By 1921, the three groups – BN, AK and Others had taken positions. It was getting clear after World War I and the wildcard entry of the U.S. – that “democracy” was a new format – whose time had come.
BN was trying for an independent, autonomous, self funded and united India which extended from Afganistan to Singapore, Tibet to Sri Lanka. For him, it was critical to create a suitable financial framework built around global leadership, integrated operations and domestic financial institutions. For him, autonomy and swadeshi were important. He didn’t care if the British monarch continued forever. After Prince of Wales visited him in 1921, he is known to have remarked, “what outstanding drama”. Unlike most others, he knew the to be monarch was just a puppet. He wanted to be the man instructing the puppeteer.
AK just wanted a private Muslim country. He didn’t care what it was called. He didn’t believe you needed to be viable. You just needed to be financeable. And he had found a financier. Unlike BN, he was happy to be the puppeteer. The puppet he had found was Jinnah. It is the puppet who takes the bullet. AK was erudite and articulate. He wasn’t into business or working. He was GOD. And that got him money. He had horses, trophy wives and pretty much everything that money could buy. What he wanted was power.
The third group, which I collectively call “others” – had no philosophy or doctrine as such. They just wanted the British out. They had no clue of what they would do after the British were out. They didn’t want to create anything. The job was to criticise. The idea was to instigate the poor against the rulers and in the process get relevance for themselves. The other objective was to make sure someone else took the bullet. With a population of 350 million, rampant unemployment, population scale illiteracy and low life expectancy – it was hardly difficult to find people with nothing much to live for – and thus willing to die. That is why the 1921 movement started not in Bombay, but in Bihar.
BM realised he had to emulate the ecosystem of the Medici. And that meant banking, insurance, capital markets, shipping, global operations, aviation … the new economy of the industrial age.
AK realised that he had to unite the Muslims. Not against the British. But in his support. And that meant separating from the Congress to create the Muslim League. Yet at the same time, he had to ensure that Muslims continued safely in the rest of India. Muslims staying back in India and Hindus /Sindhis /Sikhs exiting Pakistan was not a coincidence.
Others didn’t think so much. Lawyers act to a brief. It doesn’t matter what the client has done or not done. Their job is to act on the brief. Their brief was to throw the British out. And they were being paid. It is a complete myth that the Birlas or Tatas had any ability to fund them. They were at the mercy of the British – for licenses, for funding, for orders….. for everything.
