The Forgotten Indian Prisoners of World War II

Surrender, Loyalty, Betrayal and Hell

Gautam Hazarika

• Publisher: Pen and Sword Military
• Year: 2026
• Topic: History
• eBook ISBN:
  9781036124403
• Subtopic: 20th Century History
• Index: History

"… a well-sourced and highly-detailed account." – Asian Review of Books

Singapore 1942. This is the story of Captain Mohan Singh, 14 Punjab Regiment, the first commander of the Indian National Army (INA) supported by Japan to expel the British from India. Of the soldiers who found it a great attraction or an impossible dilemma. Of the great risk Singh took in breaking with the Japanese when he realised they were not sticking to their promises. Of Subhash Chandra Bose’s tryst with destiny when he was then called to take over the mantle. Of the thousands of INA men who died of sickness & starvation in Burma. Of those who fought bravely when they got a chance. Of how though the INA was a Paper Tiger in battle, it was a Propaganda Lion after the war and hastened independence.

It is the story of Lieutenant MM Pillai’s daring escape from Singapore. Of Warrant Officer John Baptist Crasta, one of 17,000 Indian POWs sent to hard labour camps in the Pacific, of whom over 10,000 died. Of the war crimes trials held by the Australians for Japanese atrocities against these POWs where Subedar Chint Singh was a key witness. Finally, it is the story of wives waiting for 5 years with little news of their soldier husband.

How the INA was started 18 months before Bose reached and what happened to Indian soldiers when Mohan Singh disbanded the first INA, is a lesser known chapter of Indian and World War II history that deserves more telling. Hazarika’s narrative using their largely unpublished words & interviews with family members, is a gripping story of loyalty, of daring escapes and double crosses, and adversity in captivity. He appeals for more commemoration of these soldiers.

Table of contents

• Front Cover
• Half-Title Page
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Contents
• Foreword
• Table of Ranks of the Indian Army in World War II
• Prologue
• Chapter 1 The Spectacle at Farrer Park
• Chapter 2 The Rise and Fall of Captain Mohan Singh’s First INA
• Chapter 3 A Double Cross or a Triple Cross?
• Chapter 4 The Great Escape From Singapore
• Chapter 5 The Rash Behari Bose Era
• Chapter 6 The Symbolism of Subhas Chandra Bose
• Chapter 7 In Hell Ships to Torture Islands
• Chapter 8 The Indian National Army in Burma
• Chapter 9 Desperation before Liberation
• Chapter 10 Justice from the Australians
• Chapter 11 Back Home – A Sudden Return or a Deafening Silence
• Commemoration
• Acknowledgements
• Notes on Primary Sources
• Select Bibliography of Secondary Sources
• Endnotes
• Plates