S. A. Ayer

[
(centre) with survivors of the Taihoku plane crash-Colonels T and Nonagaki (back and left) and Capt Arori (right).] Subbier Appadurai Ayer was the Minister for Publicity and Propaganda in Subhas Chandra Bose's Azad Hind Government between 1943 and 1945, and later a key defence witness during the first of the INA trials. Ayer had travelled to Bangkok in November 1940 as a Special correspondent for Reuters before joining the Indian Independence League. In October 1943, Ayer was appointed the Minister of publicity and propaganda in the nascent Azad Hind Government.

Following the successful Allied Burma Campaign and the fall of Rangoon, Ayer left with the city with the rest of the cabinet, and was destined for Tokyo at the time of the alleged death of Subhas Chandra Bose. At the time of the Surrender of Japan, Ayer was in Tokyo from where he was repatriated to India to give evidence in the Red Fort trials and became a key defence witness in the first trial. In 1951, Ayer published his personal accounts of the Indian National Army and Subhas Chandra Bose called "Unto Him a Witness: The Story of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose in East Asia, Bombay, 1951".

References

* [http://www.s1942.org.sg/s1942/indian_national_army/provi.htm National Archives of Singapore] .
*http://soc.world-journal.net/indianoceansb2.html