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{{Short description|Indian army officer and politician}}
{{Use Indian English|date=July 2016}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2016}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Mohan Singh
| image = Fujiwara Kikan.jpg
| alt = Mohan Singh
| caption = Singh (''in turban'') being greeted by the Japanese Major [[Fujiwara Iwaichi]], April 1942
| birth_name =
| birth_date = 3 January 1909
| birth_place = [[Ugoke railway station|Ugoke]], [[Sialkot District|Sialkot]], [[Punjab, British India|Punjab]], [[British Raj|British India]] (<small>present-day [[Punjab, Pakistan|Punjab]], [[Pakistan]]</small>)
| death_date = 26 December 1989 (aged 80)
| death_place = Jugiana, [[Ludhiana District|Ludhiana]], [[Punjab, India|Punjab]], [[India]]
| nationality = Indian
| other_names =
| known_for = Founder and the only General of the [[First Indian National Army]] and the Desh Sevak Sena
| occupation = [[Soldier]], [[General]]
| movement = [[Indian Independence movement]], [[Partition of India]]
| organization =
}}
'''Mohan Singh''' (3 January 1909 – 26 December 1989) was a [[British Indian Army]] officer, and later member of the [[Indian Independence Movement]], best known for founding and leading the [[Indian National Army]] in [[South East Asia]] during [[World War II]].<ref name="Ray 1984 p. ">{{cite book | last=Ray | first=N.R. | title=Challenge, a Saga of India's Struggle for Freedom | publisher=People's Publishing House | year=1984 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_SVuAAAAMAAJ | page=586}}</ref><ref name="Ghosh 2006 p. ">{{cite book | last=Ghosh | first=R. | title=Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose and Indian Freedom Struggle (Set in 2 Vols.) | publisher=Deep & Deep Publications | series=Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose and Indian Freedom Struggle | year=2006 | isbn=978-81-7629-842-1 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=H3MwAQAAIAAJ | page=32}}</ref> Following Indian independence, Mohan Singh later served in public life as a [[Member of Parliament]] in the ''[[Rajya Sabha]]'' (Upper House) of the [[Indian Parliament]].

== Early life ==

He was born in a [[Sikhs|Sikh]] family and only son of Tara Singh and Hukam Kaur, a couple of Ugoke village, near [[Sialkot]] (now in [[Pakistan]]). His father died two months before his birth and his mother shifted to her parents' home in [[Badiana]] in the same district, where Mohan Singh was born and brought up.

== Military career ==
Gen. Mohan Singh passed [[secondary school]] and enlisted the [[14th Punjab Regiment]] of the [[British Indian Army]] in 1927. After the completion of his recruit training at [[Hrozpur]], he was posted to the 2nd Battalion of the Regiment, then serving in the [[North-West Frontier Province (1901–1955)|North-West Frontier Province]]. He was selected as a [[Officer cadet|potential officer]] in 1931, and after six months' training in Kitchener College, Nowgong ([[Madhya Pradesh]]), and another two and a half years in the [[Indian Military Academy]], [[Dehra Dun|Dehradun]], he received his [[commissioned officer|commission]] 1 February 1935 and was posted for a year to a British Army unit, the 2nd battalion [[Border Regiment]]. He was then posted to 1st Battalion, 14th Punjab Regiment on 24 February 1936, which at that time happened to be stationed at [[Jhelum (city)|Jhelum]].<ref>April 1936 Indian Army List</ref>

Mohan Singh had been promoted [[Acting rank|temporary]] [[Captain (armed forces)|Captain]] when his battalion was earmarked for operational service in the Far East.<ref>July 1941 Indian Army List</ref> The battalion was still carrying out intensive training at [[Secunderabad]] when he married, in December 1940, Jasvant Kaur, sister of a brother officer. He left for [[British Malaya|Malaya]] with his unit on 4 March 1941.

== Second World War ==
[[Japan]] entered the War with her surprise attack on the American air base at [[Pearl Harbor, Hawaii]], on 7 December 1941 and overran the entire South East Asia within a few weeks. The Japanese [[Imperial General Headquarters]] in October set up the [[Fujiwara Kikan]], or the F-kikan, in [[Bangkok]], Headed by the [[Major Fujiwara Iwaichi]], chief of intelligence of the [[:Category:Japanese armies|15th army]]. Tasked with intelligence gathering and contacting the Indian independence movement, the overseas Chinese, and the Malayan Sultan with the aim of encouraging friendship and cooperation with Japan,<ref>{{Harvnb|Lebra|1977|p=23}}</ref> Fujiwara's staff included five commissioned officers and two [[Hindi]]-speaking interpreters. His initial contact was with [[Giani Pritam Singh]]. Pritam Singh was a leader of such an organisation. He and Major Fujihara, a Japanese officer, requested Mohan Singh to form an Indian Army comprising the captured Indian soldiers. Mohan Singh hesitated but ultimately agreed. Fujihara handed over about 40,000 Indian soldiers, who had surrendered to him, to Mohan Singh. This was the initial step towards the formation of the first [[Indian National Army]] (INA).

=== Action in Malaya ===
{{Main|Malayan Campaign}}
The British force in the northern part of the Malaya Peninsula, including Mohan Singh's battalion, 1/14 Punjab Regiment, was fleeing towards the South. Mohan Singh's own forces had been outgunned and destroyed by Japanese forces at [[Jitra]]. Captured by Japanese troops after several days in the jungle, Singh was taken to [[Alor Star]] to Fujiwara and Pritam Singh at a joint office of the F-Kikan and the [[Indian Independence League|IIL]]. Fujiwara, later self-described as "Lawrence of the Indian National Army" (after [[Lawrence of Arabia]]) is said to have been a man committed to the values which his office was supposed to convey to the expatriate nationalist leaders, and found acceptance among them.<ref name="Fay 1993">{{Harvnb|Fay|1993|p=75}}</ref><ref name="Lebra 1977">{{Harvnb|Lebra|1977|p=24}}</ref>

=== Indian National Army ===
{{See also| The Farrer Park address}}
Although Pritam Singh was involved to a large extent, it was Fujiwara who, with his sincerity of purpose and belief,<ref name="Fay 1993" /> convinced Mohan Singh to betray his oath to the British Crown by uniting with the Japanese mission for the greater motive of Indian independence.<ref name="Lebra 1977" /> This included the promise that he would be treated as an ally and a friend, and not a [[prisoner of war]]. Singh initially helped Fujiwara take control of the situation of looting and arson that had developed in Alor Star; in December 1941, after meeting with the Japanese commanding general, Singh was convinced of its feasibility of raising an armed Indian unit. Between himself, Pritam Singh and Fujiwara, Mohan Singh set about contacting Indians in the British Indian Army in Southeast Asia and also began recruiting from among those captured by the Japanese in Malaya. All Indian prisoners of war and stragglers were placed under his charge, and he was asked to restore order in the town of Alor Star. Thus the nucleus of what came to be the Ajad Hind Fauj also known as Indian National Army was born.<ref name="Lebra 1977" /><ref name="Fay 1993" /> [[Kuala Lumpur]] fell on 11 January 1942 with 3,500 Indian prisoners of war, and [[Singapore]] on 15 February with 85,000 British troops, of whom 45,000 were Indians. Mohan Singh asked for volunteers who would form the ''Ajad Hind Fauj'' (literally translates to Free India Army) to fight for Indian independence from the British rule.

A large number of men came forward to join what came to be termed as the ''Ajad Hind Fauj'' (National Army of independent India). The new set-up came into being on 1 September 1942 by which time the strength of volunteers had reached 40,000. Mohan Singh, now the General [[General]], was to command it. Already in a conference held at Bangkok during 15–23 June 1942, the Indian Independence League under the leadership of [[Rash Behari Bose]], an Indian revolutionary who had escaped to Japan in June 1915 and who had been living there ever since, had been inaugurated. Through one of the 35 resolutions passed by the conference, Mohan Singh was appointed commander-in-chief of the "Army of Liberation for India," i.e. the Indian National Army.

=== Disagreements with Japan ===
Though Mohan Singh had kept a good relationship with the members of [[Fujiwara Kikan]], he was soon disenchanted with the headquarters of the Japanese Army and doubted their intentions based on their orders. It appeared that they wanted to use the Indian National Army only as a part of the Japanese army and were deliberately withholding recognition and public proclamation about its existence as an independent army. Some supreme commanders of the Japanese army had disagreements with him. On 29 December 1942, Mohan Singh was removed from his command and taken into custody by the Japanese military police.

It was only after the arrival of another Indian leader of great political standing, [[Subhas Chandra Bose]], from [[Germany]] to the Far-Eastern front in June 1943 that the Indian National Army was revived in the form of ''Azad Hind Fauj''. However, Mohan Singh could not be reinstated to the revived army.

Upon Japan's defeat, Mohan Singh was taken into custody by the British and repatriated to India to face trials. However, due to public pressure, roused by the INA [[Red Fort trials]], Mohan Singh was only cashiered from the Army. He subsequently served in the Indian Parliament as a member of the Rajya Sabha (Upper House).

== 1947 and later==

Singh entered politics and joined the [[Indian National Congress]] in February 1947.<ref>{{cite news|title=Gen. Mohan Singh (INA) Joins Congress|url=http://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/newspapers/Digitised/Article/indiandailymail19470217-1.2.3|accessdate=16 May 2017|work=Indian Daily Mail|date=17 February 1947}}</ref> His dream of independence was realized with India's Independence on 15 August 1947, but this was accompanied by the partition of the country into India and Pakistan.<ref name=":9">{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=nB-2AAAAIAAJ&newbks=0&printsec=frontcover&dq=desh+sewak+sena&q=desh+sewak+sena&hl=en |title=Journal of Indian History |date=1960 |publisher=Department of Modern Indian History |language=en}}</ref> He had to leave his hearth and home in what then became Pakistan and came to India a homeless refugee.<ref name=":6">{{Cite book |last=CHOPRA |first=P. N. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=urqvDQAAQBAJ&newbks=0&printsec=frontcover&pg=PA1839&dq=desh+sewak+sena&hl=en |title=WHO'S WHO OF INDIAN MARTYRS VOL.I |date=1969 |publisher=Ministry of Education and Youth Services, Government of India |isbn=978-81-230-2180-5 |language=en}}</ref> He was allotted some land in the village of Jugiana, near [[Ludhiana]], where he settled permanently.<ref name=":7">{{Cite book |last=Patel |first=Vallabhbhai |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9zA6AQAAIAAJ&newbks=0&printsec=frontcover&dq=desh+sewak+sena&q=desh+sewak+sena&hl=en |title=Sardar Patel's Correspondence, 1945-50 |date=1973 |publisher=Navajivan Publishing House |language=en}}</ref> Due to this he created a private military named the Desh Sevak Sena with a woman's wing named the Desh Istri Sena with its base at Majithia House, [[Amritsar]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Assembly (Legislative) |first=India Constituent |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=yjIdyQtTjNoC&newbks=0&printsec=frontcover&pg=PA333&dq=desh+sewak+sena&hl=en |title=The Constituent Assembly of India (Legislative) Debates: Official Report |date=1948 |publisher=Manager of Publications |language=en}}</ref><ref name=":92">{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=nB-2AAAAIAAJ&newbks=0&printsec=frontcover&dq=desh+sewak+sena&q=desh+sewak+sena&hl=en |title=Journal of Indian History |date=1960 |publisher=Department of Modern Indian History |language=en}}</ref> They helped thousands of Sikhs and Hindus and escorted Muslims, sometimes forcefully, out of East Punjab.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Carter |first=Lionel |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=p8ZUDwAAQBAJ&newbks=0&printsec=frontcover&pg=PT661&dq=desh+sewak+sena&hl=en |title=Towards a Ceasefire in Kashmir: British Official Reports from South Asia, 18 September – 31 December 1948 |date=2018-04-09 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-0-429-95854-0 |language=en}}</ref> After the Partition riots ended he planned to attack Simla and declare Azad Hind although the Desh Sevak Sena was quickly disbanded and merged into the National Volunteer Corps.<ref name=":5">{{Cite book |last=Chopra |first=Mohindar Singh |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=jUluAAAAMAAJ&newbks=0&printsec=frontcover&dq=soldiers+story+1947&q=soldiers+story+1947&hl=en |title=1947, a Soldier's Story |date=1997 |publisher=Military Studies Convention |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Chopra |first=Mohindar Singh |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=jUluAAAAMAAJ&newbks=0&printsec=frontcover&dq=desh+sewak+sena&q=desh+sewak+sena&hl=en |title=1947, a Soldier's Story |date=1997 |publisher=Military Studies Convention |language=en}}</ref>

After a stint as a legislator in the [[Punjab (India)|Punjab]], he was elected to [[Rajya Sabha]], the upper house of Indian Parliament, for two terms. In and out of Parliament he strove for the recognition of the members of his ''[[Azad Hind Fauj]]'' as "freedom fighters" in the cause of the nation's independence.

==Death==
Mohan Singh died at Jugiana on 26 December 1989.

==Reference==
{{reflist}}

== Bibliography ==

*"Mohan Singh, General, Soldiers Contribution to Indian Independence Delhi, 1974"
* {{Citation
| surname1 = Lebra
| given1 = Joyce C.
| year = 1977
| title = Japanese trained armies in South-East Asia
| url =
| publisher = New York, Columbia University Press
| ISBN = 0-231-03995-6
}}.
*{{Citation
| surname1 = Fay
| given1 = Peter W.
| year = 1993
| title = The Forgotten Army: India's Armed Struggle for Independence, 1942-1945.
| url =
| publisher = Ann Arbor, University of Michigan Press.
| ISBN = 0-472-08342-2
}}.

== External links ==
*[http://www.sikh-history.com/sikhhist/personalities/military/mohan_singh_ina.html ''General Mohan Singh''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120417022611/http://www.sikh-history.com/sikhhist/personalities/military/mohan_singh_ina.html |date=17 April 2012 }} at the Sikh History.

{{Azad Hind Fauj}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Singh Deb, Mohan}}
[[Category:1909 births]]
[[Category:1989 deaths]]
[[Category:British Indian Army officers]]
[[Category:Indian Army personnel of World War II]]
[[Category:Indian generals]]
[[Category:Indian Military Academy alumni]]
[[Category:Indian National Army personnel]]
[[Category:Indian prisoners of war]]
[[Category:Indian revolutionaries]]
[[Category:Indian Sikhs]]
[[Category:Military history of Malaya during World War II]]
[[Category:Punjabi people]]
[[Category:Rajya Sabha members from Punjab, India]]
[[Category:Sikh warriors]]
[[Category:World War II political leaders]]
[[Category:World War II prisoners of war held by Japan]]

Mohan Singh (military officer) - Revision history

Bharats20101998: Created page with 'GENERAL MOHAN SINGH(1909-1989) Biography General Mohan Singh, famous for his part in the Indian National Army for the liberation of India from British rule, in w...'