Lakshmi Sahgal - The Azad Hind Fauj

The Azad Hind Fauj

In 1942, during the surrender of Singapore by the British to the Japanese, Sahgal aided wounded prisoners of war, many of whom who were interested in forming an Indian liberation army. Singapore at this time had several nationalist Indians working there including K. P. Kesava Menon, S. C. Guha and N. Raghavan who formed a Council of Action. Their Indian National Army or Azad Hind Fauj however received no firm commitments or approval from the occupying Japanese forces regarding their participation in the war.

It was against this backdrop that Subhas Chandra Bose arrived in Singapore on July 2, 1943. In the next few days, at all his public meetings, "Netaji" spoke of his determination to raise a women's regiment which would "fight for Indian Independence and make it complete". Lakshmi had heard that Bose was keen to draft women into the organisation and requested a meeting with him from which she emerged with a mandate to set up a women’s regiment, to be called the Rani of Jhansi regiment. Women responded enthusiastically to join the all-women brigade and Dr. Lakshmi Swaminathan became Captain Lakshmi, a name and identity that would stay with her for life.

The INA marched to Burma with the Japanese army in December 1944 but by March 1945, with the tide of war turning against them, the INA leadership decided to beat a retreat before they could enter Imphal. Captain Lakshmi was arrested by the British army in May 1945, remaining in Burma until March 1946, when she was sent to India – at a time when the INA trials in Delhi heightened popular discontent with and hastened the end of colonial rule.