100-year-old INA veteran says ‘this isn’t independence that we fought for’

BAREILLY: Freedom fighter Amar Bahadur Singh, who turned 100 in May this year, believes that “the country didn’t get the independence for which my generation had fought during the freedom struggle”. Singh was commissioned into the British Indian Army in 1941. However, he was moved by the speech of Subhas Chandra Bose in Singapore during the Second World War and joined the Indian National Army (INA).As he looked back on the decades after the country won freedom, he said he was disappointed.
“India has been following the infrastructure and systems of the British with very little to show of its own. This is not what we had fought for. Netaji never wanted India to get independence at the cost of partition. He would say that we can wait for a couple of years for independence of the country but will not sacrifice the unity of the nation. He was against disparity towards Muslims,” said Singh, who resides in Sirsa village under Baheri tehsil of Bareilly district.
Born on May 2, 1917 at Chechua village in Badohi (now in Varanasi), Singh was pursuing graduation from Balwant Rajput College, Agra, when he was selected for the British Indian Army in 1941. During World War II, he was sent to Iran and later some other countries. Singh heard the speech by Subhas Chandra Bose in Singapore and joined the INA.
Singh’s son Shivendra said, “However, after news arrived that Bose died in a plane crash in 1945, my father surrendered to the British Army. He was brought to Red Fort for trial and he met Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel and others who visited them during the trial. After he was released, he lived at Anand Bhawan and worked with Nehru. He was involved in writing by-laws for Kranti Raksha Dal. However, after working with Nehru for 10 months, he decided to leave as Nehru agreed to partition of the country which was against the wishes of Bose.”
Singh, however, does not believe that Netaji died in a plane crash. “After the British included the name of Netaji in the United Nations’ list of war criminals in connivance with Nehru, Bose went into hiding. My father would say that Indian history has been distorted,” said Shivendra.
Singh, who loves to listen to speeches of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, thinks that he may bring some improvements in the country. Singh was felicitated by the then Indian PM Indira Gandhi on the 25th anniversary of Independence for his role in the freedom struggle. He also has a recommendation letter from UP government.