The World War Two plaque marks the site of the Indian National Army memorial which was destroyed after the war, and is dedicated to an unknown soldier of the Indian National Army during the Japanese Occupation. It was erected in 1995 in commemoration of the 50th anniversary of the end of World War II and is part of a series of 11 World War II sites in Singapore.
Marker Text:
The formation of the INA (Indian National Army) was mooted by an Indian PoW, Captain Mohan Singh, in 1942 with the aim of mobilising Indians in Singapore to support India's independence struggle. The Japanese saw a viable cooperation with the INA because they intended to exploit Indian anti-British sentiments to sabotage the British army. In fact, they openly courted the Indian community with broadcast messages telling them the Japanese had come to liberate.
However, distrust between the Japanese and Indian leaders led the movement to be disbanded in 1943. Believing in the movement's potential to satisfy Japanese goals, the Japanese brought in Subhas Chandra Bose that year to revive it. Bose was an eminent man, well-known for his revolutionary activities in India, and former president of the Indian National Congress. A fiery orator, Bose was able to rouse his audience and win their support in the Indian independence struggle against the British.
The INA later collapsed, following Bose's mysterious disappearance from the political scene and the Japanese surrender on 15 August 1945. A memorial dedicated to the "Unknown Warrior" of the INA was constructed at the Esplanade in the final months of the Japanese Occupation of Singapore. The Urdu words inscribed on the monument read: ITTEFAQ (unity), ITMAD (faith) and KURBANI (sacrifice). It was demolished barely two months later, following the British re-takeover of Singapore.