Subhas Chandra Bose 's political views were in support of complete freedom for India with a classless society and state socialism at the earliest, whereas most of the Congress Committee wanted it in phases, through a Dominion status.
- WIkipedia
The Fascist Republic of India: An alternate history of Independent India
- Thread starter Aj chahal
- Start date
- WIkipedia
I think imposing hindi will be a terrible decision. Maybe English can serve as co equal Language? Plus you can make policy to make students to learn one of regional languages. Northern students will learn one of southern one and vice versa. Also better divide the state according to ethical and language based lines.
All depends on how much Bose hates the British. If he is pragmatic enough he will have English as a co-equal language alongside Hindi like OTL.
He is pragmatic and willing to swallow his pride. Plus he himself completed his studies in English in his school life and even went to England to finish his studies. So he is intimately aware of Language issues. When he went to madurai and Channai both cases he gave his speech in English. So I do not think he will just remove English just to spite England. He never shy to assimilate things from his enemies as long it serve his goals.
@Kcirtap Burma as of now is under Japanese occupation and the elite of Rangoon have somewhat of a positive view of Bose as long as he lets the have the power post-war, even if is under him. The people in general are indifferent about him.
There is an interesting discussion going on about the post-war language system in India. I see Netaji keeping English around for a while, and at the same time prop up Hindi or Sanskrit. So English won't be kicked out right away.
There is an interesting discussion going on about the post-war language system in India. I see Netaji keeping English around for a while, and at the same time prop up Hindi or Sanskrit. So English won't be kicked out right away.
I do not think he will do so in case of Sanskrit or hindi. First of all he was not a traditionalist in that sense. Plus he was a bengali and our sense of pride of Language as much as any south Indian. So best not to rock to boat. He will continue with English and maybe encourage Northerners learn one of southern language and vice versa. In canon hindi impositions done by traditionalists hindi belt. Everyone else informed neheru to not to do so but he was under pressure by Traditionalists and in the end that backfired. Why impose a language artificial way when ample example exists that such efforts will fail?
Add Bose's mother tongue Bengali to the mix. Back in the OTL, when everybody was debating which language to make the lingua franca, Bengal had more pressing problems like the partition to deal with so they couldn't press the usage of Bengali. This time, Bose could use the chance to rectify that.
Most of bengali intellectuals and civil servants well educated in English schools. So there is no issue here. As long hindi is not forcefully imposed upon them most of bengali will support English. Plus there is lack of various scientific texts translated in regional languages. To get a robust educational system we need to relay on English or European educational materials. Translating then providing educational materials to entire nation is far more resource intensive than compared to just using English as co equal language and use European educational materials as main staples of indian education. I do not think other than History we do not need to change much incase of pure science related subjects. Personally I think bose version of fascism nearly identical to Titoism in both form and function.
Last edited:
Actually, the evidence is quite to the contrary. Israel resurrected Hebrew to forge a united identity for the Jewish people as Jews were a very diverse diaspora. They did this to unite their peoples under one banner and to form uniformity or national identity. Bose can pitch the same idea and succeed. If he can convince the majority of Indians that a national identity must be first created to repel any foreign yoke, it might work. I admit it will be a tough sell and a herculean effort. Israel's population was already a highly literate diaspora and they were united in seeing the future benefits of having a unified language for the unity of the Jewish state. India's cultural traditions and the soul itself are quite lost at this time. So, it'll take a lot of time to reclaim the heritage and find common grounds. There are deep-rooted social inequalities and other issues that need to be addressed. It's going to be an uphill battle for Mr Bose.
However, taking independence by force is going to unite India far more compact. At least, that's my opinion. I could be wrong.
Last edited:
You are forgetting Hebrew language revival started from 19th century plus they have a educated population. Compared to indians jews are far more unified culturally and ethnically. Its is not same in india. Many in south india consider Sanskrit is a implosion of Northern Aryans while they are original inhabitants. Plus sanskrit is domain of brahmins while regional languages used by common population. In south caste system is far more powerful which tied to sanskrit speaking upper class. Forcing common people and dalits to learn Sanskrit will create resentment and you even face difficulties from upper class for letting them learn Sanskrit.
Main centre of orthodox Sanskrit Studies is Sringeri Math. They only allowed dalits to join their roster in 2011. So imposing Sanskrit is foolish and counterproductive.
Main centre of orthodox Sanskrit Studies is Sringeri Math. They only allowed dalits to join their roster in 2011. So imposing Sanskrit is foolish and counterproductive.
Last edited:
I still Think Bose isn't going to get all of India before Japs kick the bucket.
So Imposing Hindi is a Non Starter.
Subash chandra Bose was no fool.
Also he wasn't some violent Anglophobe, neither religious fanatic, despite not being atheist.
Say what you will about English, it always worked as the topmost medium for mutual correspondence, between the linguistically and culturally diverse population of the subcontinent.
So throwing English usage under the bus ain't pragmatic and will have serious repercussions sooner or later.
Never mind Bose is a Bengalee who is proud of his, heritage.
If Bengal was United during the imposition of Hindi as national language of India, Bengalees would too have vehemently protested the move.
Well, Bangladesh, the erstwhile East Pakistan, is an obvious example, where Muslim Benglees revolted against forceful imposition of Arabic script and urdu language.
The fact about reviving Hebrew as National language of Isreal is there religious uniformity.
Which the Indian subcontinent does not have.
So imposing sanskrit won't work.
Devnagari as standard script for writing languages may work.
But I don't see radical Muslims or South Indians accepting Sanskrit, easily.
Also he wasn't some violent Anglophobe, neither religious fanatic, despite not being atheist.
Say what you will about English, it always worked as the topmost medium for mutual correspondence, between the linguistically and culturally diverse population of the subcontinent.
So throwing English usage under the bus ain't pragmatic and will have serious repercussions sooner or later.
Never mind Bose is a Bengalee who is proud of his, heritage.
If Bengal was United during the imposition of Hindi as national language of India, Bengalees would too have vehemently protested the move.
Well, Bangladesh, the erstwhile East Pakistan, is an obvious example, where Muslim Benglees revolted against forceful imposition of Arabic script and urdu language.
The fact about reviving Hebrew as National language of Isreal is there religious uniformity.
Which the Indian subcontinent does not have.
So imposing sanskrit won't work.
Devnagari as standard script for writing languages may work.
But I don't see radical Muslims or South Indians accepting Sanskrit, easily.
Bengal has fallen
Europe
The Allied Command was in a contrasting mood to say the least. Operation Overlord, or D-day as it was now coming to be known had been successful. 5 beachheads had been established at Normandy, but the cost for the allies had been quite high. The Germans had expected an attack at Pas-de-Calais and Von Rundstedt wanted to place the 20 armoured Panzer division there but on adamant insistence from Rommel, Hitler had ordered them to be kept in reserve, to be launched wherever the invaders hit. So when the allies invaded, they were greeted by the best of Germans defensive measures including the Panzers.
While the total allied aerial, numerical and technological superiority managed to overwhelm the German defences, allied casualties had been very high. Out of the invasion force of a 1,76,000, they had taken almost 90,000 casualties, with the British having lost 50,000 men from their force of 60,000.
The German did not fare any better, having lost 4 of their divisions in addition to the 50,000 defenders on the beaches. In total, the German losses stood at 1,20,00 thanks to absolute allied air superiority and the decision to move the armoured divisions to Normandy.
This was Pyrrhic victory at best for Britain and this was reflected in Winston Churchill's conversation with President Roosevelt, who on the other hand felt Jubilant on this victory.
"Congratulations Winston. This is the beginning of our victory."
"Thank you, Mr.President . Congratulations to you too."
"You don't sound too happy bud. What's the matter ? We won."
"Yes sir. The allies have won the battle, yes, but Britain just lost its military."
Such crippling losses were now very difficult to replace. Britain just didn't have enough young men, not too different from the Germans. The Americans and the Soviets apparently had an infinite pool of men to draw soldiers from. Churchill took another swig and thought that Britain too had an infinite pool to draw from, only it was being drained by that wretched Bose.
The Americans, meanwhile, began to pour men and material into Normandy. The liberation of France was underway. A joke was also ongoing in allied circles that they had used a "Sledgehammer to crack an egg"
Linlithgow again requested for more troops but Churchill could not even deny them any longer. He simply said, "I don't have any with me, Lord Linlithgow."
He decided to appoint Mountbatten as the Commander-in-Chief of the British Indian Army and ordered him to hold off Bose and the Japs till American boots could be put on Indian ground.
What more could go wrong ?
India
Netaji was perplexed at the thought of the allied victory at D-day. He now knew that it was almost certain that the tripartite nations were going to lose the war. It was only a matter of time. Today it was the shores of France. Tomorrow it would be Bengal. The American steamroller was going to flatten everything in its path. His most important objective now was to liberate India as soon as possible, before British guns were bolstered by Americans.
His thoughts were interrupted by Habib,
"Good evening, sir."
"Ah, good evening Habib. How are you ?"
"I am good, sir. A penny for your thoughts perhaps ?"
"Pour me a drink first"
Netaji sipped his scotch
"The Americans, Habib. They've only just started. Germany is going to fall soon. I give them 6 six months, an year at most."
"Well we only need their allies on the other side of the earth."
"You don't understand, Habib. The Japanese are nothing compared to the Americans. Tojo can keep telling me about the 'Asian Century' but the truth is that they are losing ground in the Pacific. We need to step up our game and take India before the Americans turn their attention towards us."
"Of course, sir."
"Call Mutaguchi, Habib. I need to speak to him"
"Good evening, General. Prime Minister Bose will speak to you now."
"Good evening, Prime Minister Bose. How may I be of service ?"
"Good evening, General. I trust that you know of the Normandy landing."
"Yes, quite unfortunate."
"Indeed. We need to step our offensive. I want India liberated before the year is out."
"We are in agreement, sir. When do you want to move on Calcutta ?"
"Let's have rest tonight, Remya. We move tomorrow. Good night"
"Good night, Prime Minister."
Patiala
The Maharaja of Patiala, Yadvindra Singh, in his capacity as the Chancellor of the Chamber of Princes and President of its standing committee had convened an emergency session of the Chamber to discuss the ongoing session. He had called the session at his estate in Patiala, rather than doing it in Delhi. Viceroy Linlithgow called the Maharaja to tell him not to have the meeting.
"Good morning, Your Excellency. What can I do for you ?"
"What is this ridiculousness over the Chamber meeting being in Patiala, Your Majesty ?'
"Quite normal. We wish to discuss the situation in Bengal and we'd prefer to do it over game of polo and cricket in the Motibagh."
"That meeting is supposed to be held in Delhi."
"That is the prerogative of the Chamber, Your excellency, not yours."
"Need I remind you of the wartime powers of the Viceroy, Yadvindra ?"
"Need I remind you that Princely India has contributed 2,50,000 men to your cause in this war ?"
"I do know that an-
"It would serve you well not to upset the few allies that you have left, Your Excellency. The meeting will be held in Patiala. And may I suggest that there are more pressing matters in the East where Your Excellency's attention would serve us all much better."
Linlithgow was forced to allow the meeting to go ahead. The support of the princes was essential if India was to be kept.
In Patiala, other than Yadvindra Singh, 108 other princes attended the session.
While the princes indulged themselves in luxuries ranging from the most expensive bottles of liquor to the finest of European and American women, and games of polo and cricket, Yadvindra Singh held another meeting with some of the more powerful princes, namely Maharaja Ganga Singh of Bikaner, Maharaja Jagatjit Singh of Kapurthala, Pratap Singh Rao Gaekwad of Baroda, Maharaja Umaid Singh of Jodhpur, Maharaja Sawai Man Singh of Jaipur, Maharaja Hari Singh of Jammu & Kashmir, Maharaja Balarama Verma of Travancore, and Nizam Mir Osman Ali Khan of Hyderabad.
"Gentlemen, two important developments have taken place in the last week. The Americans have secured a beachhead in France and Bose has taken half of Bengal and the entire North-east. The Viceroy barely has another 30,000 British troops with him and in my estimation, he is going to make a final stand at Calcutta with them. The question that stands before us is, do we support him after he loses ?"
Pratap Singh spoke, "Yadvindra ji, you do realise that you talk of treason. And besides how are we going to possibly benefit from a victory of Bose ?"
"Young man, we are going to benefit by getting a free nation. They can call us special friends of the Empire all they like, but we are only glorified slaves of sorts.", Maharaja Ganga Singh said
"But what can we do Ganga Singh ji ? The last king that challenged British authority on the subcontinent was Ranjit Singh and they decimated his whole family. I have no desire to share a similar fate." Osman Ali responded
"If our autonomy as independent rulers is preserved, I do not have a problem in supporting Bose. That is my condition." This was Hari Singh.
"Gentlemen, I propose that we declare our subsidiary alliances with British Raj null and void. Out of the 2,50,000 troops we have mobilised, 2,00,000 are in India. Let's call them back. We will send a messenger to Bose and tell him he has our support if he can take Calcutta. I am certain that Lord Linlithgow cannot do anything to punish us if we do so at the same time. At the same time we tell him that our support is conditional, that our autonomy be maintained in a post-war Indian federation."
"Agreed" said the whole cabal.
"Who would've thought that it would take a civil servant from Bengal to unite the Indian Kings against the hated foreigner."
A messenger was sent to Dhaka to inform Bose and seek the assurance of autonomy from him. Bose was delighted to have received the messenger but his expert poker face betrayed no hint of his happiness. He told the man that he promises that all Maharajas would be allowed to rule their states and keep their titles, except for defence and foreign relations. The messenger told him that the day Calcutta falls to INA, the Chamber of Princes would declare the end of the subsidiary alliance, which would mean an effective declaration of independence from the British Raj.
The Maharajas meanwhile returned to making merry.
Bengal
On June 7th, 1944 the INA and IJA launched the invasion of Calcutta of with 3,00,000 men, 200 tanks, and 75 aircraft. In addition to this, the INA was now fielding 1,00,000 men on their own(30,000 of them were only new recruits, untrained and poorly equipped). The whole army was charged, more so with Bose learning of support from the princes.
Lord Louis Mountbatten had been appointed Commander-in-Chief of the British Indian Army and had decided to make a stand at Calcutta. He had about 30,000 men from the Viceroy's army, along with 70,000 men from the Chinese X-Force army under General Sun Li-Jen. Unfortunately for them, they had only 40 tanks and 30 aircraft(Joseph Stilwell had ordered all American craft to China to help them against Ichi-Go). Their morale was down as well, since the British had lost four continuous battles and Chinese wanted to fight in their own county not Calcutta. Mountbatten had made a point to not to include any Indian troops, owing to the previous mutinies and an extremely hostile population.
Calcutta had three airports and 20 anti-aircraft guns. Shaukat Malik's Bahadurs were coordinating with Batukeshwar Dutt to figure out a way to disable those guns to tip the odds in the INA's favour.
The first shots were fired at 6:00 AM when the INA's first tank brigade, named the Peshwa Brigade had begun to advance against the British field fortifications outside of Calcutta at Barrackpore and fought the 7th Indian armoured brigade.
Barrackpore, the place where the Indian rebellion of 1857, was the site of an interesting battle. The INA had 20 tanks as opposed to the five with the British. The British had laid mines which took out two of the Indian tanks. The brigade engineers tried to remove the mines but constant firing was preventing them from doing so.
What emerged from Barrackpore was a group of 30 odd men, dressed in civilian clothing riding on horseback towards the mines. As the British commander, confident of the mines, viewed them with curiosity, he ordered not to shoot at them. What he witnessed next was shocking and distilled a fear into the hearts of the British soldiers. The civilians all went and stood on the mines and slapped their horses away. They were standing on the mines and jumped off at once, triggering all of them and clearing the field for the Indian tanks to progress.
What followed was the Indians making a short work of the British tanks due to the numerical superiority and the INA men attacking Barrackpore and taking it by 8:00 AM. Batukeshwar Dutt's revolutionaries had once again proven their worth to the nation.
Meanwhile Aurobindo Ghosh had arrived at the Calcutta Railway Station at 9:00 AM.
The news of the old leader and revolutionary being in Bengal had spread like wildfire. A huge crowd of over 50,000 people had gathered at the station to catch a glimpse of him but he was nowhere to be seen.
Suddenly a small and frail Pathan man stoop up on a bench and began to speak in chaste Bengali, while taking of his cap and clothes. From underneath emerged a small, old man dressed in a white dhoti with a long white beard.
"RISE UP HINDUSTANIS. OUR NETAJI SUBHASH IS OUTSIDE FIGHTING FOR OUR FREEDOM WHILE FOREIGNERS OCCUPY OUR CAPITAL. NOW EVEN THE ,MAHATMA SAYS THAT VIOLENCE IS PREFERABLE TO COWARDICE. RISE UP AND KICK THESE FOREIGNERS OUT. THEY HAVE NO RIGHT TO BE HERE. THEY EVEN HAVE AN ARREST WARRANT AGAINST ME IN MY OWN COUNTRY. LET'S SEE THEM TRY TO ARREST ME AGAIN."
"VANDE MATARAM!"
"VANDE MATARAM!"
"VANDE MATARAM!"
The chant spread into the crowd.
"VANDE MATARAM- GET DOWN FROM THERE!"
"VAN- GET DOWN FROM THERE!"
The British officer shouted twice on his megaphone. Aurobindo smiled at him and kept shouting.
The officer pulled out his revolver and shot Aurobindo in the face.
The crowd fell radio silent. The British officer thinking that he had scared them, shouted "DISPERSE!"
It was as if the crowd had been possessed. The British officer was mauled to death within seconds. Next the train was derailed, passengers still inside it. The mob began to march towards the Governor's mansion, now joined by the police as well. With a few loyal policemen and his staff, the entrance was barricaded and Governor Casey called up Lord Mountbatten in the barracks to send troops to protect him soon or he was going to be murdered by the mob. When Mountbatten asked him how large the mob was, he was told that "all of bloody Calcutta is here, sir."
He dispatched a contingent of 2,000 troops at 11:00 AM to disperse the mob but they found themselves attacked by the mob which had now grown in size to about 1,00,000 with men, women and children all armed with sticks, stones, axes, and an odd rifle here and there. The troops were all killed and an unknown but a much larger number of civilians were killed as well. The Governor's mansion was stormed and finding the doors locked, a mob leader got an evil, a truly evil idea. He was involved in the Chauri Chaura incident two decades ago.
The mansion, locked, with the Governor, his family and staff still inside, was set on fire.
The mob was now encroaching on the huge military base that now contained the bulk of the British and Chinese force, along with their tanks. Mountbatten wanted them to move out but Sun Li-Jen had no desire to sacrifice his elite forces to a bunch of unruly Indians. Moving out would mean having to kill all of them and then face the Japanese and Subhash. He flat out refused Mountbatten and asked him to surrender while they still could.
On the other hand, half the British aircraft were destroyed on the ground by the Japanese bombers since they did not have any orders to hit any targets and the other half was taken apart by the mobs(who accidentally managed to blast some of the bombs on themselves while taking them apart) when they stormed the airports. Only one pilot made it out and flew to Delhi.
With the allied troop stuck inside, surrounded by the mob, the Japanese army moved into the city with minimal resistance.
They soon sent out INA jeeps to the Military base to start negotiating a surrender with Lord Mountbatten. The jeeps were let inside and they established a direct line with Netaji.
"Good afternoon, Mr. Bose"
"Not so much for you, Mr. Mountbatten"
"No it is not"
"From my vantage point, My Lord, and it is a pretty good point, you have two options."
"And what might they be ?"
"Option one- you let my troops inside. Surrender to them and I shall protect your and Sun Li's force from the mob."
"Bloody ridiculous. Whats the other one ?"
"I give enough guns to the mobs outside, place a few tanks, incite an even large mob to eventually break into the base butcher every last one of your soldiers. Oh and I'll order my pilots to bomb the smithereens out of you."
"So to summarise your choices, a dignified surrender or be thrown into an unmarked mass grave. You have 30 minutes."
Saying this, Bose cut off the phone. Bose knew he had the leverage and he exploited it. 30 minutes later, Bose sent in his Commander-in-Chief General Mohan Singh to take Lord Mountbatten's surrender. Mohan Singh asked that Mountbatten had not called back yet so why was he being sent just yet, to which he replied
"The silence speaks louder than the bombs, Mohan."
Silence did speak louder. Mountbatten was in no position to resist. Almost 4,00,000 troops had just moved into the city along with about 2,00,000 angry residents. He was surrounded with no air cover, no supplies and no reinforcements.
At 3:00 PM IST June 9th, 1944, Lord Louis Mountbatten, the Supreme Commander of Allied forces in South-East Asia and the Commander-in-Chief of the British Indian Army surrendered himself, General Sun Li-Jen, 1,00,000 soldiers, the capital city of Calcutta and the British Indian province of Bengal to General Mohan Singh, the Commander-in-Chief of the Indian National Army and General Mutaguchi, the Commander-in-Chief of the Japanese India Army at the Calcutta Military Garrison.
The next day the Chamber of Princes announced that the subsidiary alliance of all Princely states with the British Raj stood severed. All Princely troops were ordered to return to their native states and leave British territory.
The British Raj had begun to crumble. Its days were now numbered.
Netaji in a radio address said,
"Today, my countrymen, we have liberated Calcutta from the British yoke. We have reversed 200 years of history and inflicted defeat on an Empire on which they claim the sun does not set. It was you, the people of our great nation, who proved them wrong. Rise up again my countrymen. Rise up everywhere. In Peshawar, in Karachi, in Lahore, in Amritsar, in Ludhiana, in Shimla, in Delhi, in Kanpur, in Patna, in Odisha, in Madras, in Sindh, in Bombay, in Gujarat. Everywhere in India. Our time has come. The Princely states have cast their lot in with the people. Rise and march to Delhi, my fellow Indians. 'Chalo Dilli' and let us burn the Union Jack and unfurl the Tricolour on the Red Fort and take our country back.
Vande Matarma! Vande Mataram! Vande Mataram!
Netaji being welcomed by an adoring crowd in Calcutta after its liberation.
Netaji giving his famous 'Chalo Dilli' speech at the Calcutta Garrison.
The Allied Command was in a contrasting mood to say the least. Operation Overlord, or D-day as it was now coming to be known had been successful. 5 beachheads had been established at Normandy, but the cost for the allies had been quite high. The Germans had expected an attack at Pas-de-Calais and Von Rundstedt wanted to place the 20 armoured Panzer division there but on adamant insistence from Rommel, Hitler had ordered them to be kept in reserve, to be launched wherever the invaders hit. So when the allies invaded, they were greeted by the best of Germans defensive measures including the Panzers.
While the total allied aerial, numerical and technological superiority managed to overwhelm the German defences, allied casualties had been very high. Out of the invasion force of a 1,76,000, they had taken almost 90,000 casualties, with the British having lost 50,000 men from their force of 60,000.
The German did not fare any better, having lost 4 of their divisions in addition to the 50,000 defenders on the beaches. In total, the German losses stood at 1,20,00 thanks to absolute allied air superiority and the decision to move the armoured divisions to Normandy.
This was Pyrrhic victory at best for Britain and this was reflected in Winston Churchill's conversation with President Roosevelt, who on the other hand felt Jubilant on this victory.
"Congratulations Winston. This is the beginning of our victory."
"Thank you, Mr.President . Congratulations to you too."
"You don't sound too happy bud. What's the matter ? We won."
"Yes sir. The allies have won the battle, yes, but Britain just lost its military."
Such crippling losses were now very difficult to replace. Britain just didn't have enough young men, not too different from the Germans. The Americans and the Soviets apparently had an infinite pool of men to draw soldiers from. Churchill took another swig and thought that Britain too had an infinite pool to draw from, only it was being drained by that wretched Bose.
The Americans, meanwhile, began to pour men and material into Normandy. The liberation of France was underway. A joke was also ongoing in allied circles that they had used a "Sledgehammer to crack an egg"
Linlithgow again requested for more troops but Churchill could not even deny them any longer. He simply said, "I don't have any with me, Lord Linlithgow."
He decided to appoint Mountbatten as the Commander-in-Chief of the British Indian Army and ordered him to hold off Bose and the Japs till American boots could be put on Indian ground.
What more could go wrong ?
India
Netaji was perplexed at the thought of the allied victory at D-day. He now knew that it was almost certain that the tripartite nations were going to lose the war. It was only a matter of time. Today it was the shores of France. Tomorrow it would be Bengal. The American steamroller was going to flatten everything in its path. His most important objective now was to liberate India as soon as possible, before British guns were bolstered by Americans.
His thoughts were interrupted by Habib,
"Good evening, sir."
"Ah, good evening Habib. How are you ?"
"I am good, sir. A penny for your thoughts perhaps ?"
"Pour me a drink first"
Netaji sipped his scotch
"The Americans, Habib. They've only just started. Germany is going to fall soon. I give them 6 six months, an year at most."
"Well we only need their allies on the other side of the earth."
"You don't understand, Habib. The Japanese are nothing compared to the Americans. Tojo can keep telling me about the 'Asian Century' but the truth is that they are losing ground in the Pacific. We need to step up our game and take India before the Americans turn their attention towards us."
"Of course, sir."
"Call Mutaguchi, Habib. I need to speak to him"
"Good evening, General. Prime Minister Bose will speak to you now."
"Good evening, Prime Minister Bose. How may I be of service ?"
"Good evening, General. I trust that you know of the Normandy landing."
"Yes, quite unfortunate."
"Indeed. We need to step our offensive. I want India liberated before the year is out."
"We are in agreement, sir. When do you want to move on Calcutta ?"
"Let's have rest tonight, Remya. We move tomorrow. Good night"
"Good night, Prime Minister."
Patiala
The Maharaja of Patiala, Yadvindra Singh, in his capacity as the Chancellor of the Chamber of Princes and President of its standing committee had convened an emergency session of the Chamber to discuss the ongoing session. He had called the session at his estate in Patiala, rather than doing it in Delhi. Viceroy Linlithgow called the Maharaja to tell him not to have the meeting.
"Good morning, Your Excellency. What can I do for you ?"
"What is this ridiculousness over the Chamber meeting being in Patiala, Your Majesty ?'
"Quite normal. We wish to discuss the situation in Bengal and we'd prefer to do it over game of polo and cricket in the Motibagh."
"That meeting is supposed to be held in Delhi."
"That is the prerogative of the Chamber, Your excellency, not yours."
"Need I remind you of the wartime powers of the Viceroy, Yadvindra ?"
"Need I remind you that Princely India has contributed 2,50,000 men to your cause in this war ?"
"I do know that an-
"It would serve you well not to upset the few allies that you have left, Your Excellency. The meeting will be held in Patiala. And may I suggest that there are more pressing matters in the East where Your Excellency's attention would serve us all much better."
Linlithgow was forced to allow the meeting to go ahead. The support of the princes was essential if India was to be kept.
In Patiala, other than Yadvindra Singh, 108 other princes attended the session.
While the princes indulged themselves in luxuries ranging from the most expensive bottles of liquor to the finest of European and American women, and games of polo and cricket, Yadvindra Singh held another meeting with some of the more powerful princes, namely Maharaja Ganga Singh of Bikaner, Maharaja Jagatjit Singh of Kapurthala, Pratap Singh Rao Gaekwad of Baroda, Maharaja Umaid Singh of Jodhpur, Maharaja Sawai Man Singh of Jaipur, Maharaja Hari Singh of Jammu & Kashmir, Maharaja Balarama Verma of Travancore, and Nizam Mir Osman Ali Khan of Hyderabad.
"Gentlemen, two important developments have taken place in the last week. The Americans have secured a beachhead in France and Bose has taken half of Bengal and the entire North-east. The Viceroy barely has another 30,000 British troops with him and in my estimation, he is going to make a final stand at Calcutta with them. The question that stands before us is, do we support him after he loses ?"
Pratap Singh spoke, "Yadvindra ji, you do realise that you talk of treason. And besides how are we going to possibly benefit from a victory of Bose ?"
"Young man, we are going to benefit by getting a free nation. They can call us special friends of the Empire all they like, but we are only glorified slaves of sorts.", Maharaja Ganga Singh said
"But what can we do Ganga Singh ji ? The last king that challenged British authority on the subcontinent was Ranjit Singh and they decimated his whole family. I have no desire to share a similar fate." Osman Ali responded
"If our autonomy as independent rulers is preserved, I do not have a problem in supporting Bose. That is my condition." This was Hari Singh.
"Gentlemen, I propose that we declare our subsidiary alliances with British Raj null and void. Out of the 2,50,000 troops we have mobilised, 2,00,000 are in India. Let's call them back. We will send a messenger to Bose and tell him he has our support if he can take Calcutta. I am certain that Lord Linlithgow cannot do anything to punish us if we do so at the same time. At the same time we tell him that our support is conditional, that our autonomy be maintained in a post-war Indian federation."
"Agreed" said the whole cabal.
"Who would've thought that it would take a civil servant from Bengal to unite the Indian Kings against the hated foreigner."
A messenger was sent to Dhaka to inform Bose and seek the assurance of autonomy from him. Bose was delighted to have received the messenger but his expert poker face betrayed no hint of his happiness. He told the man that he promises that all Maharajas would be allowed to rule their states and keep their titles, except for defence and foreign relations. The messenger told him that the day Calcutta falls to INA, the Chamber of Princes would declare the end of the subsidiary alliance, which would mean an effective declaration of independence from the British Raj.
The Maharajas meanwhile returned to making merry.
Bengal
On June 7th, 1944 the INA and IJA launched the invasion of Calcutta of with 3,00,000 men, 200 tanks, and 75 aircraft. In addition to this, the INA was now fielding 1,00,000 men on their own(30,000 of them were only new recruits, untrained and poorly equipped). The whole army was charged, more so with Bose learning of support from the princes.
Lord Louis Mountbatten had been appointed Commander-in-Chief of the British Indian Army and had decided to make a stand at Calcutta. He had about 30,000 men from the Viceroy's army, along with 70,000 men from the Chinese X-Force army under General Sun Li-Jen. Unfortunately for them, they had only 40 tanks and 30 aircraft(Joseph Stilwell had ordered all American craft to China to help them against Ichi-Go). Their morale was down as well, since the British had lost four continuous battles and Chinese wanted to fight in their own county not Calcutta. Mountbatten had made a point to not to include any Indian troops, owing to the previous mutinies and an extremely hostile population.
Calcutta had three airports and 20 anti-aircraft guns. Shaukat Malik's Bahadurs were coordinating with Batukeshwar Dutt to figure out a way to disable those guns to tip the odds in the INA's favour.
The first shots were fired at 6:00 AM when the INA's first tank brigade, named the Peshwa Brigade had begun to advance against the British field fortifications outside of Calcutta at Barrackpore and fought the 7th Indian armoured brigade.
Barrackpore, the place where the Indian rebellion of 1857, was the site of an interesting battle. The INA had 20 tanks as opposed to the five with the British. The British had laid mines which took out two of the Indian tanks. The brigade engineers tried to remove the mines but constant firing was preventing them from doing so.
What emerged from Barrackpore was a group of 30 odd men, dressed in civilian clothing riding on horseback towards the mines. As the British commander, confident of the mines, viewed them with curiosity, he ordered not to shoot at them. What he witnessed next was shocking and distilled a fear into the hearts of the British soldiers. The civilians all went and stood on the mines and slapped their horses away. They were standing on the mines and jumped off at once, triggering all of them and clearing the field for the Indian tanks to progress.
What followed was the Indians making a short work of the British tanks due to the numerical superiority and the INA men attacking Barrackpore and taking it by 8:00 AM. Batukeshwar Dutt's revolutionaries had once again proven their worth to the nation.
Meanwhile Aurobindo Ghosh had arrived at the Calcutta Railway Station at 9:00 AM.
The news of the old leader and revolutionary being in Bengal had spread like wildfire. A huge crowd of over 50,000 people had gathered at the station to catch a glimpse of him but he was nowhere to be seen.
Suddenly a small and frail Pathan man stoop up on a bench and began to speak in chaste Bengali, while taking of his cap and clothes. From underneath emerged a small, old man dressed in a white dhoti with a long white beard.
"RISE UP HINDUSTANIS. OUR NETAJI SUBHASH IS OUTSIDE FIGHTING FOR OUR FREEDOM WHILE FOREIGNERS OCCUPY OUR CAPITAL. NOW EVEN THE ,MAHATMA SAYS THAT VIOLENCE IS PREFERABLE TO COWARDICE. RISE UP AND KICK THESE FOREIGNERS OUT. THEY HAVE NO RIGHT TO BE HERE. THEY EVEN HAVE AN ARREST WARRANT AGAINST ME IN MY OWN COUNTRY. LET'S SEE THEM TRY TO ARREST ME AGAIN."
"VANDE MATARAM!"
"VANDE MATARAM!"
"VANDE MATARAM!"
The chant spread into the crowd.
"VANDE MATARAM- GET DOWN FROM THERE!"
"VAN- GET DOWN FROM THERE!"
The British officer shouted twice on his megaphone. Aurobindo smiled at him and kept shouting.
The officer pulled out his revolver and shot Aurobindo in the face.
The crowd fell radio silent. The British officer thinking that he had scared them, shouted "DISPERSE!"
It was as if the crowd had been possessed. The British officer was mauled to death within seconds. Next the train was derailed, passengers still inside it. The mob began to march towards the Governor's mansion, now joined by the police as well. With a few loyal policemen and his staff, the entrance was barricaded and Governor Casey called up Lord Mountbatten in the barracks to send troops to protect him soon or he was going to be murdered by the mob. When Mountbatten asked him how large the mob was, he was told that "all of bloody Calcutta is here, sir."
He dispatched a contingent of 2,000 troops at 11:00 AM to disperse the mob but they found themselves attacked by the mob which had now grown in size to about 1,00,000 with men, women and children all armed with sticks, stones, axes, and an odd rifle here and there. The troops were all killed and an unknown but a much larger number of civilians were killed as well. The Governor's mansion was stormed and finding the doors locked, a mob leader got an evil, a truly evil idea. He was involved in the Chauri Chaura incident two decades ago.
The mansion, locked, with the Governor, his family and staff still inside, was set on fire.
The mob was now encroaching on the huge military base that now contained the bulk of the British and Chinese force, along with their tanks. Mountbatten wanted them to move out but Sun Li-Jen had no desire to sacrifice his elite forces to a bunch of unruly Indians. Moving out would mean having to kill all of them and then face the Japanese and Subhash. He flat out refused Mountbatten and asked him to surrender while they still could.
On the other hand, half the British aircraft were destroyed on the ground by the Japanese bombers since they did not have any orders to hit any targets and the other half was taken apart by the mobs(who accidentally managed to blast some of the bombs on themselves while taking them apart) when they stormed the airports. Only one pilot made it out and flew to Delhi.
With the allied troop stuck inside, surrounded by the mob, the Japanese army moved into the city with minimal resistance.
They soon sent out INA jeeps to the Military base to start negotiating a surrender with Lord Mountbatten. The jeeps were let inside and they established a direct line with Netaji.
"Good afternoon, Mr. Bose"
"Not so much for you, Mr. Mountbatten"
"No it is not"
"From my vantage point, My Lord, and it is a pretty good point, you have two options."
"And what might they be ?"
"Option one- you let my troops inside. Surrender to them and I shall protect your and Sun Li's force from the mob."
"Bloody ridiculous. Whats the other one ?"
"I give enough guns to the mobs outside, place a few tanks, incite an even large mob to eventually break into the base butcher every last one of your soldiers. Oh and I'll order my pilots to bomb the smithereens out of you."
"So to summarise your choices, a dignified surrender or be thrown into an unmarked mass grave. You have 30 minutes."
Saying this, Bose cut off the phone. Bose knew he had the leverage and he exploited it. 30 minutes later, Bose sent in his Commander-in-Chief General Mohan Singh to take Lord Mountbatten's surrender. Mohan Singh asked that Mountbatten had not called back yet so why was he being sent just yet, to which he replied
"The silence speaks louder than the bombs, Mohan."
Silence did speak louder. Mountbatten was in no position to resist. Almost 4,00,000 troops had just moved into the city along with about 2,00,000 angry residents. He was surrounded with no air cover, no supplies and no reinforcements.
At 3:00 PM IST June 9th, 1944, Lord Louis Mountbatten, the Supreme Commander of Allied forces in South-East Asia and the Commander-in-Chief of the British Indian Army surrendered himself, General Sun Li-Jen, 1,00,000 soldiers, the capital city of Calcutta and the British Indian province of Bengal to General Mohan Singh, the Commander-in-Chief of the Indian National Army and General Mutaguchi, the Commander-in-Chief of the Japanese India Army at the Calcutta Military Garrison.
The next day the Chamber of Princes announced that the subsidiary alliance of all Princely states with the British Raj stood severed. All Princely troops were ordered to return to their native states and leave British territory.
The British Raj had begun to crumble. Its days were now numbered.
Netaji in a radio address said,
"Today, my countrymen, we have liberated Calcutta from the British yoke. We have reversed 200 years of history and inflicted defeat on an Empire on which they claim the sun does not set. It was you, the people of our great nation, who proved them wrong. Rise up again my countrymen. Rise up everywhere. In Peshawar, in Karachi, in Lahore, in Amritsar, in Ludhiana, in Shimla, in Delhi, in Kanpur, in Patna, in Odisha, in Madras, in Sindh, in Bombay, in Gujarat. Everywhere in India. Our time has come. The Princely states have cast their lot in with the people. Rise and march to Delhi, my fellow Indians. 'Chalo Dilli' and let us burn the Union Jack and unfurl the Tricolour on the Red Fort and take our country back.
Vande Matarma! Vande Mataram! Vande Mataram!
Netaji being welcomed by an adoring crowd in Calcutta after its liberation.
Netaji giving his famous 'Chalo Dilli' speech at the Calcutta Garrison.
After india under control bose can deal with princes. They are useless. We need to deal with them to consolidate power.
That is not something which was easily done even in OTL. Even after the formation of republic of Indian none dared to mess with them untill Indira Gandhi who was riding the waves of 71's war victory and absolute power of emergency along with her pseudo dictatorship with many state government under her control. Netaji needs the backing of the princes unless he wants to finds his newly liberated County becoming unstable and going into a civil war.
Last edited:
A Bose victory TL is a good read although implausible.
The Japanese never had the logistical capability to move that much troops as mentioned across the border the far smaller force that they sent was dangerously undersupplied and as soon as their true nature of treating the occupied people becomes apparent the locals are going to turn against Bose. The Japanese had to rely on a singleline railway between Burma and Thailand to move forces and equipment and some extremely poor roads. Soon after their conquest of Burma where the Indian Command blundered heavily they maintained Burma from the sea fora year before that became untenable. India and Burma was practically connected by sea alone so jumping across mountains with such large forces is a feat in itself. Extra forces can hardly be spared as Operation Ichigo would be capturing most of the attention of the Japanese.
Regarding imposition of Hindustani written in Roman script it would backfire horribly and in revolt Bose's India would be laid to waste. Hindustani was a common vocabulary but two different languages Hindi and Urdu and neither were dominant beyond Uttar Pradesh. What we primarily consider the Hindi belt was a lie as the upper clqss spoke Hindi and imposed it on the people and 70 years of targetted imposition has led to the Hindi dominance. Hindi like languages now forcefully considered dialects like Braj Bhasha, Bhojpuri and the different languages of Bihar which are now declared to be dialects like once the Breton language was suppressed by France were still strong. Hindi as we know it today was spoken by around 15 million upper caste people only. One can only wish him good luck doing that.
We should not forget that Bose was an indecisive man. He could have taken over the Congress in 1938 but he left it despite a supermajority supporting him. He formed a Government in Exile despite all senior leaders but him being in India. He did so against the advice of his coordinator with the Japanese, Radh Behari Bose.
On the economic front let's see what way the author adopts.
The Japanese never had the logistical capability to move that much troops as mentioned across the border the far smaller force that they sent was dangerously undersupplied and as soon as their true nature of treating the occupied people becomes apparent the locals are going to turn against Bose. The Japanese had to rely on a singleline railway between Burma and Thailand to move forces and equipment and some extremely poor roads. Soon after their conquest of Burma where the Indian Command blundered heavily they maintained Burma from the sea fora year before that became untenable. India and Burma was practically connected by sea alone so jumping across mountains with such large forces is a feat in itself. Extra forces can hardly be spared as Operation Ichigo would be capturing most of the attention of the Japanese.
Regarding imposition of Hindustani written in Roman script it would backfire horribly and in revolt Bose's India would be laid to waste. Hindustani was a common vocabulary but two different languages Hindi and Urdu and neither were dominant beyond Uttar Pradesh. What we primarily consider the Hindi belt was a lie as the upper clqss spoke Hindi and imposed it on the people and 70 years of targetted imposition has led to the Hindi dominance. Hindi like languages now forcefully considered dialects like Braj Bhasha, Bhojpuri and the different languages of Bihar which are now declared to be dialects like once the Breton language was suppressed by France were still strong. Hindi as we know it today was spoken by around 15 million upper caste people only. One can only wish him good luck doing that.
We should not forget that Bose was an indecisive man. He could have taken over the Congress in 1938 but he left it despite a supermajority supporting him. He formed a Government in Exile despite all senior leaders but him being in India. He did so against the advice of his coordinator with the Japanese, Radh Behari Bose.
On the economic front let's see what way the author adopts.
You forgot to add thread mark @Aj chahal.
Isn't it a better idea for Bose to send a representative to the US and negotiate a deal early for the independence of India? Bose could pitch the idea that India can help the Americans by reclaiming Singapore and other South Asian holdings of the Japanese Empire if the US gives them tactic support and recognition after independence. If a good diplomat is sent to the US emphasising this is India's Revolutionary War for Independence the US may fold. Remember, the US is looking to replace Britain as the leader of the new world order. They will be quite open if India is willing to keep channels of communication open with the Congress and the White House. An early treaty signed between India and the US could actually secure Bose's political position back home. Since a treaty for the US becomes a constitutionally binding agreement it'll ensure more peaceful coexistence of India with the West. Britain will be locked out and Churchill will be forced to acknowledge India's independence. It could also be the opportunity to kick out the French and Portuguese from South Asia as India projects naval power in the Indo-pacific. Maybe, the whole Vietnam war can also be avoided somehow if the colonial powers are significantly weakened early on.
Isn't it a better idea for Bose to send a representative to the US and negotiate a deal early for the independence of India? Bose could pitch the idea that India can help the Americans by reclaiming Singapore and other South Asian holdings of the Japanese Empire if the US gives them tactic support and recognition after independence. If a good diplomat is sent to the US emphasising this is India's Revolutionary War for Independence the US may fold. Remember, the US is looking to replace Britain as the leader of the new world order. They will be quite open if India is willing to keep channels of communication open with the Congress and the White House. An early treaty signed between India and the US could actually secure Bose's political position back home. Since a treaty for the US becomes a constitutionally binding agreement it'll ensure more peaceful coexistence of India with the West. Britain will be locked out and Churchill will be forced to acknowledge India's independence. It could also be the opportunity to kick out the French and Portuguese from South Asia as India projects naval power in the Indo-pacific. Maybe, the whole Vietnam war can also be avoided somehow if the colonial powers are significantly weakened early on.
Japan had sent a smaller force OTL in the battles of Imphal and Kohim but it was still considerable number of troops. Imphal had 3 Japanese divisions(close to around 60,000 troop) and Kohima had 15,000 troops. More troops were not sent since they lost both the battles. Since the victories came at the same time around Ichi-Go, the Japanese government is more focussed on India, since it is much easier to take India than China, primarily owing to the fact that populace is sympathetic to Bose and his allies and want the British out.
In the offensives on Dhaka and Chittagong, the full Japanese force was not available and it was only by the time the supply situation got better(living off the land strategy has worked very well due to a sympathetic population), that the full Japanese force of 3,00,000 attacked Calcutta. Also the Japanese troops have been quite well-behaved because of the reception from the locals, strict and constant instructions from the PMO and the presence of Bose and his army.
So more troops being there is not implausible because of
-4 continuous victories(Kohima, Imphal, Dhaka and Chittagong),
-a sympathetic population that is ready to provide supplies and
-a mutinous British Indian Army.
Regarding language, Bose himself being a Bengali is not intent on imposing Hindi. Most of INA is also from non-hindi speaking regions(Punjab, Bengal, Maharashtra, Madras) so that is also a consideration. Netaji is a pragmatic man and is going to look for a common language for the country, but not at the expense of regional languages.
It is a sort of combination of languages like in modern India- Hindi+English+regional language. Here provincial reorganisation is also not going to be a very sensitive topic since partition is not going to happen(Bengal is fully in INA control) so while the language conundrum is going to cause difficulties post-war, they won't threaten the new republic's existence.
Netaji knows that Japan is going to lose. He has secured Bengal and the support of the Princely states, so he is going to be in Delhi quite soon. As the Americans advance on France and defeat Japan at Philippine Sea, Netaji is increasingly going to replace the Japanese soldiers with his INA forces(which are already 1,00,000 strong) and added to that is going to be Princely forces numbering 2,00,000. Before 1944 ends, relations between India and Japan are going to get somewhat strained, since Netaji did not allow the Japanese to kill the Chinese forces in Calcutta(So relations with Nationalist China will be good since the X-force was their most modernised army).
The United States will be approached soon enough, may be by a prominent congress politician, with some experience in foreign relations.