axis propaganda against indian troops

8/14/2019 Axis Propaganda Against Indian Troops

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AXIS PROPAGANDA

AGAINST INDIAN TROOPS

In late 1990 as a United States Army Master Sergeant I was assigned the task of

researching and giving a briefing on the military power of India. Like many

Americans, I assumed it was a third-world nation with a limited military. Howwrong I was. India is a first-class power with a large well-trained army and air force

and a surprisingly modern navy with a number of aircraft carriers. I did my

briefing and have watched the growth of the Indian military ever since.

In my Internet article about Japanese wartime propaganda I depict a number of

leaflets that were prepared and disseminated by the Japanese in an attempt to drive

a wedge between the United Kingdom and the troops of her largest colony fighting

in Asia. At the same time, German psychological warfare personnel were also

preparing propaganda leaflets targeting Indian troops fighting in Europe. By

coincidence I had begun writing about philatelic and numismatic propaganda of the

Free Indian Movement as early as December 1971 when I wrote about the FreeIndia stamps for theSociety of Philatelic Americans Journal. In 1972, I published abooklet entitled Azad Hind and Chalo Delhi Stamps along with Jal Cooper inBombay. More recently, in 2001, I wrote about the Free India Movement

Banknotes for theInternational Banknote Society Journal. Although this is just onearea I have studied, I can probably claim to be an old India hand.

To make it even more interesting, the Psywar Society asked me to review Dr.

Arunkumar Bhatts book,Psychological Warfare and India, Lancer Publishers, NewDelhi, India, 2006. The book was originally Dr. Bhatts PhD thesis. The book has

limited information about psychological warfare by and against India in WWII, butthere was enough to whet a taste for more research. Dr. Bhatt was also very willing

to translate leaflets from my archives. So after looking at all the data and the

various leaflets I had accumulated it occurred to me that we had enough data for a

short story. This obviously is not the official history of Psychological Operations

(PSYOP) against India; hopefully that will be written in a second book by Dr. Bhatt.

This is meant to be simply an introduction to the divide and conquer propaganda

against Great Britain and India by the Axis powers. I should also point out that in
http://www.psywarrior.com/JapanPSYOPWW2.htmlhttp://www.psywarrior.com/JapanPSYOPWW2.html


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general Dr. Bhatt translated the leaflets literally in a very formal and classic way. I

have changed the text into American for ease of reading and to try and capture

the message that I believe the propagandists were trying to disseminate. Some minor

changes were made to the literal text.

History

Azad Hind Flag

Britain had controlled the Indian subcontinent since the late 18th century. There

had been numerous uprisings and agitation as the Indians attempted to free

themselves from the British yoke. In WWI, India supplied great quantities of war

materials and soldiers to the British cause. Indian regiments were mobilized and

shipped off to fight in Europe and Africa. Bhatt says:

The Psychological Branch of Military Intelligence in the War Office, MI 7 (b) hadestablished a sub-division specializing in conducting press propaganda to colonies and

dominions. The branch studied a list of 200 papers supplied by the Royal ColonialInstitute, and distributed the matter thought suitable for each. Despite the selectivity,born out of psywar needs, it was found that each article could be used in about tennewspapers in different parts of the DominionsThe sister sub-division, MI 7 (b)(2)composed a series of pamphlets on the role of the Indian regiments.


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I mention this because although this article is on propaganda against India by

enemy forces, we should remember that the occupying British also constantly

propagandized the Indian people to keep the nation in a tranquil captive state.

During the course of the war, as the enemy dropped thousands of leaflets upon the

Indians fighting for the British, they retaliated with propaganda leaflets and radioprograms for those Indians who had joined the Germans and Japanese as part of

their fight for liberation. This is mentioned in some depth by Y. M. Streatfield in theMajor Developments in Political Warfare throughout the War 1938-1945. Some of hiscomments are:

Our major success was with the Indian National Army which proved a most receptivetarget, the vast majority of its members surrendering when they found themselves in aposition to do so and a particularly good result occurring in Burma in the autumn of1944 when 3 out of 4 who surrendered said this was the result of British leaflets. Less spectacular but no less useful was our anti-Japanese propaganda in Burma which

removed the last doubts from the minds of the already wavering population.

The Psychological Warfare Division at Southeast Asia Command was not actually setup until 6 June 1944. But in the meantime and until July 1944 front-line propagandawas carried out by 5 units raised by the British Special Operations Executive (S.O.E),two in Arakan and three at Imphal...During this period the target was the battle areaand lines of communication in Burma and propaganda was based on Londondirectives and, when it was drawn up, on the joint Allied plan. Leaflet disseminationrose from 250,000 to one and one-half million a month and a most fruitful target wasfound in the Indian National Army whose reaction to our surrender campaign wasenormous.

Hugh Toye adds in The Springing Tiger:

But the effects of climate and hunger, and ofmalaria, against which the INA had noneof the protection which so signally benefited the Indian Army in 1944, reduced theregiment by June 15 to less than a thousand men. The second-in-command of theregiment, who had been in hospital at Chamol, deserted almost immediately uponreturn to the front. Before long, safe conduct passes and leaflets signed by himurging members of the INA to return without fear to the Indian Army as he had done,were scattered by aircraft over INA areas...The Punjabi Muslims, of whom there was aproportion in each battalion, began to desert in such numbers that 80 of them had to

be disarmed and sent to the rear.

On 2 March 1944 five staff officers from the 2nd Division Headquarters at MountPopa deserted and surrender leaflets signed by them were dropped on INA positions.


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An example of a British leaflet to Indian troops is:

BNS 29 - TO INDIAN PATRIOTS

A very interesting Allied aerial leaflet to Indian soldiers gives both sides of the

argument for the Indians joining the Japanese to fight Britain. This is very strangepropaganda because it actually makes an argument for joining the Japanese, though

certainly a weaker one than for refusing to join with them. The front depicts an

Indian (Subhas Bose) riding a Japanese bomb that is about to fall on an Indian

family. The image implies that following Boses philosophy of collaborating with the

Japanese leads directly to dead Indian civilians killed by the Japanese.

The same message appears on the front and the back in four languages:

TO INDIAN PATRIOTS

Read what they say, and think!

MAHATMA GANDHI

I have no desire whatsoever to woo any power to help India in her endeavor to freeherself from the foreign yoke.

There can be no question of my approval of Subhash Babus policy.


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I want to resist with all my might the charge of inviting Japan to India.

I WANT INDIA TO OPPOSE JAPAN TO A MAN.

Harijan, June 21, 1942

SHRI SUBHASH BABU

Without outside help the Indian Revolution would not be successful. In the history ofthe world, it is not a new thing to get assistance from other nations for winningfreedom for ones country.

Speech July 6, 1943

I see no reason why I should have any doubt or mistrust with regard to Japansintentions.

Speech July 4, 1943

The code BNS is not recorded anywhere in military archives and since it was just

handwritten on the leaflet it may be incorrect. We are not sure what it represents.

Quisling Son of India


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Another uncoded Allied leaflet to the Indians using the exact same Gandhi quote

attacks Bose and calls him a Quisling. Vidkun Quisling was a Norwegian army

officer and politician who was pro-Nazi and appointed Minister President after the

German invasion of Norway. He ruled German-occupied Norway from February

1942 to the end of WWII. After the war he was tried for high treason and executed

by firing squad. To be called a Quisling is to be called a traitor and collaborationist.The front of the leaflet depicts Bose holding India in chains and passing them to a

caricatured Japanese officer holding a bloody sword. The text is:

QUISLING SON OF INDIA

The back is all text and says in three languages:

TO INDIAN PATRIOTSI WANT INDIANS TO OPPOSE JAPAN TO A MAN

Mahatma GandhiHarijan, 21 June 1943

Some of the known British codes for leaflets targeting Indian troops are SH /

(numerical)" for leaflets and HH / (numerical) for news sheets. It is believed that

no more than 33 of the "SH" leaflets were produced. The last leaflet, SH/33, is

entitled "Japan Surrenders." The "HH" product was calledHamara Hindustan, asmall four-page weekly newspaper with war maps and stories of the progress of the

war both in Asia and in Europe. The last issue is HH/86 entitled "Japanese

Surrender Notice."

We know a lot about this British propaganda newspaper because many werearchived in Lord Louis Mountbattens personal papers that were donated to the

University of Southampton after his death. Much of Mountbattens papers dealt

with propaganda in the Indian language directed against Indians in Japanese-

occupied territories. Rod Auckland wrote about this in the Falling Leaf, Journal ofthe Psywar Society, in issue 135, winter 1991. He says that in November 1944, the

newspaper was edited by the staff of general Auchinleck in Calcutta and distributed

by the forward base of the Psychological Warfare Division (PWD), South East Asia

Command (SEAC).

Hamara Hindustan was a large (15 x 10) 4-page newssheet probably first produced

and printed as early as January 1944 by General Headquarters, India. It bore no codeserial number or dateThe title banner was graphically different for nearly everyissueIn the late summer it was reduced to 9 x 6 1/2. At that time the title, date of

issue and code number were added as a footnote. The new, reduced size first appearedin August and was coded SHN (SEAC Hamara Newssheet). The code was altered to

HH in September.


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Auckland points out that the distribution of the paper became a war of words

between groups that thought the Indian National Army was a threat and those who

thought it was a very weak organization that should have a low priority for

psychological operations. This fight apparently continued to the end of the war.

One of the documents in the Mountbatten files is a invoice for leaflets to be dropped.The document, dated 7 March 1945 includes:

HH/62 Hindustan Newssheet, 10,000 copies, 100 pounds. To be dropped over theAndaman Islands and over Rangoon or Moulmain.

There is also a very short series produced right at the end of the war by the 2nd

Mobile Printing Shop written in Hindustani and coded "2MPS/H". Only seven

leaflets are known to have been disseminated.

In addition, some Indian troops who escaped the Japanese were formed by British

Force 136 in late 1943 into five platoons called the Indian Field Broadcasting Units(IFBU). They were assigned the task of propaganda patrols and raising the morale

of civilians while attacking the Japanese with loudspeakers and small 2-inch by 3-

inch leaflets fired from 2-inch mortars. A typical leaflet might say in four languages:

Safe Conduct Pass

Notice to Allied Forces: The man who brings this is to be well treated in accordancewith normal practice.

South East Asia Command

The loudspeakers played Japanese music and gave reports of Japanese defeats,

laced with exhortations to desert. Force 136 was the cover name for the British

Special Operations Executive (SOE) and operated in South-East Asia from 1941 to

1945. Curiously, the current British 15 (UK) PSYOP Group has adopted as an

insignia the stag's head first worn by the IFBU. According to their website, "the

deer's antlers symbolize both the combat support function of PSYOPS and the

antennae associated with a major means of dissemination of psychological warfare

messages."

We could discuss this in greater depth but since this article is about Axis

propaganda to the Indians, the Allied propaganda will have to be discussed in afuture article.

When war between Britain and Germany broke out on 3 September 1939, the

British viceroy in India unilaterally declared India to be a belligerent. The move

infuriated the Indian people and eventually the Indian Congress adopted a

resolution on 8 August 1942 demanding freedom from Britain as a condition for

Indian participation in the war. The British rejected this resolution, which led to


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widespread public disorder. The British then jailed members of the Indian Congress

and this helped to create a leadership vacuum and provided an impetus for the

ascendancy of Subhash Chandra Bose as a leader of the militant opposition.

Bhatt continues:

Being the most important colony of the British Empire, India was a very attractivetarget for the Japanese, and Churchills war cabinet had feared a Japanese invasion ofIndia. Both the Axis powers German and Japan were establishing contacts with theIndian leadershipThe Axis powers, particularly, Germany, had already made India a

target of their psychological warfare.

The British responded with launching an Indian Section in the Eastern Service of theBBC in London, broadcasting in English and Hindustani

Paul M. A. Linebarger discusses the Japanese propaganda system in Psychological

Warfare, Washington Infantry Journal Press, 1948:

The Japanese developed a close-knit system (the Joho Kyuku) which combined publicrelations of both army and navy, all domestic government publishing, complete control

of book publishing, magazines, press, radio, and film, propaganda intelligence andover-all psychological warfare.

The Japanese moved into the western colonial areas of the Far East between 1940 and1942They organized the following independent governmentsAzad Hind (Free

Indian government-in-exile) and the Azad Hind Army.

Anthony Rhodes talks about the Japanese plans for India inPropaganda, WellfleetPress, Secaucus, NJ, 1987.

India was regarded as potentially part of Japans Greater East-Asian Co-ProsperitySphere. A Free India radio station was installed in Saigon, which encouraged the

natives of the subcontinent to rise against their aggressors while the British were weakand fully occupied elsewhere. Indian Independence transmitters were also set up inBangkok and Singapore, as was an Indian Muslim Station. The Japanese formedthe Indian National Army with Subhas Chander Bose as its leader. Numerous leafletswere dropped on British Indian troops calling on them to join the Japanese and help

liberate their mother country. One gaudy leaflet showed two Indians chasing a

caricature of a British soldier surrounded by his shattered equipment and tattered flag.Another anti-British leaflet declared that the Japanese Army had exterminated thediabolical British power from all parts of East Asia and it was now time to free India

for the Indians.


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Subhas Chandra Bose

Subhas Chandra Bose (1897-1945) had been a fervent nationalist since his youth.

For a time he was a follower of Gandhi, but he soon became disillusioned with thephilosophy of non-violence. His book, The Indian Struggle, was published in 1934and advocated a dictatorship form of government for India. Between 1920 and 1941,

Bose was arrested eleven times for fomenting agitation. In 1939 he visited Berlin

where he attempted to enlist Nazi support for his independence movement. Back in

India, He was placed under close house arrest in 1940, but managed to deceive the

British and escape, and after a historic overland trek to Kabul made his way back to

Berlin in 1941. While in Germany he made broadcasts advocating freedom for

India. He supported the elite special unit (Sonderkommando B) and the IndianLegion numbering about 3000 men that the Germans formed from Indian prisoners

of war in North Africa. On 26 January 1942, Bose founded his Azad Hind(Free

India) organization in the Kaiserhof Hotel in Berlin. The Axis powers immediatelyrecognized and granted diplomatic representation to the new organization. Bose

then gave anti-British speeches there that were broadcast by the Japanese in

Thailand to India. The Indian Legion was to lead the German advance through Asia

Minor and Afghanistan and into Northern India. Its members were recruited from

among the prisoners-of-war captured in North Africa and later in Italy. In April

1943 the Legions three battalions were deployed to Holland, Then to France. In

early 1944 the Legion was declared part of the Indian National Army. After D-Day

they retreated with the German Army and disbanded in April 1945.

The Italians also recruited an Indian force from prisoners of war, known as the

Centro Militare India. It existed from April 1942 to November 1942, when it wasdisbanded after a mutiny.

Meanwhile, on 3 February 1943 Bose began a voyage aboard German submarine U-

180 to the coast of Madagascar where he was met by Japanese submarine I-29. He

reached Sabang on 1 May. He was immediately flown to Tokyo. He met with and

impressed Prime Minister Hideki Tojo, and was sent to Singapore where he assumed

the presidency of the Indian Independence League and command of the


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reconstituted Indian National Army (INA). On 21 October 1943, a Provisional

Government of Azad Hind was formed with Bose as its first president. The

Provisional Government of Azad Hind immediately declared war against Great

Britain and the United States of America. By now Bose was well known throughout

India and was called Netaji (Revered Leader).

Mohan Singe began the formation of the Indian National Army in Singapore. Once

Bose arrived from Europe he handed over the command to the Netaji. Three

divisions were ultimately formed. The first division disintegrated in August 1944

after the disastrous attack on Imphal. 6,000 Indians marched into the jungle, 2,600

disabled and ill troops marched out. The second division fought in Burma against

the British in early 1945, but by May 1945 the troops threw down their arms in

Rangoon. At its peak the INA numbered over 35,000 men, with about 17,000 in

Burma and 14,000 in Malaya, the rest in recruiting and training camps.

Bhatt says:

It can be said that Indias real involvement in modern psychological warfare beganwhen Subhas Bose and his Indian National Army waged it. The Azad Hind radio statedits regular broadcasts from January 1942, in most of the prominent Indian languagesincluding Hindi, Bengali, Tamil, Telugu, Gujarati, Pashto and also English. To recruitfrom the Indian community in South East Asia, the INA ran a sustained campaign,

with leaflets printed in Hindi in both Devnagari and Roman scripts on various themeslike: independence, ills of the British rule, exploitation, discrimination etc.

After the fall of Singapore in early 1942 the Japanese captured 40,000 Indian

soldiers. Some volunteers were organized into an Indian National Army, better

known as Azad Hind Fauz. This unit saw no action, and was torn by dissentionamong its high officers and with the Japanese. It was not an effective fighting force

until the arrival of Netaji Bose in Singapore. In 1944, while under the command of

Bose, the INA fought alongside the Japanese on the Burma front in an attempt to

advance into India. The drive toward Imphal stalled. The Japanese retreated, and

there was a horrendous loss of life among the troops of the INA. It became clear to

Bose that his dream of a free India was ended. It would only be realized after the

war by political rather than military means. Bose moved from Rangoon to Bangkok

to Saigon. Two days after the Japanese surrender on 15 August 1945, he attempted

to preserve his political movement by flying to Manchuria where he hoped to gain

asylum with the advancing Soviet forces. (Or, according to British Agent 1189, a spy

in the INA high command, Bose was flying to Yunnan to set up a provisional

government with the assistance of Communist Chinese forces).

Wherever he was going, Bose was killed on 18 August in an aborted takeoff after a

refueling stop at Taihaku airport on Taiwan. Many Indians did not believe that Bose

was killed in this crash and there were rumors that he had taken three bags full of

gold and jewelry belonging to the Azad Hind Bank. Some thought that he was in

hiding and would reappear again when the time was right. There were three


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separate official investigations into his death. The front page of the CalcuttaWeekly from January of 1965 reads Netaji is alive, American sources confirm.There is a photo of Bose and the comment, Netaji!! The nation pays homage to

you. After Indian independence in 1947, Subhash Chandra Bose was proclaimed a

national hero.

German Leaflets

The Germans prepared a number of leaflets against the Indian troops of the British

Army reminding them of their persecution at home and telling them of the Indian

troops who had come over to the Axis in an attempt to win their independence. The

leaflets are not particularly colorful although some have attractive images. Many

are simply text in the various languages of the Indian subcontinent. We will depict

several to give the reader a general idea of the type of propaganda leaflets prepared

by Germany.

161/9 44 "Free Excursion to London

This German leaflet depicts three Indian troops looking at three scantily-dressed

dancing girls. The propaganda text is very interesting. The Germans claim that after


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the war the British intend to give any Indians who had been held prisoner, a tour of

London. They then suggest that rather than being killed on the battlefield, wouldn't

it be better to allow yourself to be taken prisoner so that you can take part in the

free tour. The text is:

Tour of London! Free!

All India Radio Delhi has said in its evening news bulletin of 25 September 1944 thatthe British government has decided recently that those prisoners of war who would be

in Germany would be sent to London after the war. Beautiful girls having magical eyesare waiting even from now itself for those Indians who had jumped into the flames of

war for the victory of England but fortunately did not meet the death. After thispleasure trip (of London) they will be sent home.

But What Will Become of You Who Are Still on Battlefields?

Be victims of the chilly winds of the AlpsBe frozen in the freezing cold of ItalyFace the adversarys platoons and weapons

And finally, be targets of bullets!

Go to permanent sleep with the desire to go home!

If the war is going to end soon as the British propaganda says, then is it justified foryou to lose your life in the terminal stage?

One stone two birds!

Protect your life! Tour of London via Germany!

And then home!

The back depicts the same three Indian soldiers enjoying a cruise on a ship named

"London." The text is the same as on the front.


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163-944

The above leaflet depicts Indian nationalist leader Mahatma Gandhi weaving cloth.

The leaflet is coded 163-944 which indicates that it was disseminated in 1944 over

Allied troops fighting in Italy by thePropaganda-Einsatz Fuehrerorganization. Texton the front is:

Boycott foreign goods!

The back is all text in several Indian languages:

The Mahatmas life is full of sorrow, with many problems and sacrifices.

His thousands of companions also had to face the hardships of being a politicalprisoner. This is all for love of their country! They are doing all this for their country,for their Indian brothers, for you.

Yes for you! And your children too!

They should not have to join the army to fulfill their hunger and earn a living, andthey shouldnt have to give up their life for free for another country and race. Like


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you! And if you lose your life for this army all of the sacrifices of the Mahatmas willgo to waste.

Be alive!

Dont let the sacrifices be in vain! Take advantage of that whatever you do!

Think really hard before doing anything!

[Note] There are a number of German leaflets in the series addressed to Indians.

Some examples are 131/8 44 "Happy Tidings", 146/8 44 "V1 India", 156/9 44

"London's BBC Equivalent", and 161/9 44 "Free Excursion to London."

Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (2 October 1869 30 January 1948) was a major

political and spiritual leader of India and the Indian independence movement. In

India, he is recognized as the Father of the Nation. He was the pioneer of

Satyagraha, the resistance of tyranny through mass civil disobedience. Gandhi iscommonly known in India and across the world as Mahatma Gandhi. Mahatma

can be translated as Great Soul. Non-cooperation and peaceful resistance were

Gandhi's "weapons" in the fight against injustice. In December 1921, Gandhi was

invested with executive authority on behalf of the Indian National Congress. Gandhi

expanded his non-violence platform to include the boycott of foreign-made goods,

especially British goods. Linked to this was his advocacy that homespun cloth be

worn by all Indians instead of British-made textiles. Gandhi exhorted Indian men

and women, rich or poor, to spend time each day spinning cloth in support of the

independence movement. Gandhi was arrested on 10 March 1922, tried for sedition,

and sentenced to six years imprisonment. In March 1931, the British Government

agreed to set all political prisoners free in return for the suspension of the civildisobedience movement.

With the onset of WWII, Gandhi declared that India could not be party to a war

ostensibly being fought for democratic freedom, while that freedom was denied in

India herself. As the war progressed, Gandhi increased his demands for

independence, drafting a resolution calling for the British to Quit India. Gandhi and

the entire Congress Working Committee were arrested in by the British on 9 August

1942. Gandhi was held for two years. After the end of WWII Gandhi continued to

work for a peaceful independent India with Hindus and Muslims living together in

peace. On 30 January 1948 on his way to a prayer meeting, Gandhi was shot and

killed by Nathuram Godse, a Hindu radical who held Gandhi responsible forweakening India by insisting upon equitable treatment for the area now known as

Pakistan.


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121 A / 6 44

A second German leaflet depicts the Indian nationalist Netaji (Leader) Subhas

Chandra Bose. He had earlier escaped the watchful eyes of the British in India andmade his way to Germany. Later in a remarkable feat, he was taken by German and

Japanese submarine to Japan in May 1943. The front of the leaflet bears an

autographed photograph of Bose in Indian National Army uniform. The back is all

text and says in part:

Most of you may be familiar with this face. If not, then listen. He is known as theNational leader, and he is famous by his name. This man is ever ready to lay down hislife for his country and for you. And now he is calling for you to join in his fight forfreedom.

The propaganda by the British about prisoners of war being put to death are all lies.


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147 / 8 44

A third German leaflet apparently uses an old Indian fable as its theme. It depicts

an elephant with a mouse controlling it. The mouses tail flies the Union Jack. The

back is all text in two of the Indian languages and says in part:

A mouse is the leader of the Elephant

Once upon a time when an elephant was sleeping, a mouse came up to him and sawhim sleeping so soundly that he tied the elephant with a chain. Even since the elephanthas remained a slave of the mouse. One day a cat came by and wanted to eat themouse. The mouse ran to the elephant and asked for help. He promised the elephantthat if he helped the mouse would set him free. The innocent elephant helped themouse against the cat and then asked him to release the chains. The mouse laughed atthe elephant and replied, You dont deserve to be set free; you are not fit for it. After

a few days the same cat came again and attacked the mouse. The mouse once againwent to the elephant for help. The elephant replied, You are dishonest; a traitor anddeceiver! I wont help you. Ill try to break my chains by myself. It is good for the cat toeat you. And that is exactly what happened, the cat ate the mouse and the elephantapplied a bit of strength to break his own chains and was free.


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This is your state! A big country like India is a slave to a small country like Britain.The Indian soldiers should be fighting for their freedom which can only be achieved ifEngland is destroyed. You are only fighting to remain enslaved.

146/8 44

This leaflet is interesting because it is another in a long line of German propaganda

leaflets that use the vengeance weapon V-1 as the theme. In the background London

is burning, struck by the incessant V-1 flying bombs. In the foreground, a sweating

Winston Churchill is escaping the bombing with a rickety wagon apparently holding

Indias wealth. Some of the text on the back in Hindi and Urdu is:

Our India, Better than the Whole World!

We hear this famous line of Dr. Iqbal on BBC London radio. There is no doubt thatIndia is one of the most beautiful, prosperous, fertile and brave countries of the world.But this entire wealth and priceless Indian blood is being used by the British Empirethat rules India by force. Ask the hearts of the Londoners what devastation the


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German secret V-1 weapon has rained on England. But Churchill is unperturbed for ifIndia remains in the hands of the British, then after the war not one but ten suchLondons could be built. Hence, Churchill is against giving independence to India. Onthe other hand, real patriotic Indians are sacrificing their lives for the achievement offreedom. For just a little money, you people are giving up your lives in foreign lands

for the benefit of foreign nations. Aren't you ashamed of how long you have beenslaves? If you cannot fight for the freedom of India, at least refuse to fight and die forthe British. Remember, India belongs to the Indians and not to the English. They wereborn to loot your country. If you are thoughtful you will think about what you shoulddo. Save your life for the future!

[Note: The title Our India, better than the whole World! is the title of a famous

patriotic poem by the noted Urdu poet Mohammad Iqbal. In his youth he was pro-

independence. Later, he supported the creation of a separate Pakistan].

LwP. 116 / AI. 115.3.44

A fourth German leaflet is all text and very wordy. The message is:

God does not change the state of any civilization unless and until the civilization thinksof changing the state itself!


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INDIANS!

Do you know what is happening in the world? Every civilization is trying its hardest tofight for its freedom. In India everything possible is being done in order to achieve thisfreedom. Japanese and German representatives have already promised Subhash

Chandra Bose that they will help India in its war for freedom!

A FREE INDIAN ARMY

Under the leadership of Subhash Chandra Bose the Japanese Army has entered Indiathrough Burma and at this moment the free Indian flag is waving inside Manipur.This army will fight until the British Army is completely destroyed. Thousands ofIndian soldiers among the British troops are leaving and joining the Indian NationalArmy to fight for their freedom from the British. On one side the Indians soldiers areleaving to fight for their own freedom, and yet you are still fighting for those who haveenslaved you. You are helping those who have kept you in slavery for over 200 years!

You are fighting for the British Army against yourselves! And why is this death yourfate? Because you are still slaves of the British! Fighting for England strengthens thechains of your slavery. Dying with dignity is better than a life without respect! Rightnow foreign armies rule India and have no respect for the Indian people!

THINK ABOUT IT!

What should you be doing now?

Everyone. Listen every day to the Hindustani news from 5:30 to 6:00 p.m. on both449.1 medium wave and 28.3 and 39.6 shortwave.

[Note] The code LwP usually signifies German propaganda to Allies and Italians in

1944. The meaning of the code is unknown but we do know that starting in 1944 all

German propaganda for the enemy was under the command ofSS Standarte KurtEggers. The operations in Italy were calledSdstern. Subdivisions under thiscommand issued different series of leaflets at different locations using different

codes. It has been suggested that LwP could represent Luftwaffe Propaganda. We

note that many of the leaflets also bear the "AI" code. There are a great number of

"LwP" leaflets to the Indians. Some examples are: "Soldiers of the Indian

Division", "Janubi Italy en Hindustani sipahio" and "Beware Indian Soldiers". The

various subdivisions apparently cooperated well with each other and in Italy many

of the leaflets have two codes. For example, LwP 112 AI 111-3-44 and LWP 119 AI120-4-44.

The "AI" in the code indicates the German organizationpropaganda-AbschnittsOffizer Italien and the date indicates April 1944. There are a great number of "AI|"leaflets to the Indians. Some examples are: AI 115-3-44 "Oh Indians," AI 120-4-44

"Beware Indians," and AI 121a-4-44 "Soldiers of the 4th Indian Division."


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LwP. 112a AI 111a 3 44

This is a tactical leaflet targeting the Indian 4th Division fighting beneath the

monastery of Monte Cassino. The battle of Monte Cassino has been well

documented. At the Allies moved northward on the Italian peninsula they were

stopped near the ancient abbey by very accurate German artillery. Alliedreconnaissance aircraft erronessly reported seeing German troops inside the

monastery. In fact, the Germans had scrupulosly avoided entering the monastery.

American, British, New Zealand, Polish and Indian forces were all beaten back from

Germans entrenched on the slopes below the monastery. On 11 February 1944, the

acting commander of 4th Indian Division, Brigadier H. W. Dimoline requested the

bombing of the abbey of Monte Cassino. On 15 February 1944, 142 B-17 Flying

Fortresses, 47 B-25 Mitchell and 40 B-26 Marauder medium bombers dropped 493

tons of bombs on Monte Cassino. The Germans then occupied it and made use of the

rubble to build defensive positions. Twenty-five years later in 1969 the American

government admitted after years of review that the abbey was actually unoccupied

by German troops.

The Germans produced a number of divide and Conquer leaflets targeting Allied

forces during the battle for Monte Cassino. Among the various minorities that they

claim were being forced to fight and die for the Americans and British were those

from New Zealand, India and Poland. The leaflet above targets the Indian 4th

Division. The language is Urdu and the script is Arabic-Persian (the standard script

of the Urdu) and Roman so all Indians could read it. The Indian soldier depicted on


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the front being pushed forward by Churchill is most likely a Sikh or a Muslim. The

text in part is:

SOLDIERS OF THE 4TH INDIAN DIVISION!

You have seen in the last attack on Cassino how many Indian soldiers have gone topermanent sleep. Looking at these miserable deaths, every human cries. This is thesame place where the American forces earlier attacked and got a bloody nose.

INDIANS ARE CANNON FODDER

Where the American and British forces fail, the voiceless Indians are put in the frontto be cannon fodder. Think a bit, what business have you got in Italy? Why are youunnecessarily making thousands of Indian children orphans and Indian womenwidows?

GOLDEN OPPORTUNITY

Take advantage of the chance to quickly cross over to the German side. Spend yourtime in a prisoner-or-war camp and at the end of the war go home safely. Yourbrothers are present here in the thousands.

--------------------

Note: You can cross over to the Germans safely by showing this paper.

There is a German language message at the bottom to explain to the sentry what theIndian with the leaflet expects. It tells the German soldier that the Indian soldier

who approaches the German lines with the leaflet is to be treated with respect and

returned home after the end of the war.


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LwP 120a./AI.121a4 44

Another leaflet of the LwP series is more tactical and actually aimed at the Indian

Fourth Division. It urges the Indians to desert the British and come over to the

German side where they will be able to join Subhas Bose and fight for Indiasfreedom. Some of the text is:

INDIAN FOURTH DIVISION, YOU ARE A TARGET OF OUR BULLETS

The Indians are led by Subhas Chander Bose, who has organized Indian troops andformed an army in Germany to fight against the British


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Indian troops serving with the British in Egypt seem to be

amused by divisive German propaganda leaflets dropped by the Luftwaffe.


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Life in a German Prisoner-of-War Camp

This is the first page of a German newspaper leaflet that depicts 23 happy and

healthy Indian captives in a prisoner of war camp. The languages are Hindi, Hindi

(Romani) and Urdu scripts. There is a also mixture of Hindi and Urdu that was once

called Hindustani. The text is:

Life in a German Prisoner-of-War Camp

Many Indian sepoys (privates) are living comfortably in the German prisoner-of-war

camps. This newspaper depicts photographs of the prisoners life in those camps.There is excellent schedule of prisoners meals, sports, the reading of books, dance andskits for entertainment. The camps have temples for the Hindus, mosques for theMuslims and gurudwaras for the Sikhs.

Now guess who among them has won? It seems that only those who are smiling havewon. But actually all of them (seen in the picture) have won because they have savedtheir lives and are living happily in the prisoner-of war camps.


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DO YOU KNOW THE ANSWER?

Another well illustrated German leaflet bears no code and depicts nine photographs

of Indians receiving good medical care from German doctors and nurses on the

front and back. Some of the Indian troops and their regiments are named to make

the leaflet seem more truthful and trustworthy. For instance, one patient is

identified as number 111206, Dhan Bahadur of the Gurkha Rifles. The text is in

part:

DO YOU KNOW THE ANSWER?

These are your comrades who have been wounded.

But why were they wounded?They were wounded because of their own foolishness.They could have surrendered to the Germans.Germans never kill and prisoners of war and they treat the wounded very well.The names of each Indian soldier are given.


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Milap

This German leaflet depicts an Indian family thinking of their husband far away

fighting the war. The title Milap can be translated as union, meeting, or

being together.The text on the front is:

UNION

After bidding farewell to you, we kept on looking for you on the horizon. We evenlooked for you in the direction where we were not supposed to.

The text on the back is:

Indian Brothers! If you have a look at your situation, you will notice that your reunion(with your dear ones) is not just very difficult, but impossible. Thousands die everydayon the battlefield. Is it necessary that you also be one of them?


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No, certainly not! Why not to cross over to the German side whenever the opportunityarises? Thousands of your Indian brothers are leading a comfortable life in prisoner-of-war camps. The war is over for them. At the end of the war, they will certainlyreturn to their relatives and be happy.

[Note] The message is a poetic couplet and it is in the gazal form. Urdu is famousfor this form of poetry which it borrowed from the Persian. It abundantly uses

similes, exaggeration and sharp contrasts for expression. The second line looked

for you in the direction where we were not supposed to ...sounds strange in English,

but can be explained as: We have been so desperate that we know where you have

gone and watch the way you are supposed to return home. But, not only in that

direction; we look all around hoping that you might return from any direction.

Praying Woman

This German leaflet depicts an Indian woman praying for the safety of her husband

and presenting a lotus blossom to a God. The back is in Hindi (in Roman scriptknown in India as Romani Hindi) and Urdu:

OH GOD!

I humbly beg you with folded hands and by placing flowers on your idol. Please do methe great favor of saving my husbands life in the war. Please do not let a hot flamecome anywhere near the support of my life.


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These are the prayers of a faithful wife, seeking blessings for her spouse, Subedar(Warrant Officer) Ram Saroop Singh of the First Punjab Regiment while he wasbreathing his last on a battlefield after being wounded for the sake of the British. Howcould this innocent and sweet woman know that the branch bearing her desires hasbeen chopped off and that darkness is spread all over her world of aspirations. She

does not know that the bud of love in her heart has died before blossoming.

WHY DID THIS HAPPEN?

Because Subedar Ram Saroop Singh was uncaring and lost his life. Had he laid downhis arms, his wife's desires would have all been fulfilled.

DO YOU ALSO

want to expose your mothers, sisters and wives to such misery? NO! Then why are youprepared to fight against the Germans and die for the benefit of the British? It is better

that in this difficult final phase of war you cross over to the German side and livecomfortably in our camps till the end of the war and then happily go home.

END THESE DIFFICULT MOMENTS OF SEPARATION

When I asked Arunkumar Bhatt if he recognized the God he said that it did not

seem to be among the Hindu pantheon. He thought it was more likely that the

representation was of Buddha. He also pointed out that the scenario did not look

Indian. For instance, it is not a Hindu practice to place flowers on the palm of God.

The flowers are placed either at the feet or on the head. The posture of the god was

also unfamiliar. One wonders if the Germans erred, or purposely chose a non-Hindu

representation for this leaflet.


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Leaflet * 376 / 12 /44

This leaflet was printed in December 1944 for use against the Indians in Italy. The

* indicates theSudstern Southern Star section of theSkorpion propagandaorganization thought to be attacked to the German 10th Army. The text says in

part:


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IF YOU WANT TO KNOW MORE ABOUT THIS OFFER THAN LISTEN TO THERADIO AT 5:30 P.M. TO 6:00 P.M. ON MEDIUM WAVE 449.1 OR ON SHORTWAVE 476.

[NOTE] THERE WERE A NUMBER OFSUDSTERNLEAFLETS TO THE

INDIANS. EXAMPLES ARE; *376/12 44 "HAPPY NEW YEAR 1945", AND*378/12 44 "OUR INDIAN FRIENDS". THERE IS AN ENTIRE *1900 SERIES

CONSISTING OF ONLY INDIAN-LANGUAGE LEAFLETS. THERE APPEARS

TO BE 29, ENDING IN * 1929.4.45.

* 1907 1 45

A SIMILAR LEAFLET FROM THE SAMESKORPIONORGANIZATION ISCODED * 1907 1 45, WHICH INDICATES PRODUCTION IN JANUARY 1945.

THIS LEAFLET USES THE PO RIVER AS ITS MAJOR THEME. THE

GERMANS PRODUCED A NUMBER OF LEAFLETS WITH THE SAME

CONCEPT, SHOWING ALLIED SOLDIERS DROWNING BENEATH THE

DARK WATERS AND TITLES SUCH AS DEATH IN THE PO OR THE PO IS

WAITING FOR YOU. THERE ARE FIVE PARAGRAPHS IN THE LEAFLET.

SOME OF THE TEXT IS:

A BATH IN THE PO

HAVE YOU FORGOTTEN YOUR COMRADES WHO DIED FIGHTING?

WHAT IS THE PO? IT IS A RIVER 208 YARDS WIDE AND 1040 YARDS AT ITSMAXIMUM WIDTH. IT IS 7 TO 20 FEET DEEP AND THE BANKS ARE 18 TO 30FEET HIGH. IT FLOWS AT 20 MILES AN HOUR.


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WHY DO YOU PLAY WITH DEATH?

WHAT CAN YOU DO? PRETEND TO BE SICK AND GO TO THE HOSPITAL ANDIN THIS WAY YOU CAN AVOID FIGHTING.

THE ONLY GOOD INDIAN

THIS GERMAN DIVIDE AND CONQUER LEAFLET TARGETED THE

INDIANS FIGHTING ALONGSIDE THE BRITISH. NOTHING IS KNOWN

ABOUT THE PRODUCERS OF THIS LEAFLET EXCEPT FOR A SMALL

QUOTE STATING, THE CODE-LETTER A CAN BE FOUND ON MANY

GERMAN LEAFLETS DROPPED IN NORTHWEST EUROPE 1944-1945. AS

USUAL, THE GERMANS POINT OUT THAT THE INDIANS ARE DOING THE

FIGHTING FOR THE BRITISH, AND ADD THAT MONTGOMERY HAS GIVEN

HIS MEN SEVEN DAYS LEAVE WHILE THE INDIANS DIE ON THE FRONTLINES. WE CAN DATE THIS LEAFLET TO SOME EXTENT BECAUSE IT

MENTIONS ARNHEM AND THAT AIRBORNE ASSAULT ON HOLLAND

TOOK PLACE IN SEPTEMBER 1944. THIS LEAFLET SEEMS TO HAVE BEEN

PREPARED IN OCTOBER 1944 OR SHORTLY AFTERWARDS. WHAT IS

PARTICULARLY INTERESTING ABOUT THE HEADING FROM THE

HISTORICAL POINT IS THAT IT HAD NOTHING TO DO WITH INDIA. THE

COMMENT, THE ONLY GOOD INDIAN IS A DEAD INDIAN IS A


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BASTARDIZATION OF A STATEMENT ALLEGEDLY UTTERED BY U.S.

GENERAL PHILIP SHERIDAN IN 1869. SHERIDAN REPEATEDLY DENIED

EVER MAKING SUCH A STATEMENT, BUT SEVERAL EYE WITNESSES

AGREE THAT HE SAID IT. SHERIDAN WAS WELL KNOWN AS A BIGOT AND

INDIAN HATER AND FEW THAT KNEW HIM DOUBTED HIS AGREEMENT

WITH THE STATEMENT. THE ORIGINAL QUOTE IS THOUGHT TO BE THEONLY GOOD INDIANS I EVER SAW WERE DEAD. THE GERMANS

CLEVERLY WORKED AN AMERICAN VERBAL SLUR AGAINST ITS OWN

NATIVE PEOPLE INTO A BRITISH ATTACK ON ITS INDIAN COLONIAL

TROOPS.

LONG LIVE INDEPENDENT INDIA

COURTESY OF ROD OAKLAND

ALL OF THE GERMAN LEAFLETS DEPICTED ABOVE WERE DROPPED ON

INDIANS FIGHTING FOR THE BRITISH IN NORTHWEST EUROPE AND

ITALY LATE IN THE WAR. THE NEXT LEAFLET WE SHOW WAS DROPPED

ON INDIAN TROOPS FIGHTING IN NORTH AFRICA. NOTICE AT THE

BOTTOM OF THE LEAFLET THERE IS A BRIEF MESSAGE IN GERMAN

FOR AFRIKA KORPS TROOPS AND THEIR ITALIAN ALLIES. THE LEAFLET

IS CODED 434 J VIII./VIII.42. THIS PROBABLY INDICATES THAT IT WAS


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DISSEMINATED IN AUGUST 1942. AT THE CENTRE IS THE SPINNING

WHEEL, THE SYMBOL OF MAHATMA GANDHI'S MOVEMENT CALLING

FOR USE OF HAND SPUN AND WOVEN COTTON CLOTHES IN

PREFERENCE TO THE MILL-MADE CLOTH OF BRITAIN. THE SPINNING

WHEEL IS ALSO IN THE FLAG OF INDIAN NATIONAL CONGRESS. THE

TEXT AROUND THE SYMBOL IS:

LONG LIVE INDEPENDENT INDIA

THE BACK IS ALL TEXT:

LIBERTY PASS

WHOEVER SHOWS THIS SURRENDER PASS WILL BE ACCEPTED AS AFRIEND OF THE AXIS FORCES. HIS PERSONAL FREEDOM AND LIBERTY TOFOLLOW HIS OWN RELIGIOUS PRACTICES ARE FULLY GUARANTEED. JUST

BRING THIS SURRENDER PASS WITH YOU.


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THIS STRANGE UNCODED GERMAN LEAFLET IS ALL TEXT AND APPEARS

TO BE A RARE EXAMPLE OF THE GERMANS USING A FATWA OFJIHAD

AGAINST THE ALLIES. THE LANGUAGE IS URDU, AND THE SCRIPT ISDEVNAGARI WHICH IS USED BY THE HINDUS AND NOT BY THE MUSLIMS

WHO ARE THE APPARENT TARGETS OF THE LEAFLET. IT IS LIKELY

THAT THE TARGET GROUP IS NOT THE MUSLIM BUT THE HINDU AND

SIKH TROOPS OF THE BRITISH INDIAN ARMY. IN THAT CASE, THE AIM

COULD BE A DIVIDE AND CONQUER ATTEMPT TO DRIVE A WEDGE

BETWEEN THE HINDU AND MUSLIM TROOPS IN THE ALLIED RANKS.

THE TEXT IS:

THE HIGH PRIEST OF ISLAM IN HOLY MECCA HAS ON THE OCCASION OFTHE ID FESTIVAL ISSUED AN EDICT TO YOU [ALL THE MUSLIMS] THAT

DECLARES JIHAD AGAINST THE ENGLISH AND FRENCH.

THE KING OF TURKEY HAS GONE ON WAR AGAINST THE BARBARICENGLISH, FRENCH AND RUSSIAN NATIONS AND HIS ALLIES ARE THEAFGHAN PEOPLE.

THIS IS A VERY MYSTERIOUS LEAFLET BECAUSE IT MENTIONS TURKEY

AS A GERMAN ALLY WHEN TURKEY WAS ACTUALLY ON THE SIDE OF

THE WESTERN POWERS. IT ALSO MENTIONS A TURKISH KING, A

POSITION THAT DID NOT EXIST DURING WWII. THE EMIR OF TURKEY

DID JOIN THE CENTRAL POWERS DURING WWI. SO, AT FIRST LOOK,

THIS APPEARS TO BE A WWI LEAFLET.


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THE GRAND MUFTI MEETS ADOLF HITLER

THE LEADER OF THE GERMAN PEOPLE ADOLF HITLER AND THE GREATMUFTI MR. AMIN AL-HUSSEINI DURING THEIR MEETING IN BERLIN.

THE PROOF WOULD SEEM TO BE OVERWHELMING, EXCEPT THAT THE

LEAFLET WAS A GIFT OF A GERMANLUFTWAFFEPILOT STATIONED IN

NORTH AFRICA DURING WWII. AND, WE KNOW THAT THE GRANDMUFTI MET WITH HITLER ON AT LEAST ONE OCCASION TO OFFER

SUPPORT. SO, ALTHOUGH I STRONGLY SUSPECT THAT THIS IS A WWI

LEAFLET TO BRITISH INDIAN COLONIAL TROOPS, WE DEPICT IT JUST

IN CASE IT IS SOME STRANGE SORT OF GERMAN BLACK WWII

PROPAGANDA. IN 1942, JERUSALEM'S GRAND MUFTI, AMIN AL-

HUSSEINI, TOOK TO THE AIRWAVES AND BROADCAST IN ARABIC FROM

BERLIN. AT THAT TIME HE ALREADY WAS "PRIME MINISTER" OF A PAN-

ARAB GOVERNMENT FORMED IN THE GERMAN CAPITAL. COULD IT BE

THAT THE GERMAN PROPAGANDA POSTCARD ABOVE SHOWS THE MAN

THAT THE INDIAN-LANGUAGE LEAFLET CALLS THE HIGH PRIEST.


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GERMAN AZAD HIND PROPAGANDA POSTAGE STAMP

MY ORIGINAL 1972 DESCRIPTION OF THE ABOVE 1 RUPEE PLUS 2

RUPEES STAMP IS A TURBANED SOLDIER CARRYING THE AZAD HIND

FLAG WITH TWO COMPANIONS IN GERMAN-STYLE FIELD CAPS, THE

DESIGN FLANKED BY TWO CEREMONIAL SWORDS. THIS STAMP IS ONE

OF A SET PRODUCED IN GERMANY FOR PROPAGANDA PURPOSES ANDMEANT TO BE USED AT SOME FUTURE TIME IN TERRITORIES

CONTROLLED BY THE FREE INDIAN ARMY. TWELVE MILLION STAMPS

WERE PRINTED AND GUMMED BY THE REICHSDRUCKEREI IN BERLIN.

THE FAILURE OF THE FREE INDIAN ARMY TO ACHIEVE ANY MILITARY

SUCCESS LEFT THE STAMPS WITHOUT A REASON FOR USE, AND THE

ENTIRE ISSUE WAS STILL IN STORAGE IN EUROPE AT THE END OF THE

WAR. NONE OF THE STAMPS WAS EVER PLACED IN USE. POSTWAR

FORGERIES EXIST, PRINTED OFFSET RATHER THAN PHOTOGRAVURE,

WITH A WASHED-OUT AND SOMEWHAT UNCLEAR APPEARANCE.


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A POSTWAR ENVELOPE BEARING THE GENUINE AZAD HIND STAMPS

ALTHOUGH THE STAMPS WERE NEVER USED POSTALLY, MANY

PATRIOTIC INDIANS AND PHILATELIC SPECIALISTS PLACED THEM ON

VARIOUS PHILATELIC COVERS FOR SHOW. THIS 1964 ENVELOPE,

DESIGNED IN HONOR OF THE INDIAN NATIONAL ARMYS MARTYRS

MEMORIAL BEARS THE FIVE LOW VALUE DESIGNS. THEY ARE; A NURSE

COMFORTING A WOUNDED SOLDIER, A MAP OF THE INDIAN

SUBCONTINENT WITH A BROKEN CHAIN ACROSS IT, A TURBANED

SOLDIER WEARING THE SPRINGING TIGER INSIGNIA OF THE INDIAN

LEGION AND AIMING A GERMAN MG 34 MACHINE GUN, AN INDIAN GIRL

WORKING AT A SPINNING WHEEL, AND A PLOUGH FRAMING A RICEFIELD WITH A FARMER WORKING ON IT. THE STAMPS ARE CANCELLED

WITH A SPECIAL STAMP READING NETAJI SUBHAS CHANDRA BOSE

CALCUTTA. ONE CAN CLEARLY SEE THAT THE GERMANS TOOK GREAT

CARE IN SELECTING THE IMAGES ON THESE PROPAGANDA STAMPS.


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AN AZAD HIND COMMEMORATIVE PROPAGANDA BANKNOTE

THERE IS NO PROOF THAT THE FREE INDIAN MOVEMENT EVER

PRODUCED ANY BANKNOTES. THERE IS A RUMOR THAT THE GERMANS

PRINTED BANKNOTES FOR BOSE ABOUT THE SAME TIME THEY

PRINTED THE STAMPS, BUT ALLEGEDLY THEY WERE LOST WHEN THE

SHIP THEY WERE SENT IN WAS TORPEDOED ON ITS WAY TO JAPAN. WE

DO KNOW THAT TO SERVE THE FINANCIAL NEEDS OF THE

PROVISIONAL GOVERNMENT OF AZAD HIND, AN AZAD HIND BANK WAS

ESTABLISHED. THE BANK WAS CREATED ON 5 APRIL 1944 AND

CAPITALIZED AT SEVERAL MILLION RUPEES. THE BANK QUICKLYBECAME THE PREFERRED BANK OF THE INDIAN COMMUNITY IN

BURMA. IT HELD A SIZEABLE AMOUNT OF GOLD FROM ORNAMENTS

AND VALUABLES DONATED BY INDIAN WOMEN. THE BANK PAID ALL

THE EXPENSES OF THE PROVISIONAL GOVERNMENT AND THE INA, AND

EVEN REPAID SOME LOANS GIVEN BY THE JAPANESE GOVERNMENT. IN

1944, WHEN THE BRITISH RECLAIMED BURMA FROM THE JAPANESE,

THE WAR DEPARTMENT SEIZED THE AZAD HIND BANKS ASSETS.

THERE ARE NO KNOWN AZAD HIND BANKNOTES, BUT AT THE END OF

THE WAR, IN ORDER TO RAISE FUNDS FOR INDIAN NATIONAL ARMY

VETERANS AND OTHER CAUSES, A NUMBER OF COMMEMORATIVEPROPAGANDA BANKNOTES WERE PREPARED BEARING THE IMAGE OF

SUBHAS BOSE OR OTHER INDIAN PATRIOTS. ONE ACTUALLY DEPICTED

BOSE WITH ADOLF HITLER. THESE BANKNOTES WERE SOLD WITH THE

PROFITS GOING TO VARIOUS CHARITIES. READERS WANTING TO KNOW

MORE ABOUT THIS SUBJECT SHOULD SEE MY ARTICLE FREE INDIA

MOVEMENT BANKNOTES IN THE INTERNATIONAL BANKNOTE SOCIETYJOURNAL, VOL. 40, NO. 3, 2001.


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JAPANESE LEAFLETS

THE JAPANESE PROPAGANDA LEAFLETS TO THE INDIANS WERE QUITE

DIFFERENT FROM THE GERMAN LEAFLETS. WHEREAS THE GERMAN

LEAFLETS TENDED TO BE MONOCHROMATIC AND SOMETIME WORDY

ON THE BACK, THE JAPANESE LEAFLETS WERE VERY BRIGHT ANDFULL-COLORED, SOMETIMES VERY BUSY WITH NUMEROUS IMAGES

PILED ONE UPON ANOTHER, AND WITH MINIMAL TEXT. THEY ALSO

MADE GREAT USE OF POLITICAL SATIRE AND CARTOONS ATTACKING

ALLIED LEADERS SUCH AS FRANKLIN ROOSEVELT, WINSTON

CHURCHILL AND CHIANG KAI-SHEK, AND ALSO THE VARIOUS NATIONS

OPPOSED TO JAPAN.

THE JAPANESE ATTITUDE TOWARD PSYCHOLOGICAL WARFARE

AGAINST INDIAN TROOPS IS MENTIONED BY LIEUTENANT COLONEL

MAHMOOD KHAN DURRANI IN THE SIXTH COLUMN, CASSELL AND

COMPANY, 1955. DURRANI WAS A PRISONER OF THE JAPANESE ANDQUOTES A LECTURE GIVEN BY A JAPANESE OFFICER ON HOW

LEAFLETS SHOULD BE PREPARED FOR USE AGAINST THE INDIANS

FIGHTING FOR THE BRITISH. HE SAYS IN PART:

PROPAGANDA LEAFLETS DROPPED FOR TROOPS MUST BE EASILYNOTICED AND YET AT THE SAME TIME EASILY CONCEALABLE ON THEPERSON OF THE SOLDIER SO THAT HE MIGHT HIDE THEM FROM HISOFFICERS AND READ THEM AT HIS LEISURE.

THE HANDBILL SHOULD BE OF AN ATTRACTIVE COLOR SO THAT IT MIGHT

NOT ESCAPE THE NOTICE OF ALL SOLDIERS.

THE LEAFLET SHOULD HAVE, IF POSSIBLE, THE PICTURE OF ABEAUTIFUL WOMAN, AFTER THE METHOD USED BY THE GERMANS INTHE FIRST WORLD WAR. THIS DEVICE WOULD INSURE THAT THE SOLDIERWOULD BE ATTRACTED AND WOULD BE UNABLE TO RESIST LOOKING ATTHE PICTURE OVER AND OVER AGAIN. THIS WOULD ROUSE HIS PASSION,AND HIS HEART WOULD BE INCLINED FOR LOVE AND TO HATE FIGHTING.

THE TEXT OF THE POSTERS MUST REMIND SOLDIERS OF THEIR WIVESAND CHILDREN IN TROUBLE, THANKS TO THEIR SERVING AS

MERCENARIES IN THE HANDS OF FOREIGNERS WHO HAD SELFISHMOTIVES. THIS WOULD HAVE THE EFFECT OF STRIKING THE MOSTTENDER CHORDS.

THE POSTER SHOULD GIVE A PHOTOGRAPH OF OR MENTION THEGARDENS AND FRUITS OF THE COUNTRY THE SOLDIERS BELONGED TO,SO THAT IT MIGHT REMIND THEM OF THE HAPPY AND BUBBLING LIFE OFTHEIR COUNTRYMEN IN CONTRAST TO THEIR OWN WRETCHED LIVES AS


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SOLDIER AND THE DEADLY DESTRUCTION OF WAR IN STORE FOR THEM.THUS THE SOLDIER WOULD HAVE A CRAVING TO GO BACK TO THEPEACEFUL AND HAPPY LIFE HE HAD ONCE LIVED, AND HE WOULD BELIKELY TO DESERT AT THE FIRST OPPORTUNITY.

THE HANDBILL SHOULD INCLUDE A DEFINITE PROMISE THAT IT WOULDSERVE AS A TICKET FOR ENTRY INTO THEIR FOLD AS A FRIEND TOWHOEVER SHOULD DESERT THEIR RANKS OF HIS ARMY AND COME TOTHEIR SIDE WITH IT. AND AS SUCH A FRIEND, HE WOULD BE GIVEN ALONG HOLIDAY AND SENT TO HIS COUNTRY TO MEET HIS PARENTS, WIFE,CHILDREN AND FRIENDS.

ONE OF THE EARLIEST REPORTED ATTEMPTS TO PROPAGANDIZE THE

INDIANS OCCURRED IN JANUARY 1942 IN SINGAPORE. JAPANESE

AIRCRAFT DROPPED SMALL YELLOW LEAFLETS PRINTED IN BLACK:

TERRIBLE RIOTS IN SINGAPORE! SECRET EVACUATION OF BRITISHTROOPS!

A TERRIBLE RIOT HAS BROKEN OUT IN SINGAPORE! BRITISH ANDAUSTRALIAN SOLDIERS ARE BEING SECRETLY EVACUATED FROMSINGAPORE! MALAYAN AND INDIAN SOLDIERS! PACK UP YOUR TROUBLESIN YOUR OLD KIT BAG AND COOPERATE WITH THE NIPPON ARMY.

BRITISH AND AUSTRALIAN SOLDIERS! RETURN TO YOUR HOMES AT ONCEBY HOOK OR BY CROOK. YOU MAY NEVER GET ANOTHER CHANCE TO SEEYOUR BELOVED ONES IN ENGLAND OR AUSTRALIA.

THE CONCEPT OF THE BRITISH LEAVING THE INDIANS BEHIND WILL BE

FOUND BELOW IN A LEAFLET WE CALL NO ROOM IN THE TRUCK.

ANOTHER LEAFLET DEPICTED CHINESE, MALAY AND INDIAN SOLDIERS

WELCOMING THE JAPANESE TROOPS WITH JOHN BULL AND UNCLE

SAM RUNNING AWAY.


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YOUR DEMAND FOR INDEPENDENCE

ONE JAPANESE LEAFLET DEPICTS THE ALLIED LEADERS ROOSEVELT,

CHURCHILL AND CHIANG KAI-SHEK TRYING TO PUSH OR PULL AN

INDIAN INTO THE FIGHT AGAINST THE JAPANESE. I FIRST DESCRIBED

THIS LEAFLET IN MY 1972 BOOKLET. THE TEXT IN HINDI AND BENGALI

IS:

THE DEFEATED COUNTRIES, WHOSE DESTRUCTION IS INEVITABLE, ARECASTING GREEDY EYES ON INDIA. DO NOT PAY ATTENTION TO THEIRSWEET TALK.

CHURCHILL HOLDS A WHIP WITH A FLAG ATTACHED AND THE TEXT:

WE ACCEPT YOUR DEMAND FOR INDEPENDENCE.


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TOWARDS FREEDOM

SEVERAL LEAFLETS SHOW INDIANS ON HORSEBACK CHARGING.

SIMILAR LEAFLETS ARE FOUND IN BOTH HORIZONTAL AND VERTICAL

FORMAT. THIS LEAFLET CURIOUSLY CALLS JAPAN'S OCCUPATION OF

BURMA AND THE PHILIPPINES FREEDOM! AND CALLS FOR THE

INDIANS TO REVOLT AGAINST BRITISH RULE. THE FLAG SHOWN IS

THAT OF THE INDIAN NATIONAL CONGRESS (THE POLITICAL PARTY

SPEARHEADING THE FREEDOM MOVEMENT). THE PEOPLE ARE SHOWN

HOLDING FARM IMPLEMENTS AND STICKS AS WEAPONS TO

UNDERSCORE THE POINT THAT THEY CAN EVEN REVOLT WITHOUT

FIREARMS! THE JAPANESE LEAFLET IS BILINGUAL, HINDU

AND BENGALI, THE LANGUAGE THAT DOMINATES EASTERN INDIA AND

THE PRESENT BANGLA DESH. THE JAPANESE BELIEVED THAT THEIR

INVADING ARMY WOULD FIRST OCCUPY THE EAST DURING ITS MARCH

INTO INDIA FROM BURMA. THE TEXT IS:

BURMA AND THE PHILIPPINES HAVE ATTAINED FREEDOM. OH INDIA!YOU MUST ALSO AWAKEN AND RISE.


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THE BRITISH BARBARISM

IN THE ABOVE LEAFLET, A CARICATURE OF CHURCHILL IS ABOUT TO

CHOP OFF THE FINGERS OF A BOUND INDIAN WORKER IN A TEXTILE

SHOP. OTHER FINGERS LITTER THE FLOOR AND IN THE BACKGROUND

THE BRITISH HAVE SET THE SHOP ABLAZE. THE LEAFLET IS WRITTEN

IN HINDI AND BENGALI. THE TEXT IS:

TO SAVE MANCHESTER, THE BRITISH RULERS SHED THE BLOOD OF

INDIANS AND IN RETURN GAVE THEM HUNGER AND POVERTY

THE THEME OF THIS LEAFLET IS BRITISH CRUELTY AND THE WAY THAT

THEY DESTROYED THE INDIAN ECONOMY. IT ADDRESSES THE TOTAL

DESTRUCTION OF THE INDIAN INDUSTRIAL ECONOMY WITH A VIEW TO

MAKING PROFITS FOR THE BRITISH TEXTILE INDUSTRY. THE THEME

WOULD BE WELL-UNDERSTOOD THROUGHOUT INDIA BECAUSE

MAHATMA GANDHI HAD BASED HIS NON-VIOLENT STRUGGLE ON

SVADESHI(THE USE OF INDIAN GOODS AND BOYCOTT OF BRITISHFACTORY PRODUCTS). HE AND HIS SUPPORTERS WOREKHADI(HANDSPUN AND HAND-LOOMED WOVEN CLOTH.

BECAUSE OF THE INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION THE BRITISH COULD

MASS-PRODUCE GOODS. THAT REQUIRED RAW MATERIALS AND HUGE

MARKETS FOR THE FINISHED PRODUCTS, PARTICULARLY COTTON

TEXTILES. TO SECURE BOTH, THE BRITISH DESTROYED THE

DECENTRALIZED TRADITIONAL INDIAN TEXTILE INDUSTRY. THEY

IMPOSED HEAVY TAXES ON INDIAN TEXTILES MADE IN GREAT PART BY

HAND-LOOMS SO THAT THE INFERIOR CLOTH OF THE BRITISH


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TEXTILE MILLS LOCATED MOSTLY IN MANCHESTER COULD CONTINUE

TO PROFIT.

INDIAN ARTISANS; SPINNERS, WEAVERS AND PROCESSORS, WERE

AMONG THE BEST IN THE WORLD. THE LEGEND IS THAT THE

SUPERFINE VARIETY OF CLOTH CALLEDMALAMAL PRODUCED BY THEWEAVERS OF DACCA (NOW THE CAPITAL OF BANGLADESH) WAS SOTHIN THAT A 20-YARD LONG PIECE COULD BE FOLDED AND PACKED IN

A PRESENT-DAY MATCH BOX! BECAUSE OF THE BRITISH ACTIONS IT

BECAME DIFFICULT FOR THE ARTISANS TO SELL THEIR PRODUCE AND

BUY RAW COTTON. QAS A RESULT, BOTH THE TEXTILE WORKERS AND

ALL THE OTHER ECONOMIC ACTIVITIES DEPENDING ON THE TEXTILES

WERE IMPOVERISHED. IT WAS SO SEVERE THAT THE DESPERATE

WEAVERS OF DACCA CHOPPED OF THEIR OWN FINGERS IN PROTEST.

IDEAL INDIA

THIS LEAFLET IS VERY BUSY. AMONG THE NUMEROUS IMAGES

CROWDED INTO THE FULL-COLOR LEAFLET ARE AN INDIAN WARRIOR,


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A SCHOOL CHILD, A WOMAN, AN ELEPHANT, INDIAN ARISTOCRACY AND

BUILDINGS IN THE BACKGROUND. THE TEXT IS:

IDEAL INDIA

LOOK AT THIS NATION AND HER NATURAL BEAUTY AND RESOURCES. THISINDIA IS BEING EXPLOITED BY THE ATROCITIES OF THE ENGLISHMEN.AN IDEAL INDIA CAN ONLY BE BUILT WHEN INDIANS THEMSELVESPROTECT IT AFTER GAINING INDEPENDENCE.

[NOTE] THE WRITING ON THE BLACKBOARD IS, "PEACEFUL HAVEN."

THE LEAFLET USES SEVERAL SYMBOLS OF INDIAN CULTURE AND

RESOURCES. STRANGELY, THE WOMAN DOES NOT LOOK INDIAN. A

TYPICAL INDIAN WOMAN DOES NOT WEAR SHORT HAIR EVEN TODAY.

DESTROY THE BRUTAL BRITISH


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THIS LEAFLET DEPICTS A BRITISH WOMAN WALKING ON THE

SIDEWALK WHILE AN ARMED BRITISH SENTRY LOOKS DOWN AT TWO

INDIANS IN THE GUTTER. THE BRITISH HAD BANNED INDIANS FROM

WALKING ON THE SIDEWALKS OF THEIR NEIGHBORHOOD. IN PUNJAB,

THE INDIANS HAD TO CRAWL OFF THE ROAD IF A BRITISH PERSON

PASSED BY.

THE TEXT IS:

DESTROY THE BRUTAL BRITISH

REMEMBER THE PUNJAB EVENT OF 1919? WE INDIANS WERE FORBIDDENFROM WALKING ON THE SIDEWALKS OF OUR OWN MOTHERLAND. THEBRITISH DID THIS TO US.

[NOTE] ON THE AFTERNOON OF 13 APRIL 1919, SOME 10,000 OR MORE

UNARMED MEN, WOMEN, AND CHILDREN GATHERED IN AMRITSAR'SPUBLIC SQUARE TO ATTEND A PROTEST MEETING, DESPITE A BAN ON

PUBLIC ASSEMBLIES. THE BRITISH POSITIONED MEN AT THE NARROW

PASSAGEWAY OF THE SQUARE. WITHOUT WARNING, 50 SOLDIERS FIRED

1,650 ROUNDS OF AMMUNITION INTO THE GATHERING. NEARLY 400

CIVILIANS WERE KILLED, AND ANOTHER 1,200 WERE LEFT WOUNDED

WITHOUT MEDICAL ATTENTION. THE BRITISH BRIGADIER REGINALD

E.H DYER LATER STATED THAT THE FIRING WOULD HAVE CONTINUED

IF HE HAD MORE AMMUNITION.


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AVENGE THIS BRITISH OUTRAGE

ANOTHER LEAFLET THAT SEEMS TO USE THIS SAME THEME WAS

PREPARED BY THE INDIAN INDEPENDENCE LEAGUE OF EAST ASIA. IT

DEPICTS INDIAN WOMEN CRAWLING ON THE GROUND WHILE BRITISH

TROOPS RIDICULE AND BEAT THEM. THIS LEAFLET APPEARS IN THEJAPANESE OCCUPATION OF MALAYA (SINGAPORE) AND ITS CURRENCY,WONG HON SUM, WONGS COLLECTIONS, 1996.

IN 1943, AN INDEPENDENCE LEAGUE POSTER ASKED INDIAN TROOPS TO

DESERT. SOME OF THE TEXT IS:

DON'T BE A TRAITOR TO INDIA! JOIN US TO STRIKE THE SATANIC BRITISH.

ANOTHER INDEPENDENCE LEAGUE IN EAST ASIA LEAFLET DEPICTS

MAHATMA GANDHI AND SEVERAL OTHER INDIANS AND THE TEXT:

GOD AND NIPPON TO HELP INDIA DRIVE OUT THE BRITISH DEVIL.

JAPAN IS SWORN TO AID INDIA FIGHT.

ANOTHER INDEPENDENCE LEAGUE LEAFLET FROM THE PHILIPPINES

TALKS ABOUT THE BRITISH LOSSES. IT SAYS IN PART:

FALL OF IMPHAL

WAY TO WHOLE INDIA NOW OPEN!

IMPHAL HAS FALLEN! THE INDIAN NATIONAL ARMY IN CONJUNCTIONWITH THE JAPANESE IMPERIAL FORCES HAS AT LAST CAPTURED IMPHAL THE STRONGEST DEFENSE LINE OF THE ENEMY AND A KEY TO THEWHOLE OF INDIA. THE FALL OF IMPHAL NOT ONLY MEANS REJOICINGSFOR THE WHOLE PEOPLES OF INDIA AND GREATER EAST ASIA, BUTSPELLS ALSO THE BEGINNING OF THE DOOM OF NEARLY A CENTURY OFBRITISH IMPERIALISM IN INDIA.

THE JAPANESE WERE A WEE BIT PREMATURE IN THIS ANNOUNCEMENT.

IMPHAL NEVER FELL AND THE ENTIRE ADVANCE BECAME A DISASTER

FOR THE JAPANESE AND INDIAN FORCES. THE DEFEAT WAS THEGREATEST TO THAT DATE IN JAPANESE HISTORY. THEY HAD SUFFERED

55,000 CASUALTIES, INCLUDING 13,500 DEAD. MOST OF THESE LOSSES

WERE THE RESULT OF STARVATION, DISEASE AND EXHAUSTION.


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WHO IS RESPONSIBLE?

THE DARK AND BONY INDIAN MAN SHOWS WHAT THE BRITISH-

INDUCED HUNGER AND MISERY HAS REDUCED HIM TO. TO THE

WESTERN EYE THE JAPANESE WERE NOT COMPLIMENTARY IN THIS

DRAWING. IT IS VERY REMINISCENT OF EDUARDO CIANNELLI, THE

EVIL LEADER OF THE THUGEE CULT, DEVOTED TO KALI, THE GODDESS

OF DEATH AND DESTRUCTION IN THE 1939 PRO-BRITISH PROPAGANDAMOVIE GUNGA DIN. THE INDIAN MAN POINTS TOWARD THE READER OFTHE LEAFLET. THERE ARE THE BONES OF THE DEAD SCATTERED ALL

AROUND HIM. SOME OF THE INDIANS WHO STUDIED THIS PICTURE

SAID, IT IS SURELY A DEAD PERSON WHO DIED OF HUNGER. THE TEXT

IN HINDI, URDU AND BENGALI IS:

INDIANS ARE BEING KILLED IN LARGE NUMBERS. THE BRITISH ARETRAMPLING THEIR DEAD BODIES WHILE LOOTING INDIA OF ITS FOOD.WHO IS RESPONSIBLE FOR THE INDIANS' DEATH?


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NOW IS NOT THE TIME FOR INFIGHTING

THIS LEAFLET ATTACKS WINSTON CHURCHILL AND DEPICTS HIM AS A

DEMON. HE IS IN THE BACKGROUND AND HOLDS TWO INDIANS IN HIS

HANDS. THE INDIAN ON THE LEFT IS IDENTIFIED AS A MEMBER OF THE

MUSLIM LEAGUE AND THE ONE ON THE RIGHT IS A MEMBER OF THE

INDIAN NATIONAL CONGRESS. THE TEXT AT THE TOP IS:

NOW IS NOT THE TIME FOR INFIGHTING

THE TEXT AT THE BOTTOM IS:

THE BRITISH POLICY OF DIVIDE AND RULE


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CHURCHILL THE SPIDER

THE JAPANESE OFTEN VILIFIED WINSTON CHURCHILL BY

CARICATURING HIM AS A BEAST OR A MONSTER. IN THIS LEAFLET HE

APPEARS AS A SPIDER AT THE CENTER OF A WEB HOLDING A POT OF

GOLD, SURELY STOLEN FROM INDIA. AROUND HIM, TRAPPED IN THE

BRITISH WEB OF DECEIT (WITH A UNION JACK IN THE BACKGROUND)

ARE VARIOUS CATEGORIES AND CASTES OF INDIANS. THE TEXT IS:

THE TIME HAS COME TO MAKE INDIA FREE. RISE UP AND SHATTER THE

BRITISH FETTERS.

THE ELEPHANT


51/66

IN THIS LEAFLET A CHARACTER WHO COULD BE CHURCHILL, BUT

LOOKS MORE LIKE THE BRITISH SYMBOL JOHN BULL IS HELD IN THE

TRUNK OF AN INDIAN ELEPHANT. THE ELEPHANT IS MARKED WITH

THE FLAG OF THE INDIAN NATIONAL CONGRESS. IT HAS BROKEN THE

CHAINS THAT HELD IT FETTERED TO ENGLAND, AND STOMPS ON THE

BRITISH FLAG. AT THE RIGHT A BRIGHT RED SUN SHINES DOWN, ANDTHIS VERY LIKELY REPRESENTS JAPAN WHOSE FLAG BEARS A SINGLE

RED SUN (CALLED A MEATBALL BY THE AMERICANS DURING WWII).

THE TEXT IN HINDI AND BENGALI IS:

OH SLEEPING ELEPHANT! WAKE UP AND STAND UP.

AT THIS OPPORTUNE TIME, BREAK THE ENGLISH CHAIN AND BE FREE.

[NOTE] THE ELEPHANT IS A GREAT SYMBOL IN INDIAN CULTURE; IT IS

CONSIDERED VERY AUSPICIOUS, DIVINE, POWERFUL, MAGNIFICENT

AND FRIENDLY. IT SYMBOLIZES BOTH INDIAS CULTURE AND ITSMAMMOTH SIZE.


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A MOUNTAIN OF SKULLS

THIS JAPANESE LEAFLET DEPICTS A MOUNTAIN OF THE SKULLS OF

INDIAN DEAD, OVERLOOKED BY A FORT BRISTLING WITH CANNON AND

THE UNION JACK. VULTURES FLY HIGH OVERHEAD. THE FORT IS A

SYMBOL OF COLONIAL POWER. AS FOR THE PILE OF SKULLS, IT IS SAIDTHAT TIMUR PILED UP HUMAN SKULLS AFTER SACKING DELHI. HE

KILLED AT LEAST 100,000 BEFORE THE CITY FELL, AND ANYWHERE

FROM HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS TO A MILLION AFTER THE

DESTRUCTION OF DELHI. THE LEAFLET COMPARES THAT ATROCITY

WITH BRITISH COLONIAL RULE.

THE TEXT IS IN THE URDU, HINDI AND BENGALI LANGUAGES AND SAYS:

THE ENGLISH ARE PREPARED TO FEED HUNDREDS OF INDIANS TO THECANNONS TO SAVE THEIR EMPIRE.

CANNON FODDER

THIS LEAFLET HAS A VERY INTERESTING IMAGE. IT DEPICTS FINELY

DRESSED BRITISH SOLDIERS ABOUT TO BLOW A CANNON BALL

THROUGH AN INDIAN PRISONER. THIS ATROCITY PROPAGANDA WAS

OFTEN USED BY THE BRITISH, SO IT IS INTERESTING TO SEE IT USED

AGAINST THEM. IT ALLUDES TO THE ACCUSATIONS THAT THE BRITISH

UNLEASHED A REIN OF TERROR TO SUPPRESS THE MUTINY OF 1857.

ALLEGEDLY, THEY WOULD BLOW PEOPLE APART WITH CANNONS AND


53/66

HANG THEM FROM TREE BRANCHES. THIS LEAFLET REMINDS THE

TARGET AUDIENCE OF SUCH ACTS AND EXHORTS THEM TO TAKE

REVENGE. THE TEXT IS:

WHEN WILL YOU GET AN OPPORTUNITY TO TAKE REVENGE, IF NOT NOW?

DO NOT FORGET THE BRITISH PRACTICE OF BLOWING APART INDIANSAFTER TYING THEM TO MOUTH OF A CANNON'S BARREL.

[NOTE] THE INDIAN REBELLION OF 1857, ALSO KNOWN AS THE FIRST

WAR OF INDIAN INDEPENDENCE WAS A PROLONGED PERIOD OF ARMED

UPRISINGS IN DIFFERENT PARTS OF INDIA AGAINST THE BRITISH

OCCUPATION. THE INSURRECTION WAS TRIGGERED IN PART WHEN THE

BRITISH INTRODUCED NEW RIFLE CARTRIDGES RUMORED TO BE

GREASED WITH OIL MADE FROM THE FAT OF ANIMALS. THE FAT OF

COWS WAS TABOO TO HINDUS WHILE MUSLIMS WERE REPELLED BY

PIG FAT. IN FACT, THIS WAS JUST THE MOST RECENT IN A NUMBER OF

INDIAN PROTESTS AGAINST BRITISH RULE. BY MAY 1857 THEREBELLION TURNED INTO WHAT WAS CONSIDERED A FULL-FLEDGED

WAR IN THE AFFECTED REGIONS. A PEACE TREATY WAS SIGNED ON 8

JULY 1858. THE VICTORIOUS BRITISH THEN ALLEGEDLY ADOPTED THE

OLD MUGHAL PUNISHMENT FOR MUTINY AND SENTENCED REBELS

WERE TIED TO THE MOUTH OF CANNONS AND BLOWN TO PIECES.

HANGING MEN

AS MENTIONED IN THE PREVIOUS LEAFLET, THE BRITISH WERE

ACCUSED OF BLOWING INDIANS APART BY CANNON OR HANGING

THEM FROM TREES AFTER THE ARMED REVOLT OF 1857. IN THIS

LEAFLET WE SEE THE CARICATURE OF JOHN BULL, THE SYMBOL OF


54/66

GREAT BRITAIN WALKING DOWN A TREE-SHADED LANE. FOR AS FAR AS

THE EYE CAN SEE INDIANS HANG FROM TREES, AND IN SEVERAL CASES

THEIR GRIEVING WIDOWS CRY AT THEIR FEET. IT IS REMINISCENT OF

THE GLADIATORS REVOLT LED BY SPARTACUS, WHEN THE ROMANS

CRUCIFIED THOUSANDS OF MUTINEERS ALONG THE ROAD TO ROME.

NEVER FORGET 1857. 100,000 INDIAN PATRIOTS WERE VICTIMS OF THEBRITISH BARBARISM

WAR MATERIAL

THIS LEAFLET HAS SOME VERY STRANGE SYMBOLISM. IT DEPICTS A

CARICATURE OF CHINESE LEADER GENERALISSIMO CHIANG KAI-SHEK

RIDING A HORSE. CHIANG HOLDS A WHIP TIED TO A GIANT BUNDLE OF

WAR MATERIALS THAT IS ATOP AN INDIAN. A HAND HOLDING SCISSORS

COMES FROM ABOVE (CERTAINLY REPRESENTING JAPAN) AND IS

CUTTING THE ROPE HOLDING THE BUNDLE TO THE HORSE. AT THE

LOWER RIGHT, BURMESE NATIVES CARRYING A PEACOCK FLAG

ATTACK BRITISH TROOPS AND HAVE THEM ON THE RUN. THE JAPANESECREATED A PUPPET STATE IN BURMA ON 1 AUGUST 1943 AND THE FLAG

IS THE INDEPENDENCE PARTY FLAG, CARRIED BY THEIR LIBERATION

ARMY. THIS WOULD SEEM TO BE A POLITE JAPANESE JIBE AT THE

INDIANS: IF THE BURMESE CAN THROW OUT THE BRITISH, WHY NOT

YOU?

THE TEXT IS:


55/66

HIS (CHIANG KAI-SHEK'S) PURPOSE OF VISITING INDIA IS ONLY TO GETINDIA'S (WAR) MATERIAL. END RELATIONS WITH CHIANG KAI-SHEKWHOSE END HAS COME AND BE FREE.

[NOTE] CHIANG KAI-SHEK VISITED INDIA FROM 9 FEBRUARY 1942 TO 21

FEBRUARY 1942. HE CONFERRED WITH THE BRITISH AND URGEDINDIAN NATIONALIST LEADERSPARTICULARLY JAWAHARLAL NEHRU

TO PUT ASIDE POLITICAL DIFFERENCES AND JOIN THE FIGHT

AGAINST JAPAN. IN HIS FAREWELL MESSAGE TO THE PEOPLE OF INDIA,

CHIANG KAI-SHEK CALLED FOR WHOLE-HEARTED SUPPORT IN THE

WAR AND INDICATED THAT BRITAIN WOULD CERTAINLY GRANT INDIA

FREEDOM IN THE NEAR FUTURE.

CHIANG KAI-SHEK IS NO GOD

THIS JAPANESE LEAFLET ONCE AGAIN ATTEMPTS TO DESTROY ANY

FRIENDSHIP BETWEEN THE CHINESE AND INDIAN PEOPLES. IN THE

FOREGROUND CHIANG KAI-SHEK WALKS WITH A RIFLE-BEARINGINDIAN WHO DOES NOT REALIZE THAT HE IS ABOUT TO STEP INTO A

BEAR TRAP LABELED "PRIVATIONS OF WAR." IN THE BACKGROUND,

HIDING BEHIND A BOULDER, ARE WINSTON CHURCHILL AND FRANKLIN

ROOSEVELT, BOTH BADLY BRUISED, APPARENTLY FROM EARLIER

BEATINGS BY THE JAPANESE. CHURCHILL HOLDS A CHAIN LEADING TO

THE TRAP AND HE IS ABOUT TO SPRING IT SHUT ON THE INDIAN

SOLDIERS LEG. THE TEXT IN HINDI AND BENGALI IS:


56/66

DANGER!

DO NOT FALL FOR THE BRITISH CARROT OF TOTAL SELF-RULE. CHIANGKAI-SHEK IS NO GOD. NOR IS SIR STAFFORD CRIPPS AN ANGEL. ALLTHOSE MEN WHO LURE INDIA INTO WAR ARE INDIA'S ENEMIES AND

AGENTS OF CHURCHILL. ONLY INDIANS CAN SAVE INDIA.

CHIANG HOLDS A BLUE BANNER THAT READS:

CONSPIRACY TO ACQUIRE INDIAN MANPOWER AND RESOURCES.

[NOTE] THE LEAFLET REINFORCES THE NATIONALIST INDIAN DESIRE

TO STAY OUT OF WWII. SIR STAFFORD CRIPPS WAS SENT TO INDIA ON

WHAT IS KNOWN AS THE CRIPPS MISSION TO ATTEMPT TO NEGOTIATE

AN AGREEMENT WITH THE NATIONALIST LEADERS MAHATMA GANDHI

AND MUHAMMAD ALI JINNAH THAT WOULD KEEP INDIA LOYAL TO THE

BRITISH WAR EFFORT IN EXCHANGE FOR A PROMISE OF FULL SELF-GOVERNMENT AFTER THE WAR. MAHATMA GANDHI DESCRIBED THE

OFFER AS A POST-DATED CHECK DRAWN ON A CRASHING BANK!

INDIAN NATION

THIS LEAFLET HAS INTERESTING SYMBOLISM. AT THE LEFT IS A

PEACEFUL INDIAN STANDING IN A FERTILE COUNTRYSIDE WITH

OUTSTRETCHED ARMS. GENERALISSIMO CHIANG KAI-SHEK AND

PRESIDENT FRANKLIN D. ROOSEVELT STAND AT THE RIGHT IN FLAMES


57/66

WITH BROKEN CANNON AND BENT SWORD, THEIR ARMS ALSO

OUTSTRETCHED, BUT THEIR HANDS DRIP BLOOD. THE JAPANESE

APPARENTLY THINK THAT ROOSEVELT IS ABOUT TO BE THROWN OUT

OF OFFICE BECAUSE HE HOLDS A PAPER THAT READS, PROPOSAL FORRESIGNATION.THE TEXT IN HINDI AND BENGALI IS:

INDIAN NATION! DO NOT GET BOGGED DOWN IN THE MUD OF WAR.

THE FLAMES AT THE BOTTOM ARE LABELED:

PRIVATIONS OF WAR.

A DANCE OF DEATH

THIS LEAFLET SHOWS CHURCHILL OR JOHN BULL AS A FIGHT

PROMOTER ENCOURAGING TWO INDIANS (A HINDU AND A MUSLIM) TO

FIGHT TO THE DEATH. THERE ARE AT LEAST SIX DEAD INDIANS ON THE

GROUND OF THE ENCLOSURE WHERE THE FIGHT TAKES PLACE. THE

JAPANESE ARE POINTING OUT HOW THE BRITISH HAVE SET INDIAN

AGAINST INDIAN TO WEAKEN THEM AND MAKE THEM EASIER TOSUBJUGATE. BY THE TIME THE WW II BROKE OUT THE MUSLIMS

LEAGUE LED BY MOHAMMAD ALI JINNAH HAD ALREADY LAUNCHED

ITS CAMPAIGN FOR A SEPARATE MUSLIM PAKISTAN AND THE BRITISH

FOLLOWING THEIR POLICY OF DIVIDE AND CONQUER WERE

ENCOURAGING HIM. THE MUSLIM LEAGUE OFFICIALLY PASSED A

RESOLUTION FOR THE CREATION OF PAKISTAN IN 1940. THE BRITISH

WERE ENCOURAGING THE DIVISION OF INDIAN SOCIETY. THE


58/66

ENCLOSURE IS MARKED "INDIA" IN BOTH HINDU AND BENGALI. THE

TEXT IS:

STOP DANCING TO THE ENGLISH TUNE AND COME TOGETHERFORGETTING RELIGIOUS DIFFERENCES FOR THE SAKE OF

INDEPENDENCE.

NO ROOM ON THE TRUCK

THIS LEAFLET DEPICTS THE BRITISH PILING ONTO THE BACK OF A

TRUCK IN AN ATTEMPT TO ESCAPE THE VICTORIOUS JAPANESE

MILITARY FORCES. A JAPANESE BOMBER IS IN THE BACKGROUND.

SOME INDIAN COLONIAL TROOPS TRY TO GET INTO THE TRUCK ALONG

WITH THE BRITISH, BUT THEY ARE KICKED ASIDE AND KNOCKED TO

THE GROUND. ONE LIES DEAD BENEATH THE REAR WHEELS. THIS

CLEARLY SHOWS THE REGARD THE BRITISH HAVE FOR THEIR INDIAN

COLONIAL TROOPS. THE TEXT IN HINDI IS:

RESIDENTS OF INDIA! THE ENGLISHMEN ARE JUST NOT BOTHEREDABOUT YOU. YOU WILL SEE THIS SCENE WHEREVER YOU LOOK.


59/66

SLAVES OR INDEPENDENCE

THIS LEAFLET DEPICTS TWO SCENES ON INDIA. IN THE FIRST THE

INDIANS HAVE GONE TO WAR FOR THE BRITISH AND THE SCENE IS OF

DEATH AND DESOLATION WITH DEAD INDIANS ON THE GROUND AND

VULTURES OVERHEAD. IN THE SECOND SCENE, THE INDIANS HAVE NOT

BEEN PULLED INTO THE WAR BY THE BRITISH AND A COUPLE SHARE A

PLEASANT MEAL SURROUNDED BY TREES, CHILDREN AND FARM YARDANIMALS.

THE JAPANESE DESIGNERS OF THIS LEAFLET APPEAR TO HAVE LITTLE

KNOWLEDGE ABOUT ACTUAL INDIAN LIFESTYLE AND HABITS. AT THE

TIME, EXCEPT FOR A FEW WESTERNIZED URBANITES, MOST INDIANS

DID NOT USE FORMAL CHAIRS AND DINING TABLES. THE TEXT IS:

AS SLAVES OF THE BRITISH - HUNGER AND DEATH RULE.

AFTER INDEPENDENCE - HAPPINESS AND PEACE RULE.


60/66

INDIAN SERVANTS

THIS JAPANESE LEAFLET DEPICTS WINSTON CHURCHILL BEING

WAITED ON AND SERVED BY INDIANS. ONE BRINGS HIM DRINKS WHILE

A SECOND POLISHES HIS BOOTS. ANOTHER INDIAN HAS PULLED BACK

A CURTAIN AND POINTS TO BURMESE NATIONALISTS ATTACKING AND

BEATING BRITISH TROOPS INTO SUBMISSION. THE CLEAR INTENT IS TO

SHAME THOSE INDIANS WHO HAVE COLLABORATED WITH THE

BRITISH OCCUPIERS. THE TEXT IS:

ALL OF THE BRITISH COLONIES ARE UP IN ARMS. WE INDIANS NEED NOTCONTINUE TO BE SUBJUGATED UNDER THE BRITISH BOOTS ANY MORE.COME ON, LET US ALSO ARISE AND DO NOT LET THIS GOOD OPPORTUNITYSLIP AWAY FROM OUR HANDS.


61/66

HIDE THE CROPS

THE NEXT TWO JAPANESE LEAFLETS SEEM TO BE FROM THE SAME

SERIES AND BOTH SHOW THE BRITISH DESTROYING INDIAN CROPS TO

KEEP THEM IN BONDAGE AND SERVITUDE WITHOUT A VIABLE

ECONOMY. IN THE LEAFLET ABOVE, THE BRITISH ATTACK PEACEFUL

FARMERS AND ACTUALLY BAYONET ONE IN THE FOREGROUND. IN THE

BACKGROUND, INDIANS TRY TO ESCAPE WITH THEIR CROPS WHILE

THE BRITISH SHOOT AT THEM. THE TEXT IN HINDI, URDU AND BENGALI

IS:

FARMERS: HIDE YOUR FOOD GRAINS AND PROVISIONS BEFORE THEBRITISH COME TO LOOT YOUR STOCK.


62/66

BURN THE COTTON

IN THIS LEAFLET THE BRITISH ARE BURNING THE COTTON FIELDS OF A

POOR INDIAN FARMER WHO IS DEPICTED WITHOUT ANY FINGERS ON

HIS HANDS. IN ADDITION, THEY HAVE DESTROYED THE EQUIPMENT

THE FAMILY USES TO MAKE COTTON CLOTH FOR THEIR CLOTHING.

THIS CERTAINLY IS TO REMIND THE INDIANS ONCE AGAIN HOW THEBRITISH DESTROYED THE INDIAN COTTON INDUSTRY TO FORCE THEM

TO BUY CHEAP BRITISH PRODUCTS. THE TEXT IN HINDI AND BENGALI

IS:

A SAMPLE OF THE BRITISH ATROCITIES

JUST TO SAVE THEIR ECONOMY, THE BRITISH COMMITTEDTHIS BARBARIAN ATROCITY.

INDIAN WORKERS HAD TO CHOP OFF THEIR OWN FINGERS AND LOSE

THEIR LIVELIHOOD.


63/66

AT HOMESAT FRONT

WE ARE NOT SURE EXACTLY WHERE THE JAPANESE DISSEMINATED

THIS LEAFLET BUT IT SHOWS ALLIED TROOPS DRINKING AND

CAROUSING WITH WOMEN AT THE TOP AND THE TEXT:

AT HOMES

THE IMAGE AT THE BOTTOM OF THE LEAFLET DEPICTS INDIAN

TROOPS CHARGING FORWARD THROUGH HEAVY FIRE AND SOME

FALLING TO THE GROUND. THE TEXT IS:

AT FRONT


64/66

LEAFLET 5508

COURTESY OF ROD OAKLAND

THIS JAPANESE LEAFLET IS ONE OF THE FEW THAT BEARS A CODE

NUMBER. IT IS ON A LOW-GRADE PULP PAPER AND IS PROBABLY A VERY

EARLY LEAFLET. THE TEXT IS ENGLISH ON THE FRONT, URDU, THE

LANGUAGE OF NORTH INDIA AND THE NATIONAL LANGUAGE OF

PAKISTAN ON THE BACK. IT ASKS THAT THE INDIANS CONTINUE THE

FIGHT TO DRIVE OUT THE BRITISH. THE TEXT IS:

COMPROMISE WITH BRITAIN MEANS SUICIDE

CRAFTY BRITAIN WILL SET TRAPS ALL AROUND YOU. BEWARE OF THESEDEATH TRAPS. HAVE NOTHING TO DO WITH BRITAIN OR HER TALKS OFCOMPROMISE. GO ON WITH THE FIGHT AND ABANDON ALL THOUGHTS OFSETTLEMENT WITH BRITAIN.


65/66

REMEMBER THAT COMPROMISE WITH BRITAIN MEANS THE BETRAYAL OFINDIA. IT WILL ALSO MEAN UNTOLD SUFFERING FOR INDIAS MILLIONSAND CENTURIES OF FOREIGN EXPLOITATION.

RISE ALL OVER INDIA

DRIVE OUT THE BRITISH

INDIAN INDEPENDENCE LEAGUE IN EAST ASIA

ALTHOUGH I HAVE NEVER SEEN ANY OF THE FOLLOWING CODED

LEAFLETS, THEY WERE REPORTED IN THE JUNE 1959FALLING LEAF,JOURNAL OF THE PSYWAR SOCIETY. IN AN ARTICLE ENTITLED

JAPANESE LEAFLETS, P.H. ROBBS MENTIONS JAPANESE PROPAGANDA

TO THE INDIANS BEARING THE CODES A, M AND S. SOME OF THE

LEAFLETS ARE SIGNED BY THE INDIAN INDEPENDENCE LEAGUE WHILE

OTHERS ARE SIGNED BY THE JAPANESE.

AN EXAMPLE OF A IS A.7521. ROBBS REPORTS THAT IT SAYS IN PART:

INDIAN SOLDIERS!

WHY KILL YOUR OWN BROTHERS? YOUR UNARMED BROTHERS ANDSISTERS AND FIGHTING THE BRITISH FOR INDIAS INDEPENDENCE. THEBRITISH ORDER YOU TO SHOOT THEM ALL OVER INDIA. DISOBEY THISORDER. DO NOT FEAR THE CONSEQUENCES. THE BRITISH DARE NOT DOYOU ANY REAL HARM

THIS LEAFLET IS SIGNED BY THE INDIAN INDEPENDENCE LEAGUE IN

EAST ASIA.

AN EXAMPLE OF M IS M.9054. ROBBS REPORTS THAT IT SAYS IN PART:

ENLISTMENT CARD

TO THE INDIAN SOLDIERS

WHO IS THE ENEMY OF THE JAPANESE ARMY? THE BRITISH!

WHO IS THE ENEMY OF A FREE INDIA? THEBRITISH!WHO ARE THE WEAKEST SOLDIERS IN THE WORLD? THE BRITISH!

TO BECOME A WATCHDOG FOR THE BRITISH IS THE MOST TREACHEROUSACTTOWARDS YOUR SACRED TASK OF INDIANINDEPENDENCE.

TO ABIDE WITH A WEAK ARMY IS EXTREMELY DANGEROUS! ABANDONTHE BRITISHAND JOIN THE INDIAN NATIONAL ARMY!


66/66

THE JAPANESE ARMY AND THE INDIAN NATIONAL ARMY PLEDGE TOSAFEGUARD YOURLIVES AND HONOR

ROBBS ALSO MENTIONS LEAFLET M.9051, NOW IS THE TIME

FORINDEPENDENCE...

THESE LEAFLETS ARE SIGNED BY THE JAPANESE AND THE

JAPANESECOMMANDER.

FINALLY, ROBBS GIVES EXAMPLES OF S LEAFLETS. HE MENTIONS

S.2506BRITAINISINDIAS AGGRESSOR AND S.2510FREEDOM OR

DEATH. BOTH ARE SIGNED BY THE INDIANINDEPENDENCELEAGUE

INEASTASIA. TEXT ON THE FORMER IS:

BRITAINISINDIASAGGRESSOR

JAPAN HELPS LIBERATE INDIA. THE BRITISH BLEED INDIA WHITE .JAPANHELPS INDIAS REJUVENATION. JAPAN AND INDIA SHARE JOYS ANDSORROWS.

TEXT ON THE LATTER IS:

FREEDOM OR DEATH

THAT IS MAHATMAS MESSAGE. LIBERATE GANDHI FROM BRITISH JAIL.RECEIVE MAHATMA GANDHI INTO AN INDEPENDENT INDIA.

axis propaganda against indian troops

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