CM Himanta Pays Tribute to Azad Hind Fauj on Foundation Day
Synopsis
Assam CM Himanta Biswa Sarma marked the Foundation Day of the Azad Hind Fauj on 21 October 2026, honouring the soldiers of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose's 1943 provisional government-in-exile that challenged British colonial rule.
Key Takeaways
21 October 1943 : Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose proclaimed the Provisional Government of Azad Hind in Singapore , with the Indian National Army as its military force.
The Indian National Army was initially raised in 1942 and reorganised under Bose in 1943 .
Assam CM Himanta Biswa Sarma posted his tribute on 21 October 2026 , the day's Foundation Day anniversary.
Sarma credited the provisional government with having 'shook the British Empire and forced them to leave India.' Annual commemorations of the Azad Hind Fauj are observed by leaders across India's political spectrum on 21 October and on Netaji Jayanti, 23 January .
Eighty-three years after Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose proclaimed a government that rattled the greatest empire of its age, Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma paused on Wednesday, 21 October 2026 to remember the soldiers who made that defiance possible — the brave men and women of the Azad Hind Fauj.
The day a provisional government shook an empire
On 21 October 1943, in Singapore, Netaji Bose proclaimed the Azad Hind Provisional Government — a government-in-exile that immediately declared war on Britain and the Allied powers. It was not a symbolic gesture. The Indian National Army (INA), reorganised under Bose that same year after its initial raising in 1942, marched through Southeast Asia with the singular aim of driving British rule out of India. CM Sarma, in his post, put it plainly: the provisional government 'eventually shook the British Empire and forced them to leave India.'
The INA's military campaign ultimately fell short on the battlefield, but its moral impact proved far larger. The mass trial of INA officers after the war galvanised Indian public opinion and, historians widely argue, accelerated the political calculus that led Britain to hasten its departure. The soldiers of the Azad Hind Fauj paid with their lives, their freedom, and years of exile for a cause that came home victorious in 1947.
A cross-party memory, rekindled every October
The annual commemoration of Foundation Day on 21 October draws tributes from leaders across India's political spectrum — a rare moment of convergence in an otherwise fractious public discourse. Bose and the INA occupy a singular place in the national imagination: a stream of the independence movement defined by armed resistance, sacrifice far from home soil, and an uncompromising rejection of colonial authority.
CM Sarma's tribute joins a tradition that also finds expression on Netaji Jayanti, 23 January — Bose's birth anniversary — when official observances are held across the country. That both dates anchor the national calendar speaks to the enduring weight of the Azad Hind legacy in India's self-understanding.
The soldiers of the Azad Hind Fauj never stopped believing India would be free. Today, India remembers that they were right.
Point of View
Values that resonate across ideological lines. For CM Sarma, a BJP leader who also convenes the North-East Democratic Alliance, honouring the INA carries particular regional resonance — the INA's eastward campaign passed through territory that is now Northeast India. The cross-party nature of Bose commemoration means such tributes build national-patriotic capital without partisan cost, making 21 October a reliable fixture on the political calendar for leaders eager to anchor themselves in the freedom-struggle narrative.
NationPress
21 Oct 2026
Frequently Asked Questions
When was the Azad Hind Fauj Foundation Day?
The Azad Hind Fauj Foundation Day falls on 21 October , marking the proclamation of the Provisional Government of Azad Hind in Singapore on 21 October 1943 under Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose.
What was the Provisional Government of Azad Hind?
It was a government-in-exile proclaimed by Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose on 21 October 1943 in Singapore, which declared war on Britain and oversaw the Indian National Army's campaign to liberate India from colonial rule.
Who led the Azad Hind Fauj?
Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose reorganised and led the Indian National Army from 1943 , serving as head of state of the Provisional Government of Azad Hind.
What did Himanta Biswa Sarma say about Azad Hind Fauj?
Assam CM Himanta Biswa Sarma said the provisional government 'shook the British Empire and forced them to leave India,' paying tributes to all soldiers of the Azad Hind Fauj on Foundation Day, 21 October 2026 .
When is Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose Jayanti?
Netaji Jayanti is observed on 23 January each year, marking Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose's birth anniversary with official commemorations across India.
