Japanese Occupation of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands 1942-1945 : Reports and Documents

Contents: Preface. Introduction. 1. General description of Andaman Islands before Japanese occupation in 1942. 2. Japanese fishing crafts in Indian territorial waters before the war. 3. Orders for Andaman Naval operations for their occupation. 4. An eye-witness account of the Japanese occupation of the Andaman. 5. Declarations by the Japanese Commander-in-Chief. 6. Japanese Governor requesting the people for cooperation with the Army. 7. Prohibiting prostitution in the Andaman. 8. Working of peace Committee. 9. Report on the peaceful occupation of Nicobar Island by the Japanese Navel authorities. 10. Working of the Sewa-Samiti in Andaman. 11. Indian Independence league, Andaman. 12. Activities of Indian Independence league in Andaman. 13. British report on Andaman under Japanese occupation. 14. Japanese account of their administration in Andaman. 15. Ramakrishna report on the Andaman Islands under Japanese occupation 1942-1945…..

The Japanese Occupation of different countries of South East Asia during World War II has been studied by many scholars. But on account of paucity of sources, few studies have appeared on the Japanese Occupation of Andaman and Nicobar Islands. These were the only Indian territories which were occupied by the Japanese in 1942.

The volume presents for the first time hitherto unpublished reports and documents on this subject. The documents were selected from archival repositories in Indian and abroad and throw light on the nature of Japanese rule, their relations with the people and especially with the members of the provisional Government of Azad Hind PGI who were sent by Subhas Chandra Bose to participate in the civil administration of these Islands. The documents bring out clearly as to how the Japanese forces dealt with people suspected as spies and how the change in Japanese mental outlook was brought about by the members of the PGI during their stay.

These documents make a significant contribution since the existing studies of the Japanese imperial policy in South East Asia tend not to go beyond politics and western experience. (jacket)