Subhas Chandra Bose, the INA and the Military Impact on British Rule

 

The contribution of Subhas Chandra Bose and the Indian National Army (INA) occupies an important place in the final phase of India's freedom struggle. Bose believed that British rule could not be ended only through constitutional negotiations and non-violent resistance. During the Second World War, he organized the INA and sought to liberate India through armed struggle.

Although the INA's military campaign ultimately failed to defeat the British, its political and psychological impact was significant. The INA trials held at the Red Fort in 1945–46 generated widespread public sympathy and brought together people from different political and social backgrounds in support of the accused soldiers.

There is also a widely cited account concerning former British Prime Minister Clement Attlee. According to a later account by P. B. Chakraborty, who had served as Chief Justice of the Calcutta High Court and Acting Governor of West Bengal, Attlee told him during a 1956 visit to India that the activities of the INA under Subhas Chandra Bose and the subsequent weakening of loyalty among Indian servicemen were important factors behind Britain's decision to leave India. Chakraborty's account also claimed that Attlee regarded the impact of the Quit India Movement on the final British decision as “minimal.”

However, historians should treat this statement with caution because the conversation is not supported by an independently verified contemporary transcript or primary British government record. Therefore, it is more accurate to describe it as a reported statement attributed to Attlee, rather than as an established fact.

The Revolutionaries and Their Contribution

The Indian freedom movement was not limited to constitutional politics or non-violent movements. Revolutionaries played a significant role in keeping the idea of complete independence alive and inspiring generations of Indians to challenge colonial rule.

Among the important revolutionary figures were Khudiram Bose, Prafulla Chaki, Ram Prasad Bismil, Ashfaqulla Khan, Chandrashekhar Azad, Bhagat Singh, Sukhdev, Rajguru, Surya Sen and the Chapekar brothers.

Revolutionary organizations such as the Hindustan Republican Association (later Hindustan Socialist Republican Association) and groups associated with the Anushilan Samiti and Jugantar sought to challenge British authority through armed resistance.

Bhagat Singh, Sukhdev and Rajguru became particularly influential symbols of revolutionary nationalism. Their willingness to sacrifice their lives had a profound impact on Indian youth. Bhagat Singh's political writings also demonstrated that revolutionary nationalism was connected with broader ideas of social justice, equality and freedom.

The Chittagong Armoury Raid of 1930, led by Surya Sen, was another important revolutionary episode. It demonstrated that organized resistance against British authority continued even during the period when mass politics under Gandhi was becoming increasingly prominent.

Revolutionary activities did not by themselves remove British rule, but their psychological and political influence was considerable. They challenged the idea that British authority was invincible and inspired young Indians to participate in the larger national movement.

The 1946 Naval Mutiny and the Changing Loyalty of Indian Forces

One of the most important but comparatively under-discussed events in the final phase of the freedom struggle was the Royal Indian Navy Mutiny of 1946.

Beginning in Bombay in February 1946, the revolt spread to other naval establishments and eventually involved thousands of Indian sailors. Contemporary and later scholarship has examined the event as part of the wider post-war nationalist upheaval.

The mutiny was particularly significant because the British depended heavily on Indian personnel to maintain colonial military power. The INA experience, the public response to the INA trials and subsequent unrest among sections of the armed forces raised questions about how reliably Britain could continue governing India through its military establishment.

The 1946 naval uprising therefore provides an important link between the wartime activities of the INA and the final crisis of British rule. It would nevertheless be an oversimplification to claim that the naval mutiny alone forced Britain to grant independence.

Was India's Independence Due to Gandhi or Bose?

The historical evidence does not support reducing India's independence to either Mahatma Gandhi alone or Subhas Chandra Bose alone.

Gandhi transformed the freedom struggle into a mass movement and mobilized millions through Non-Cooperation, Civil Disobedience and the Quit India Movement. His emphasis on non-violence, mass participation and political legitimacy placed enormous pressure on the colonial government.

At the same time, Bose and the INA introduced a different form of pressure. Their activities challenged British confidence in the loyalty of Indian soldiers, while the INA trials and the 1946 naval uprising demonstrated the political consequences of this changing atmosphere.

The revolutionary tradition also played an important role. From the Revolt of 1857 to Bhagat Singh and Chandrashekhar Azad, revolutionary nationalists repeatedly challenged British authority and inspired political consciousness among Indians.

Therefore, India's independence is best understood as the result of multiple forces working over several decades—mass non-violent movements, revolutionary resistance, the INA, changing attitudes within the armed forces, economic and political pressures created by the Second World War, and Britain's declining ability to maintain its empire.

The freedom struggle was consequently not the achievement of one individual. Gandhi, Bose, the revolutionaries, political leaders, soldiers, workers, students, farmers and countless ordinary Indians all contributed to the long struggle that eventually culminated in independence on August 15, 1947.