Explanation:

• The idea of the INA was first conceived in Malaya by Mohan Singh, an Indian officer of the British Indian Army when he decided not to join the retreating British army and instead went to the Japanese for help.
• Indian prisoners of war were handed over by the Japanese to Mohan Singh who then tried to recruit them into an Indian National Army. The fall of Singapore was crucial, for this brought 45,000 Indian POWs into Mohan Singh’s sphere of influence.
• Subhash Chandra Bose revived the army when he went to Singapore and set up the provisional government of Free India on 21 October 1943. The provisional government then declared war on Britain and the United States and was recognized by the Axis powers and their satellites. Subhas Bose set up two INA headquarters, in Rangoon and in Singapore, and began to reorganize the INA. Recruits were sought from civilians, funds were gathered, and even a women’s regiment called the Rani Jhansi regiment was formed.
• One INA battalion commanded by Shah Nawaz was allowed to accompany the Japanese Army to  the Indo-Burma front and participate in the Imphal campaign. But the discriminatory treatment which included being denied rations, arms and being made to do menial work for the Japanese units, completely demoralized the INA men. The failure of the Imphal campaign and the steady Japanese retreat thereafter quashed any hopes of the INA liberating the nation.