Revolutionary Nationalism and Subhas Chandra Bose INA Notes

Besides the non-violent mass movements led by Gandhi, the Indian freedom struggle also had a powerful stream of revolutionary nationalism, in which young men and women took up arms to challenge British rule, and the later phase led by Subhas Chandra Bose and the Indian National Army (INA). For the UPSC Civil Services Examination, this topic is asked in the Prelims through questions on organisations, events, dates and leaders, and in the Mains in analytical questions on the role and impact of revolutionaries and the INA. This note gives a clear timeline of the revolutionary movement in India and abroad and explains Bose and the INA in simple language.

Why Revolutionary Nationalism Arose

By the end of the 19th century, many young Indians felt that the moderate method of petitions and prayers had brought little result. Factors that pushed them towards violence included economic exploitation and famines, the harsh repression of the Extremist movement, the partition of Bengal (1905), the failure of constitutional methods, the inspiration of revolutionary movements in Ireland, Russia and Italy, and the Japanese victory over Russia (1905). The revolutionaries wanted complete independence and believed that sacrifice and fear in the British administration would awaken the nation.

Phase 1: Early Revolutionaries (1897 to 1914)

The revolutionaries were supported by newspapers like Yugantar and Sandhya in Bengal and by the writings of Aurobindo Ghose. The government crushed them by laws such as the Explosive Substances Act (1908) and the Newspaper (Incitement to Offences) Act (1908), and by many trials.

Phase 2: Revolutionaries Abroad and the Ghadar Party

Indians abroad also organised. The Ghadar Party was formed in 1913 at San Francisco by Indian immigrants, led by Lala Har Dayal, Sohan Singh Bhakna and others, with the aim of overthrowing British rule by an armed revolt. It published the weekly Ghadar. During the First World War, they planned a mutiny in the army in 1915, which failed because of a spy; Kartar Singh Sarabha was hanged. The Komagata Maru incident (1914) was the voyage of a Japanese ship carrying Sikh and Punjabi migrants (led by Baba Gurdit Singh), who were denied entry into Canada; on return, they clashed with the police at Budge Budge near Calcutta. In Germany, the Berlin Committee under Virendranath Chattopadhyaya and others planned with German help. Raja Mahendra Pratap formed a provisional Government of India at Kabul in 1915.

Phase 3: Socialist Revolutionaries (1920s)

After the withdrawal of the Non-Cooperation Movement in 1922, many youth turned back to revolutionary methods, but now with a socialist outlook. The Hindustan Republican Association (HRA) was formed in 1924 by Sachindranath Sanyal, Ram Prasad Bismil and Jogesh Chandra Chatterjee. The Kakori Conspiracy: on 9 August 1925, HRA members robbed a government-money train near Kakori (near Lucknow). Ram Prasad Bismil, Ashfaqulla Khan, Roshan Singh and Rajendra Lahiri were hanged in 1927. After this, Chandrashekhar Azad reorganised the party in 1928 at Feroz Shah Kotla in Delhi as the Hindustan Socialist Republican Association (HSRA), with Bhagat Singh, Sukhdev, Rajguru and Bhagwati Charan Vohra. They aimed at a socialist republic, and also organised the Naujawan Bharat Sabha for youth.

After Lala Lajpat Rai died of injuries received during a lathi charge in a protest against the Simon Commission (1928), Bhagat Singh, Rajguru and Azad killed the police officer J. P. Saunders at Lahore in December 1928. On 8 April 1929, Bhagat Singh and Batukeshwar Dutt threw harmless bombs in the Central Legislative Assembly to protest against the Public Safety Bill and the Trade Disputes Bill, shouted "Inquilab Zindabad" and courted arrest to use the trial as a platform. Bhagat Singh, Sukhdev and Rajguru were hanged on 23 March 1931, and Chandrashekhar Azad died in a police encounter at Alfred Park, Allahabad, on 27 February 1931. In Bengal, Surya Sen (Masterda) led the Chittagong Armoury Raid (18 April 1930), in which women like Pritilata Waddedar and Kalpana Dutta took part. Udham Singh killed Michael O'Dwyer, the former Governor of Punjab responsible for the Jallianwala Bagh massacre, in London in 1940.

Subhas Chandra Bose: Early Career

Subhas Chandra Bose was born on 23 January 1897 at Cuttack. He passed the Indian Civil Services examination but resigned in 1921 to join the freedom struggle, with Chittaranjan Das as his political guru. He became the president of the Indian National Congress at the Haripura session (1938) and was re-elected at the Tripuri session (1939) by defeating Gandhi's candidate Pattabhi Sitaramayya, but due to differences with Gandhi and the Working Committee, he resigned and formed the Forward Bloc in 1939. He believed in a more militant approach to freedom and in using the chance of the Second World War, summarised in his idea that the enemy's difficulty was India's opportunity.

The Great Escape and Azad Hind Fauj

Placed under house arrest in Calcutta in 1940, Bose escaped in January 1941, travelled via Afghanistan and the Soviet Union to Germany, where he set up the Free India Centre and the Azad Hind Radio. In 1943, he travelled by submarine to Japanese-held Southeast Asia. The first Indian National Army (INA) had been formed in 1942 by Mohan Singh from Indian prisoners of war captured by Japan in Malaya and Singapore, with the help of the Indian Independence League led by Rash Behari Bose. In July 1943, Bose took over the leadership at Singapore and was called Netaji. On 21 October 1943, he formed the Provisional Government of Free India (Azad Hind Government), which was recognised by Japan, Germany and some other Axis countries. The Andaman and Nicobar Islands, handed over by Japan, were renamed Shaheed and Swaraj islands.

Organisation and Slogans of the INA

The INA had brigades named after Gandhi, Azad and Nehru, and the women's regiment, the Rani of Jhansi Regiment, led by Captain Lakshmi Sahgal (Swaminathan). Famous slogans were "Jai Hind", "Delhi Chalo" and "Tum mujhe khoon do, main tumhe azadi dunga". The army included Hindus, Muslims and Sikhs, and the officers dined together as a mark of unity. In 1944, the INA, along with the Japanese army, marched into Manipur and Nagaland and fought at Imphal and Kohima. The attack failed because of poor supplies, the Allied air power, the monsoon and the Japanese reverses. After the fall of Rangoon in 1945, the INA retreated. Bose is reported to have died in a plane crash at Taihoku (Taipei) on 18 August 1945, though this is disputed and has been a subject of several inquiries.

The INA Trials and Their Impact

After the war, the British tried INA officers at the Red Fort in Delhi in 1945 and 1946. The first trial was of Prem Sahgal, Shah Nawaz Khan and Gurbaksh Singh Dhillon, a Hindu, a Muslim and a Sikh, which underlined unity. The Congress set up a defence committee, with lawyers such as Bhulabhai Desai, Tej Bahadur Sapru and Jawaharlal Nehru. Public opinion all over India supported the INA men, leading to demonstrations and strikes. The Royal Indian Navy mutiny of February 1946 at Bombay showed that the loyalty of the armed forces could no longer be taken for granted. These events convinced the British that they could not rule India by force and speeded up the process of transferring power.

Evaluation: Role of Revolutionaries and the INA

Historians debate how much the revolutionaries and the INA changed the course of events. Their achievements: they inspired patriotism and courage, made independence the national goal, exposed the nature of British rule, and the INA showed communal unity and provided a lesson in leadership by a national figure. Their limitations: they did not command mass support in an organised way, they were small groups with limited resources, and they were easily suppressed by the colonial state. In the end, the freedom was achieved through the combined effect of the mass movements, the pressure of the INA trials and the Navy mutiny, the weakened British economy after the war and the changing world order.

Quick Revision

• Anushilan Samiti (1902), Abhinav Bharat (1904), India House (1905), Ghadar Party (1913).
• HRA (1924) became HSRA (1928); Kakori (1925); Saunders killing (1928); Assembly bomb (1929); Chittagong raid (1930).
• Bose: Haripura 1938, Tripuri 1939, Forward Bloc 1939, escaped 1941, Azad Hind Government 21 October 1943.
• INA trials (1945-46) and the Navy mutiny (1946) shook British confidence.

Revolutionary nationalism complements the Gandhian story and shows the many roads to freedom. Learn the timeline in a table and add the evaluation points, and you will handle both factual and analytical questions with ease.

Related Notes to Read Next

Continue your preparation with these related notes from the same subject:

• Land Revenue Systems and Economic Impact of British Rule Notes
• Peasant, Tribal and Labour Movements in Modern India Notes
• Revolt of 1857 Notes for UPSC
• All Modern Indian History notes

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

What was the Anushilan Samiti?

The Anushilan Samiti was a revolutionary organisation formed in Bengal in 1902 that promoted physical training and armed struggle against British rule.

What was the Ghadar Party?

The Ghadar Party was founded in 1913 at San Francisco by Indian immigrants, led by Lala Har Dayal and others, to overthrow British rule through armed revolt.

What was the Komagata Maru incident?

In 1914, the ship Komagata Maru, carrying Indian migrants led by Baba Gurdit Singh, was denied entry into Canada and later clashed with the police at Budge Budge near Calcutta.

What was the Kakori Conspiracy?

On 9 August 1925, HRA revolutionaries robbed a train carrying government money near Kakori in Uttar Pradesh. Bismil, Ashfaqulla Khan, Roshan Singh and Rajendra Lahiri were hanged.

What was the HSRA?

The Hindustan Socialist Republican Association was formed in 1928 under Chandrashekhar Azad and Bhagat Singh, with the aim of a socialist republic in India.

Why did Bhagat Singh throw a bomb in the Assembly?

On 8 April 1929, Bhagat Singh and B. K. Dutt threw harmless bombs in the Central Legislative Assembly to protest against repressive laws and to use the trial to spread their ideas.

When were Bhagat Singh, Sukhdev and Rajguru hanged?

They were hanged on 23 March 1931 in the Lahore jail.

Who led the Chittagong Armoury Raid?

Surya Sen, known as Masterda, led the Chittagong Armoury Raid on 18 April 1930.

Which party did Subhas Chandra Bose form?

Subhas Chandra Bose formed the Forward Bloc in 1939 after he resigned from the presidency of the Congress.

Who formed the first INA?

Mohan Singh formed the first Indian National Army in 1942 from Indian prisoners of war captured by Japan, with the support of the Indian Independence League led by Rash Behari Bose.

When did Bose form the Azad Hind Government?

Subhas Chandra Bose formed the Provisional Government of Free India (Azad Hind Government) at Singapore on 21 October 1943.

Why were the INA trials important?

The INA trials of 1945-46 at the Red Fort created nationwide sympathy for the INA and, with the Navy mutiny of 1946, convinced the British that the Indian armed forces could not be relied upon.