NationMaster - Encyclopedia: Invasion and Occupation of the Andaman Islands during World War II

The Andaman and Nicobar Islands (8,293 sq km on 139 islands), are a group of islands situated in the Bay of Bengal at about 780 miles from Kolkata, 740 miles from Chennai and 120 miles from Cape Nargis in Burma. Until 1938 the British government used them as a penal colony for Indian and African political prisoners, who were mainly put in the notorious Cellular Jail in Port Blair, the biggest town (port) on the islands. Today they form a Union Territory of India. Map of Andaman and Nicobar Islands with an extra detailed area around Port Blair The Andaman and Nicobar Islands are a union territory of India. ... A map showing the location of the Bay of Bengal. ... Kolkata (Bangla: à¦•à¦²à¦•à¦¾à¦¤à¦¾; formerly known as Calcutta) is the capital city of the Indian state of West Bengal. ... Chennai (à®šà¯†à®©à¯à®©à¯ˆ in Tamil), formerly known as Madras, is the capital of the state of Tamil Nadu and is Indias fourth largest metropolitan city. ... World map showing location of Africa A satellite composite image of Africa Africa is the worlds second_largest continent in both area and population, after Asia. ... The Cellular Jail (also known as Kalapani) was built in 1906 on the Andaman and Nicobar Islands (India). ... Port Blair is the largest town in the Andaman Islands and the capital of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands union territory of India. ... A Union Territory is an administrative division of India. ...

The only military objective on the islands was Port Blair. The garrison consisted of a 300 man Sikh militia with 23 British officers, augmented in January 1942 by a Gurkha detachment of 4/12 Frontier Force Regiment of the 16th Brigade. Following the fall of Rangoon on March 8, however, the British recognized that Port Blair had become impossible to defend, and on March 10 the Gurkhas were withdrawn to the Arakan peninsula. Gurkha, also spelt as Gorkha, are people from Nepal who take their name from the eighth century Hindu warrior-saint Guru Gorakhnath. ... Yangôn, formerly Rangoon, population 4,504,000 (2001), is the capital of Myanmar. ... Arakan is a state in the North Western part of Myanmar, formerly Burma. ...

The Invasion Force

The Japanese, seeking to secure their seaward flank, dispatched a force to seize the islands on March 23. The force was composed of the following units and ships:

Chokai was a Takao-class heavy cruiser, armed with ten 8 guns, eight 5 guns, sixteen torpedo tubes and assorted anti-aircraft guns. ... Ryujo (Japanese: 龍驤, prancing dragon) was a light aircraft carrier of the Imperial Japanese Navy. ... Kumano (熊野市; -shi) is a city located in Mie, Japan. ... Mogami was the first in a class of four heavy cruisers that sailed in the Imperial Japanese Navy during World War II. Three of the four Mogami-class ships, the Mogami, Suzuya, and Kumano, were sunk in the Pacific Ocean in 1944: the fourth, Mikuma, was sunk near Midway Island... Murakami can refer to: Emperor Murakami of Japan, the 62nd Emperor of Japan. ... The Uranami (æµ¦æ³¢) was a Fubuki class destroyer in the Imperial Japanese Navy that saw service during World War II. She was initially launched on November 29th 1928, and commissioned on June 30th 1929 under the name Destroyer NÂ°44. ... The Ayanami (ç¶¾æ³¢) was a Type II Fubuki class destroyer in the Imperial Japanese Navy that saw service during World War II. She was initally launched on October 5th 1929, and commissioned April 30th 1930 under the name Destroyer NÂ°45. ...

Japanese Occupation

The Sikh militia offered no resistance to the landings, and were disarmed and interned; many of them later enlisted in the Indian National Army. The British militia officers were sent to Singapore as POWs, whilst Chief Commissioner Waterfall, Deputy Commissioner Major A.G. Bird and the other British administrative officers were imprisoned. Port Blair was occupied on the 23rd. Initially the Japanese released the prisoners held in the Cellular Jail (which had not been used for political prisoners since 1938), one of whom, Pushkar Bagchi, became their principal collaborator. The islands were put under the authority of Colonel Bucho, whilst a number of junior Indian officials in the administration were elevated to more responsible posts. The defence of the islands was assigned to the newly formed fighter squadron of the Kanoya Kokutai based at Tavoy in southern Burma. This fighter squadron was the former "Yamada Unit" under the control of the 22d Koku Sentai, then based at Penang. Six flying boats from the Toko Kokutai were dispatched on March 26, with twelve more arriving shortly thereafter. Within the islands a Japanese garrison of approximately 600 men, together with the police force, now under Japanese control, were responsible for maintaining order The flag used by Indian National Army during World War II. The Indian National Army (I.N.A) or Azad Hind Fauj was an auxiliary force to the Imperial Japanese Army in its southern mainland campaign during the Second World War. ... Dawei (formerly known as Tavoy), southeastern Myanmar, capital of Tanintharyi Division, is a port at the head of the Dawei River estuary, 30 m. ... State motto: Bersatu dan Setia (United and Loyal), formerly Let Penang Lead Capital George Town Governor Tun Dato Seri Haji Abdul Rahman bin Haji Abbas Chief Minister Tan Sri Dr Koh Tsu Koon Area 1,056 km2 Population - Est year 2000 1,225,501 State anthem Untuk Negeri Kita (For...

Japanese Atrocities

The events of the next three years are not easy to establish, as the Japanese destroyed all records when they left. The two principal sources are an unpublished report by local resident Rama Krishna: The Andaman Islands under Japanese Occupation 1942-5, another unpublished account by a British Officer, D. McCarthy: The Andaman Interlude (he was sent on a secret mission to the islands in 1944), together with the memories of the older inhabitants interviewed by historians. All these, and the published works which draw upon them, are in agreement that the occupation saw numerous atrocities committed by the Japanese against the local population ^[1].

The first victim of the occupation came on the fourth day after the Japanese landings. Angered by soldiers who had pursued some chickens into his house, a young man called Zulfiqar Ali fired an airgun at them. No-one was hurt, but he was forced into hiding. After twenty-four hours he was captured and marched to the maidan in front of the Browning Club. Here his arms were twisted until they broke, and he was then shot. A cement memorial now stands on the spot ^[2]. In the early days of the occupation local intellectuals (mostly officials and doctors) were encouraged to join Rash Behari Bose's Indian Independence League, and a 'Peace Committee' was formed from its members, headed by Dr. Diwan Singh. Over the next few months they did what they could to mitigate the suffering of the population at the hands of the Japanese, but to little avail: indeed, many of them would later fall victim themselves. In any case, there was little any of them could have done to save Major A.G. Bird, who had not been sent to Rangoon or Singapore like the other British captives, and of whom the Japanese were determined to make an example. Pushkar Bagchi persuaded a fellow convict, Sarup Ram, to bear witness at Bird's 'trial' that he had been spying (wireless parts had been planted in the house where he was imprisoned). It has been suggested that Bagchi had a grudge against Bird for having given him a six-month sentence for theft before the Japanese invasion. According to eyewitnesses Bird, a popular man known as "Chirrie" ('Bird' in Hindi) had his arms and legs twisted and broken, and was then beheaded by Colonel Bucho with his sword ^[3]. Rashbehari Bose (1885-1945) was a revolutionary leader against the British Raj in India and was one of the organisers of the Indian National Army. ... Yangôn, formerly Rangoon, population 4,504,000 (2001), is the capital of Myanmar. ... Hindi (à¤¹à¤¿à¤¨à¥à¤¦à¥€ hind), an Indo-European language spoken mainly in North, Central, and West India, is one of the national languages of India. ...

Meanwhile, local women were being 'recruited' by Bagchi to act as "comfort women" for the Japanese garrison, although discontent meant that subsequently Korean women were brought in instead. Forced labour was used to build a new airport, and in October 1942 mass arrests of 'spies' took place, with 300 people being confined in the Cellular Jail, where some were tortured. Of these seven were shot, including Narayan Rao, who had been Superintendent of Police under Japanese auspices, Itter Singh, the Deputy Superintendent, Subedar Sube Singh of the Militay Police and Dr. Surinder Nag. Realising that the Japanese were targeting influential members of the population, the members of the Indian Independence League grew increasingly nervous, and ceased to engage in much nationalist activity ^[4]. In 1943 a second reign of terror was unleashed by the new commander of the garrison, Colonel Jochi Renusakai, & Chief of Police Mitsubashi, both of whom had served at Nanking. 600 people were arrested and tortured, including Dr. Diwan Singh, who died as a result of his injuries. At this stage the Japanese decided that Bagchi was no longer useful, and he was imprisoned ^[5]. The Nanking Massacre (Chinese: 南京大屠杀, pinyin: Nánjīng Dàtúshā; Japanese: 南京大虐殺, Nankin Dai Gyaku-satsu), also known as the Rape of Nanking and sometimes in Japan as the Nanking Incident (南京事件, Nankin Jiken), refers to what many historians recognize as widespread atrocities committed by the Japanese army in and around Nanking...

The Arzi Hukumat-e-Azad Hind

On December 29, 1943, political control of the islands was theoretically passed to the Azad Hind government of Subhas Chandra Bose. Bose visited Port Blair to raise the tricolour flag of the Indian National Army. During this, his only visit to the Andamans, he was kept carefully screened from the local population by the Japanese authorities. Various attempts were made to inform him of the sufferings of the people of the Andamans, and the fact that many local Indian Nationalists were at that time being tortured in the Cellular Jail. Bose does not seem to have been aware of this, and the judgment of some is that he "failed his people" ^[6]. After Bose's departure the Japanese remained in effective control of the Andamans, and the sovereignty of the Arzi Hukumat-e Hind was largely fictional ^[7]. The islands themselves were renamed "Shaheed" and "Swaraj", meaning "martyr" and "self-rule" respectively. Bose placed the islands under the governorship of one Lieutenant-Colonel Loganathan, and had limited involvement with the administration of the territory. During his interrogation after the war Loganathan admitted that he had only had full control over the islands' vestigial education department, as the Japanese had retained control over the police force, and in protest he had refused to accept responsibility for any other areas of Government. He was powerless to prevent the worst Japanese atrocity of the occupation, the Homfreyganj massacre of the 30th January 1944, where forty-four Indian civilians were shot by the Japanese on suspicion of spying. Many of them were members of the Indian Independence League ^[8]. Notionally this government continued to administer the islands, which were almost the only territory it ever acquired, until the British retook them in 1945, but in practice little had changed. Flag of the Provisional Government of Free India. ... Flag of the Provisional Government of Free India. ... Netaji poster in Thiruvananthapuram Subhas Chandra Bose (January 23, 1897 - August 18, 1945) also known as Netaji, was a Orissa born and Bengal based Indian leader of the movement to win independence from British rule. ... Port Blair is the largest town in the Andaman Islands and the capital of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands union territory of India. ... The Cellular Jail (also known as Kalapani) was built in 1906 on the Andaman and Nicobar Islands (India). ...

The last year

As food became scarcer in 1945, the Japanese resorted to ever more desperate measures. Between 250 and 700 people (estimates vary) from the Aberdeen area of South Andaman were deported to an uninhabited island to grow food. According to a survivor, a released convict called Saudagar Ali, at least half drowned or were eaten by sharks as they were pushed out of boats in the dark, whilst the remainder either died of starvation or were killed by Burmese pirates. A rescue mission sent to the island after the end of the occupation found just twelve survivors, and over a hundred skeletons on the beach. In all, approximately 2,000 people in the Andamans are thought to have died as a result of the occupation, and at least 501 were tortured by the Japanese. The former figure represents 10% of the pre-war population of Port Blair. Casualties on the more sparsely-populated Nicobar islands were fewer, as the Japanese did not have a garrison there, although in 1943 they created a brief reign of terror on Car Nicobar as they rounded up forced labour amongst the Nicobarese. The occupation left a legacy of lasting bitterness towards the Japanese, and to some extent towards their collaborators in the Arzi-Hukumat-e Azad Hind, amongst the generation which experienced it. ^[9]

Notes

Categories: Military history of India during World War II | British rule in India | Indian independence movement | Military history of Japan during World War II | History of Andaman and Nicobar Islands | IndiaFreedom Image File history File links The flag of India used in 1931. ... Image File history File links Gandhi_Salt_March. ... The Indian Independence Movement was a series of revolutions empowered by the people of India put forth to battle the British Empire for complete political independence, beginning with the Rebellion of 1857, reaching its climax with Mahatma Gandhis Quit India Movement (1942-1945), and Subhash Chandra Boses Indian... Image File history File links File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (3496x2418, 835 KB) en: Gandhi during the Salt March, March 1930. ... European colonies in India were set up by several European nations beginning at the end of the 15th century. ... The British East India Company, sometimes referred to as John Company, was a joint-stock company string of investors, which was granted a Royal Charter by Elizabeth I on December 31, 1600, with the intent to favour trade privileges in India. ... The Battle of Plassey was a battle that took place on June 23, 1757, near Palashi (à¦ªà¦²à¦¾à¦¶à§€ in Bengali) (anglicised to Plassey), a small village on the Bhagirathi River (a distributary of the Ganga) located about 150 km north of Kolkata, and south of town of Murshidabad (then capital of the... This page is a candidate for speedy deletion. ... British India (otherwise known as The British Raj) was a historical period during which most of the Indian subcontinent, or present-day India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Myanmar, were under the colonial authority of the British Empire (Undivided India). ... French India is a general name for the former French possessions in India. ... Portuguese India (Port. ... Map of India. ... Self rule is the term used to described a people or group being able to exercise all of the necessary functions of power without intervention from any authority which they cannot themselves alter. ... Gandhism (or Gandhi-ism) is an informal reference to the vision, core inspirations, principles, beliefs and philosophy of Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi, who was a major political and spiritual leader of India and the Indian Independence Movement. ... {{for|an account of the opera of that title by Philip Glass| Satyagraha is the philosophy of nonviolent resistance most famously employed by Mohandas Gandhi in forcing an end to the British Raj and also against apartheid in South Africa. ... Hindu nationalism is the political and cultural expression, histriographical and political theories of Indian nationalism distinctive to Hindu society in India, which asserts being Hindu as not merely a religious identity, but a national identity. ... Indian Muslim nationalism refers to the political and cultural expression of nationalism, founded upon the religious tenets and identity of Islam, of the Muslims of the Indian subcontinent. ... Swadeshi is the Indian term for the boycott of British goods. ... Socialism is a social and economic system (or the political philosophy advocating such a system) in which the economic means of production are owned and controlled collectively by the people. ... It has been suggested that First War of Indian Independence 1857 be merged into this article or section. ... The Indian Independence Movement was a series of revolutions empowered by the people of India put forth to battle the British Empire for complete political independence, beginning with the Rebellion of 1857, reaching its climax with Mahatma Gandhis Quit India Movement (1942-1945), and Subhash Chandra Boses Indian... Revolutionary movement for Indian independence is often a less-highlighted aspect of Indian independence movement - the underground revolutionary factions. ... The first Satyagraha revolutions inspired by Mahatma Gandhi in the Indian Independence Movement occurred in Kheda district of Gujarat and the Champaran district of Bihar between the years of 1918 and 1919. ... The Amritsar massacre The Jallianwala Bagh massacre, also known as the Amritsar massacre, was named after the Jallianwala Bagh (Garden) in Amritsar, where, on April 13, 1919, British Indian Army soldiers opened fire on an unarmed gathering of men, women and children. ... The Non-Cooperation Movement is a collection of techniques used by a subjugated population to achieve freedom from their oppressors. ... The Bardoli Satyagraha of 1925 in the state of Gujarat, India during the British Raj was a major episode of civil disobedience and revolt in the Indian Independence Movement. ... The Indian Statutory Commission was a group of seven British Members of Parliament that had been dispatched to India in 1927 to study constitutional reform in that colony. ... The Nehru Report (1928) was a memorandum outlining a proposed new Dominion (see dominion status) constitution for India. ... The flag adopted in 1931 and used by the Provisional Government of Free India during the Second World War. ... Scenes on the eve of the Salt Satyagraha, Gandhis famous 240 mile march on foot to the sea at Dandi. ... 24. ... Sir Stafford Cripps Mission was an attempt in late March of 1942 by the British War Cabinet to secure Indian cooperation and support for their efforts in World War II. Led by Gandhi and Jawaharlal Nehru, the majority Indian National Congress and its supporters were engaged in a program of... The Quit India Movement was a call for immediate independence for India issued by MK Gandhi on August 8, 1942. ... The Bombay Mutiny was the mutiny of the Royal Indian Navy in Bombay (Mumbai) harbour on 21 February 1946. ... The flag adopted in 1931 and used by the Provisional Government of Free India during the Second World War. ... The Ghadar Party was a Sikh party formed in the United States in 1910? with the aim to liberate India from British rule. ... Home Rule flag The Home Rule Movement was formed by Annie Besant and Lokmanya Tilak with the aim of seeking a Dominion status within the British Empire to the Indian Empire in 1917. ... The flag used by Indian National Army during World War II. The Indian National Army (I.N.A) or Azad Hind Fauj was an auxiliary force to the Imperial Japanese Army in its southern mainland campaign during the Second World War. ... Flag of the Provisional Government of Free India. ... Swaraj Party, a political party of colonial India, was organized in 1923 by Deshbandhu Chitaranjan Das (1870-1925) and Motilal Nehru (1861-1931), to participate in legislative councils. ... Anushilan Samiti was the principal secret revolutionary organisation operating in Bengal in the first quarter of the 20th century. ... For the Hindi movie of the same name, see The Rising (Indian film) Mangal Pandey (d. ... Rani Lakshmi Bai, the queen of Jhansi, a Maratha-ruled princely state of northern India, was one of the great nationalist heroes of the Revolt of 1857, and a symbol of resistance to British rule in India. ... Lokmanya Tilak Bal Gangadhar Tilak, was an Indian nationalist, social reformer and freedom fighter who was the first popular leader of the Indian Independence Movement. ... Gopal Krishna Gokhale (à¤—à¥‹à¤ªà¤¾à¤² à¤•à¥ƒà¤·à¥â€à¤£ à¤—à¥‹à¤–à¤²à¥‡) was born on May 9, 1866, in Ratnagiri, Maharashtra. ... Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (Devanagari: à¤®à¥‹à¤¹à¤¨à¤¦à¤¾à¤¸ à¤•à¤°à¤®à¤šà¤¨à¥à¤¦ à¤—à¤¾à¤‚à¤§à¥€; Gujarati: àª®à«‹àª¹àª¨àª¦àª¾àª¸ àª•àª°àª®àªšàª‚àª¦ àª—àª¾àª‚àª§à«€; October 2, 1869 â€“ January 30, 1948) was a major political and spiritual leader of India, and the Indian independence movement. ... Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel Vallabhbhai Jhaverbhai Patel (October 31, 1875–December 15, 1950), popularly referred to as Sardar Patel, was an Indian statesman, an important leader of the Indian National Congress and the deputy Prime Minister in the first cabinet of Independent India. ... ... Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan (also known as Bacha Khan) (1890 - January 20, 1988) was a Pathan political and spiritual leader known for his nonviolent opposition to British rule during the final years of the Empire on the Indian sub-continent. ... Jawaharlal Nehru (à¤œà¤µà¤¾à¤¹à¤°à¤²à¤¾à¤² à¤¨à¥‡à¤¹à¤°à¥‚, JavÄharlÄl NehrÅ«) (November 14, 1889 â€“ May 27, 1964), also called Pandit (Scholar, Teacher) Nehru, was an important leader of the Indian Independence Movement and the Indian National Congress, and became the first Prime Minister of India when India won its independence on August 15, 1947. ... Maulana Abul Kalam Azad (1888 - August 1958) was a freedom fighter in Indias struggle for Independence from Britain. ... Chandrasekhar Azad (July 23, 1906 â€“ February 27, 1931) was a great Indian freedom fighter and revolutionary thinker. ... Rajaji Chakravarthi Rajagopalachari (December 1878 - December 25, 1972), known as or Rajaji or C.R., was an Indian lawyer, writer, statesman and a Hindu spiritualist. ... Dr. Rajendra Prasad (December 3, 1884 â€“ February 28, 1963) was the first President of India. ... Bhagat Singh Bhagat Singh (September 27, 1907 â€“ March 23, 1931) was an Indian revolutionary, considered to be one of the most famous martyrs of the Indian freedom struggle. ... This article needs a complete rewrite for the reasons listed on the talk page. ... Sir James Outram Sir James Outram (January 29, 1803-March 11, 1863), English general, and one of the heroes of the Indian Mutiny, was the son of Benjamin Outram of Butterley Hall, Derbyshire, civil engineer. ... James Andrew Broun-Ramsay, 1st Marquess and 10th Earl of Dalhousie (April 22, 1812–December 19, 1860) was a British statesman, and a colonial administrator in India. ... The Right Honourable Edward Frederick Lindley Wood, 1st Earl of Halifax, KG, OM, GCSI, GCMG, GCIE, PC (16 April 1881â€“23 December 1959), known as The Lord Irwin from 1925 until 1934 and as The Viscount Halifax from 1934 until 1944, was a British Conservative politician. ... Victor Alexander John Hope, 2nd Marquess of Linlithgow (24 September 1887 - 5 January 1952) was a British statesman who served as Viceroy of India from 1936 to 1943. ... Field Marshal The Right Honourable Sir Archibald Percival Wavell, 1st Earl Wavell (May 5, 1883 - May 24, 1950) GCB, GCSI, GCIE, CMG, MC, PC was a British Field Marshal and the commander of British Army forces in the Middle East during World War II. He led British forces to victory... The Right Honourable Sir Richard Stafford Cripps (April 24, 1889 - April 21, 1952), British Labour politician, was born in London, the son of a Conservative member of the House of Commons who late in life, as Lord Parmoor, joined the Labour Party. ... Admiral of the Fleet Louis Francis Albert Victor Nicholas Mountbatten, 1st Earl Mountbatten of Burma, KG, PC, GCB, OM, GCSI, GCIE, GCVO, DSO (25 June 1900 â€“ 27 August 1979) was a British admiral and statesman and an uncle of Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh. ... The British Cabinet Mission of 1946 to India aimed to discuss and finalize plans for the transfer of power from the British Raj to Indian leadership, providing India with independence under Dominion status in the Commonwealth of Nations. ... 1. ... Britains holdings on the Indian subcontinent were granted independence in 1947 and 1948, becoming four new independent states: India, Burma (now Myanmar), Ceylon (now Sri Lanka), and Pakistan (including East Pakistan, modern-day Bangladesh). ... India under British Raj in 1922, prior to its partition and integration after independence. ...

Contents

Japanese Occupation

Japanese Atrocities

The Arzi Hukumat-e-Azad Hind

The last year

Notes