The Bidadari Resolutions were set of resolutions adopted by 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 ...

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 as Prisoner of war, prisoners of war by a belligerent power in time of war. There are significant differences among POW camps, inte ...

at the

Bidadari Apsaras (, , Khmer language, Khmer: អប្សរា are a class of celestial beings in Hinduism, Hindu and Culture of Buddhism, Buddhist culture. They were originally a type of female spirit of the clouds and waters, but, later play ...

(Bidadri PoW camp) in

Singapore Singapore, officially the Republic of Singapore, is an island country and city-state in Southeast Asia. The country's territory comprises one main island, 63 satellite islands and islets, and one outlying islet. It is about one degree ...

during Japanese occupation of the island.

Fall of Singapore

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 ...

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 was an officer in the Imperial Japanese Army in World War II, and later a lieutenant general in the post-war Japan Ground Self Defense Force. Biography A native of Hyōgo prefecture, Fujiwara graduated from the 43rd class of the Imperial Japa ...

, separately from that of British PoWs, on the morning of 17th at Farrer Park Field. Fujiwara passed on their command to

Mohan Singh Mohan Singh (4 March 1945 – 22 September 2013) was an Indian politician from the Samajwadi Party. He was elected three times to the Lok Sabha from Deoria in Uttar Pradesh. He was the General Secretary of the Samajwadi Party. He died on 22 S ...

, who had formulated the conception of a liberation army for

India's Independence The Indian independence movement was a series of historic events in South Asia with the ultimate aim of ending British colonial rule. It lasted until 1947, when the Indian Independence Act 1947 was passed. The first nationalistic movement t ...

, 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

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 British India into seeking the removal of British colonial rule over the region. Founded by In ...

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 Mohan Singh (3 January 1909 – 26 December 1989) was an Indian military officer and politician. He was a British Indian Army officer, and later member of the Indian Independence Movement, best known for founding and leading the Indian National ...

, 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 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 ...

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.

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