Congress MP Dr. Shashi Tharoor on Monday, 15 June 2026, published an article uncovering the largely overlooked history of Thailand's contribution to India's independence movement, marking the 84th anniversary of a landmark conference that laid the groundwork for the Indian National Army (INA).

Context

In his post on X, Tharoor wrote: 'My article in The Hindu today traces the hidden history of Thailand's connection to India's freedom struggle. Today marks the 84th anniversary of a conference that eventually birthed the INA.' The piece draws public attention to a chapter of anti-colonial history that rarely features in mainstream Indian historiography, situating Thailand as a critical node in the network of Indian revolutionary activity during World War II.

The conference Tharoor references is the Bangkok Conference of June 1942, a gathering of Indian nationalists on Thai soil that resulted in the formal establishment of the Indian Independence League. That organisation provided the political and organisational scaffolding upon which the INA was subsequently built.

Policy Backdrop

The Indian National Army was formed in 1942 among Indian prisoners of war and civilians across Southeast Asia, and later came under the command of Subhas Chandra Bose. Its founding is inseparable from the role played by the Indian diaspora then resident in Thailand, Malaya, and Burma, who supplied funds, recruits, and logistical support to the anti-British cause.

Thailand occupied a unique position in this wartime geography. Unlike territories under direct colonial administration, it retained nominal independence and thus offered Indian nationalists a degree of organisational freedom unavailable elsewhere in the region. The Bangkok Conference exploited this opening to convene leaders who would go on to shape the INA's structure and ideology.

India's Act East Policy, which deepens strategic and cultural ties with ASEAN nations, has increasingly drawn on shared anti-colonial narratives to reinforce contemporary bilateral relationships. Invoking the wartime solidarity between Indian nationalists and Southeast Asian host communities fits squarely within this diplomatic framework, lending historical depth to what are otherwise primarily economic and security-driven partnerships.

Stakeholders and Impact

The article is likely to resonate with historians, archivists, and the Indian diaspora in Southeast Asia, communities that have long sought greater recognition of their ancestors' contributions to the freedom movement. For New Delhi and Bangkok, the narrative also carries soft-power value: bilateral relations between India and Thailand have grown steadily under the Act East framework, and shared historical memory can serve as a people-to-people bridge.

Tharoor, a former UN Under-Secretary-General and former Union Minister of State for External Affairs, has consistently used his platform to rehabilitate underrepresented figures and episodes from India's colonial past. His intervention adds a parliamentarian's visibility to what has largely been an academic conversation about the INA's Southeast Asian roots.

What's Next

The 84th anniversary of the Bangkok Conference could prompt commemorative statements from the Ministry of External Affairs or cultural organisations active in Thailand. Bilateral events under the ASEAN-India framework may increasingly incorporate references to the 1942 wartime network as India seeks to deepen historical bonds with member states. Archival cooperation between New Delhi and Bangkok on INA-era documents remains an area where both governments could act on the momentum generated by renewed public interest.