Roads to Delhi 243in February 1943 that Subhas Chandra Bose was on his way to assume
the leadership of the movement persuaded those who were wavering to
remain in—and other of fi cers who had stayed aloof to join—what
came to be called the second INA.^11
Given the his tory of these tensions prior to his arrival, Subhas Chan-
dra Bose had to summon all his diplomatic skills in Tokyo to assert
Indian in de pen dence while securing Japanese support. He had pre-
pared the ground well by the time he met with Tojo for the first time,
on June 10, 1943, in the prime minister’s of fice. He instantly impressed
the Japanese leader with his dig ni fied bearing and the force of his
personality. If Tojo had harbored doubts about India’s ability to fight
for freedom, these were quickly dispelled.^12 A second meeting was ar-
ranged, for June 14. Bose asked Tojo whether Japan was prepared to
render “unconditional support” to the Indian struggle. On hearing the
Japanese prime minister’s answer in the af firmative, Bose ventured a
further request: he wanted the Japanese leader to sanction a military
thrust from Burma into India—an offensive in which the Indian Na-
tional Army would fight shoulder to shoulder with the Japanese Impe-
rial Army. Tojo was unable to give an immediate answer without con-
sulting his military commanders. Two days later, on June 16, Bose was
invited to attend a session of the Imperial Diet as a special guest, and
had the satisfaction of hearing Tojo declare that Japan would do “ev-
ery thing possible” to help the cause of Indian in de pen dence.^13
Once such an unequivocal declaration had been made, Bose de-
cided to appear in public. On June 19, he addressed a press conference
attended by sixty journalists. The fact that he was standing before
them “in the heart of Nippon instead of sitting idly in a prison house
in India” was symbolic of the dynamism of the new movement that
was sweeping across his country. While seeking assistance from for-
eign powers, he spoke of the duty “to pay for our liberty with our
own blood.” “The freedom that we shall win, through our sac ri fices
and exertions,” he argued, “we shall be able to preserve with our own
strength.”^14 He followed up his media interaction with a series of stir-
ring radio broadcasts from Tokyo. He was quite candid in his analysis
of the war between the old and new imperial powers, and urged his
countrymen to take advantage of the turmoil to win freedom for India.