Indian-built cruisers as national capacity

In this counterfactual, Indian yards could plausibly have built County-class cruisers and expanded local industrial capability through naval orders. A cruiser squadron would also have been a visible symbol of national capacity because its ships and mixed crews operated internationally. British willingness to support such a force is read as pointing toward eventual Indian independence, although the timing and politics remained unsettled. The cruiser proposal therefore becomes a possible path to institution-building and public status alongside its imperial defence role. It connects shipbuilding and service integration with the politics of decolonization.