---
title: "Indian National Army (Azad Hind Fauj) Explained"
description: "The Indian National Army (Azad Hind Fauj) was Bose's WWII army of POWs that fought British rule from Burma. Origins, the Red Fort trials, and why it mattered."
url: "https://modeldiplomat.com/learn/glossary/indian-national-army"
---

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Model Diplomat Research Team · Last reviewed June 22, 2026

TL;DR

- The Indian National Army was an armed force of Indian prisoners of war and expatriates formed in Southeast Asia during World War II to fight British rule in India.
- Who founded the Indian National Army and who later led it?
- Why were the Red Fort trials politically significant?
- How does the INA differ from the Indian National Congress strategy?
- What was the Rani of Jhansi Regiment?

[Civil Service & Diplomatic Exams](https://modeldiplomat.com/learn/civil-services/glossary)Updated June 22, 2026

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## Timeline

1. 15 February 1942

   Its origins lay in the rapid Japanese conquest of Malaya and Singapore in early 1942, when roughly 45,000 Indian soldiers of the British Indian Army surrende…

2. 4 July 1943

   On Bose assumed leadership of the Indian Independence League, and on 21 October 1943 he proclaimed the Provisional Government of Free India (Arzi Hukumat-e-…

3. 21 October 1943

   On 4 July 1943 Bose assumed leadership of the Indian Independence League, and on he proclaimed the Provisional Government of Free India (Arzi Hukumat-e-Azad…

4. 18 August 1945

   As Japan retreated through Burma in 1945, the INA disintegrated, and Bose died on in a plane crash at Taihoku (Taipei), Taiwan—a death disputed by some comm…

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In November 1945 the British court-martialled INA officers Prem Sahgal, Gurbaksh Singh Dhillon, and Shah Nawaz Khan at Delhi's Red Fort, triggering nationwide protests that hastened the end of colonial rule.

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