Indian National Army Monument, Singapore

Indian National Army Monument (12 September 2010)


The Indian National Army Monument (GPS: 1.28941, 103.85373) is a monument in the Esplanade Park in Singapore. The present monument is a rebuilt replacing the original monument which was located along Connaught Drive. On one side of the monument is information on the history of the Indian National Army Monument.

The Indian National Army Monument was constructed to commemorate the "Unknown Warrior" of the Indian National Army. The words inscribed on the war memorial were its motto, which is Unity (Ittefaq), Faith (Etmad) and Sacrifice (Kurbani). It was built during the Japanese Occupation of Singapore as the Japanese and the Indian National Army (INA) had one enemy in common: the British.

The foundation stone was laid on July 8, 1945, just months before Singapore returned into British hands, and was completed by the Japanese within a month. The monument was influenced by Subhas Chandra Bose, the co-founder of the INA and Head of State of the Provisional Government of Free India, who also laid the foundation stone for the monument. The INA was backed by the Japanese forces for its goal of liberating India from its British colonial masters.

In 1945, after the Japanese retreated from Singapore and the subsequent surrender of the remaining divisions of the Indian National Army to the advancing British, the British commander Lord Louis Mountbatten ordered the memorial to be destroyed to remove all traces of rebellion against British imperial authority. By attempting to completely erase all records of the INA's existence, he intended to prevent the seeds of the idea of a revolutionary socialist liberation force from spreading into the vestiges of British colonies, amidst the spectre of Cold War politics already taking shape at the time, which had haunted the colonial powers before the war.

In 1995, long after Singapore achieved Independence from Britain, the National Heritage Board marked the place as a historical site and subsequently with financial donations from the Indian community in Singapore, a new monument commemorating the previous one was erected on that spot.

Indian National Army Monument (12 September 2010)

The Indian National Army Monument is on the Map of Esplanade Park

List of Monuments in Singapore; Sights in Singapore and Discover Singapore

 Purchase a property in Malaysia

With a much lower cost of living, you can purchase a new condominium in Malaysia at only a fraction of the price you pay in Singapore. In addition to being the content creator of this website, I am also a licensed real estate agent in Malaysia. My team of agents is able to consider new properties in Kuala Lumpur and Penang. Listed below are the new construction from these two cities. Review the list, and if any of these new development is of interest to you, submit the request form to obtain a copy of the e-brochure.

New properties in Kuala Lumpur

New properties in Penang

 Latest updates on Penang Travel Tips

 Discover with Timothy YouTube Channel

 PG Food Channel

 Learn Penang Hokkien YouTube Channel

SojiMart Videos

 Explaining Singapore YouTube Channel

Streets of Singapore and Map of Singapore Streets

Singapore MRT and Map of Singapore MRT

Postal Districts of Singapore and Map of Singapore Postal Districts

Planning Areas of Singapore and Map of Singapore Planning Areas

Latest from Discover with Timothy: Gurney Bay - what to see and do there

About this website

Hello and thanks for reading this page. My name is Timothy and my hobby is in describing places so that I can share the information with the general public. My website has become the go to site for a lot of people including students, teachers, journalists, etc. whenever they seek information on places, particularly those in Malaysia and Singapore. I have been doing this since 5 January 2003, for over twenty years already. You can read about me at Discover Timothy. By now I have compiled information on thousands of places, mostly in Peninsular Malaysia and Singapore, and I continue to add more almost every day. My goal is to describe every street in every town in Malaysia and Singapore.

Robbie's Roadmap