In 1943, when Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose managed to reach Japan in a submarine via Germany to lead the freedom movement in East Asia, a young, skinny teenager went to him to express her decision of helping him fight for India’s freedom.

Seeing the 15-year-old, Netaji convinced the girl that she was too young to join the regiment. Two years later, the headstrong teenager was again standing in front of him demanding to let her join the force.

Raised in Japan amid the bombings during World War II, she never feared a war. Impressed by her resolve, Netaji welcomed her to join the newly-formed women regiment that was made with the aim of overthrowing the British Raj in colonial India with the assistance of the Japanese.

After rigorous training, the girl became a lieutenant of the Rani of Jhansi Regiment of the Indian National Army.

Her name is Bharati ‘Asha’ Sahay Choudhry.

Now 97, Asha san (a title equivalent to Ms in Japanese) lives in Patna, Bihar. The experiences of her unusual life which she had jotted down on scraps of papers and letters became one of the most significant personal accounts of the Indian freedom movement.

Compiled into a diary which was later published in 1992, the original Hindi book is now translated into English for the first time by her granddaughter-in-law, Tanvi Srivastava.

Titled The War Diary of Asha-san, the book is a firsthand account of........

© The Better India