His Majesty\'s Opponent. Subhas Chandra Bose and India\'s Struggle Against Empire

Roads to Delhi 251

professing different religious faiths, the man under whose sacred flag

freedom- loving Hindus, Muslims and Sikhs fought side by side in the

war that has been dubbed by En glish historians as the sepoy mutiny,

but which we Indians call the first war of in de pen dence.

That spirit of dynamic faith- inspired unity, not listless secular unifor-
mity, was what he wanted to see emulated in the “last war of in de pen-
dence.”^30
Bangkok, the cap ital of Thailand, was the usual stopover point as
Bose shuttled between Singapore and Rangoon. On August 4 he met
Phibul, the prime minister, and, according to Japanese sources, “plenty
of goodwill and un der stand ing developed between them.” On August 8,
the first anniversary of the passage of the Quit India resolution, Bose
addressed a public meeting at Chulalongkorn University. The following
day he “embraced more than one thousand Indians” who con trib uted
liberally to his war chest.^31 By September, Netaji had reason to be sat is-
fied with the enthusiastic response he had elicited in Malaya, Thailand,
and Burma. In addition to the major cities—Singapore, Bangkok, and
Rangoon—towns such as Kuala Lumpur, Penang, and Ipoh held rallies
that were highly successful. Bose sent his representatives to Vietnam,
Indonesia, and China as well, to spread his message. On occasion, he
allowed himself to be carried away by the fervor that he aroused. Much
to the consternation of his aides, he announced at a public meeting
that the Indian National Army would be on Indian soil before the year
was out.^32 This was a bit like Gandhi’s 1921 promise of swaraj within
the year, a morale- boosting but unrealistic claim Bose had once criti-
cized. Fortunately, the Japanese formally handed over the Andaman
and Nicobar islands to the Provisional Government of Free India on
December 29, 1943, enabling Bose to stand on Indian soil before
year’s end.
By the time Bose arrived in Singapore, the effective strength of the
Indian National Army had dwindled to twelve thousand armed men,
due to disagreements with the Japanese; but with his presence, the
number of volunteers soared. He wanted to raise the troop strength of
the INA to fifty thousand, but the Japanese would offer training and
equipment for no more than thirty thousand Indian soldiers or ga nized