Father of France

Chapter 220 Indian Independence
The Indian Air Force received half of the former Royal Air Force units and equipment in India, while the other half remained in Pakistan's hands.

Currently, the number of aircraft transferred from the UK to India is not large, and India itself does not have many pilots. Therefore, it currently only has one fighter squadron, and other squadrons are still in the planning stages.

Although fighter jets could be quickly acquired and put into combat capability through purchase, Koeman felt it wouldn't be that easy. In the early days of independence, Britain was biased towards Pakistan, a fact that was clearly demonstrated during the First Indo-Pakistani War.

British commanders led Pakistani troops to stabilize the front lines during the Indian offensive.

From the very beginning, Britain did not adopt the idea of ​​partitioning India and Pakistan. In its past colonial history, Britain had always adopted the method of merging colonies and managing them uniformly.

The partition of India and Pakistan was the first time Britain used the partition method to solve a problem, and it was only because Ali Jinnah strongly supported it that this was done.

But Britain soon discovered the fun of partitioning; no matter how clever the colonists were, they could never outsmart the locals with their ingenuity.

Considering the Pakistani Air Force, Hyderabad is capable of defending itself in the short term, but its disadvantage in terms of the army is insurmountable. Due to the different nature of the military branches, Hyderabad can only wait for India to attack, rather than taking a provocative stance against India.

“It’s still because I’m not strong enough.” Ali Khan’s thin body seemed frail, but he had no reason to blame the French. He could only say that the times had presented him with a difficult choice.

"Prepare for the worst." Koeman now seemed like an unofficial minister.

He was surprised himself. He had never realized that he was such a materialistic person. He had gone to great lengths for an Indian tycoon and even overcame his stereotypes about Indians. How terrifying is the power of money?

It was already August, and Koman was still able to stay in the sweltering heat of the subcontinent. This was entirely due to Ali Khan's wealth. Not to mention him, the fact that the Swiss side personally came to negotiate speaks volumes about the value of their connections. This was equivalent to France and Switzerland jointly guaranteeing the safety of Ali Khan's personal assets.

Ali Khan, who had already emptied his coffers through a single arms sale, had nothing more to say, and Koman also played a significant role in this.

He revealed that there are currently many vacant plots of land in the French colony of Madagascar, and he even wanted to carve out a piece of land to sell the crown, but this was just nonsense.

Ali Khan listened and offered to invest in the establishment of the rice center as a way of repaying France for its efforts in maintaining Hyderabad's independence.

"Thank you so much." At this moment, Koeman hadn't thought that much about it, but he instinctively realized that the idea of ​​isolating Madagascar from Africa did not exclude investors from the subcontinent.

Even when Ali Khan inquired about the conditions in Madagascar and what the local climate was like, it did not arouse the vigilance of this representative of imperialism. It was as if the former richest man in the world had a halo that had completely blinded him.

In the end, Bokassa saw through the deception and couldn't help but remind him, "Sir, this man seems to be obsessed with the title of monarch. What he really wants to know is whether France can provide a piece of land so that he can continue to live as a monarch if Hyderabad cannot be saved."

“You…” Koman suddenly looked up, opened his mouth before saying, “You’re right, there might really be something to that. I’ve been growing up in the Republic and hadn’t thought of that for a while.”

But once he thought of it, Koeman thought of something else entirely. Wasn't Bokassa the emperor of the Central African Empire? It seemed that some things did indeed have underlying causes, and he really did have the potential to become a tyrant.

Madagascar is actually a good option. The northwestern part of the island, where the expeditionary force landed, was once part of the Omani Empire, and there are Muslims living there.

It's not impossible to carve out a piece of land for self-governance, but the entire island is 600,000 square kilometers, so Ali Khan can forget about it.

With this thought in mind, Corman didn't really take it seriously. The only thing related to Madagascar was the influx of new immigrants. He had already been delayed on the subcontinent for a month and didn't know how the Chinese families in Saigon were preparing. They certainly couldn't be taken out of French control, and the Chinese couldn't be allowed to immigrate on their own.

Therefore, only after Coman returned to Saigon could the immigration work in Madagascar officially begin; before that, it could only be said that preparatory work was being carried out.

The transfer of assets was naturally handled by professionals. Coman tried to minimize his presence and had already returned to French India to govern, preparing to withdraw. India's Independence Day was approaching, and both ethnic groups on the subcontinent were looking forward to this day. Mountbatten was both the master and the observer; both the grantor of power and the symbol of its impending end.

From the direction of Karachi in the distance, a huge wave of sound suddenly erupted, with thousands of voices shouting "Long live Pakistan!" sweeping in like a tsunami.

That was the moment when August 14th was drawing to a close and August 15th was fast approaching—the moment of Pakistan's independence.

A few hours later, New Delhi will erupt with the same massive roar of "Long live India!" The moment for Nehru and India will arrive precisely at midnight.

Mountbatten felt neither joy nor sorrow; a strange emptiness gripped him, and he felt only relief, for it was finally over.

Jinnah's aloof persistence, Nehru's idealistic passion, and Gandhi's silence imbued with endless compassion—all of these would be irrelevant to Mountbatten after this day. He would no longer have to bear the responsibilities he never wanted to bear, and could return to the Mediterranean Fleet to be a happy naval officer.

At midnight, in a solemn ceremony held in the Constitution Hall, the last Governor-General, Lord Louis Mountbatten, formally handed over the symbols of power to the leaders of India. As the tricolor flag, symbolizing sovereignty, slowly rose, replacing the flag of the United Kingdom, a long and sustained roar of cheers erupted from the crowd—"Long live India!"—like a long-awaited monsoon storm breaking the long silence.

"Given the current situation, India and Pakistan are bound to clash over Kashmir, Nehru's homeland, and because Muslims make up more than 80 percent of the population, Pakistan will absolutely not give it up. Preliminary predictions suggest that war will break out within a year."

Before leaving Hyderabad, Koman had already told Ali Khan that Kashmir was a reference point for the Indian princely states, to prevent Ali Khan from getting himself into trouble.

He has now also informed French officials in French India, so that these members of the French Federation can accurately grasp India's movements and avoid being inadvertently frightened by the Indians.

Koman is quite familiar with India, a powerful and influential country that is known for its adventurism.

In front of French High Commissioner for India, Frosoire, Coman handed him today's Times of India, saying, "Look at how it's reported here. It seems like Indians think they're the center of the world."

"Hmm!" Flossova uttered a vague sigh, then took the book and began to read line by line, "At the Viceroy's Palace in New Delhi, the Union Jack with the Star of India was lowered for the last time in India. The final descent of this proud flag not only heralded the end of British rule and the independence of the 400 million Indians, who comprised one-fifth of the world's population, but also the end of the 450-year-long imperialist era in which the descendants of white Christians had claimed most of the world. That night, a new world was born, and we will accompany this new world into the next millennium. In this new world, continents and peoples begin to awaken..."

“That’s certainly arrogant enough,” Flossova remarked, a chilling comment coming halfway through. “The New World was born because of India’s independence? The last country to use millennia to calculate the New World was…”

“The Greater German Reich,” Koeman answered confidently, referring to the Third Reich under that Führer.

However, the Germans' confidence was based on their sweeping conquest of Europe, while India's confidence seems rather unfounded. Is this the Mahayana philosophy unique to the Aryans? Indeed, it is terrifying. Compared to this, the Germanic philosophy is nothing.

“Hyderabad, Kashmir, and Junagate are also problems,” Frosova shook his head. “And then there’s Portuguese Goa; the Portuguese have no intention of giving up their interests on the subcontinent.”

“I almost forgot about the Portuguese,” Koeman suddenly remembered, but still cautiously added, “India has reached a point where other countries won’t cause trouble unless it provokes others. Therefore, it’s unlikely that an alliance aimed at India will be formed.”

Who cares? French India is only a little over 500 square kilometers in area. He was only able to stay here for a month because of Ali Khan. Now that the arms sales are done, he should return to Saigon. There is no need to continue worrying about British territory.

Time is a very ruthless thing. When he left Saigon, Chiang Kai-shek was still in a very favorable situation. In just over three months, the 74th Division was completely annihilated in the Battle of Menglianggu, and the key offensive following the full-scale offensive also came to an abrupt end. The war officially entered a strategic stalemate.

"The number of Chinese people entering the country this August has already exceeded that of last year." Data from Saigon seems to corroborate this, suggesting that the war situation is not as well under control as the KMT claims.

“Perfect timing! Madagascar needs a hardworking and intelligent ethnic group to help with its development. There’s no better ethnic group than the Chinese.” Koman was delighted. “Besides, the Chinese population in French Indochina shouldn’t be too high, which is perfect.”

(End of this chapter)