Chapter 3 The richest man in the world
It is only now in Sir Barron's mind that he realizes how important it is to bring the younger generations to the civil service of the British Empire, and it is also for the sake of political stability.
Alan Wilson had his own understanding that British India was the jewel in the crown of the empire in every way. More important than Canada, Australia, or even the thirteen states of North America, or even all the other British colonies.
As for any of the colonies now under their jurisdiction, they cannot be compared with British India in any way, and it is nothing more than the loss of British India and the self-consolation of the British.
The reason for this is that British India was extremely large, and even relied on its own advantages in size, resources, and population, and its economic aggregate and important economic indicators surpassed that of modern Japan, and it was the first in Asia, far surpassing other imperial entities.
During the First World War, at the same time, the British and Indian governments had revenues of one billion rupees, about 100 million pounds, about half of the British mainland, about the same as the Japanese government, and far more than Canada, Australia, South Africa, and other entities.
This was also the result of the Anglo-German naval competition, the British on the ground gritted their teeth and raised taxes, and in peacetime, the financial revenues of British India were an indispensable part of the British Empire.
As a result, the position of British India was extremely important, except for a brief time in Napoleon, Britain made efforts in Europe, and for almost all of the nineteenth century, Britain made policy for the security of British India, whether it was attacking Burma or going north to Afghanistan.
If it had not been 1945, Alan Wilson would have had reason to believe that the British civil servants would have gone to India to work tirelessly, because it was a colony after all, and they would not have to endure all kinds of checks and balances on the British mainland, and they would have been able to enjoy the treatment of a superior man when they worked in the colony.
Therefore, Sir Barron did give Alan Wilson great convenience, if he went back a few decades, it could even be said that he directly let him ascend to the sky in one step, and he would have struggled for twenty years less.
But now it was different, Alan Wilson understood that British India, the jewel in the crown of the empire, was about to break away from the control of the British Empire, and now he had to use the little time he had left to accumulate as much seniority and wealth as possible, which was not an easy task.
As for the position of Hyderabad, he was ready to accept it without a word, although it was a princely state and belonged to the indirect rule of the British, it also had a very big advantage in it. For example, the monarch of Hyderabad, Mir Osman Ali Khan.
This man's popularity is all over the world, because in 1937 he was rated by the United States as the richest man in the world, and Hyderabad would be a starting point for Alan Wilson's future career, and he hoped that it would go well.
Alan Wilson left the Governor's House, for Sir Barron had made it clear that it would always be easier for him to recruit a few assistants himself, with the help of trusted men.
Before leaving, Alan Wilson was still carrying a document bag, and he heard Sir Barron say that it was an examination question for British Indian civil servants, which couldn't help but make Wellen Wilson sigh, could not avoid the exam in the end?
But when he thought about it, he was relaxed, which was much smoother than he had thought before, and it was already an extra joy to be able to get the position of Commissioner of Hyderabad, and he couldn't ask for too much.
Taking the bus home and opening the test paper, in fact, I can already see some of the real environment in British India at the moment. The relationship between the Muslim League and the Congress, as well as the provinces and princely states of British India, are all issues that the Viceroy needs to resolve at present.
On the other hand, Sir Barron was working to persuade Governor Wavell about the matter of the Commissioner of Hyderabad.
"A child who can be said to be a genius, if it weren't for the outbreak of war, might be the youngest person to enter Oxford University in recent years, but it is still a little too young." Governor Wavell frowned and asked, "Is it too smooth to start by letting him be commissioner in Hyderabad?" ”
"On the contrary, Mr. Governor-General, Commissioner Hyderabad is more appropriate. The monarch of Hyderabad is the guest of honor of London, and according to the agreement between us and the princely states, the power in Hyderabad cannot be too much, and we cannot do it now, and British India is enough for 100,000 civil servants. For example, Hyderabad is such a powerful princely state, we need to maintain the status of commissioner, and at the same time, we can't go too far, one-sided interference will also make the monarch of Hyderabad dissatisfied, so it is only right for Alan to go. Sir Barron spoke eloquently, going around and around, just to make it clear that Alan Wilson was the most suitable commissioner for Hyderabad, not a second choice.
The direction of the war is very obvious, and the Axis bloc has reached the end of its rope, but from the perspective of British India, the future direction is still unknown, and whether British India will continue to be under British rule or directly independent in the future.
Governor Wavell and Sir Barron, of course, understood that distant London was also quarreling fiercely over the question of British India, and that they had to beware not only of the Soviet Union, but also of another comrade-in-arms, the United States, who was in some ways more dangerous than the Soviet Union.
For the 100,000 civil servants of British India, the future was uncertain, and even Governor Wavell and Sir Barron, the Viceroy of British India and the head of civil servants of British India, could not guarantee a say in this matter.
Under this uncertainty, Sir Barron himself could not see the future, and a small unreasonable arrangement was no longer a big deal.
In the middle of the night, while Alan Wilson was still answering questions, Sir Barron's final paper asked about his supporters of British Indian rule, and after a long period of reflection, he wrote, "The untouchable class, and the monarchs of more than five hundred princely states, while the Congress Party and the Muslim League are the two opponents, Nehru and Ali Jinnah are only different means." ”
"The Congress Party, represented by Nehru, wants to take over all the rights of the whole of British India, while the Muslim League headed by Ali Jinnah does not want to live in the same country with the Hindus, and the two are similar to the British Indian government, but they are different from each other for the peace Christians and the Hindus, and this is the conflict between the Muslim League and the Congress Party."
"Under British India, only the untouchable had certain rights, and as for the monarchs of the more than 500 princely states, they were happy to maintain their present position, but on the contrary were suspicious of the Congress Party and the Muslim League. For the state of Hyderabad that I am about to visit, my mission is to make the monarch of Hyderabad the support of British India. ”
"Mir Osman Ali Khan, who has the most powerful of all the princely states of India, and who is also a pacifist and is a minority in the whole of India, even in the princely state of Hyderabad, I believe that Mir Osman Ali Khan is very willing to maintain peaceful relations with London."
Who is an enemy and who is a friend has always been a very important question.