The Forgotten Army: India's Armed Struggle for Independence 1942-1945

Drawing on the memories and records of members of the Indian National Army, Fay ( The Opium War, 1840-42 ) offers a revealing depiction of the little-understood army that Subhas Chandra Bose formed with Japanese backing. The INA was rooted in the growing nationalism of Indian soldiers and of the Indian community of Malaya. Both groups saw themselves as Indians, apart from distinctions of caste and religion, and were united by anti-British sentiment. The INA became both a symbol of direct action for the independence movement and a challenge to the gradualism of Jawaharlal Nehru and Mohandas K. Gandhi. Though never a particularly effective fighting force, the British saw it as a portent: quit India or face the risk of widespread disaffection in an army crucial to a stable subcontinent. Fay sheds light on what has tended to be a footnote to the history of WW II and the struggle for Indian independence. Photos not seen by PW . (Nov.)