 Around the time of its formation in late 1942, 59% of the legion's men were Hindus, 25% were Muslims, 14% were Sikhs and 2% other religions.Relative to the British Indian Army, there were more Hindus and Sikhs, and fewer Muslims.The success of Bose's idea of developing a unified national identity was evident when Heinrich Himmler proposed in late 1943 (after Bose's departure) that the Muslim soldiers of the I.R.