2015-12-30 Wed

Did you know that Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose established the Bank of Independence or Azad Hind Bank in 1944 in Rangoon, Burma to manage funds donated by the Indian community across the world for the Liberation of India?

Several historians contend that on 5th April 1944, Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose established this bank in Burma (Present Day Myanmar). He had formed the provisional government of Azad Hind on October 21, 1943 and declared his decision for war against the British and its allies on October 23, 1943, from the radio station of Azad Hind.

As the next step he established the National Bank of Azad Hind and struck its own coins and currency notes. The notes are not in Rupees but used as the promissory notes. These notes were not to be used until after the liberation from the British occupation and as a form of emergency currency.

These notes are very crude and mostly printed on one side.

Many notes have the famous slogan of Netaji printed on them, “Tum mujhe khoon do, mein tumhe azadi dunga” (Give me blood and I will give you freedom).

The notes have a photograph of Netaji Bose or other leaders such as Mahatma Gandhi, Captain Lakshmi Swaminathan, the female commander of the INA’s Rani of Jhansi Women's Regiment & Minister for Women's Affairs for the provisional government of Azad Hind, and Jawaharlal Nehru, the first Prime Minister of Independent India, on the left side and a pre-independence map of the Indian territory with the inscription “Swatantra Bharat” in Hindi on the other. In the middle are inscribed the words “Jai Hind” in English, with the words “I promise to pay the bearer the sum of ....” below it.

On the top of the note is a series of flags of the Azaad Hind Fauj over a bold inscription saying “Bank of Independence” with “good wishes” inscribed at the bottom. The denominations of the notes being 5, 10, 100, 500, 1000 and 1,00,000.