IN RESPONSE TO SEVERAL QUERIES BY AN INTERESTED ONE

1. Japan was the ally of the Provisional Govt. of Free India (PGFI) against the Anglo-American forces during the Second World War. It was agreed that the INA would be at the forefront of the offensive against the British Indian Army and any Indian territory falling into the hands of the Imperial Japanese Army would be forthwith handed over to the INA and thereby to the PGFI. In this connection it may be noted that the Japanese did fulfil their promise both in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands which they handed over to the PGFI, and later in North-east India where they handed over all of the conquered territory of Mnaipur.

2. Any government formed on behalf of a dependent nation is customarily called Provisional Government. This is the standard international practice and Netaji followed the same. The word 'provisional' is used to denote something which is interim and not final. Remember the Constitution of a nation not having been drafted yet, the government formed of it cannot be but provisional.

3. Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose was in charge of the Provisional Govt. of Free India as its constitutional head as well as the Supreme Commander of its army, the Indian National Army. Japan was not a part of the PGFI at all. The PGFI and the INA operated in alliance with Imperial Japan and her army through the intermediary of the Hikari Kikan which did the work of liaison. But the PGFI had total sovereignty, having received diplomatic recognition from nine States of the world including those of Germany, Japan, Italy and USSR. The INA as such was, thus, completely under the independent command of the PGFI and bore no allegiance to Imperial Japan.

4. After the surrender of Japan on 15 August, 1945, Netaji ordered for ceasefire and not surrender of the INA to the Anglo-American forces. Instead of guerrilla warfare he ordered retreat of his forces to carry on a second liberation struggle soon with Soviet help for which purpose he even feigned the air-crash and entered Soviet territory to ally with it in his crusade against colonial and imperial subjection of India. Netaji thought that when he was confident of Soviet help in his war of liberation of India --- and this conviction of his was founded on his prior diplomatic work conducted with the Soviet authorities during the war ---, it would be a far less effective option to go for guerrilla warfare against the mighty Anglo-Americans. What would have been his chances of success against the victorious Allies with 34 thousand remaining INA soldiers doing guerrilla combat? Far better and, surely, favourably decisive would be his alliance with the mighty victorious Soviet Union who for ideological reasons would now surely turn their back on the Anglo-Americans and carry out their crusade against colonialism and imperialism. In this they would find in Netaji with his national cause a natural ally and, so, Netaji went for alliance with USSR and not for a disastrous guerrilla warfare.