Editing Azad Hind (section)

== Establishment ==
[[File:Subhas Chandra Bose proclaims the Provisional Government of Free India on 21 October 1943, Singapore.jpg|thumb|[[Subhash Chandra Bose]] proclaims the Provisional Government of Free India on 21 October 1943, Singapore]]
[[File:Bundesarchiv Bild 146-1985-130-30, Berlin, Gründung Zentrale "Freies Indien".jpg|thumb|250px|right| National celebration at the founding of the Provisional National Indian government at the Free India Center, Berlin, with [[Secretary of State#Germany|Secretary of State]] [[Wilhelm Keppler]] speaking, on 16 November 1943.]]
The direct origins of Azad Hind can be linked to two conferences of Indian expatriates from across Southeast Asia, the first of which was held in Tokyo in March 1942.<ref>{{Cite book|title=From policemen to revolutionaries: a Sikh diaspora in global Shanghai, 1885–1945|last=Cao|first=Yin|publisher=Brill|year=2017|isbn=9789004344082|location=Leiden|pages=144–145|oclc=982651998}}</ref> At this conference, convened by [[Rash Behari Bose]], an Indian expatriate living in Japan, the [[Indian Independence League]] was established as the first move towards an independent Indian state politically aligned with the [[Empire of Japan]]. Rash also moved to create a sort of independence army that would assist in driving the British from India – this force would later become the Indian National Army. The second conference, held later that year in Bangkok, invited [[Subhas Chandra Bose]] to participate in the leadership of the League. Bose was living in Germany at the time and made the trip to Japan via submarine.<ref>{{Cite web|title={Indian National Army: Provisional Government of Azad Hind}|url=https://www.nas.gov.sg/archivesonline/online_exhibit/indian_national_army/provi.htm|access-date=2022-01-23|website=www.nas.gov.sg}}</ref>

Rash Behari Bose, who was already ageing by the time the League was founded, struggled to keep the League organised and failed to secure resources for the establishment of the Indian National Army. He was replaced as president of the Indian Independence League by Subhas Chandra Bose; there is some controversy as to whether he stepped down of his own volition or by pressure from the Japanese who needed a more energetic and focused presence leading the Indian nationalists.<ref>{{Cite web|date=2021-10-21|title=Azad Hind Formation Anniversary: Interesting Facts about Azad Hind Fauj and Subhas Chandra Bose|url=https://www.firstpost.com/india/azad-hind-formation-anniversary-interesting-facts-about-azad-hind-fauj-and-subhas-chandra-bose-10071231.html|access-date=2022-01-23|website=Firstpost|language=en}}</ref>

Bose arrived in Tokyo on 13 June 1943 and declared his intent to make an assault against the eastern provinces of India in an attempt to oust the British from control of the subcontinent. Bose arrived in Singapore on 2 July, and in October 1943 formally announced the establishment of the Provisional Government of Free India at the [[Cathay Building|Cathay Cinema Hall]]. In defining the tasks of this new political establishment, Subhas declared: {{qi|It will be the task of the Provisional Government to launch and conduct the struggle that will bring about the expulsion of the British and their allies from the soil of India.}}<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.aicc.org.in/indian_national_army.php |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090423194421/http://www.aicc.org.in/indian_national_army.php |archive-date=23 April 2009 |title=Indian National Army|publisher=aicc.org.in}}</ref> Bose, taking formal command of the demoralised and undermanned Indian National Army from Rash Bose, turned it into a professional army with the help of the Japanese. He recruited Indian civilians living in Japanese-occupied territories of South-east Asia and incorporated vast numbers of Indian POWs from British forces in Singapore, Malaya and Hong Kong to man the brigades of the INA.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Azad Hind Formation Anniversary|url=https://www.drishtiias.com/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/azad-hind-formation-anniversary|access-date=2022-01-23|website=Drishti IAS|language=en}}</ref>