Read the excerpt given below and answer the questions that follow:

“Friends, one year ago, when I made certain demands of you, I told you that if you give me ‘total mobilization’, I would give you a ‘second front’. I have redeemed that pledge. The first phase of our campaign is over. Our victorious troops, fighting side by side with Nipponese troops, have pushed back the enemy and are now fighting bravely on the sacred soil of our dear motherland. I had asked you for men, money and materials. I have got them in generous measure. Now I demand more of you. A long fight is still in front of us. We should have but one desire today - the desire to die so that India may live - the desire to face a martyr’s death, so that the path to freedom may be paved with the martyr’s blood.
Friends! My comrades in the War of Liberation! Today I demand of you one thing, above all. I demand of you blood. It is blood alone that can avenge the blood that the enemy has spilt. It is blood alone that can pay the price of freedom.”
—Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose.

(a) Whom is Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose addressing? Who are the victorious troops referred to in the excerpt? Who were the Nipponese?

(b) Which war of liberation is Subhas Chandra Bose talking about? From where did he start his campaign? Name the two areas of Indian territory his troops acquired?

(c) What did he demand from his troops? Did the troops fulfill the mission of their leader.

(a) Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose is addressing members (troops) of the Indian National Army (INA). The victorious troops referred to in the excerpt are the soldiers of the INA. The term ‘Nipponese’ refers to the Japanese, who were allies of the INA during World War II.

(b) Subhas Chandra Bose is talking about the War of Liberation of India from the British rule. He started his campaign from East Asia. The INA, under his leadership, fought alongside the Japanese in Burma (now Myanmar) and parts of Northeast India.

(c) Bose demanded ‘total mobilization’ from his troops, which meant complete commitment to the cause of India’s freedom. He asked for men, money, and materials, and above all, he demanded their blood, symbolizing their willingness to sacrifice their lives for the cause. While the INA did not succeed in achieving immediate independence for India, their efforts and sacrifices significantly contributed to the eventual end of British rule in India.