Chapter 83: Interlude 2: Samosas at South Block

South Block, New Delhi

31st December 1947, Evening

"What a whirlwind of a year, Chaturvedi," Krishnagopala remarked, taking a seat at their usual canteen table.

"Indeed, Iyer," Rajat replied. His voice started with a warm, energetic cadence: "The elections, independence..." before faltering slightly. "The migrations." He went quiet, the memories of millions uprooted from their homes casting a brief shadow over the room.

Hailing from United Provinces, where the majority of the Muslim population had excitedly voted for the creation of Pakistan by backing the Muslim League, and then had been subsequently displaced by the signing and the execution of the ’Total population transfer’ agreement between the two dominions coming out of the British Raj, Rajat had been a first-hand witness of the horrors of partition, and was responsible for making travel arrangements and maintaining law and order in subsequent refugee camps, that popped up in the wake of the mass migrations.

Krishnagopala closed his eyes for a beat, the phantom dust of those endless, desperate caravans still fresh in his mind. Like every civil servant, he too was responsible for setting up and maintaining a sense of order in the refugee camps; and when the migrations started from the deep south, arranging the travel routes and supplies also fell to him.

"Ram Prasad Gupta as Prime Minister... I still can’t quite get over that," Iyer said, breaking the heavy silence forcibly, steering the conversation towards lighter topics. He was genuinely curious; Ram hadn’t registered as a political heavyweight in the South in the same way that he had in the North and the East.

"There were a few murmurs back home, sure, but everyone was convinced Nehru-ji had it in the bag," Rajat said, picking up his samosa and taking a comforting bite. "My uncle tells me that it came down to just eight votes, in the final voting between Nehru-ji and Ram Prasad."

"That speech from Nehru, though," Krishnagopala said, his tone turning to genuine wonderment. "It’s already being archived as India’s Tryst with Destiny."

"They’ll be teaching it in history books one day, mark my words," Rajat said, the excitement returning to his voice.

"Well, historic speech or not, the Ministry has been an absolute madhouse ever since," Krishnagopala sighed, though he couldn’t quite mask the infectious thrill in his voice.

Rajat leaned in, his competitive streak flaring up. "Oh, please. You couldn’t possibly have been busier than Finance."

"Is that a challenge?" Krishnagopala smirked.

"Alright, fine, we will let her decide," Krishnagopala added, gesturing to a woman setting a plate of samosas and tea down on their table. Madhuri Das, a senior clerk in the Home Ministry and a long-time member of their circle, glanced at them over her teacup.

"I’ll go first," Rajat declared, adjusting his posture. "Since Independence, Finance has single-handedly:

Prepared and presented the national budget.

Secured a $500 million immediate liquidity package from the US, breaking down to:

$125 million from the IMF.

$300 million in Ex-Im Bank Industrial Credits.

$75 million in direct, non-payable security grants.

Pegged the Rupee to the US Dollar at ₹3.30/$.

Pegged the Sterling balances at ₹13 to the pound, payable in dollars and guaranteed by the Americans.

Negotiated the acquisition of the Maldives, Mauritius, Seychelles, Chagos, Socotra, and Masirah island groups from the British in exchange for a £500 million debt forgiveness agreement.

Restructured the remaining Sterling Balance to a 4% annual interest rate, amortised over twenty years, payable in American dollars.

Worked out a deal with the French for a nominal fee, allowing their defence vessels passage.

And we are currently setting up regional cooperative banks across the country."

"Is that all? Sitting in comfortable chairs and negotiating in luxurious halls?" Krishnagopala taunted with a grin. "Listen to what Defence has brought home:

From the United States:

2,000 heavy precision machine tools-multi-axis milling machines, engine lathes, heavy hydraulic presses, drop-forge hammers, and gear-cutting machinery.

5,000 surplus WWII transport vehicles-GMC ’Deuce and a Half’ trucks, Willys MB Jeeps, and heavy utility trailers.

200 heavy construction units-Caterpillar bulldozers, road graders, mobile cranes, and rock-crushing plants.

50 C-47B high-altitude Skytrain transport aircraft.

24 ocean-going cargo vessels (18 Liberty ships, 6 high-speed Victory ships), plus 12 harbour tugs and 12 floating repair barges.

500 heavy-duty 100kW diesel generators, 500 HF radio transmitters, and 500 field switchboards.

20 long-range air-defence radar arrays and 50 vacuum-tube manufacturing apparatuses.

Cold-weather gear for 50,000 high-altitude troops.

Specialised industrial equipment-metallurgical testing labs, precision optical gear, and glassblowing apparatuses. 𝒻𝘳ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝒷𝘯ℴ𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝑐ℴ𝑚

From the Soviet Union:

Blueprints, steelwork, and heavy machinery for 2 integrated steel complexes (blast furnaces, open-hearth furnaces, rolling mills, coking plants) to outfit 4 massive facilities.

Turn-key manufacturing lines for 76mm divisional guns, 122mm howitzers, and casting tooling for T-34/85 tank chassis components.

Full tech transfers and facilities for manufacturing explosives, propellants, and artillery shells (TNT and RDX plants).

1,000 Chelyabinsk Stalinez heavy crawler tractors, plus 100 sets of canal-digging machinery, rotary oil-drilling rigs, and deep-shaft mining equipment.

Captured German small arms & light weapons:

250,000 Kar98k rifles, 15,000 MG 34/42 machine guns, 25,000 MP 40 submachine guns, and 25,000 StG 44 assault rifles.

Tooling dies and stamping machinery to manufacture 7.92×57mm Mauser ammunition domestically.

800 PaK 40 anti-tank guns and 600 heavy field howitzers (105mm leFH 18 / 150mm sFH 18).

50,000 Panzerfaust weapons, 300 precision lathes, 5,000 Sd. Kfz. half-tracks, and 3,000 heavy diesel trucks.

Set up two entire paramilitary organisations.

Oh, and we’re currently managing a full-scale war with Pakistan."

Both men leaned forward, eyes gleaming with pride. "So, Madhuri, settle it, who’s been busier?"

Madhuri took a calm sip of her tea, completely unfazed by their theatrics.

"If you two are so terribly bored and underworked," she said dryly, "you can come over to my desk and help me allocate civil service staff for those new islands you just bought us."

A small, suppressed smirk broke through her stern expression.

Rajat and Krishnagopala chuckled, grabbing the last of their food as the three of them headed out of the canteen together, exhausted, overworked, and thoroughly eager for the year ahead.

A/N: Let me know your thoughts in the comments and reviews. Add the story to your library/collection to receive update notifications. Power Stones are always welcome.

With this Chapter, we end Volume 2. Starting Volume 3, I will post one Chapter daily at 2-3 PM IST. Hope you liked the story so far; let me know in the reviews.