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The unsung heroes

Mr.Vaidhyalingam was able to gather 1000 members to form the Tamil Nadu INA League, writes T. SARAVANAN.



Nostalgic memories: Relishing the glorious past

"Freedom implies not only emancipation from political bondage but also equal distribution of wealth, abolition of caste barriers and social inequities and destruction of communalism and religious intolerance"

--- Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose.

THESE WORDS of the leader are still etched deeply in the minds of motivated members of the Indian National Army.

For the 20-odd surviving Indian National Army (INA) men in the city the pride of having shed their blood for the country is more valuable than any other thing in this world.

Netaji, the inspiration

"More than 75 per cent of the INA soldiers were Tamils, who migrated to Burma in pursuit of a job. Most of our men served in different positions, from accountants to servants, for the high profile Tamil landlords. We happened to read a lot of books on Netaji and INA, which inspired us to join INA. We stood by Netaji and we were a force to reckon with," V. Vaidhyalingam, secretary and treasurer, Tamil Nadu Indian National Army League, reminisces.

Incidentally, it was in the month of August that Netaji was formally appointed the Commander in Chief of the INA. Earlier, he had gathered a group of prisoners of wars with the help of Germany in August.

INA formation

For these war veterans the nostalgic memories are the driving force, which keeps them going.

The urge to succeed in any attempt is undying. With all humility the 86-year-old recalls: "The INA was considered an army of the Indian Independence League, East Asia's political organisation, which was under the direct control of the League's Council of Action. Organised and managed by Indians, the purpose of this league was to attain complete independence and establish full sovereignty of India, free from any foreign influence, control or domination."

Success stories of INA

"Netaji declared the Provisional Government of Free India (Azad Hind Fauj) on October 21, 1943, which was recognised by countries including Japan, the Philippines, Burma, and Thailand. The first success of INA was recorded in Arakan's Mayu Valley when Major L.S. Misra's unit got the better of the 7th Indian Division in February 1944. The success stories continued in the Arakan and Kaladan sectors. The INA Gandhi Brigade, Subhas Brigade and Azad Brigade marched ahead towards the promised land - Free India," he explains.

Warfront experiences

Recalling his warfront experiences as a Havildar of an engineering company of the army, he says: "The battle of Imphal turned out to be a long-fought one - for which INA's timing was too late in summer. Soon monsoon, not the British army, became our biggest adversary.


Worse still, INA did not have any aerial cover of their own - as most Japanese planes left the area to fight the Americans elsewhere. This inevitably meant that it was almost impossible to ensure continuity of supplies. Further, with the onset of monsoon, extensive rainfalls caused widespread floods."

"INA morale, however, was dampened neither by flood, nor by the lack of supplies. We `lived on grass and leaves for long'. We could have stretched further, but an outbreak of malaria and dysentery, in the face of total lack of medical facilities and supplies, dealt a severe blow and took a heavy toll.

"On a specific instruction from Netaji, the troops eventually retreated. The extent of loss during retreat was significant," he shares.

It was only after the surrender of Japan on August 16, 1945, that Netaji had to discontinue his struggle. He decided to go underground and left in a warplane for an undisclosed destination on August 17, 1945.

"After the surrender of Japan we were detained in prisons by the British troops and then repatriated to Indian ports. Three thousand of us landed at Chennai harbour and were received by Congress leader Kamaraj," Mr.Vaidhyalingam recalls with pride.

Association of INA members

The patriotic spirit was on a high but it was a difficult period, which every INA member would like to forget. They were not recognised as freedom fighters by the Government. Left in the lurch, most of the INA men faded into oblivion.

But Mr.Vaidhyalingam's sincere efforts to gather his fellow army men reaped rich dividends when he was able to form Tamil Nadu INA League with more than 1000 men as members.

But, as days rolled, the numbers came down to less than 500.

"Most of our INA men lived in penury. But I tried my best and got Central and State pension for most them. Not only men, we have women members also, as Netaji was strongly in favour of women's education. In his perception of free India, women were expected to play a big role in national reconstruction. Even in the midst of war in East Asia, Netaji ordered normal functioning of schools in areas under his control and saw to it that girls are admitted to these schools.

"He constituted a full-fledged all-women regiment in the military, called `Rani Jhansi Regiment'. Women served the INA mainly in logistics and nursing. Besides, Netaji also formed `Balak Sena', the childrens' wing, and often the members of the Sena took out parades to inspire elders to join the INA."

The Madurai committee of the League headed by Mr.Vaidhyalingam, celebrates the birth anniversary of the Netaji, the formation day of Azad Hind Fauj, the Independence Day and Republic Day.

"I gather the committee members every year. I had organised three national INA conferences. People, quite often talk about the bloodshed of the moderates, but hardly speak about the sacrifice made by INA men.

"I had seen people die in front of my eyes for the nation. More than money what we want is better recognition from the Government," he says.

But even to this day Mr.Vaidhyalingam's eyes sparkle every time he speaks about Netaji.

There may be a lot of speculations regarding Netaji's whereabouts but INA war veterans like Mr.Vaidhyalingam still believe that their Supreme Commander is alive somewhere.

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