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'''Jiffs''' was a [[slang]] term used by [[British Intelligence]], and later the [[Fourteenth Army (United Kingdom)|14th Army]], to denote soldiers of the [[Indian National Army]] after the failed [[First Arakan offensive]] of 1943.<ref>{{Harvnb|Fay|1993|p=423}}</ref> The term is derived from the [[acronym]] ''JIFC'', short for [[Imperial Japan|Japanese]]-[[India]]n (or -inspired) [[fifth column]].<ref name="Fay 1993 409">{{Harvnb|Fay|1993|p=409}}</ref> It came to be employed in a propaganda offensive in June 1943 within the [[British Indian Army]] as a part of the efforts to preserve the loyalty of the Indian troops at [[Battle of Imphal|Manipur]] after suffering desertion and losses at [[Burma campaign|Burma]] during the First Arakan Offensive.
After the end of the war, the term "HIFFs" (from [[Hitler]]-inspired-fifth-columnists) was also used for repatriated troops of the [[Indian Legion]] awaiting trial.

==Background==
The prestige of the ''[[British Raj|Raj]]'' had suffered a blow with the fall of [[British Malaya]] and, later, the massive surrender at [[Fall of Singapore|Singapore]]. In February 1942, the Indian prisoners of war from the [[British Indian Army]] captured there came under the influence of [[Indian independence movement|Indian nationalists]], notably [[Mohan Singh Deb]], and a large number volunteered to form the [[Indian National Army]] with support from [[Imperial Japan|Japan]] and had the stated aim of overthrowing [[The Raj]] from India. Of the formation of this army however, the British intelligence was unaware of until around July 1942, and even then was unclear on the scale, purpose and organisation of the INA.<ref name="Fay 1993 409"/>

Intelligence summaries initially did not believe the INA to be a substantial force or have any purpose more than propaganda and [[espionage]] purposes. However, by the end of 1942, they had become aware of trained Indian espionage agents (of the INAs [[Bahadur Group|Special services group]]) who had infiltrated into India for the purpose of collecting intelligence, subversion of the army and the subversion of civilian loyalty. These information were derived to a large extent from some of the agents themselves who gave themselves up to the authorities after reaching India. However, the intelligence was also aware at this point of misinformation being spread about the INA itself by the agents who concealed their purpose and professed to pass on intelligence from local knowledge.<ref name="Fay 1993 410">{{Harvnb|Fay|1993|p=410}}</ref> More troubling for the military command were the activities of the INA agents in the battlefields of India's eastern frontier in [[Burma]].

Around this time, the [[Quit India movement]] had reached a crescendo within India, while the continuing British reversals [[Burma campaign#Allied setbacks.2C 1942 – 1943|at Burma]] further affected the morale of the army. [[Noel Irwin|Irwin's]] [[Arakan Campaign 1942–1943|First Campaign]] had been contained and then beaten back by inferior Japanese forces at Donbaik. Intelligence analysis of the failure, as well as Irwin's own personal analysis of the campaign attributed significant demoralisation and rising discontentment amongst Indian troops due to the subversive activity of INA agents at the frontline, as well as rising nationalist (or “[[Indian National Congress|Pro-Congress]]”) sentiments.<ref name="Fay 1993 410"/> The activities of these agents were addressed at the Sepoys and these found enough support to successfully encourage defection without attracting the attention of the officers commanding the units. Soon, defection by British Indian troops had become a problem significant and regular enough in the Burma theatre to form a regular part of the intelligence summaries in the first half of 1943.<ref name="Fay 1993 410"/>

==Wren report==
In December 1942, a certain Lt. Col G.W Wren attached to [[MI2]] produced a report outlining the condition of loyalty of the Indian troops in the British Indian Army. Detailed intelligence on the INA, its organisation and the circumstances in which it was found became available at the time from sources defecting into India in the garb of INA agents. The Wren report, with inputs from these defectors, argued that to preserve the loyalty of the army, it was necessary to preserve the loyalty of the Indian officer corps. The report further argued that to counter the INA and the [[Indian Independence League|IIL's]] strategy, it was necessary for [[UK government|Whitehall]] to make specific commitments to the Indian independence movement that would address the political sentiments of the Indian recruits, and predicted that not doing so risked alienating the British Indian Army from the Raj.

Wren's analysis of the problems facing the British Indian Army, though highly controversial, was supported by later recommendations derived from [[Noel Irwin]]'s reports following the Eastern Armies debacle at Arakan. Irwin's analysis further supported the notion that although the desertions by the Indian soldiers at Arakan were alarming, it was a purely military problem, and could be addressed to a large extent by making a declaration of a free or freer India similar to the [[United States|US]] [[History of the Philippines (1898–1946)|declaration for Philippines]]. However, [[Winston Churchill|Churchill]]'s, as well as [[Victor Hope, 2nd Marquess of Linlithgow|Linlithgow's]] opposition and outright hostility to any declaration that committed towards India's independence meant the Wren report went unimplemented.<ref>{{Harvnb|Fay|1993|p=416,417}}</ref>

==Jiffs campaign==
By 1943 the INA is known to have been "target of utmost value". Wavell assigned a whole separate department to deal with it.<ref name=Aldrich159>{{Harvnb|Aldrich|2000|p=159}}</ref> Not willing to commit to a declaration of independence, and thus unable to implement the Wren report, The Raj chose instead to oppose the INA and the IIL strategy by employing propaganda measures that would ensure that little about the INA and Bose came to be known in India, and what did seep through was stressed to be as derisive, monstrous and loathsome as could be possible.<ref>{{Harvnb|Fay|1993|p=417}}</ref> The psychological warfare section of the India Command, known as GSI(q), was entirely dedicated to the JIFF propaganda under Lt Colonel Hunt working with [[Cawthorne]].<ref name=Aldrich159/><ref name=Aldrich163>{{Harvnb|Aldrich|2000|p=163}}</ref>

===JIFFs===
The first of the measures taken was to emphasise a news blackout on the existence of the INA from newspapers, book or any publications. Not until after a few days after the fall of Rangoon two years later was this ban to be lifted.<ref>{{Harvnb|Fay|1993|p=418}}</ref>
Among other policies adopted at the time were the decisions to only refer to the INA "Traitor Army", which was later superseded by the use of the term Jiffs.

===Josh===
At the same time, policies were adopted that saw the formation of "Josh Groups" to preserve morale of the Indian troops and engage greater co-operation among European officers and Indian troops. Amongst other decision, meetings of the Josh groups were used as a platform to circulate stories of Japanese atrocities on Prisoners of War and the occupied countries, as well as associate the INA troops to these atrocities.<ref>{{Harvnb|Fay|1993|p=422}}</ref><ref name=Singh2005p162>{{Harvnb|Singh|2005|p=162}}</ref> Every commanding officer of every British-Indian Army unit were instructed to create a ''Josh'' group. Through the activities of these groups, any antipathy the ''Sepoy'' may have for "Britishers" would be paled by the hatred that was to be fanned for the Japanese. As Gajendra Singh notes, the work of ''Josh'' groups aimed to:<ref name=Singhp163to164>{{Harvnb|Singh|2005|pp=163–164}}</ref>
* Build in every Indian soldier the firm belief that the Japanese and everyone who worked with the Japanese were the ''Sepoy'''s own "personal enemies"....
* Introduce stories of British victories against the Japanese, which would turn the conversation around to why Japanese were enemies of India and how they would be defeated.
* Introduce stories of bravery of Indian soldiers in comradeship-in-arms with allies.
* Use entertainment, radio, drama and picture-layouts to impress on the ''Sepoy'' that his chief enemy in existence is the Japanese.
* Provide sound information to the Indian soldiers to counteract Japanese and INA propaganda.

Indian Captains or majors gave anti-Japanese and anti-[[Subhas Chandra Bose|Bose]] lectures in Urdu and Gurkhali to the troops, and emphasised India's stake in Britain's war aims.<ref name=Bayly&Harper2005p305>{{Harvnb|Bayly|Harper|2005|p=305}}</ref> "Jap-orientation courses" were organised for Indian and British officers, under the stewardship of Indian officers led by "Jick" Rudra, Lt Himmatsinhji and Ali Noon (brother of [[Feroz Khan Noon]].

===CSDIC===
In addition to implementing the ''Josh'' measures, the [[CSDIC(I)]] was expanded in November 1942 to identify men of the British-Indian Army who may already have been affected by the INA propaganda, and to interrogate captured INA men.<ref name=Singhp164>{{Harvnb|Singh|2005|p=164}}</ref>

==Impact==
These measures, along with measures to improve morale in the recruiting areas in Indian hinterland, began having palpable results. This was particularly so as victories began to be registered against the Japanese by the end of 1944.<ref name=Bayly&Harper2005p305/> By the end of March 1945, the Sepoy of the British-Indian Army was reinvigorated, and perceived the men of the INA little more than savage turncoats and cowards. Senior British officers in the Indian army considered them "rabble".<ref name=Toyexix>{{harvnb|Toye|1959|pp=Mason, in foreword pp-xix 41}}</ref> Historians [[Christopher Bayly]] and Tim Harper mention that many a times, the ''Sepoys'' in the field units shot captured or wounded INA men, relieving their British officers of the complex task of formulating a formal plan for captured men.<ref name=Marston2014p118>{{Harvnb|Marston|2014|p=118}}</ref> After Singapore was retaken, Mountbatten ordered the INA's war memorial to its fallen soldiers to be blown up.<ref name=Fayp523>{{Harvnb|Fay|1993|p=523}}</ref>

==Cultural references==
''[[The Day of the Scorpion]]'' and ''[[The Towers of Silence]]'', second and third respectively of [[Paul Mark Scott|Paul Scott]]'s ''[[Raj Quartet]] ''that mentions the term in the political and social context in which it found use in the [[Fourteenth Army (United Kingdom)|Eastern Army]] during the war. ''[[The Glass Palace]]'', a work of fiction by author [[Amitav Ghosh]], explains the term and its use in chronicling the fictional life of a Rangoon Teak trader during the [[Japanese occupation of Burma]].

==Notes==
{{reflist|2}}

==References==
* {{Citation
| surname1 = Aldrich
| given1 = Richard J.
| year = 2000
| title = Intelligence and the War Against Japan: Britain, America and the Politics of Secret Service
| url = https://archive.org/details/intelligencewara00rich
| publisher = Cambridge University Press
| isbn = 0-521-64186-1
| url-access = registration
}}.
* {{Citation
| surname1 = Bayly
| given1 = Christopher
| surname2 = Harper
| given2 = Tim
| year = 2005
| title = Forgotten Armies: Britain's Asian Empire and the War with Japan
| url =
| publisher = Penguin Books (UK) Ltd
| isbn = 978-0-14-192719-0
}}
* {{Citation
| surname1 = Fay
| given1 = Peter W.
| year = 1993
| title = The Forgotten Army: India's Armed Struggle for Independence, 1942–1945
| url =
| publisher = Ann Arbor, University of Michigan Press
| isbn = 0-472-08342-2
}}.
* {{Citation
| surname1 = Marston
| given1 = Daniel
| year = 2014
| title = The Indian Army and End of the Raj
| url =
| publisher = Cambridge University Press
| isbn = 978-0-521-89975-8
}}.
* Raj, James L. (1997) ''Making and unmaking of British India,'' Abacus.
* {{Citation
| surname1 = Singh
| given1 = Gajendra.
| year = 2005
| title = The Testimonies of Indian Soldiers and the Two World Wars: Between Self and Sepoy
| url =
| publisher = Bloomsbury
| isbn = 9781780938202
}}.
* {{Citation
| last = Sundaram
| first = Chandar
| year = 1995
| title = A Paper Tiger: the Indian National Army in Battle, 1944-1945
| journal = War & Society
| volume = 13
| issue = 1
| pages = 35–59
| doi = 10.1179/072924795791200187
}}.
* {{Citation
| surname1 = Toye
| given1 = Hugh
| year = 1959
| title = The Springing Tiger: A Study of the Indian National Army and of Netaji
| url =
| publisher = Allied Publishers
| isbn = 978-81-8424-392-5
}}.
{{Azad Hind Fauj}}

[[Category:Indian National Army]]
[[Category:South-East Asian theatre of World War II]]

Jiffs - Revision history

Bot at 05:41, 17 October 2022