| Indian National Army Monument | |
|---|---|
| Indian National Army | |
| For Unknown Warrior | |
| Established | July 8, 1945 |
| Unveiled | August 1945 |
| Location | 1°17′22″N 103°51′13″E / 1.28944°N 103.85361°E near Downtown Core, Singapore |
Ittehad, Ittemad, Qurbani | |
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The Former Indian National Army Monument (Chinese: 印度国民军纪念碑) is a historical site and a demolished war memorial at the Esplanade Park located at Connaught Drive within the downtown of Singapore.
History
Foundation stone laying by Subhas Chandra Bose and construction
The monument was constructed to commemorate the "Unknown Warrior" of the Indian National Army (INA). The words inscribed on the war memorial were its motto, which is Unity (Ittehad), Faith (Ittemad) and Sacrifice (Qurbani). It was built during the Japanese Occupation of Singapore as the Japanese and the INA had one enemy in common, i.e., the British.
Subhas Chandra Bose ("Netaji") laid the foundation stone on 8 July 1945, and the words inscribed upon the War Memorial were the motto of the INA: Unity (Etihaad), Faith (Etmad) and Sacrifice (Kurbani).[1] The monument was then erected within a month by the Japanese on August 1945, a few months before Singapore was recaptured by the British. The construction of the monument was proposed by Bose, the co-founder of the INA and Head of State of the Provisional Government of Free India. The INA was backed by the Japanese forces for its goal of gaining India's independence from Britain.
The future generations of Indians who will be born, not as slaves but as free men, because of your colossal sacrifice, will bless your names and proudly proclaim to the world that you, their forbears, fought and suffered reverses in the battle of Manipur, Assam and Burma. But through temporary failure you paved the way to ultimate success and glory.
— Subhas Chandra Bose while paying homage to the martyrs of the INA while laying foundation stone of the Former INA Monument at Singapore on 8 July 1945., [1]
Demolition by British colonials
Soon after the Japanese retreat from Singapore in 15 August 1945 and the subsequent surrender of the remaining divisions of the Indian National Army to the advancing British, the British commander Lord Louis Mountbatten ordered the memorial to be destroyed.[1] Mountbatten's intention was to remove all traces of rebellion against British imperial authority. By attempting to completely erase all records of the INA's existence, he sought to prevent the seeds of the idea of a revolutionary socialist independence force from spreading into the vestiges of British colonies, amidst the spectre of Cold War politics already taking shape at the time, which had haunted the colonial powers before the war.
Restoration: Erection of plaque by National Heritage Board
In 1995, the National Heritage Board marked the place as a historical site and subsequently with financial donations from the Indian community in Singapore, a new monument commemorating the previous one was erected on that spot.[2]
Gallery
Bose visiting the now-demolished INA Memorial at Esplanade Park during June 1945.
The Prime Minister of India, Narendra Modi paying homage to INA martyrs on 24 November 2015 at the present-day plaque which marks the site of former INA Memorial.
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See also
- Indian National Army related
- Cathay Building
- Farrer Park Field
- INA Martyrs' Memorial
- Indian National Army in Singapore
- Other war memorials in Singapore
- General
References
- "INA War Memorial in Singapore". National Archives of Singapore (S1942.org.sg). Retrieved 7 November 2006.
- ^ a b c INA War Memorial in Singapore, National Archive of Singapore.
- ^ Henderson, J. (2007). Remembering the Second World War in Singapore: Wartime Heritage as a Visitor Attraction. Journal of Heritage Tourism, 2(1), 36-52.