First office of Netaji’s INA in Manipur to get facelift

New Delhi: After renaming one of the islands in Andaman and Nicobar archipelago after freedom fighter Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose and inaugurating a museum at the iconic Red Fort to mark the leader’s 122nd birth anniversary, the Narendra Modi government has decided to refurbish the Indian National Army’s (INA) first office of the provisional independent government in Moirang in Manipur.

The Union culture ministry has decided to give a new life to the more than 100 year old structure in the Bisnupur district. It houses the INA’s first office and a museum and were run by four families of INA veterans so far. The INA had first unfurled its flag at this office on April 14, 1944.

The ministry, through the state government, got in touch with the families, who agreed to hand over the INA’s office and the museum to it. The ministry, which compensated the families, has decided not to distrurb the original structure of the office but will add an outer structure so that the “old world charm remains intact.”

The ministry is also planning to provide a shade cover to the bust of Netaji.