In the context of Colonial India, Shah Nawaz Khan, Prem Kumar Sehgal and Gurbaksh Singh Dhillon are remembered as

Answer: D. Shah Nawaz Khan, Prem Kumar Sehgal, and Gurbaksh Singh Dhillon are remembered as OFFICERS OF THE INDIAN NATIONAL ARMY (INA / Azad Hind Fauj). The THREE OFFICERS in question were senior officers of the AZAD HIND FAUJ (Indian National Army) raised by SUBHAS CHANDRA BOSE during World War II. - COLONEL SHAH NAWAZ KHAN — a Pathan Muslim officer. - COLONEL PREM KUMAR SAHGAL — a Hindu officer. - COLONEL GURBAKSH SINGH DHILLON — a Sikh officer. They became famous for the INA TRIALS (also called the RED FORT TRIALS) held by the British at Delhi's Red Fort from November 1945 to May 1946. The three officers were tried together on charges of WAGING WAR AGAINST THE KING, MURDER, AND ABETMENT OF MURDER. Strategic significance: - The British chose these three officers deliberately to symbolise Hindu-Muslim-Sikh INA solidarity. - The trials BACKFIRED — they became a NATIONAL CAUSE CELEBRE. The Congress formed an INA Defence Committee with BHULABHAI DESAI, JAWAHARLAL NEHRU, TEJ BAHADUR SAPRU, K. N. KATJU, and ASAF ALI as defence lawyers. - Slogan 'LAL QILE SE AYI AWAZ — SAHGAL, DHILLON, SHAH NAWAZ' echoed nationwide. - The trials triggered the ROYAL INDIAN NAVY MUTINY of February 1946 and accelerated British departure. Distractors: (A) Swadeshi and Boycott Movement leaders (1905-08) — Aurobindo, Tilak, Lala Lajpat Rai, Bipin Chandra Pal. (B) Interim Government members (Sep 1946) — Nehru, Patel, Liaquat Ali Khan etc., not the INA officers. (C) Drafting Committee — B.R. Ambedkar (Chair), Alladi K. Ayyar, K.M. Munshi, N. Gopalaswami Ayyangar etc. Source: NCERT Class 12 Themes in Indian History Part III / Sumit Sarkar, Modern India.