The Bangkok Conference was a conference held on 23 June 1942 by Indian Nationalist groups and local Indian Independence leagues at

Bangkok Bangkok, officially known in Thai language, 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 estim ...

to proclaim the formation of the All-India Independence league. The conference further saw the adoption by the league of a thirty-four set resolution known as the Bangkok resolutions that attempted to define the role of the league in the Independence movement, relations with the nascent

Indian National Army The Indian National Army (INA, sometimes Second INA; ''Azad Hind Fauj'' ; 'Free Indian Army') was a Empire of Japan, Japanese-allied and -supported armed force constituted in Southeast Asia during World War II and led by Indian Nationalism#An ...

, and clarify the grounds and conditions for obtaining Japanese support for it. The resolution further attempted to clarify the relations of

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

and the

Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere The , also known as the GEACPS, was a Pan-Asianism, pan-Asian union that the Empire of Japan tried to establish. Initially, it covered Japan (including Korea under Japanese rule, annexed Korea), Manchukuo, and Wang Jingwei regime, China, but as ...

with a free India.

Indians in South-East Asia

Indian Independence League

The Indian Independence League was a

political organisation A political organization is any organization that involves itself in the political process, including political parties, non-governmental organizations, and special interest advocacy groups. Political organizations are those engaged in politic ...

operated from the 1920s to the 1940s to organize those living outside of India into seeking the removal of British colonial rule over India. Some accounts indicate it was founded in 1928 by Indian nationalists

Subhas Chandra Bose Subhas Chandra Bose (23 January 1897 – 18 August 1945) was an Indian independence movement, Indian nationalist whose defiance of British raj, British authority in India made him a hero among many Indians, but his wartime alliances with ...

and

Jawaharlal Nehru Jawaharlal Nehru (14 November 1889 – 27 May 1964) was an Indian anti-colonial nationalist, secular humanist, social democrat, and statesman who was a central figure in India during the middle of the 20th century. Nehru was a pr ...

, By the start of the war the organisation was located in various parts of

South-East Asia Southeast Asia is the geographical southeastern region of Asia, consisting of the regions that are situated south of China, east of the Indian subcontinent, and northwest of the Australian mainland, which is part of Oceania. Southeast Asia i ...

and included Indian expatriates, and later, Indian nationalists in-exile under Japanese occupation following Japan's successful

Malayan Campaign The Malayan campaign, referred to by Japanese sources as the , was a military campaign fought by Allies of World War II, Allied and Axis powers, Axis forces in British Malaya, Malaya, from 8 December 1941 – 15 February 1942 during the World War ...

during the first part of the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. Among the most prominent of the leaders was

Giani Pritam Singh Giani Pritam Singh Dhillon was an Indian freedom fighter and Sikh missionary who, as a member of the Ghadar Party, was instrumental in the planning of the failed 1915 Ghadar conspiracy in the British Indian Army. Giani Pritam Singh Dhillon was a ...

. The IIL also had links with local Indian clubs.

Indian National Council

The Indian National Council was founded in December 1941 in

by another group of

Indian nationalists Indian nationalism is an instance of civic nationalism. It is inclusive of all of the people of India, despite their diverse ethnic, linguistic and religious backgrounds. Indian nationalism can trace roots to pre-colonial India, but was f ...

resident in

Thailand Thailand, officially the Kingdom of Thailand and historically known as Siam (the official name until 1939), is a country in Southeast Asia on the Mainland Southeast Asia, Indochinese Peninsula. With a population of almost 66 million, it spa ...

. This organisation was founded from the

Thai-Bharat Cultural Lodge . 1940 establishments in Thailand Cultural organizations based in Thailand Cultural promotion organizations Indian collaborators with Imperial Japan Culture of India Indian Independence League Memorials to Rabindranath Tagore Organizations establis ...

on 22 December 1941. The founding president of the Council was Swami Satyananda Puri, along with Debnath Das as the founding secretary. Along with 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 British India into seeking the removal of British colonial rule over the region. Founded by In ...

, it came to be one of the two prominent Indian associations that corresponded with I Fujiwara's

F Kikan was a military intelligence operation established by the IGHQ in September 1941. The Unit was transferred to Bangkok at the end of that month and headed by Major Fujiwara Iwaichi, chief of intelligence of the :Japanese armies, 15th army. Its tas ...

on the scopes of Japanese assistance to the Indian movement. However, the Indian National Council emphasised solidarity with the

Indian National Congress The Indian National Congress (INC), colloquially the Congress Party, or simply the Congress, is a political parties in India, political party in India with deep roots in most regions of India. Founded on 28 December 1885, it was the first mo ...

and, at a time when Japan began its successful

, the council reflected the Congress leadership's reluctance to appear

Quisling ''Quisling'' (, ) is a term used in Scandinavian languages and in English to mean a citizen or politician of an occupied country who collaborates with an enemy occupying force; it may also be used more generally as a synonym for ''traitor'' or ...

of the Japanese. The council also had differences with the

, with Puri openly questioning Tokyo's anti-imperialist credibility in light of her actions in

Korea Korea is a peninsular region in East Asia consisting of the Korean Peninsula, Jeju Island, and smaller islands. Since the end of World War II in 1945, it has been politically Division of Korea, divided at or near the 38th parallel north, 3 ...

and

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

. Puri was killed in a plane crash, along with

en route to the Conference in Tokyo in 1942 that saw

Rash Behari Bose Rash Behari Bose (; 25 May 1886 – 21 January 1945) was an Indian revolutionary leader and freedom fighter who fought against the British Empire. He was one of the key organisers of the Ghadar Mutiny and founded the Indian Independence Lea ...

accepted as the leader of the expatriate Indian movement in South-east Asia. Later, the council sent delegates to attend the Bangkok Conference.

First INA

The Indian National Army was initially formed under Capt Mohan Singh with Japanese aid and support after the

Fall of Singapore The fall of Singapore, also known as the Battle of Singapore, took place in the South–East Asian theatre of the Pacific War. The Empire of Japan captured the British stronghold of Singapore, with fighting lasting from 8 to 15 February 1942. S ...

and consisted of approximately 20,000

Indian Indian or Indians may refer to: Associated with India * of or related to India ** Indian people ** Indian diaspora ** Languages of India ** Indian English, a dialect of the English language ** Indian cuisine Associated with indigenous peoples o ...

prisoners of war who were captured either during the

Malayan campaign The Malayan campaign, referred to by Japanese sources as the , was a military campaign fought by Allies of World War II, Allied and Axis powers, Axis forces in British Malaya, Malaya, from 8 December 1941 – 15 February 1942 during the World War ...

or surrendered at Singapore. Although not formally proclaimed until September 1942, the unit rapidly came to be an important component of the Indian movement in South-east Asia and of Japanese projects and agenda in the region, especially with regards to her subsequent plans in the South-east Asian theatre.

Tokyo Conference

Following the end of the Malayan Campaign, and after Thailand's support to the Japanese campaign, these organisations were encouraged by Japan to unify the overseas Indian movement. Although differences existed between the organisations, they met at the Tokyo Conference in March 1942. It was while en route to this conference that the plane carrying Pritam Singh and Satyananda Puri crashed. However, although divided on the interests of different communities and regions and on the scopes and limits of Japanese interventions, the delegates agreed to a reorganisation of the

and accepted

as the leader of the organisation. The Tokyo conference, however, failed to reach any definitive decisions. A number of the Indian delegations held differences with Rash Behari, especially given his long connection with

and the current position of Japan as the occupying power in South-east Asia, and were wary of vested Japanese interests. The conference agreed to meet again in

at a future date. The Indian delegation returned to Singapore in April with Rash Behari. The Bangkok conference opened on 22 June 1942 at the Silpakon theatre in

with an opening address by the Thai deputy foreign minister Wichit. Amongst the guests to this conference were the Japanese Ambassador Tsubokami Teiji, German minister Ernst Wendler, and the Italian minister Guido Crolla.

Outcomes

The conference defined the structure of the league as consisting of a Council for Action and a Committee of representatives below it. Below the committee was to be the territorial and local branches. Rash Behari Bose was to chair the council, while K.P.K Menon, Nedyam Raghavan were among the civilian members of the council. Mohan Singh and an officer by the name of Gilani were to be the INA's members. The committee of representatives took members from the 12 territories with Indian population, with representation proportional to the representative Indian population. The Bangkok resolution further decided that the Indian National Army was to be subordinate to it.

Bangkok Resolutions

The introduction to the resolution states: The resolution itself adopted a thirty-four point resolution, to each of which it expected the Japanese government to respond to. These included the demand that the Japanese government clearly, explicitly and publicly recognize India as an independent nation and the league as the nation's representatives and guardians. Other points also demanded assurances from the Japanese on Free India's relation with

, respect for her

sovereignty Sovereignty can generally be defined as supreme authority. Sovereignty entails hierarchy within a state as well as external autonomy for states. In any state, sovereignty is assigned to the person, body or institution that has the ultimate au ...

and her territorial integrity, to all of which the council unanimously demanded that Japan clearly and unequivocally commit themselves before the league proceeded any further in collaboration. The resolution further demanded that the Indian National Army be accorded the status of an allied army and treated as such, and that all Indian Prisoners of Wars be released to the INA. The Japanese must help the army with loans, and not to ask it to march in any other purpose than for the liberation of India. The resolution was duly passed on to what was then the Japanese liaison office, the

Iwakuro Kikan The ''Iwakuro Kikan'', or ''I Kikan'', was an intelligence mission and liaison office for the Imperial Japanese Army and Indian National Army during the Second World War in the South-East Asian theatre. Headed by Colonel Hideo Iwakuro, it succeeded ...

Notes

References

* *. *. *. *. *. * . {{Authority control World War II conferences Indian Independence League Indian independence movement History of Bangkok 1942 in India Indian National Army 1942 conferences 1942 in Thailand India in World War II