Japanese atrocities
The events of the next three years are not easy to establish, as the Japanese destroyed all records when they left. The principal sources are an unpublished report by local resident Rama Krishna: The Andaman Islands under Japanese Occupation 1942-5, another unpublished account by a British Officer, D. McCarthy: The Andaman Interlude (he was sent on a secret mission to the islands in 1944), together with the memories of the older inhabitants interviewed by historians. All these, and the published works which draw upon them, are in agreement that the occupation saw numerous atrocities committed by the Japanese against the local population [1].
The first victim of the occupation came on the fourth day after the Japanese landings. Angered by soldiers who had pursued some chickens into his house, a young man called Zulfiqar Ali fired an airgun at them. No-one was hurt, but he was forced into hiding. After twenty-four hours he was captured and marched to the maidan in front of the Browning Club. Here his arms were twisted until they broke, and he was then shot. A cement memorial now stands on the spot [2]. In the early days of the occupation local intellectuals (mostly officials and doctors) were encouraged to join Rash Behari Bose's Indian Independence League, and a 'Peace Committee' was formed from its members, headed by Dr. Diwan Singh. Over the next few months they did what they could to mitigate the suffering of the population at the hands of the Japanese, but to little avail: indeed, many of them would later fall victim themselves. In any case, there was little any of them could have done to save Major A.G. Bird, who had not been sent to Rangoon or Singapore like the other British captives, and of whom the Japanese were determined to make an example. Pushkar Bakshi persuaded a fellow convict, Sarup Ram, to bear witness at Bird's 'trial' that he had been spying (wireless parts had been planted in the house where he was imprisoned). It has been suggested that Bakshi had a grudge against Bird for having given him a six-month sentence for theft before the Japanese invasion.[citation needed] According to eyewitnesses Bird, a popular man known as "Chirrie" ('Bird' in Hindi) had his arms and legs twisted and broken, and was then beheaded by Colonel Bucho with his sword [3].
Meanwhile, local women were being 'recruited' by Bakshi to act as "comfort women" for the Japanese garrison,[citation needed] although discontent meant that subsequently Korean and Malay women were brought in instead. Forced labour was used to build a new airport, and in October 1942 mass arrests of 'spies' took place, with 300 people being confined in the Cellular Jail, where some were tortured. Of these seven were shot, including Narayan Rao, who had been Superintendent of Police under Japanese auspices, Itter Singh, the Deputy Superintendent, Subedar Sube Singh of the Military Police and Dr. Surinder Nag. Realising that the Japanese were targeting influential members of the population, the members of the Indian Independence League grew increasingly nervous, and ceased to engage in much nationalist activity [4]. In 1943 a second reign of terror was unleashed by the new commander of the garrison, Colonel Jochi Renusakai, & Chief of Police Mitsubashi, both of whom had served at Nanking. 600 people were arrested and tortured, including Dr. Diwan Singh, who died as a result of his injuries. At this stage the Japanese decided that Bakshi was no longer useful, and he was imprisoned [5].
