RAS question
The Azad Hind Government (Provisional Government of Free India) was established by Subhas Chandra Bose on 21 October 1943 at:
Correct answer: (D) Singapore.
Subhas Chandra Bose announced the formation of the Azad Hind Government on 21 October 1943, and it started functioning from Singapore.
Explanation
The answer is Singapore because the official PIB release records that, on 21 October 1943, Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose announced the formation of the Azad Hind Government and that it started functioning from Singapore with 11 ministers and eight representatives from the Indian National Army. The exam-relevant frame is that this was the Provisional Government of Free India, later recognised by nine Axis powers including Japan, Germany and Italy. Bose held the posts of Head of State, Prime Minister and War Minister. Its symbols and organisation, including currency, stamps and the Rani of Jhansi Regiment under Captain Lakshmi Sahgal, make it a recurring Modern India fact, but the formation venue asked here is Singapore.
Why the other options are wrong
- (A) Tokyo was Japan's headquarters, but the Azad Hind Government was announced on 21 October 1943 and began functioning from Singapore.
- (B) Berlin does not fit the 21 October 1943 formation event, because Bose had left Germany by then and the government started functioning from Singapore.
- (C) Rangoon is a tempting option because the headquarters shifted there later, but the proclamation and initial functioning were in Singapore.
Concept
This tests the overseas phase of the Indian freedom struggle, especially the INA and Subhas Chandra Bose's Provisional Government of Free India. RAS often asks such facts because they link chronology, location and revolutionary-nationalist institutions.