## ## Chapter 15: This about the Past—or Should I Say, Future
18 September 1970
The city outside Karan's fifth-floor window was still waking as he began his day. At 5:00 a.m., he slid out of bed without disturbing the thick silence of the building. The apartment air was crisp with early autumn's approach. He dimmed the lights and stepped out into the still shadows of Mumbai, beginning his familiar ritual of discipline—morning jogging, bodyweight exercises, and stretches rooted in yogic tradition.
For two hours, his body moved in quiet mastery, a blend of old principles and focused human strength.
By 7:00 a.m., he returned, showered thoroughly, and sat down for a modest breakfast of soaked almonds, banana, and black tea—fuel for a mind that never rested. Then, he entered his private study, closed the door, and retrieved a thick, hand-bound notebook from a shelf beside his System console. The room was silent save for the tick of the slow metal fan overhead. He sat cross-legged on the floor, spine perfectly erect, and opened to a fresh page.
At the top, he wrote the date: 18 September 1970
And below that, a heading in block print:
> "Important Future Events: 1970–1971
> Preserve India. Fix the Future. Collapse the Old Orders."
>
1. Pakistan Election Crisis — The Birth of Bangladesh
His first notes concerned Pakistan's election crisis, the seeds of which had already been sown. According to history, general elections across Pakistan were scheduled for 7 December 1970, covering both East and West Pakistan under one national vision—at least on paper. Provincial elections would follow on 17 December.
However, none of that would matter once Nature spoke.
> 12 November 1970: The Bhola cyclone would strike East Pakistan—one of the deadliest storms in recorded history. Public records would later estimate between 300,000 and 500,000 deaths, though unofficial figures fear the count was higher. Entire districts were swallowed by water and grief.
>
In response, the central Pakistani government's apathy—slow relief efforts, bureaucratic delays, and West Pakistani indifference—would enrage the population beyond pacification. The call for autonomy would turn into a demand for separation. Between 8 and 13 December 1970, votes would be counted. The results shocked the West: Sheikh Mujibur Rahman's Awami League would win 160 out of 162 East Pakistani seats.
Awami League now held a clear national majority, enough to choose the Prime Minister and form a solo government. But the political and military elite of West Pakistan refused to hand over power to an East Pakistani leader. Tensions flared.
> 3 January 1971: Sheikh Mujib addressed a crowd of over a million people in Dhaka, declaring the Six-Point Plan for autonomy.
> 1 March 1971: President Yahya Khan postponed the National Assembly session—a deliberate betrayal.
> 26 March 1971: East Pakistani leaders formally declared Independence.
>
What followed was genocide. From May to November 1971, a civil war raged. India, bearing the burden of 10 million refugees, moved toward intervention.
> 3 December 1971: Pakistan launched pre-emptive airstrikes on Indian airbases. India responded instantly, entering the war with full legitimacy.
> 16 December 1971: The Pakistani military formally surrendered in Dhaka. 93,000 soldiers were taken as prisoners of war.
>
Karan scribbled furiously. *This war is inevitable, but the timing, alliances, leverage—those can change.* In his original timeline, India liberated Bangladesh but left POK untouched. Now, armed with knowledge and memory manipulation, he could engineer a dual campaign: **One, for Dhaka. Two, for POK.** Severing the corridor between China and Pakistan would isolate both adversaries and cripple the future CPEC permanently. This victory must be complete.
**2. Preventing PRC Entry into the United Nations (UNSC)**
Karan flipped to another page: *"Chinese Entry into the UN: A Mistake That Must Be Reversed"
He wrote the date: 25 January 1971. This was the day Taiwan (ROC) would be replaced by the People's Republic of China (PRC). In his timeline, PRC got 76 votes out of 111. It only needed 74. Taiwan didn't vote. If Taiwan cast its ballot, the majority requirement would increase.
He listed strategies:
Ensure Taiwan votes against the motion.
Flip small but reliable U.S. allies: Bhutan, Nepal, and Sri Lanka (formerly Ceylon).
Convince Israel to vote with moral logic, given their shared security anxieties.
> "If India votes against," Karan reasoned, "Taiwan + India + 1 or 2 neutral votes turning would deny PRC the numbers."
>
Success here would prevent China from gaining UN veto power and military lobbying strength, setting them back by decades.
3. The 'Nixon Shock' and the Golden Financial Opportunity**
Next, he wrote: *"Nixon Ends Bretton Woods — The Global Reset Begins"*
August 15, 1971**. Nixon ended the gold-backed dollar system. Gold was pegged at $35 per ounce. By 1980, it would be $850—a 24× increase.
Karan ran the numbers. If he began buying gold at $35 now and released it at $150 after the shock, he could multiply wehis alth near-infinitely. He would then use that capital to buy crude oil, plastic, and other items before the first oil crisis quadrupled their prices. He noted to assign Mark 1 and 2 to purchase gold from black-market sources and Dubai.
**4. The Mining License Front & The Great Oil Reserve**
Karan paused, his pen hovering. Through his System's deep-scanning capabilities, he had discovered that India held the **3rd highest oil reserves in the world**, hidden in geological pockets the current technology couldn't detect. To secure this without the government seizing the land, he drafted a "Mining Front."
He would apply for "General Mining Licenses" for common, easier-to-get minerals like limestone, bauxite, and silica. While the Ministry of Mines believed he was setting up cement and aluminium supply chains for his "film sets" and Gorakhpur factories, he would actually be installing high-pressure deep-core extraction rigs (System-acquired).
By the time the **1973 Oil Crisis** hit, Karan wouldn't just be surviving the embargo; he would be the one supplying the nation. He would use the mining licenses to legally control the land, while secretly extracting the black gold that would fuel his empire.
5. The Gorakhpur Silicon Revolution
Karan moved to the final section. He would not allow the technological future of India to be built anywhere but his home.
* **The Plan: Establish Shergill Semiconductors in Gorakhpur.
* The Method: In 1971, Intel rereleasedhe 4004 microprocessor. Karan would skip this primitive stage. He would use the System to acquire 1980s-era photolithography machines, disguising them as "Advanced High-Speed Printing Presses" for the *DreamWorks Press* and comic book wing.
By building the infrastructure in Gorakhpur, he would create the world's most advanced fabrication plant under the guise of a media company. India would become the global hub for chip manufacturing before Silicon Valley even realised that was happening.
He paused, surveying the five plans before him—five declarations.
* Turn the Bangladesh crisis into a dual-front geopolitical conquest.
* Deny China their UN veto card permanently.
* Buy gold now. Break it later.
* Use Mining Licenses as a front to extract the 3rd largest oil reserves.
* Turn Gorakhpur into the global Silicon Hub.
He closed the book, placed it inside his System space, and lit a stick of incense. The scent of sandalwood curled through the silent room like smoke from history, rewriting itself one decision at a time.