Interestingly, since Nehru was yet to hold office and since no other prime minister visited the memorial since, Modi will become the first Indian prime minister to visit the memorial.

The memorial was rebuilt in 1995 by the National Heritage Board of the Singapore government to observe the 50th anniversary of the end of World War II. The Indian diaspora in Singapore had contributed to the construction of the monument with financial donations.

In fact, Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose had laid the foundation stone for the original memorial, which was built during the Japanese Occupation on 8 July 1945.

Now, a signboard is put in the Esplanade Park to guide tourists to "Site of the Former INA Monument". Singapore will celebrate its 50th anniversary of its Independence on August 9, 2015.

Modi began the process of declassification of secret files related to Subhas Chandra Bose beginning 23 January (Bose's birthday) next year, in a move he explained saying, "there is no need to strangle history".