I-Day Special: Inspired by Netaji, this ex-soldier fought hard to achieve 'Freedom Fighter'

“He is a true nationalist. Having been the General Secretary of All India INA committee, he wanted to help the INA veterans who remained unemployed."

Bed-ridden for past three years, a 97-year-old man cannot speak, listen, or eat food himself. He only responds to one gesture- a salute.

Captain S.S. Yadav, who lives in Saraswati Vihar area in the national capital with his family, might have been defeated by age but he is no less than a hero for he contributed significantly during the freedom struggle by serving the Indian National Army (INA).

It was because of his efforts that INA (Indian National Army) veterans were conferred upon the status of ‘freedom fighters’ by the state and were finally able to avail pension in the year 1974.

“He is a true nationalist. Having been the General Secretary of All India INA committee, he wanted to help the INA veterans who were not readmitted in the Indian Army after independence, and remained unemployed," shares Dr Anil Yadav, his son.

The journey of a soldier

Born on March 16, 1918 in a village of Haryana 'Kheri Kumar' near district Jhajjhar, Captain Yadav joined the British Indian Army in 1935. He served as a Havaldar in the first Indian ‘Ack-Ack’ (Anti-Aircraft) Regiment of the British Army.

In the year 1942, he was sent for the 'Battle of Singapore' when the British lost to the Japanese and had to surrender. "About 40,000 Indian personnel, including my father, became prisoner of wars and were captured by Japanese. These prisoners were encouraged to join the Indian Independence League and become soldiers of the Indian National Army (Azad Hind Fauj). My father, an Aryasamaji and inspired by Swami Dayanand, motivated his colleagues to join the INA,” Dr Anuj says narrating the course of events.

Captain Yadav joined INA and became in-charge of protecting a lifeline wooden railway bridge spanning the Annaquin rivulet in lower Burma, now Myanmar, near the Thai border. “For seven months, his 4th Light Ack-Ack company did not let the enemy damage the structure and also brought down Allied aircraft. The bridge was built by the Japanese using the British PoW,” his son proudly shares.

Captain Yadav always regretted losing a note autographed by Netaji

Soon, Captain Yadav was transferred to INA’s Supreme Command Headquarters in Rangoon in 1944 because he was fluent in English. There, he got to stay around one of the most beloved leaders of Indian freedom struggle- Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose.

A picture of Captain Yadav attending an event

“My father was superintendent of the office at ground floor and Netaji used to stay at first floor. He was in the artillery regiment and manned anti-aircraft guns and was able to shoot down several aircraft with those guns. Netaji gifted him an autographed rupee note to honour his effort. However, when the INA surrendered, the autographed currency note was snatched by a British officer while they were on their way back to India. He still regrets losing that autographed note," Dr Anil confesses pensively.

“Those favouring Bose’s ideology were strictly punished”

The Britishers doled out strict punishment to those favouring Bose's ideologies. For this purpose, the field intelligence units designated the captured troops in three categories, according to Dr Anil: ‘Blacks’ with strongest commitment to Azad Hind, ‘Greys’ with varying commitment but also with enticing circumstances that led them to join the INA, and ‘Whites’, those who were pressured into joining the INA under the circumstances but had no commitment to Azad Hind, INA, or Bose.

Captain Yadav was labelled as ‘Grey’ and imprisoned. However, his son, further adds that they were later released due to public sympathy towards them. The released soldiers, however, were not allowed to join the new Indian Armed Forces.

“The British were so clever in their working style that no one could point a finger. The trial against these prisoners of war was carried out by dividing them in groups of three- Sikhs, Hindus and Muslims so that no one could question if they were biased towards a particular community,” points out Dr Anil.

He further talks about a famous public trial registered in the history when a joint court-martial against Colonel Prem Sahgal, Colonel Gurubaksh Singh Dhillon and Major General Shah Nawaz Khan was held at Red Fort in Delhi. “Since the public was in favour of INA soldiers, Jawaharlal Nehru took advantage of the situation and came to Red Fort dressed as a lawyer to defend the prisoners of war,” he quips

The role that Captain Yadav played in INA committee

When Captain Yadav came back to his village after he was evicted from the army, he was looked down upon by the relatives, neighbours who were serving in the British Indian Army. To escape this ignominy, he moved to Delhi with his wife in the year 1946 and took up a job as a teacher in Roop Nagar School.

The miserable condition of ex-servicemen who had served as low rank officers often disturbed him, especially when he joined INA committee, a self-help group formed after independence to help such former soldiers. Captain Yadav played a key rule for their rehabilitation. He had to fight a two-year long battle for the same until Indira Gandhi agreed to listen to his appeal in 1973. INA veterans were conferred upon the status of ‘freedom fighters’ and got their pensions.

All the soldiers, who worked with INA across the country, used to write to Captain Yadav when they did not receive their pension. He used to forward the complaints to the ministry and follow up. “Even today, he receives letters which he cannot respond to because of his ill health,” his son shares.

Giving an overview of his daily schedule, Dr Anil shares, “He used to leave home at 6.30 everyday without fail to reach All India INA Committee’s office in Daryaganj. He worked there till 12.30 pm and then went to school for teaching. I have never seen him awake after 11 pm or sleeping after 5 am in my life. He had a dedication towards his work and a disciplinary approach. He also taught in a government school in Nangloi.”

Also, Captain Yadav became a member of Saraswati Vihar Cooperative Society when the family shifted to the residential colony in 1970s. Here, he actively helped in the process of allocation of plots to over 1,200 people in the colony, mostly inhabited by teachers.

How Captain Yadav honoured Netaji in small thoughtful ways

Being a former soldier, Captain Yadav was often invited in cultural programmes to share his nationalist sentiments. “In one of the programmes, former PM Atal Bihar Vajpayee was invited as a guest. My father delivered a speech on Netaji and became emotional for nothing was being done to honour Netaji’s contribution in Indian independence struggle. Vajpayee responded to him said 'Main Yadav ko batana chahta hun ki jab tak Hind hai tab tak Jai Hind rahega, Jab tk Jai Hind hai Netaji ka naam rahega'. (Netaji will be remembered each time we say Jai Hind),” Dr Anil fondly shares.

Dr Yadav also mentions that Sahib Singh Verma was his father's student and was so inspired by his morning speeches about Netaji that when he became the Chief Minister, he got King Edward Park’s name changed to Netaji park. He also got Wazirpur Complex's name changed to Netaji Subhash Place and requested 'Metro Man' E . Sreedharan for renaming of Netaji Subhash Place Metro Station.

When he got Bose’s statue built in his village

Dr Anil recalls his father telling him that regiments in INA were named after political figures like Nehru and not on the basis of caste. The soldiers used to eat together irrespective of their caste, creed or religion unlike British Indian Army. Their greeting was ‘Jai Hind’. "Everyone said hello when receiving phone, my father said ‘Jai Hind’," Dr Anil laughs off. It was because of these reasons that Captain Yadav greatly admired Netaji.

In December 1995-1996, Captain Yadav got the opportunity to go for Azad Hind Expedition to revisit the contribution of soldiers of the Indian National Army in their fight for India's liberation. “He was led by Anil Bakshi, Officer on Special Duty to the then Prime Minister P.V. Narsimha Rao. He along with Col Dhillon, Captain Lakshmi Sehgal went for the expedition to retrace the route taken by the troops of the INA from Singapore to Imphal ending at Red Fort, where the famous trial of the officers were held. Famous director Kabir Khan even made a documentary on the expedition, later, titled ‘The Forgotten Army’ (1999). The three INA veterans got Rs 1 lakh each from Moti Lal Vohra. However, all of them declined to take it and donate it in CM relief fund.”

Captain Yadav was asked to take the money for he was not ‘well off’. He used the amount to get a statue of Netaji built in Khedi Kumar village. Later, the village was locally known as 'Subhash Khedi' after this statue was built.

Captain Yadav’s last wish is that govt should build a ‘smarak’ for Netaji

Negating all the conspiracy theories attached to Netaji's death, Dr Anil shares than his father agreed to the reports that Netaji had died in a plain crash on August 18, 1945. Captain Yadav’s last wish remains that Japanese government grants permission to bring Bose’s ashes to India and a Smarak (memorial) be built in his name.

"When I.K. Gujral was PM, there was hope that ashes would be brought back. But after change in the government, controversies sprang up and such efforts were never made again. The death theories are false and have been proposed by ardent fans of Neta ji. Col Habibur Rehman who survived in the plan crash with Netaji even admitted that Netaji died in the plane crash when he was on death bed a few years ago. Now, what more you can ask for?” concludes Dr Anil.