Freedom Struggle & National Movement
GS Paper: GS Paper I | Subject: History | Last updated: 2026-06-04
Prelims
(Key facts, data, schemes, laws, organizations — MCQ-ready points)
INA Origins — The Bangkok Conference (1942) (The Hindu, 15-06-2026)
- 15 June marks the Bangkok Conference (15–23 June 1942, Silpakorn Theatre) that blueprinted the Indian National Army (INA) — a 34-point resolution made the Indian Independence League (IIL) the central body for overseas Indians and placed the INA (volunteers + former POWs) under IIL, not Japanese, control
- Roots: Rabindranath Tagore's 1927 visit to Siam (met King Prajadhipok/Rama VII); Swami Satyananda Puri (Prafulla Kumar Sen) founded the Thai-Bharat Cultural Lodge (TBCL, 1940) in Bangkok; Sardar Pritam Singh (Ghadar Party veteran) linked with Japanese intelligence (Major Fujiwara, "F-Kikan"); the Indian National Council was formed in 1941
- Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose took command of the IIL & INA in 1943 ("Total Mobilization"; Provisional Government of Free India)
- Shared Ramayana / Thai "Ramakien" cultural ties underpinned India–Thailand solidarity
Mains
(Analysis, dimensions, significance, critique, policy angles — for 10/15 mark answers)
The Overseas / Eastern Theatre of the Freedom Struggle (The Hindu, 15-06-2026)
- The INA story illustrates the transnational dimension of India's freedom struggle — diaspora networks, cultural institutions (TBCL), and Asian anti-colonial solidarity (Burma, Malaya, Singapore) preceded and enabled Bose's military mobilisation; Indian agency was carefully guarded (INA under the IIL, seeking recognition independent of Japan)
- UPSC angle: INA & Netaji, Indian Independence League, overseas/diaspora nationalism, Ghadar legacy, India–Southeast Asia historical & cultural links