Encyclopedia of India–China Cultural Contacts v2.c14.s3.t7.2

v2.c14.s3.t7.2

IIL was initially founded in the 1920s, but it was revived in 1942 under the leadership of the wellknown exiled Indian nationalist in Japan, Rash Behari Bose. With Japanese power in Asia reaching its height at that time, Bose sought Japanese help to further the objective of winning freedom for India. In 1942, two conferences were held in Tokyo and Bangkok to try and bring together different anticolonial Indian organisations in Southeast and East Asia on one platform. This led to the consolidation of the structure of the IIL, with a Council for Action and a committee of representatives, below which were territorial committees and local branches. By that time, the process of forming an Indian National Army (INA) out of Indian prisoners of war in Malaya had also been started under Japanese sponsorship. It was decided that INA would be the military wing of IIL and function under its leadership.