Delhi – Prime Minister's Office, South Block – 26th March 1949
A thin file sat on Arjun Mehra's desk like a loaded gun. Director Sharma had just finished walking him through every detail of the mess that happened in Balochistan. The ambush, foreign agents, the desperate chase across the desert, and their narrow escape into Iran with covering fire from their handlers.
All of it laid out in black and white with photographs and witness statements.
Arjun picked up the file and flipped through it slowly. His face showed nothing, but Sharma could feel the ice building in the room. When the Prime Minister got quiet like this, people usually ended up regretting whatever had put him in the mood.
"So, Director," Arjun said finally, his voice soft but carrying an edge that could cut glass, "we finally have a proof that someone is using Iranian territory to funnel weapons and agents into our new state. The tradecraft looks familiar. Professional. Not the kind of operation that village smugglers put together in their spare time."
Sharma shifted in his chair. He had seen that look before and it never meant good news for somebody. "Prime Minister, if we go public with accusations against specific foreign powers, we'll get denials and a diplomatic shitstorm. They'll claim we're paranoid, and that we're seeing conspiracies where there's just local banditry."
"Which is exactly why we're not going to do that," Arjun said. He looked up as Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel walked in.
"Sardar-ji, Director Sharma has confirmed what we suspected. Foreign weapons recovered from attacks inside Balochistan. Unknown foreign individuals who crossed from Iranian territory during the incident and escaped back across the border.
These are facts we can prove without getting into speculation about who sent them. Though, I'm pretty sure it's the CIA."
Patel took a seat and considered this. "So, we stick to what we can document. And make them draw their own conclusions."
"Exactly." Arjun's voice was quiet but absolutely certain. "Sardar-ji, you're to draft a diplomatic note to the Iranian Ambassador. Keep the language polite but make the message crystal clear. Express India's deep concern about the increase in smuggling and cross-border incursions.
Reference the foreign military weapons we recovered inland. Demand immediate action to secure Iran's frontier with Balochistan. And request that Iranian authorities conduct investigation into the individuals who crossed the border and how they managed to do it."
Patel's expression changed. A tight smile crossed his face like he was appreciating a well-played chess move. "I see. And that'll put them on the spot, even though according to you, they aren't involved."
"Precisely." Arjun's eyes were steady and cold.
"At the same time, Director Sharma, I want you to arrange some carefully managed leaks to international news outlets. Nothing attributable to us. Frame it as concern about cross-border arms smuggling and the emergence of small-scale disturbances with external support.
Let the reporters carry the implications without us having to point fingers at anyone. That way Tehran feels public pressure, their patrons get diplomatically uncomfortable, and the whole operation becomes less useful to whoever is running it."
Sharma nodded. "We highlight the consequences rather than naming the suspected perpetrators."
Arjun closed the file and looked at both men. "One more thing for the diplomatic note. We're demanding that Iran accept responsibility for compensating the families of our citizens who died in these attacks."
Patel's eyebrows went up. "Hmm, demanding compensation? That's going to be read as a serious escalation."
"Good," Arjun said. "I want it to be taken seriously. We're not trying to humiliate anyone. We're establishing consequences. If Tehran wants to avoid a public diplomatic mess, they'll have to take action."
He paused and let that sink in. "And let me be absolutely clear about something. In our official statements, we will not identify who we think is behind this. If anyone asks us privately, we'll say the methods look like known patterns of foreign intelligence interference.
But publicly, we stick to facts. We're not going to make enemies of Western powers, not now. Instead, we're going to show that Delhi is competent and resolute. Let Washington and London wonder whether we're talking about them."
The room was quiet for a moment while both men absorbed the plan. It was simple on the surface, and yet hid so many complexities. No accusations that could be denied, or any inflammatory language that could be dismissed as hysteria.
It was just cold facts and reasonable demands that would force everyone involved to show their cards.
Three days later, the Indian diplomatic note hit Tehran like a brick through a window. The Iranian government, which depended heavily on American money and British security advice, suddenly found itself caught between competing pressures.
The note was polite but the demands were explicit. Compensation for fourteen dead Indians. And an investigation into border crossers. All that along with immediate and demonstrable improvements in border security.
The note got passed along to Western capitals with more curiosity than concern at first. In Washington, Donovan read Peterson's encrypted report from Multan alongside the diplomatic cable from Iran's CIA operatives. He chuckled dryly and shook his head.
"Well, well. Looks like our Indian friends think they're playing in the big leagues now," he said to his deputy, though his tone carried less amusement than his words suggested.
"Mehra's trying to be clever, making demands like he's running Britain or something. Still, the bastard's put Tehran in a tight spot without actually accusing anyone of anything."
In London, Foreign Secretary Bevin's reaction was similar but more dismissive. "Mehra is getting rather above themselves, isn't he?" he remarked to his permanent secretary.
"Acting like a proper power when they've barely been independent for two years. I guess that UNSC permanent seat have gave him more arrogance. Still, I suppose we shouldn't be entirely surprised. They did learn statecraft from us, after all."
But beneath the condescending tone, there was a unwilling recognition that the demand for financial restitution and a Tehran-led inquiry would force Iran to respond publicly in ways that couldn't be easily dismissed.
The Iranian government read in between the lines immediately. An open investigation would be nothing less than an embarrassment. And any diplomatic confrontation with India would be useless. Since they probably have sufficient proof to support their claims.
Financial liability for cross-border incidents would set dangerous precedents. They moved fast to show they were taking things seriously.
Iranian border commanders got orders to double their patrols. Tehran promised full cooperation in locating the individuals who had crossed into their territory, though both knew that it was just a formality.
Iran quiet discussions started with Western partners about consolidating operations in less obvious ways. The immediate result was that routes which had been useful for small, deniable actions suddenly became much less reliable.
Diplomats and intelligence watchers across the entire region and beyond took notice, of course. What had looked like a local bandit incident was now being discussed in other capitals as a possible foreign-backed operation.
The lesson was clear to everyone who mattered. Nations would think twice before sponsoring unrest that could be reframed as an attack on sovereignty and turned into a monetary liability and diplomatic awkwardness.
Meanwhile, in Tehran, the Iranian Foreign Ministry was scrambling to respond to Delhi's demands. The compensation request alone was a slap to their face. Let alone an investigation that would have to look credible without actually exposing anything important.
The Iranian Ambassador in Delhi, a careful man named Hosseini, requested an urgent meeting with Sardar Patel. He arrived at the Home Ministry carrying talking points that had been carefully crafted by both his own government and his American advisors.
"Mr. Patel," Hosseini began, "my government is deeply concerned by these incidents along our border. We want to assure India that Iran has no intention of allowing its territory to be used for activities that threaten Indian sovereignty."
Patel listened with the expression of a man who had heard similar promises before and wasn't particularly impressed. "Ambassador, my government appreciates Iran's stated concern. What we need now are concrete actions.
The families of fourteen dead Indians are waiting to see whether Iran will accept responsibility for failures in border control that enabled these attacks."
Hosseini shifted uncomfortably. "The compensation demand is... substantial. My government will need time to review the circumstances and determine appropriate responses."
"Of course," Patel said smoothly. "Take all the time you need. Meanwhile, we'll be sharing our concerns with international partners and regional neighbors.
I'm sure they'll be interested to learn about cross-border arms smuggling and the apparent ease with which foreign agents can use Iranian territory for operations against neighboring countries."
The threat was polite but unmistakable. Drag this out and India would make sure everyone knew about Iran's border control problems. Hosseini got the message clearly.
Back in Washington, the CIA was conducting its own damage assessment with a mixture of irritation. Jones and Miller were safe but their entire Balochistan network was blown. Weeks of careful preparation and relationship building had been destroyed in a single night.
Worse, the Indian response had turned what should have been a routine containment operation into an actual diplomatic headache.
"You have to give them credit," Donovan's deputy said, reviewing the files. "For a bunch of former colonial subjects, they're learning the game pretty quickly."
"Don't get too impressed," Donovan replied, though his tone suggested he was more annoyed than dismissive. "They got lucky this time. And caught our people at the wrong moment. But they're still just India. They don't have the reach or means to play this game long term against serious powers."
Still, the decision came down from higher up the chain. The Balochistan operation was suspended indefinitely. The risk of further exposure was too high and the diplomatic costs were getting messy. Iran would be quietly advised to cooperate with Indian demands to keep things from escalating further.
Back in Delhi, Arjun allowed himself a moment of quiet satisfaction as reports filtered in from various sources. The Iranian government was publicly committing to border security improvements. The compensation negotiations would drag on for months, but they would eventually be settled in India's favor.
He had not made dramatic accusations. Neither has he burned any diplomatic bridges. He had simply used documented facts, reasonable demands, and the normal machinery of international relations to shut down a covert operation and teach a lesson about the costs of meddling in Indian affairs.
Meanwhile, unaffected by these diplomatic ripples, Krishna Menon continued his diplomatic tour. After Tibet, Menon made his trip to Burma and Ceylon, with his mission to formally introduce the new Republic of Bharat and subtly bring these nations into India's sphere of influence.
[A/N: So, I didn't really mention it in any chapter earlier, and would be weird to do it now, let's just pretend that India opened multiple foreign Embassies of various nations in 1948.]
------------------------------------------------
[A/N: First of all, happy new year to all (I personally celebrate it in March end). Now, I have 2 news, 1 good and 1 bad. Good news is I'm continuing the story. As for bad news, you'll figure that out soon. Oh, also I had a bit of time to research more about the history during 1947-49.
And as it turns out many things that I did were actually very hard to be possible realistically, and it's something that I personally dislike as I would rather have my story closely related to circumstances that were present at that time.
But that said, it's not impossible either, so I tried my best to justify those slim possibilities in later chapters.
PS: I think you should start over from the beginning to get a better reading flow.]