They just dropped the bomb
New Delhi
Bose was shocked.
Gandhi was shocked.
Stalin was worried.
Churchill was happy.
Truman was happy.
The United States of America had just dropped two atomic bombs on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The Empire of Japan had announced its surrender and the Second World War had come to an end. The Soviets were mopping up resistance in Manchuria. With Japan's surrender, all its territories too had been liberated. Indochina was liberated and an independent Vietnam that was aligned with India had been established. Thailand had signed an alliance treaty as well. The Chinese Communists had now resorted to attacking Chiang's forces out in the open and were taking over what was formerly the Japanese Empire in China. One event that had been a sort of known surprise was the Indonesian declaration of Independence. The Dutch and their allies did not like it but Bose was quite happy with it. But he had other objectives. He wanted Indonesia to be in his sphere of influence. The country was too big and too far to be made a puppet but an ally was to be made. So he sent Shaukat Malik to talk to their leader, the one they called Sukarno.
Two important matters loomed on Netaji's mind. If the Americans could drop atomic bombs on Asia's premier power then India was not immune from it. There is an urgent need to build our own bombs he thought. If the Americans have it today, the British will have it tomorrow. And their wretched Victorian democracy, as he called it, could re-elect that madman Churchill back to power.
What if he decided to drop them on India ? Ambedkar had told him that there were rumours that Churchill was begging Truman to drop some on Kolkata. Little did he know that the Americans were building a base there. Apparently, Nimitz himself was going to inaugurate it. But India could not be at the mercy of the Russians or the Americans. It needed its own Brahmastra. Netaji had summoned Homi Bhabha to Delhi to tell him to start the process of building the bomb for India.
"Good morning Netaji, its good to see you again."
"Likewise Homi. Here have a seat."
"Thank you."
"I trust you've heard of the news."
"Ah yes. The Americans have really outdone themselves this time. Bloody atomic weapons."
"Today it is Japan, tomorrow-"
"It could be us. I realise that. I think I know why you've called me here."
"Good. You have all the resources you want at your disposal. Money, labs whatever the hell you want. How soon can you build it ?"
"30 months sir. Thats all I need."
"I will only ask this once. Are you sure ?"
"Hell yes."
"Good man. I have another gift for you."
"I love gifts. What is it ?"
"I think you saw the group of Japanese and German gentlemen waiting outside."
"Yes, I thought I recognised them."
"They are the premier nuclear scientists of the axis powers and the leaders of their atomic weapons program."
"Wow! What the hell are they doing here ? How the hell did they even get here ?"
"You don't need to know that. What you do need to know is that they will all be working under you. Choose a site for your lab and testing and get to work Homi."
"See you in 30 months, Netaji."
Homi chose the desert of Rajasthan as his test site. Kota to be exact. His team included the top Indian nuclear scientists, Piara Singh Gill, P.K. Iyengar, Swami Jnanananda, Raja Ramanna and Bhabha's student Vikram Sarabhai. General Gurbaksh Singh Dhillon was appointed as the head of the programme codenamed Operation Brahmastra. The scientists were told that the Thar desert would be their permanent residence until the bomb was built.
The second was the question of the islands in the Indian Ocean. Ambedkar arranged a phone call for the first time ever between an American President and the leader of independent India.
"Good morning, Mr. President.
"Good morning, Mr. Prime Minister. How are you ?"
"Doing quite fine thank you. How do you do ?"
"Great. How's independence treating you ?"
"Well, I do feel somewhat like George Washington."
"Hahaha that's great, Prime Minister. Now I have a matter of some importance that I need to talk to you about."
"Before you do sir, I hear you've disallowed the Soviets from partaking in the occupation of Japan."
"I, uh, yes, well it wasn't my decision alone, the whole allied war council weighed in."
"What did you want to talk about, Mr. President ?"
"Kolkata. You gave a port to the Soviets in Karachi. The US needs one in Kolkata. I understand you want certain islands in the Indian Ocean to be hated over to you from the British."
"That is right, those were parts of the British Raj and now that India is independent, they are under illegal occupation of the British Empire."
"Yes sir I understand. But you must understand my position here. I cannot organise a blanket transfer of power in these regions."
"The Kolkata deal hinges on this transfer, Mr. President."
"You have no navy, sir. How are you going to occupy it ?"
"That is not-
"Netaji, if I may, you've got to help me help you. I will help you get those islands back, but now is not the time. Take a while, build up your navy."
"Very well, Mr. President. I'll build up my navy. And we'll assist your operations in the Indian Ocean."
"Thank you, Mr. Prime Minister, I kn-
"But I am afraid that Admiral Nimitz would be unable to inaugurate your base at Kolkata. Perhaps his successor can. I will personally welcome him. Aboard an Indian battleship. Thank you, Mr. President, you have nice day now.
Then Netaji hung up.
He hoped that Bhabha would deliver the bomb on time.
Shimla
Lord Linlithgow had been staying in the princely state of Patiala, at the old winter capital of the British Raj. Lord Mountbatten was there with him. The security was fierce. 15000 guards of the Patiala Royal State Forces had been posted to protect them, along with 5 armoured cars. This was due to the fact that there were around 1,00,000 protestors outside the palace grounds who wanted the their heads on pikes. These protestors blamed them for the destruction that took place at the Golden Temple. This led to a few lapses in security, which allowed Private Bill Morgan to slip through into the palace.
Lord Mountbatten was sound asleep when he suddenly felt hand covering his mouth and restraining his hands.
"Wffa--
"Shhh sir. I am a friend. I am going to remove my hand now. Please do not shout."
"Who the fuck are you, boy ?"
"My name is Private Bill Morgan of the 1st Punjab Regiment, sir. 99 comrades of mine and I are engaged in a war against Bose's rebellion against the Crown. We intend to take back its jewel."
"I have to admire your gumption, soldier. But a 100 cannot fight against the teeming millions of these savages."
"We have sent a man to Tehran to notify the British commander to assist us. We have also managed to defeat the 150 man garrison in Peshawar and we have taken the city. We disabled communications so the Indians do not know as of yet but we do not have a lot of time."
"I wish I could help you, young man, but right now I am a powerless man. I am prisoner of the Maharaja and his boss, Bose."
"We realise the unfortunate situation, sir. 5 of my men are posing as Afghans and are protesting outside. We have a plan to rescue you. We will put it into action in a week."
"Only me ? What about Lord Linlithgow and his family ?"
"I am afraid only you sir."
"Very well. What can I do to help ?"
"You'll know soon enough sir. I'll take your leave now."
"God save the king."
"God save the king."
Just as the private was climbing out of the window he said
"Oh, and sir eat carefully."
Lhasa
Tibet was under the military administration of General Maharaja Sadul Singh. The train from Srinagar to Lhasa had been half-completed but the all-weather roads had been built and three military basis had been constructed. 40,000 troops were posted in Tibet to maintain strict military law. 24-hour curfews were imposed and all citizens were being ID'd. But the Indian military without its British intelligence was hopeless at maintaining such a strict order. And small rebellions had become common with shootouts and ambushes becoming regular affairs. Since the war was over, Netaji was looking to demobilise some of the troops and had rejected Sadul Singh's request for more troops.
Netaji now decided to reap the fruits of his magnanimity. At the Lhasa airstrip, three transport planes of the Indian airforce had arrived carrying around a 100 men. To the Indian soldiers they seemed like the Gora Sahebs but with atrocious English and Hindi accents. They were wearing the Khaki Indian uniforms but had an eagle emblem on their shoulders and caps. There were rumours going on but no one knew what they were here for.
Heinrich Müller, the former chief of the Gestapo had arrived in Lhasa.
Rangoon
Netaji had traveled to do a public tour of Burma in order to endear Indian suzerainty to its citizens. Gandhi was doing another one separately. While Gandhi went on to rant about non-violence and Indo-Burmese friendship, Netaji was meeting with another top ranking Nazi officer to come up with a plan to control Burma. The Burmese coast and the northern border region of Burma had been annexed into India. Ba Maw declared the Independence of Burma, with a brief constitution, part of which explicitly stated a perpetual state of alliance with India.
Ba Maw became the Prime Minister of an independent, but a much smaller version of Burma. This, while Netaji held long discussions with his friend Heinrich Himmler.
Bose with Himmler making plans for prevention of rebellions in Burma
An Indian patrol at the Mansarovar Lake
Maharaja Sadul Singh photographed with his sons in Lhasa before a dinner party organised at his mansion in honour of Heinrich Müller.
The picture of the atomic bombing of Japan, popularised in the Indian press. This was done on orders of the Indian government to get public approval for building their own atomic bombs.
Bose was shocked.
Gandhi was shocked.
Stalin was worried.
Churchill was happy.
Truman was happy.
The United States of America had just dropped two atomic bombs on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The Empire of Japan had announced its surrender and the Second World War had come to an end. The Soviets were mopping up resistance in Manchuria. With Japan's surrender, all its territories too had been liberated. Indochina was liberated and an independent Vietnam that was aligned with India had been established. Thailand had signed an alliance treaty as well. The Chinese Communists had now resorted to attacking Chiang's forces out in the open and were taking over what was formerly the Japanese Empire in China. One event that had been a sort of known surprise was the Indonesian declaration of Independence. The Dutch and their allies did not like it but Bose was quite happy with it. But he had other objectives. He wanted Indonesia to be in his sphere of influence. The country was too big and too far to be made a puppet but an ally was to be made. So he sent Shaukat Malik to talk to their leader, the one they called Sukarno.
Two important matters loomed on Netaji's mind. If the Americans could drop atomic bombs on Asia's premier power then India was not immune from it. There is an urgent need to build our own bombs he thought. If the Americans have it today, the British will have it tomorrow. And their wretched Victorian democracy, as he called it, could re-elect that madman Churchill back to power.
What if he decided to drop them on India ? Ambedkar had told him that there were rumours that Churchill was begging Truman to drop some on Kolkata. Little did he know that the Americans were building a base there. Apparently, Nimitz himself was going to inaugurate it. But India could not be at the mercy of the Russians or the Americans. It needed its own Brahmastra. Netaji had summoned Homi Bhabha to Delhi to tell him to start the process of building the bomb for India.
"Good morning Netaji, its good to see you again."
"Likewise Homi. Here have a seat."
"Thank you."
"I trust you've heard of the news."
"Ah yes. The Americans have really outdone themselves this time. Bloody atomic weapons."
"Today it is Japan, tomorrow-"
"It could be us. I realise that. I think I know why you've called me here."
"Good. You have all the resources you want at your disposal. Money, labs whatever the hell you want. How soon can you build it ?"
"30 months sir. Thats all I need."
"I will only ask this once. Are you sure ?"
"Hell yes."
"Good man. I have another gift for you."
"I love gifts. What is it ?"
"I think you saw the group of Japanese and German gentlemen waiting outside."
"Yes, I thought I recognised them."
"They are the premier nuclear scientists of the axis powers and the leaders of their atomic weapons program."
"Wow! What the hell are they doing here ? How the hell did they even get here ?"
"You don't need to know that. What you do need to know is that they will all be working under you. Choose a site for your lab and testing and get to work Homi."
"See you in 30 months, Netaji."
Homi chose the desert of Rajasthan as his test site. Kota to be exact. His team included the top Indian nuclear scientists, Piara Singh Gill, P.K. Iyengar, Swami Jnanananda, Raja Ramanna and Bhabha's student Vikram Sarabhai. General Gurbaksh Singh Dhillon was appointed as the head of the programme codenamed Operation Brahmastra. The scientists were told that the Thar desert would be their permanent residence until the bomb was built.
The second was the question of the islands in the Indian Ocean. Ambedkar arranged a phone call for the first time ever between an American President and the leader of independent India.
"Good morning, Mr. President.
"Good morning, Mr. Prime Minister. How are you ?"
"Doing quite fine thank you. How do you do ?"
"Great. How's independence treating you ?"
"Well, I do feel somewhat like George Washington."
"Hahaha that's great, Prime Minister. Now I have a matter of some importance that I need to talk to you about."
"Before you do sir, I hear you've disallowed the Soviets from partaking in the occupation of Japan."
"I, uh, yes, well it wasn't my decision alone, the whole allied war council weighed in."
"What did you want to talk about, Mr. President ?"
"Kolkata. You gave a port to the Soviets in Karachi. The US needs one in Kolkata. I understand you want certain islands in the Indian Ocean to be hated over to you from the British."
"That is right, those were parts of the British Raj and now that India is independent, they are under illegal occupation of the British Empire."
"Yes sir I understand. But you must understand my position here. I cannot organise a blanket transfer of power in these regions."
"The Kolkata deal hinges on this transfer, Mr. President."
"You have no navy, sir. How are you going to occupy it ?"
"That is not-
"Netaji, if I may, you've got to help me help you. I will help you get those islands back, but now is not the time. Take a while, build up your navy."
"Very well, Mr. President. I'll build up my navy. And we'll assist your operations in the Indian Ocean."
"Thank you, Mr. Prime Minister, I kn-
"But I am afraid that Admiral Nimitz would be unable to inaugurate your base at Kolkata. Perhaps his successor can. I will personally welcome him. Aboard an Indian battleship. Thank you, Mr. President, you have nice day now.
Then Netaji hung up.
He hoped that Bhabha would deliver the bomb on time.
Shimla
Lord Linlithgow had been staying in the princely state of Patiala, at the old winter capital of the British Raj. Lord Mountbatten was there with him. The security was fierce. 15000 guards of the Patiala Royal State Forces had been posted to protect them, along with 5 armoured cars. This was due to the fact that there were around 1,00,000 protestors outside the palace grounds who wanted the their heads on pikes. These protestors blamed them for the destruction that took place at the Golden Temple. This led to a few lapses in security, which allowed Private Bill Morgan to slip through into the palace.
Lord Mountbatten was sound asleep when he suddenly felt hand covering his mouth and restraining his hands.
"Wffa--
"Shhh sir. I am a friend. I am going to remove my hand now. Please do not shout."
"Who the fuck are you, boy ?"
"My name is Private Bill Morgan of the 1st Punjab Regiment, sir. 99 comrades of mine and I are engaged in a war against Bose's rebellion against the Crown. We intend to take back its jewel."
"I have to admire your gumption, soldier. But a 100 cannot fight against the teeming millions of these savages."
"We have sent a man to Tehran to notify the British commander to assist us. We have also managed to defeat the 150 man garrison in Peshawar and we have taken the city. We disabled communications so the Indians do not know as of yet but we do not have a lot of time."
"I wish I could help you, young man, but right now I am a powerless man. I am prisoner of the Maharaja and his boss, Bose."
"We realise the unfortunate situation, sir. 5 of my men are posing as Afghans and are protesting outside. We have a plan to rescue you. We will put it into action in a week."
"Only me ? What about Lord Linlithgow and his family ?"
"I am afraid only you sir."
"Very well. What can I do to help ?"
"You'll know soon enough sir. I'll take your leave now."
"God save the king."
"God save the king."
Just as the private was climbing out of the window he said
"Oh, and sir eat carefully."
Lhasa
Tibet was under the military administration of General Maharaja Sadul Singh. The train from Srinagar to Lhasa had been half-completed but the all-weather roads had been built and three military basis had been constructed. 40,000 troops were posted in Tibet to maintain strict military law. 24-hour curfews were imposed and all citizens were being ID'd. But the Indian military without its British intelligence was hopeless at maintaining such a strict order. And small rebellions had become common with shootouts and ambushes becoming regular affairs. Since the war was over, Netaji was looking to demobilise some of the troops and had rejected Sadul Singh's request for more troops.
Netaji now decided to reap the fruits of his magnanimity. At the Lhasa airstrip, three transport planes of the Indian airforce had arrived carrying around a 100 men. To the Indian soldiers they seemed like the Gora Sahebs but with atrocious English and Hindi accents. They were wearing the Khaki Indian uniforms but had an eagle emblem on their shoulders and caps. There were rumours going on but no one knew what they were here for.
Heinrich Müller, the former chief of the Gestapo had arrived in Lhasa.
Rangoon
Netaji had traveled to do a public tour of Burma in order to endear Indian suzerainty to its citizens. Gandhi was doing another one separately. While Gandhi went on to rant about non-violence and Indo-Burmese friendship, Netaji was meeting with another top ranking Nazi officer to come up with a plan to control Burma. The Burmese coast and the northern border region of Burma had been annexed into India. Ba Maw declared the Independence of Burma, with a brief constitution, part of which explicitly stated a perpetual state of alliance with India.
Ba Maw became the Prime Minister of an independent, but a much smaller version of Burma. This, while Netaji held long discussions with his friend Heinrich Himmler.
Bose with Himmler making plans for prevention of rebellions in Burma
An Indian patrol at the Mansarovar Lake
Maharaja Sadul Singh photographed with his sons in Lhasa before a dinner party organised at his mansion in honour of Heinrich Müller.
The picture of the atomic bombing of Japan, popularised in the Indian press. This was done on orders of the Indian government to get public approval for building their own atomic bombs.
