TOWARDS THE ATTAINMENT OF FREEDOM: ROLE OF WOMEN IN INDIAN NATIONAL ARMY – A STUDY

The so-called Ina, known in General Head Quarters (GHQ) as the Japanese Indian Force (JIF), was a product of the British military disaster in the East and India's aspiration for independence.Subhas Chandra Bose was its founder1. He was elected President of the Indian National Congressin 1938 but, as he believed in the use of brute force to gain independence for India, he fell out with the more conservative congressmen, including Gandhiji. It was on 9th July, 1943, that Subhas Chandra Bose addressed a meeting and asked for men and women volunteers. He felt that women must be ready to share the burden of freedom's battle. This caught the imagination of the Indian womenfolk and a beginning to start a Women's Regiment was made, which later popularly came to be known as the Rani of Jhansi