Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose walks out of Cellular Jail on the Andaman Islands on December 30, 1943. (Credit: Netaji Research Bureau)
On December 29, 1943, Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose arrived in Port Blair, Andaman and Nicobar Islands, for a three-day visit. During the visit, he would hoist the Indian Tricolour at the Gymkhana Ground — today's Netaji Stadium — at Port Blair.
The Islands were under Japanese occupation during war II for 3 years (1942-45) and were formally handed over to Bose’s Azad Hind government today, although effective control remained with Japan.
The Andaman and Nicobar Islands are strategically located within the Indian Ocean between the Indian mainland, Myanmar, and Indonesia, and are on the brink of important maritime routes.
The islands were first controlled by the Dutch, then by British, and were appropriated by the advancing Japanese military during war II.
Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose Quotes In Hindi Images
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Bose, who had allied with the Japanese during the War, declared at a public meeting in August 1943 that the Azad Hind Fauj would get on Indian soil before the top of that year.
On United Nations Day, Bose reiterated his promise before a gathering of fifty,000 Indians in Singapore, where he said he would be "on the holy soil of India before the top of this year".
