Lieutenant R Madhavan Pillai, a veteran of the Indian National Army (INA), will mark his 100th birthday on Thursday by paying tribute to the country’s fallen heroes at the National War Memorial and placing a wreath at the statue of revolutionary leader Subhas Chandra Bose at Kartavya Path, officials aware of the matter said on Wednesday.
Pillai is one of the last surviving veterans of INA, the officials said.
Born in Burma (now Myanmar), Pillai belonged to a family that originally came from Tamil Nadu’s Sivagangai district. He joined the Indian Independence League, a political organisation founded by expat Indian nationalists, before enlisting in the Azad Hind Fauj (INA) of Bose in 1943 when he was 18.
He served as a recruiting officer and fundraiser for the INA and mobilised support for the organisation across 32 locations in Burma, including Hanthawaddy and Rangoon (now Yangon), the officials said. His active involvement in the freedom struggle led to his imprisonment in the Rangoon jail for eight months in 1945.
The government has, over the years, acknowledged Pillai’s contribution to the freedom movement.
On January 23, 2024, Prime Minister Narendra Modi felicitated him at the Parakram Diwas celebrations at Red Fort. Parakram Diwas is celebrated to mark Bose’s birth anniversary. In 2021, on Bose’s 125th birth anniversary, Pillai was awarded a medal for his role in INA and India’s independence movement. Last year, he was honoured by the Odisha chief minister during the Parakram Diwas celebrations in Cuttack.
{{/usCountry}}On January 23, 2024, Prime Minister Narendra Modi felicitated him at the Parakram Diwas celebrations at Red Fort. Parakram Diwas is celebrated to mark Bose’s birth anniversary. In 2021, on Bose’s 125th birth anniversary, Pillai was awarded a medal for his role in INA and India’s independence movement. Last year, he was honoured by the Odisha chief minister during the Parakram Diwas celebrations in Cuttack.
{{/usCountry}}“The March 13 event will serve as a moment of national pride, reinforcing the contributions of the INA in India’s fight for independence. It will be a reminder of the sacrifices made by Netaji and his brave soldiers, ensuring that their legacy continues to inspire generations to come,” said one of the officials cited above.
Modi inaugurated the National War Memorial on February 25, 2019, and since then, millions of people have visited the memorial and paid homage to the country’s fallen heroes whose names are inscribed on its walls.