Bose's escape from his Elgin road house, fooling the British survelliance, his journey to Berlin through Moscow, his extraordinary suffering during the three intervening months, is now a legend. Landing up in Germany was more of a compulsion than choice. He succeeded in creating an institutional framework to raise the flag of India's liberty. As N G Ganpuley observed, "It was a puzzle to all as to how he could reach under those unfavourable war conditions, countries like Italy and Germany...and how after reaching there he could start his campaign against the powerful British forces...to help India in...gaining complete freedom through means other than passive resistance, compromises and self-suffering". more

After more than 60 years, many issues regarding the Indian National Army remain hotly debated, with government attitude ranging from subtly hostile, indifferent, and occasional platitudes. The general level of awareness about INA, its struggle with both the British and the Japanese, its organisational dynamics and its scale of achievement is not very high too. Questions regarding the morality of the INA, its effectiveness as an army and its contribution to India's independence still float in the air. We go back to the history of INA and attempt to answer these questions. We present the INA chapter in a question and answer format, as we feel this format would be more convenient for the reader to grasp the issue. more