partition of India. They had two daughters: Subhashini Ali and Anisa Puri. Subhashini is a prominent Communist politician and labour activist. According to Ali, Sahgal was an atheist. The filmmaker Shaad Ali is her grandson
In 1971, Sahgal joined the Communist Party of India (Marxist) and represented the party in the Rajya Sabha. During the Bangladesh crisis, she organised relief camps and medical aid in Calcutta for refugees who streamed into India from Bangladesh. She was one of the founding members of All India Democratic Women's Association in 1981 and led many of its activities and campaigns.[7] She led a medical team to Bhopal after the gas tragedy in December 1984, worked towards restoring peace in Kanpur following the anti-Sikh riots of 1984 and was arrested for her participation in a campaign against the Miss World competition in Bangalore in 1996. In 2002, four leftist parties – the Communist Party of India, the Communist Party of India (Marxist), the Revolutionary Socialist Party, and the All India Forward Bloc – nominated Sahgal as a candidate in the presidential elections. She was the sole opponent of A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, who emerged victorious.
In 1998, Sahgal was awarded the Padma Vibhushan by Indian president K. R. Narayanan. In 2010, she was bestowed with honorary doctorate by University of Calicut.
On 19 July 2012, Sahgal suffered a cardiac arrest and died on 23 July 2012 at 11:20 A.M. at the age of 97 at Kanpur. Her body was donated to Ganesh Shankar Vidyarthi Memorial Medical College for medical research.
Ironically,all the INA warriors call the following as Traitors of INA as they joined Indian Govt which was against Netaji.: Shah Nawaz Khan (Maj.Gen. in INA); and Capt. Lakshmi Sahagal,
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‘Jai Hind,’ one of the rousing salutations ever coined, was the result of a brainwave. Tasked by Netaji in Germany, to come up with a greeting that was acceptable to all Indians, Abid Hasan noted that while ‘Namaste’, ‘Hello’, ‘Sat Sri Akaal’ and ‘Salaam Alekum’ were all in vogue, some Rajput soldiers in his dormitory used ‘Jai Ramji Ki’. Hasan changed it to ‘Jai Hindustan Ki’ and then did a crisp editing to ‘Jai Hind’. It became an instant-hit with his comrades and Bose was impressed. Almost eighty years later, its popularity has remained undiminished.
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Smt. Neera Arya was born on March 5, 1902, in the then United Provinces’ Khekra Nagar to Seth Chhajumal, a famous businessman of Calcutta. She married Srikont Joironjon Das who was a CID Inspector in the British Police . While Neera Arya was a true nationalist, her husband was a true British servant. Being a patriot, Neera joined the Rani Jhansi Regiment of Indian National Army (Azad Hind Fauj) of Subhas Chandra Bose, as a soldier. Her brother Basant Kumar, was also in AHF. Neera’s husband, Inspector Srikont Joironjon Das was spying on Subhash Chandra Bose. Srikont Joironjon Das once opened fired on Bose, but fortunately, Bose escaped unhurt, but his driver was injured.(The driver was Col. Nizamuddin; the Rank was given by Bose himself) In order to save Subhas Bose, Neera stabbed her husband to death.
However, after surrender of the INA, a trial took place ( Nov 1945 and May 1946) in the Red Fort, all the prisoners were released, except Neera. She was transported to Cellular jail, Andaman, where she was tortured every day.
A blacksmith came to remove the iron chains and fetters and he intentionally cut off a bit of her skin, and hit her legs with a hammer 2-3 times. She endured the excruciating pain.
The Jailer who was watching the sadistic game, offered to release Neera, if she reveals the whereabouts of Subhash Bose. Neera replied that Bose died in a plane crash and the entire world knows about it. The Jailer, refused to believe and replied, ’you are lieing and Bose is still alive”, thereupon Neera said “Yes, he is alive, he lives in my heart”. The Jailer got furious and said “then we will remove Bose from your heart” . The Jailer touched her inappropriately and tore her clothes apart, and ordered the blacksmith to chop off her breast. The blacksmith immediately took the breast ripper and started crushing her right breast. The savagery did not stop there, the Jailer held her neck and said I’ll take off both your “balloons” out of your chest. He further said with a barbaric smile, “ this breast ripper is not heated or else your breast would have already been chopped off”
Neera Arya spent her last days of her life selling flowers and she lived in a small cottage in Falaknuma Bhagyanagaram. The government of Independent (?) India demolished her cottage alleging that it was constructed on a government land.
Neera Arya died on 26.07.1998 as a destitute, unwept and unsung.
I bet the majority of our people are blissfully unaware of all this…..Let us pay our tributes on her birth anniversary.
(SHE WROTE HER AUTOBIOGRAPHY AND THE ABOVE IS AN EXTRACT. THE TITLE OF THE BOOK ETC.,.IS NOT KNOWN)
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