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Mohan Singh (3 January 1909 – 26 December 1989) was a British Indian Army officer, and later member of the Indian Independence Movement, best known for founding and leading the Indian National Army in South East Asia during World War II.
- Overview
- Early life
- Military career
- Second World War
- 1947 and later
- Death
- Bibliography
- External links
Mohan Singh (3 January 1909 – 26 December 1989) was a British Indian Army officer, and later member of the Indian Independence Movement, best known for founding and leading the Indian National Army in South East Asia during World War II. The unit was formed by Singh. Following Indian independence, Mohan Singh later served in public life as a Member...
He was born in a Sikh family and only son of Tara Singh and Hukam Kaur, a couple of Ugoke village, near Sialkot (now in Pakistan). His father died two months before his birth and his mother shifted to her parents' home in Badiana in the same district, where Mohan Singh was born and brought up.
Gen. Mohan Singh passed secondary school and enlisted the 14th Punjab Regiment of the British Indian Army in 1927. After the completion of his recruit training at Hrozpur, he was posted to the 2nd Battalion of the Regiment, then serving in the North-West Frontier Province. He was selected as a potential officer in 1931, and after six months' training in Kitchener College, Nowgong (Madhya Pradesh), and another two and a half years in the Indian Military Academy, Dehradun, he received his commission 1 February 1935 and was posted for a year to a British Army unit, the 2nd battalion Border Regiment. He was then posted to 1st Battalion, 14th Punjab Regiment on 24 February 1936, which at that time happened to be stationed at Jhelum.
Mohan Singh had been promoted temporary Captain when his battalion was earmarked for operational service in the Far East. The battalion was still carrying out intensive training at Secunderabad when he married, in December 1940, Jasvant Kaur, sister of a brother officer. He left for Malaya with his unit on 4 March 1941.
Japan entered the War with her surprise attack on the American air base at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, on 7 December 1941 and overran the entire South East Asia within a few weeks. The Japanese Imperial General Headquarters in October set up the Fujiwara Kikan, or the F-kikan, in Bangkok, Headed by the Major Fujiwara Iwaichi, chief of intelligence of the...
Singh entered politics and joined the Indian National Congress in February 1947. His dream of independence was realized with India's Independence on 15 August 1947, but this was accompanied by the partition of the country into India and Pakistan. He had to leave his hearth and home in what then became Pakistan and came to India a homeless refugee. He was allotted some land in the village of Jugiana, near Ludhiana, where he settled permanently. Due to this he created a private military named the Desh Sevak Sena with a woman's wing named the Desh Istri Sena with its base at Majithia House, Amritsar. They helped thousands of Sikhs and Hindus and escorted Muslims, sometimes forcefully, out of East Punjab. After the Partition riots ended he planned to attack Simla and declare Azad Hind although the Desh Sevak Sena was quickly disbanded and merged into the National Volunteer Corps.
After a stint as a legislator in the Punjab, he was elected to Rajya Sabha, the upper house of Indian Parliament, for two terms. In and out of Parliament he strove for the recognition of the members of his Azad Hind Fauj as "freedom fighters" in the cause of the nation's independence.
Mohan Singh died at Jugiana on 26 December 1989.
•"Mohan Singh, General, Soldiers Contribution to Indian Independence Delhi, 1974"
•"Japanese trained armies in South-East Asia". New York, Columbia University Press. 1977. ISBN 0-231-03995-6. .
•General Mohan Singh Archived 17 April 2012 at the Wayback Machine. at the Sikh History.
Indian National Army (INA)
Historical
•Indian independence movement
•Militant movements
•Lala Hardayal
Jul 29, 2015 · When Japanese occupied Singapore in 1941, Mohan Singh who was in the Army, took the initiative to form the Indian National Army (INA), enlisting 40,000 Indian soldiers of the British Indian Army who were imprisoned by the Japanese.
General Mohan Singh was among the most prominent INA... Indian National Army was formed under the leadership of Rash Bihari Bose and Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose.
- 3 min
- 1811
- Asianet Newsable
Jan 21, 2018 · This article traces Mohan Singh’s early life and military career, leading to his involvement in the Indian nationalist movement and subsequent elevation as the Commander-in-Chief of the Indian National Army (INA).
Dec 3, 2017 · When Japanese occupied Singapore in 1941, Mohan Singh who was in the Army, took the initiative to form the Indian National Army (INA), enlisting 40,000 Indian soldiers of the British Indian Army who were imprisoned by the Japanese.
MOHAN SINGH, GENERAL (1909-1989), famous for his part in the Indian National Army for the liberation of India from British rule, in which he held the rank of a general, was born the only son of Tara Singh and Hukam Kaur, a peasant couple of Ugoke village, near Sialkot (now in Pakistan).
