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BIBLIOASIA APR – JUN 2018 Vol. 14 / Issue 01 / Feature

Meira Chand’s multi-cultural heritage is reflected in the nine novels she has published. A Different Sky, set in , was long-listed for the International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award in 2012, and made it to Oprah Winfrey’s reading list. Her new book, Sacred Waters, was recently published in WARRIOR Singapore. She has a PhD in Creative Writing. WOMEN

The Rani of Regiment The traditional Indian woman is invari- (Facing page top) inspecting the Regiment and ably portrayed as modest and compliant, troops in Singapore in 1943. S R Nathan Collection, courtesy of National Archives of Singapore. entirely focused on her role as daugh- (Facing page bottom) Soldiers of the Rani of Jhansi Regiment marching alongside Indian National Army ter, wife and mother. Yet, by the same troops, c.1943–45. Puan Sri Datin J Athi Nahappan Collection, courtesy of National Archives of Singapore. (Above) Subhas Chandra Bose, with Captain (Dr) , inspecting the guard of honour A band of extraordinary women rose ttoken, the image of the warrior woman presented by the Rani of Jhansi Regiment during the opening of the Rani of Jhansi camp at Waterloo is a recurring figure in Indian history, Street, Singapore, on 22 October 1943. Courtesy of Netaji Research Bureau. above oppression and poverty in Malayan beginning in Hindu religious mythology (Below) Subhas Chandra Bose (1897–1945) was a freedom fighter who fought for the liberation of with the goddess Durga and culminating from British rule. He commanded the Indian National Army in Singapore and created the Rani of Jhansi plantations to overthrow the British in Regiment. Nirvan Thivy Collection, courtesy of National Archives of Singapore. in modern times with figures such as . Meira Chand has the story. Phoolan Devi, the notorious bandit queen. Female power has also been cel- Subhas Chandra Bose was comprised of Indian prisoners-of ebrated over the centuries in the works war in who had been captured of Indian women poets and writers, and in The name Subhas Chandra Bose is from the British. Around this time Bose tales of legendary women such as Chand little heard today, but in his own time acquired the title, Netaji, or great leader, Bibi and the Rani of Jhansi. Bose was a hero to many in India. He by which he is still remembered today. The Indian women who joined the was a controversial and divisive figure, Although Hitler appeared supportive Indian National Army (INA) in 1942, as inspiring aversion in his opponents and of Bose, once Germany lost the war to the events of World War II unfolded, adulation in his followers. Both Mahatma Russia, it was clear he was in no posi- chose to recognise their power and Gandhi (1869–1948) and Bose (1897–1945) tion to help Bose drive the British out agency as women in a way that reflects were legendary sons of India, fighters of India. Any interest Hitler retained that alternative image. The bravery of for freedom from colonial rule, and in Bose was reserved for propaganda these women in the nationalist efforts active during the same timeframe. Yet, victories rather than military ones, and to overthrow the British in colonial India the means by which each man sought to Bose grew progressively disillusioned. has been largely overlooked by history. achieve India’s freedom could not have The issue of gender, and the illiteracy been more different. and low caste of the majority of the Indian Bose was 28 years younger than Gan- women allowed for their easy dismissal, dhi, and was initially greatly influenced by and has resulted in their courage being the writings and ideals of the older man. little known or celebrated. However, a growing admiration for militant In trying to make sense of the his- European fascism caused Bose’s views torical meaning and importance of the to take a radical turn. He grew critical of Rani of Jhansi Regiment while research- Gandhi with his symbolically rustic spin- ing my novel, Sacred Waters, I found a ning wheel and call for non-violent civil general scarcity of material about the disobedience, feeling that such passivity women who made up this regiment. In would never achieve independence for contrast, there is a large collection of India. Bose believed freedom could only material available for those researching be gained by violent means, through an the male segment of the INA. invasion of the country from outside. “Give The remarkable story of these me your blood, and I will give you freedom" brave women deserves to be better was his famous battle cry. known. But it is impossible to write about In 1941, Bose escaped house arrest the Rani of Jhansi Regiment without by the British in Calcutta, and fled over- mentioning the force they were part land to Germany to petition Adolf Hitler’s of, the INA, and its inextricable ties to help in his mission. At first Hitler was the charismatic Indian freedom fighter, supportive of Bose, allowing him to raise Subhas Chandra Bose. a small army, the , which

44 45 BIBLIOASIA APR – JUN 2018 Vol. 14 / Issue 01 / Feature

(Left) Subhas Chandra Bose arriving in Singapore on 2 July 1943. Nirvan Thivy Collection, courtesy of rateness allowed their Indian identity labourer, where a northerner cannot wayside, and how the tight knit bonds of National Archives of Singapore. to remain intact. Even if cut off from speak the language of a southerner, and being a community of women motivated (Below) Subhas Chandra Bose announcing the formation of the Provisional Government of Free India, or Azad India for two or three generations, where the untouchable is anathema to by a powerful cause overrode everything Hind, at a rally at , Singapore, in October 1943. He established to ally with the Axis they still spoke their native tongue and all, the fostering of a sense of oneness else. This sense of community forged alli- powers and free India from British rule. Nirvan Thivy Collection, courtesy of National Archives of Singapore. wore Indian dress in everyday life. At was a difficult task. ances and collaborations across diverse Hindu temples in the rubber estates, Bose ordered all recruits to eat and boundaries, firing up everyone with the they celebrated religious festivals and live together whatever their differences. commitment of female comradeship and practices. Hindu myth and folklore was As they came from different parts of India the commonality of shared experiences. handed down from one generation to the and spoke different languages, they were next, and their sense of Tamil identity required to learn the common language The Making of Women Warriors remained strong.2 of Hindustani as a means of communi- Stripped of their self-worth in cation. Bose also introduced the Roman The women in the Rani of Jhansi Regiment Malaya, the motherland became a con- script for writing Hindustani in order to received the same basic military training soling image for these displaced Tamils, overcome the conflict of using multiple as male INA recruits. For many, the early an India of the imagination, created out of regional Indian scripts. experiences of military life would have an ancestral memory that was constantly Those Ranis whose testimony has been a difficult rite of passage. When kept alive.3 Seen through this lens – the been recorded all bear witness to how the women first joined the regiment, the insularity of the Tamil community and its quickly feelings of differences fell by the unshackling of traditional ways could not powerful ties to India and Indian heritage – it is easier to understand why second and third generation Indians in Malaya, who had never lived in India, were stirred by the nationalistic feelings of the time, and willingly laid down their lives for the patriotic cause. The women who volunteered to join the newly formed Rani of Jhansi Regiment were all exceptionally young, On the other side of the world, the Beginnings of the Jhansi Regiment to fight for their freedom and the majority in their mid- to late teens, British stronghold of Singapore fell to for independence… along with a few are even documented as being the Japanese military on 15 February Bose was from Bengal, a state that more independence they will get their no more than 12 or 14 years old. Most 1942. As had been the case in Germany, than any other in India encouraged the own emancipation.”1 were of an impressionable age, filled large numbers of Indian soldiers who education and emancipation of women. It with burgeoning emotions, desires and were part of the defeated British army was this principle that led him to create a Bose’s inspiring words caused romantic dreams. In the turmoil of war, were taken prisoner and encouraged regiment of women in the INA. The new women listening to him on the Padang the women regiment may also have been by the Japanese to become part of a regiment was formed on 12 July 1943 and to surge forward through police bar- seen by some as a safe haven where new military force known as the Indian Bose named it after the legendary Rani ricades, eager to fight as he demanded food, shelter and safety from marauding National Army. of Jhansi, who famously rode into battle for India and their own emancipation. Japanese soldiers was provided. With Japanese support, this force against the British in 1858, and died a At the time in India, the struggle Even so, it is astounding that Indian was expected to rally opposition to Brit- martyr to the Indian cause. for independence from British rule, women, some so young as to be barely ish colonial rule in India and spearhead Reported numbers vary, but it is more than any other impetus, encour- out of childhood, many illiterate and a possible subsequent Japanese inva- thought that the Rani of Jhansi Regiment aged women from all strata of Indian the majority mindful of their traditional sion of the country. The fledgling INA consisted of well over 1,000 Indian women, society to take greater control of their roles in their society, should be prepared unit, however, fell apart in 1943 when spread out over camps in Singapore, Malaya lives. They were urged to participate to leave families and husbands behind its commander, Captain Mohan Singh, and Burma (Myanmar). It is estimated in a life outside the home in new but and lay down their lives for the cause of was arrested for insubordination to the that only 20 percent of the recruits were sanctioned ways, to cross the forbidden Indian freedom. Their commitment is even Japanese. A new leader was sought and well educated women, who became the threshold into the world of men, and to more exceptional when it is remembered the Japanese settled on Subhas Chandra commanding officers. The remaining 80 work together with men for the freedom that most had never set foot in their Bose. In Germany, World War II was not percent were the wives and daughters of of the motherland. motherland. Yet, all were filled with pas- going well for Hitler, and he was only too Tamil labourers who worked on the rubber The wave of sion for the cause, all empowered by the happy to put Bose on a German subma- estates of Malaya, and who would have been sweeping through the Indian diaspora irresistible sense of adventure the Rani rine and pack him off to the Japanese either illiterate, or have had no more than at this time cannot be underestimated. of Jhansi Regiment offered. Many were in Singapore. a few years of basic education. On the British-owned rubber planta- also a testament to Bose’s personality Bose arrived in Singapore on Before large and enthusiastic ral- tions of Malaya, where Tamil workers as a powerful element in their decision 2 July 1943 to an enthusiastic welcome lies on the Padang and at Farrer Park, lived a degraded life set apart from to join the regiment. from the Indian community. He immedi- Bose set out his vision for India, and his other communities, they would have Under Bose’s leadership, Indian ately took command of both the Indian wish that the Indian women of Singapore, been well aware of the growing anti- women from Singapore, Burma and Independence League (IIL), a political Malaya and Burma – like their contem- colonial sentiments of the time. Tamil Malaya, of varied caste, religion and organisation of expatriate Indians, and poraries in the Indian motherland – par- newspapers and radio carried news social backgrounds, were recruited (Top) Women volunteering to join the Rani of Jhansi Regiment, 1943. Image source: Lebra, J. C. (2008). the INA. The latter was made up of ticipate in the freedom movement too. from India, and pictures of Gandhi hung into the Rani of Jhansi Regiment to Women Against the Raj: The Rani of Jhansi Regiment. Singapore: Institute of Southeast Asian Studies. approximately 40,000 Indian soldiers, in many places. fight for India’s freedom. In caste- and (Call no.: RSING 954.035 LEB) and one of Bose’s first initiatives was “This must be a truly revolutionary At the very bottom of the planta- class-ridden India where Hindu will not (Above) Soldiers of the Rani of Jhansi Regiment undergoing training, c.1943–45. Image source: Bose, to encourage civilian recruits to join army… I am appealing also to tion hierarchy, Tamil workers lived in eat with Muslim, where the superior S.K., & Sinha, B.N. (Eds). (1979). Netaji: A Pictorial Biography (p. 176) . Calcutta: Ananda Publishers Pte Ltd. (Call no.: R 954.0350924 NET) this army. women… women must be prepared poverty and exploitation, but this sepa- Brahmin will not mix with the low-caste

46 47 BIBLIOASIA APR – JUN 2018 Vol. 14 / Issue 01 / Feature have been easy, especially for uneducated in Singapore who rose to command the permissible to speculate that many of His death still remains shrouded in mys- to, all remember their service in the girls from the plantations. Rani of Jhansi Regiment, points out that the Ranis, along with the motivation of tery and speculation, and has attained the regiment – whatever the dangers and The discarding of conventional femi- while on the plantations the women were patriotism in joining the regiment, may status of myth. Many questions remain privations they endured – as the best nine reticence, ingrained through centuries treated like cattle and sexually exploited, have found in Bose the romantic ideal unanswered, queries that only time and time of their lives. of Indian custom, and the learning of in the Rani of Jhansi Regiment they found that traditional Indian society – along the release of still-classified documents It is sad that the endeavours of military aggression was akin to building a dignity as individuals and pride in fighting with arranged marriage and female in India will put to rest. these brave women have been largely new personality. The wearing of military for the nation. repression – denied them. Bose’s tragic death came as a shock forgotten by history. In her introduction uniforms – shorts, jodhpurs, fitted shirts For better or for worse, the Rani of No tales of impropriety have ever to all who knew him, and history con- to Lakshmi Sahgal’s memoir, A Revolu- and belts that cinched the waist – revealed Jhansi Regiment was never sent to the come to light in Bose’s leadership of tinues to evaluate his contribution to tionary Life, Geraldine Forbes suggests the body in an unaccustomed way that may frontlines. After their military training, these young women; he was known to be a India’s independence in 1947. Yet, his- it is easy to reject their enterprise have been shameful for some of the girls. many recruits opted to become nurses dedicated, caring and paternalistic leader. tory has never dealt squarely with the because they never saw action, were A fighting force, ready for war, has and work in hospitals near war zones in In the minds of the Ranis, they were his women of the Rani of Jhansi Regiment, never real “female warriors” fighting no time for vanity, and the shedding of Burma, but a large number of women Ranis, and Bose spoke of them as my and their courage has been inadequately alongside their men, nor “true women” their long tresses, a source of pride for remained as active reservists, always girls. Bose himself openly acknowledged celebrated. Their gender prevented them fighting to death to save their children. all Indian women, must have also been waiting – and expecting – to be sent to the “grave responsibility” of persuading from being taken seriously, and indeed Most male-authored accounts of the painful to many. Yet, most of the women the front. young women to leave their homes and the Japanese military was resolutely INA seldom give due reference to the quickly adapted to the empowerment Soon after World War II ended, a diary take up arms.5 dismissive of them. role played by the women in the Rani of their new life brought, and the demand for was published in India asserting that some At the end of the war when the INA Jhansi Regiment. Forbes laments that Meira Chand’s new novel, Sacred growth it made on their character. In their of the women in the Jhansi Regiment did The End of World War II was dissolved, most of the women were so many decades after the war when Waters (2017), is published by Mar- new role they were soldiers first before see actual action in the field. Jai Hind: The still very young, with their entire lives many historians are committed to a shall Cavendish Editions and retails they were women. Diary of a Rebel Daughter of India with the The devastation wreaked by the atomic ahead of them. On their return to Malaya, more inclusive view of events, this lack for S$21.50 at major bookshops. It Although for educated recruits, the Rani of Jhansi Regiment created a great bombs on the Japanese cities of Hiro- they were quickly released, rejected by of acknowledgement is regrettable.8 is also available for reference and Rani of Jhansi Regiment presented an stir when it was anonymously published shima and Nagasaki by American war- the returning British Military Adminis- The Rani of Jhansi Regiment loan at the Lee Kong Chian Reference opportunity to assert their identity as in 1945, but it was later found to be a planes in the first weeks of August 1945 tration as misguided females carried comprised a relatively small number Library and selected public libraries women and as Indians, for the illiterate fictionalised account written by a male set off a series of events that brought away by romantic notions. In contrast, of women, and they were operative (Call nos.: RSING 823.914 CHA and it was above all a chance to gain self- journalist, A.D. Shenth. World War II to a rapid close. When the the professional male soldiers of the INA for only the last two years of the war, SING CHA). respect for the first time, to escape the Those ageing Ranis I interviewed British returned to Malaya in September, were sent to stand trial at the Red Fort in between 1943 and 1945, when Bose abuse and contempt they experienced for my novel, so many decades after Bose kept good his promise to the young Delhi, where it was expected they would commanded the INA. It matters not that on a daily basis on the plantations. the war, still spoke of Subhas Chandra women under his command by returning be hung as traitors. The Red Fort Trials, this female regiment played a minor Notes For many, this change of status had an Bose with intense emotion. Indeed, the them safely to their families. Within days however, collapsed under the pressure role in both the INA and the events of 1 Lee, G. B. (2005). The Syonan years: Singapore enormous psychological effect. In her influence of Bose’s personal charisma of the conclusion of the war, Bose was of Indian unrest, but that, as they say, is World War II. It matters not that this under Japanese rule 1942–1945 (p. 237). Singapore: memoir, A Revolutionary Life (1997),4 pervades almost everything that has killed in a plane crash in Taiwan as he another story. force of women was small and did not National Archives of Singapore and Epigram. (Call Lakshmi Sahgal (see text box), a doctor been written about him. Perhaps it is tried to escape to Russia or Manchuria. Many educated women from the see action at the frontlines. That such no.: RSING q940.53957 LEE-[WAR]) officer class of the Rani of Jhansi a force should have been established 2 Lebra, J. C. (2008). The Indian National Army and (p. 61). Singapore: Institute of Southeast Regiment later entered professional at all in that day and age in history is in Asian Studies. (Call no.: RSING 940.5354 LEB- lakshmi sahgal mand, establishing a camp and recruit- In her later years, Sahgal joined careers, and much of what we know itself of tremendous importance. [WAR]) ing young women to the force. Sahgal the Communist Party of India (Marx- about the regiment today is largely Bose’s motivations for starting 3 Pillai, S., & Subramaniam, G. (2009). Through the As the daughter of politically active became known as Captain Lakshmi, a ist) and was a founding member of because of this group of women and the the regiment can be endlessly argued, coils of memory and ethnicity: The Malaysian Indian parents, Lakshmi Sahgal (born Lak- name and identity that would remain the All India Democratic Women’s more public nature of their activities. but what matters is that it utterly journey to nationhood. European Journal of Social Sciences, 7 (3), 133–148, p. 139. (Not available in shmi Swaminathan; 1914–2012) was with her for life. Association. She passed away on Unfortunately, the majority of women transformed the lives of the traditional NLB holdings) made aware, from a young age, of In Singapore, in October 1943, Bose 23 July 2012, at age 97. in the rank-and-file regiment returned women who joined it. These women 4 Sahgal, L. (1997). A revolutionary life: Memoirs anti-British sentiments in India and formed the Provisional Government of to the same disempowered situations entered a scenario where the patri- of an activist. New Delhi: Kali for Women. (Not the fight for political freedom. After Free India, or as it was more simply known, they had left behind when they first archal code was at its most inflex- available in NLB holdings) 5 Hills, C., & Silverman, D. C. (October, 1993). completing high school, she chose Azad Hind, and Sahgal was included in his signed up; they married and raised ible, and where they represented an Nationalism and feminism in late colonial India: to study medicine and obtained her cabinet. Later, in Burma, she established families, and became cloistered again embodiment of female agency and The Rani of Jhansi Regiment, 1943–1945. Modern medical degree in 1938. more camps and organised relief work. in traditional social structures. resistance. Asian Studies, 27 (4), 741–760, p. 748. Cambridge Fiercely independent, Sahgal When the war ended in 1945, Sahgal was Still others were repatriated to Although so many of the Jhansi University Press. Retrieved from JSTOR via NLB’s left an unhappy marriage to follow a taken prisoner by guerrilla fighters, and India, a country unfamiliar to them, Ranis returned to their traditional eResources website. 6 Lebra, 2008, p. 101. lover, who was also a doctor, to Sin- made to march through the jungle for and died there in poverty and obscurity. societies after the war, and others 7 Gawankar, R. (2003). The women’s regiment and gapore in 1940. During the Japanese days. In 1946, she was handed over to Some ex-officers of the Jhansi Regiment lived out their lives in poverty in India, Capt. Lakshmi of INA: An untold episode of NRI Occupation, she became involved with the British in Rangoon, and subsequently worked to secure pensions from the their brief experience of empowerment women’s contribution to Indian freedom struggle the Indian Independence League. In repatriated to India and released. Indian government for these women, but would have been orally related to their (pp. 263–264). New Delhi: Devika Publications. (Not available in NLB holdings) 6 1943, Subhas Chandra Bose arrived In 1947, Sahgal married Prem Kumar often to no avail. Illiteracy prevented daughters and other female members 8 Sahgal, 1997, p. xxix. in Singapore to take command of Sahgal, a former officer who left the Brit- many women from being aware of their of their households, and would have the INA, and Sahgal, as a prominent ish Indian Army to join the Indian National elevated status as freedom fighters, or helped sow the seed for change in later References woman activist, was part of the official Army (INA). Along with other fellow INA that pensions could be extracted from generations of women. Jai Hind: The diary of a rebel daughter of India, with reception committee that met him at officers, her husband was put on trial for the Indian government because of their In India, recent renewed interest the Rani of Jhansi Regiment. (1945). Bombay: treason at the Red Fort in Delhi. However, in the Rani of Jhansi Regiment has Janmabhoomi Prakashan Mandir. (Call no.: RSEA the airport. status. Their low social position, and 954.025 JAI) When Bose announced his wish the charge was not upheld, and he was Dr Lakshmi Sahgal took up command of the lack of knowledge and education made rekindled discussion of their role in the Lebra J. C. (2008). Women against the Raj: The Rani of to create the Rani of Jhansi Regi- dismissed from the British Indian Army. Rani of Jhansi Regiment and became known it easy for the Indian government to struggle for Indian independence. It is Jhansi Regiment. Singapore: Institute of Southeast ment, Sahgal was quickly drawn into The couple then settled in Kanpur in the as Captain Lakshmi, a name and identity that refuse such pension payouts.7 hoped that with this renewed interest, Asian Studies. (Call no.: RSING 954.035 LEB) the organising of this new force. At state of , where Sahgal would remain with her for life. Image source: Yet, without exception, those Ranis acknowledgement will at last be given IASPaper.net. Bose’s request she took up its com- established her medical practice. I interviewed or those whose recorded to this small band of extraordinary testimonies I have read or listened Indian women.

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