Major General Jaganath Rao Bhonsle, also known as Jagannathrao Krishnarao BhonsleOctober 1939 Indian Army List (20 April 1906 – 14 May 1963) was an Indian military officer, independence activist, and politician. As a member of the

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 ...

, Bhonsle served as the Azad Hind's minister for armed forces in the

Azad Hind The Provisional Government of Free India or, more simply, Azad Hind, was a short-lived Japanese-controlled provisional government in India. It was established in Japanese occupied Singapore during World War II in October 1943 and has been con ...

. After the war, he was a minister and MP in India after independence. Bhonsle was born in the village of Tiroda in

Maharashtra Maharashtra () is a state in the western peninsular region of India occupying a substantial portion of the Deccan Plateau. It is bordered by the Arabian Sea to the west, the Indian states of Karnataka and Goa to the south, Telangana to th ...

, then part of the Bombay Presidency of the

British Raj The British Raj ( ; from Hindustani language, Hindustani , 'reign', 'rule' or 'government') was the colonial rule of the British The Crown, Crown on the Indian subcontinent, * * lasting from 1858 to 1947. * * It is also called Crown rule ...

, and was a member of the Tirodkar Bhonsle royal family. He graduated from the Prince of Wales Royal Indian Military College at Dehradun in 1926 and then went to the Royal Military College Sandhurst, where on 2 February 1928 he was commissioned as a second lieutenant. He then spent a year attached to a British Army regiment in India before posting to his permanent

British Indian Army The Indian Army was the force of British Raj, British India, until Indian Independence Act 1947, national independence in 1947. Formed in 1895 by uniting the three Presidency armies, it was responsible for the defence of both British India and ...

unit on 12 April 1929, which was the 5th Royal Battalion of 5th Mahratta Light Infantry. He was promoted to lieutenant on 2 May 1930, and to captain on 2 February 1937. He fought at the

Battle 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 was taken as a prisoner of war 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 ...

. He was one of the first volunteers to the

First Indian National Army The First Indian National Army (First INA) was the Indian National Army as it existed between February and December 1942. It was formed with Japanese aid and support after the Fall of Singapore and consisted of approximately 12,000 of the 40,0 ...

led by

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 ...

, where he was appointed as commander of the

Hindustan Field Force The Hindustan Field Force was the first operational regiment of the Indian National Army that was formed in September 1942 under the first INA. Under the command of J.K. Bhonsle, the unit was formed at Singapore and comprised three battalions der ...

. After this army collapsed due to disagreements with the Japanese, 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 ...

placed the remains of it under

Mohammed Zaman Kiani Mohammed Zaman Kiani (Urdu:; c. 1 October 1910 – 4 June 1981) was a Pakistani military officer and politician. He is known for commanding the Kashmir rebels during the first Indo-Pakistani war (1947–1948) against Indian forces, and later s ...

as Army Commander and Bhonsle as Director of the Military Bureau, which was in charge of the general policy and finances of the INA. After the formation of the second

in 1943, led by

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 ...

, Bhonsle became Chief of Staff and served in this position until the end of the war. When Bose flew to Tokyo in August 1945, Bhonsle was left in charge of the INA in Bangkok, where he was captured by British forces. After the fall of Japan in 1945, Bhonsle returned to Bombay, and founded the Indian Ex-Services Organisation, an organisation for Indian veterans of the World Wars. He would serve as its President until he was elected to the Lok Sabha in 1951. Following Indian independence in 1947, Bhonsle was appointed Minister for Rehabilitation by Prime Minister

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 ...

, helping Hindu immigrants from the newly-founded Pakistan find life in India. Working for the rehabilitation of the Sindhi migrant community, he was honoured by the Sindhi community and thanked for his work in an open letter. Bhonsle was also elected as Member of Parliament with a 40,940-vote landslide in the first Lok Sabha election, serving the Ratnagiri North electoral district of

Bombay Mumbai ( ; ), also known as Bombay ( ; its official name until 1995), is the capital city of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of Maharashtra. Mumbai is the financial centre, financial capital and the list of cities i ...

. He was the main proponent of the

National Service Scheme The National Service Scheme (NSS) is an Indian government sector public service program conducted by the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports of the Government of India. Popularly known as NSS, the scheme was launched in Mahatma Gandhi's centen ...

, although he never lived to see it, for he would die 6 years before its establishment in 1969.

Notes

References

* . * . * . * . * . * . * . * . {{DEFAULTSORT:Bhonsle, J. R. 1906 births 1963 deaths Azad Hind British Indian Army officers Graduates of the Royal Military College, Sandhurst India MPs 1952–1957 Indian National Army personnel Rashtriya Indian Military College alumni Union deputy ministers of India