Union Culture Minister Prahlad Singh Patel took part in the commemoration event of the 76th anniversary of the formation of Azad Hind Government at Red Fort on October 21.

Patel said that Azad Hind government represented the vision laid down by Subhas Chandra Bose. The Azad Hind government was actively involved in nation-building and had even started its own bank, currency, postal stamps and army, he added.

Azad Hind

On October 21, 1943, Bose announced the formation of the country’s first independent government, which was called the Azad Hind government.

Bose was the leader of the Azad Hind government and also the head of state of this provisional Indian government-in-exile. It was a part of the freedom movement, originating in the 1940s outside India with a purpose of allying with Axis powers to free India from British rule.

The existence of the Azad Hind government gave a greater legitimacy to the independence struggle against the British. Pertinently, the role of Azad Hind Fauj or the Indian National Army (INA) had been crucial in bequeathing a much needed impetus to India’s struggle for Independence.

Bose gave a famous slogan “Dilli Chalo” after the formation of this government.

Azad Hind declared war against the Allied forces on the Indo-Burma Front. The Indian National Army went into action against the British Indian Army and allied forces as part of the Imperial Japanese Army in the Imphal-Kohima sector.

On January 23, Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the Subhas Chandra Bose and Indian National Army (INA) museum at the Red Fort in New Delhi. The museum not only provides a detailed account of Netaji’s life and the history of INA but also showcases various valuable artefacts related to both.