The Bidadari Resolutions were set of resolutions adopted by the nascent Indian National Army in April 1942 that declared the formation of the INA and its aim to launch an armed struggle for Indian independence. The resolution was declared at a

prisoner-of-war camp A prisoner-of-war camp (often abbreviated as POW camp) is a site for the containment of enemy fighters captured by a belligerent power in time of war. There are significant differences among POW camps, internment camps, and military prisons. ...

at the

Bidadari An apsaras or apsara ( sa, अप्सरा ' lso ' pi, अक्चरा, translit=accharā) is a type of female spirit of the clouds and waters in Hinduism and Buddhist culture. They figure prominently in the sculpture, dance, litera ...

(Bidadri PoW camp) in

Singapore Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, bor ...

during Japanese occupation of the island.

Fall of Singapore

The

fall of Singapore The Fall of Singapore, also known as the Battle of Singapore,; ta, சிங்கப்பூரின் வீழ்ச்சி; ja, シンガポールの戦い took place in the South–East Asian theatre of the Pacific War. The Empire o ...

on 15 February 1942 brought under the Japanese occupation approximately 45,000 Indian PoWs. The surrender of these PoWs were accepted by Major Fujiwara Iwaichi, separately from that of British PoWs, on the morning of 17th at Farrer Park Field. Fujiwara passed on their command to Mohan Singh, who had formulated the conception of a liberation army for

India's Independence The Indian independence movement was a series of historic events with the ultimate aim of ending British rule in India. It lasted from 1857 to 1947. The first nationalistic revolutionary movement for Indian independence emerged from Bengal. ...

, accepted their command and invited the PoWs to join his proposed army. A large number of the troops volunteered. Following this, the plans to formally establish the Indian National Army as the armed unit of the

Indian Independence League The Indian Independence League (also known as IIL) was a political organisation operated from the 1920s to the 1940s to organise those living outside India into seeking the removal of British colonial rule over India. Founded by Indian national ...

were started. However, officers within the Indian Pow sought to establish clearly the Japanese intentions and designs for the army and clarification of its goals.

Bidadary resolution

In April 1942, even as the discussions and the process of setting up the

and defining the aims of the movement carried on, Mohan Singh convened a meeting of a group of his officers to frame what has now come to be known as the Bidadary resolution. The resolution, declared by Mohan Singh Deb, announced that: The resolution further specified that the army would go to battle only when the Congress and the people of India asked it to. It did not however, specify the how army was to interact with the Japanese forces.

Effects of the resolution

Following the Bidadari resolutions, the Indian PoW camps were dissolved and the staff were transferred to the INA supreme command under Mohan Singh. On 9 May, recruiting for the INA began. Mohan Singh had copies of the resolution circulated among the Indian jawans, followed by tours of the mainland camps by Mohan Singh and Fujiwara to encourage the troops to join the INA. In June, a conference was held in

Bangkok Bangkok, officially known in Thai as Krung Thep Maha Nakhon and colloquially as Krung Thep, is the capital and most populous city of Thailand. The city occupies in the Chao Phraya River delta in central Thailand and has an estimated populati ...

that saw the proclamation of the

and clearly established the relationship between the INA and the Japanese army and established the IIL as the master organisation of which the INA was to be the armed wing of. The Bidadary resolutions therefore formed the basis on which the subsequent organisations and orders of the first INA was built.

References

Notes

Citations