Why did he care about the war so much that he planned every small detail of it out right from the beginning - setting Lin up and all?
In my opinion, Khaderbhai had reached a point in his life where he wanted a "legacy." The war presented an opportunity for him to re-create himself from his
history as more than just an important underworld figure. Despite his oath to his mother, 50 yrs. prior, the Russian invasion had presented the whole region, from
Afghanistan, Pakistan, etc. with a reason to try to work together enough to rid the area of the interlopers. Khaderbhai thought that he and his crew, who were made up of members from all over, were powerful enough, rich enough, politically-invested-religiously invested enough, that their contributions could, perhaps turn-the-tide of the war---thus, as the leader,making himself a HERO! In addition, on the down-low, he could see his home place one last time before he died.
Shantaram---the book.
