New Delhi, Mar 12 (PTI) R Madavan Pillai, one of the last surviving INA veterans, and who was jailed in Rangoon for eight months, will pay his tributes at the National War Memorial and the statue of Netaji Subhas Chnadra Bose, officials said.
The Thursday event will mark a significant milestone in the extraordinary life of Pillai, who will turn 100 this year.
"Lt R Madavan Pillai, born on March 13, 1926, in Swryan Township, Burma (now Myanmar), is one of the last surviving INA veterans. He belonged to a family originally from Tamil Nadu and joined the Indian Independence League as a civilian before enlisting in the Azad Hind Fauj (INA) on November 1, 1943," an official said.
The INA veteran will commemorate his birth anniversary with a wreath-laying ceremony at the National War Memorial.
He will also lay a wreath at the statue of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose under the India Gate canopy, the official said.
Serving as a recruiting officer and a fundraiser, Pillai mobilised support for the INA across 32 locations in Burma, including Hanthawaddy, Sawbwagale, Ywadanshe, Swryan, Yangon, and Mayongone.
His active involvement in the freedom struggle led to his imprisonment in a Rangoon (now Yangoon) jail from May to December 1945, officials said.
In 2021, on the 125th birth anniversary of Netaji, he was awarded a silver medal for his role in the INA and India's Independence movement.
On January 23, 2024, Prime Minister Narendra Modi felicitated him at the Parakram Diwas celebrations at the Red Fort, they said.
Even at 99, the INA veteran remains an active advocate for keeping Netaji's and the INA's role alive.
