With reference to the significance of the struggle of INA and Subhas Chandra Bose answer the following questions:

(a) How did people of India show solidarity with the INA Officers put on trial at the Red Fort in Delhi?

(b) How did the INA's successes affect India's armed forces?

(c) How will you justify the statement that the INA was a unique army?
A Guide: An INA soldier was not the one interested in money. He could lay down his life as a patriotic son of the Motherland.

(a) The people of India showed solidarity with the INA Officers put on trial at the Red Fort in Delhi in the following manner-

1. In 1945 the trial of the INA officers — Shah Nawaz Khan, G.S. Dhillon and Prem Sehgal at the Red Fort in Delhi evoked the sympathy of the entire nation.
2. The Congress took up their cause.
3. Jawaharlal Nehru, Bhulabhai Desai and Tej Bahadur Sapru fought the case on behalf of the INA officers.
4. Students everywhere demonstrated in support of the INA officers.
5. Even the Muslim League condemned the trial.
6. The Government viewed these developments with alarm.
7. The INA officers were ultimately set free.

(b) The INA spirit started affecting the armed forces of the country.

1. The Indian Navy rose in revolt at Mumbai in February 1946.
2. Similar uprisings took place at Kolkata, Chennai and Karachi also.
3. The naval revolts shook the very foundation on which the British Empire rested.
4. Officers of the army demonstrated their ability to lead in difficult situations.

(c) The INA was unique in its own way and unlike many other armies engaged in the global war.

1. It was an army organised on foreign soil, hundreds of kilometres away from its motherland.
2. It was dependent on foreign powers for planes, tanks, artillery, rifles, ammunition and even lorries for the transport of soldiers to the front.
3. It depended upon the patriotic fervour of its nationals scattered over East Asia, from Myanmar to Japan, for men, money, clothing, food and other civilian supplies.
4. However, its greatest asset was the spirit of self-sacrifice of it's soldiers. An INA soldier was not the one interested in money. He could lay down his life as a patriotic son of the Motherland.