International News, 1915

[The Rock Doctor]

12 December 1915:  Chennai, Bharat

The city was sliding into chaos, gaining speed with every hour.  Smoke from dozens of fires had coalesced into a vast grey smear across the sky, and a screaming mob of young males surrounded the perimeter, hurling verbal abuse, bricks, bottles, dung, and less identifiable objects at the Bharati militiamen holding the line.  Sporadic efforts by the crowd to breach the line had been met with vicious beat-downs, but their fervour was undiminished.  The militiamen, effectively cut off from reinforcements and in many cases nursing minor injuries, were tiring.

At stake, as had been the case so many other times in so many other towns and cities along the coast in recent weeks, was the fate of foreigners and non-Hindu refugees attempting to get out.  They were coming aboard the Senora Isabella in single file - first having to provide identification or, if they had none, being given temporary identification; second, being quickly searched for weapons; third, being quickly inspected for possible disease; and fourth, being led in groups below decks to the berthing by a pair of Hammerheads.  The system had worked adequately so far, but that had been with smaller groups.  Major Parker, watching Sergeant-Major Smythe stride toward him, had the feeling that this crowd was larger than the two thousand estimated by Guyana two weeks earlier.

Smythe's salute was crisp and quick, as was Parkers.  "I'm estimating four to five thousand, Sir", the NCO stated flatly.

"Jesus", Parker exclaimed.

"In my view, Sir, we can't process them all in a normal fashion before the locals break."

Parker nodded.  At that point, Rear-Admiral Ramsey would have to make a quick choice between allowing a massacre and triggering an international incident.  "Lieutenant Halverson - take charge; I need to speak with the Captain.  Sergeant - with me, please."

They made their way up the gangway and two lengths of steps to the transport's bridge.  Capitan de Fregata Olmos was waiting for them.  "We gotta change plans, Captain", Parker said as he stepped inside.  "This is going too slowly."

"We can get people aboard and process them later", Olmos said, "Though you will need to adjust your security details accordingly.  Frankly, I think we need to get Senora Feliciaand Topaz into the picture immediately."  This would be contrary to instructions from the local Bharati military, which had been one ship at a time, for reasons they had not specified.  Whether the Bharatis would take issue with the violation remained to be seen.

"Is there room for all three ships at the wharf?", Parker asked.

"Felicia can tie up on our starboard side.  We'll run passageways across to her.  Topaz can tie up on the other side of the wharf.  I'll get a message to them and to the flagship."

"I'll head back down to the gangway", Parker replied.  "Sergeant, advise the rest of the officers of the change in plans."

"Sir."

A Bharati officer was waiting for Parker when he arrived.  "Can't you move faster?", he asked in French.

"We're going to bring in our other ships right away, despite the orders from your government", Parker assured him.  "I'm sorry, Sir, we didn't anticipate these numbers."

"Nor did we - in terms of refugees or hooligans", the Bharati stated.

"How many are out there?"

"Probably two thousand or more.  I've got three hundred men, with no prospects of reinforcement."  The Bharati glanced out to sea.  "Your ships are on the way in." 

Sure enough, the Senora Isabella was belching additional smoke and generating a modest bow wave.  Topaz was beginning to inch forward as well.

"That's a sight for sore eyes", Parker admitted, but the Bharati's head whipped round to examine his men and the mob beyond it. 

"Damn it!", the officer cursed, and he began pushing his way through the crowd of refugees towards the perimeter.  Parker only need a moment to recognize that the intensity of shouting was rising, and then he heard the first gunshot of the morning.  The mob, perhaps alarmed at the sight of the approaching ships, was no longer content to throw abuse and debris at the militia - they were starting to surge forward in groups, engaging the militia in hand-to-hand combat.

"COMPANY!", Parker shouted, drawing the attention of his men and the ship's crew.  "The other ships are coming in, but we gotta pick it up!  Suspend the processing and get these people aboard - quickly but orderly!  As soon as Senora Isabella and Topaz tie up, we start loading them too!"

Moving up the gangway for a better view of the area, Parker could see that the militia line was falling back - but there wasn't a lot of room for them to do so before they'd be backing into the rear of the crowd of refugees.  Militiamen who had been injured and lying down were now staggering back to the line, where batons, clubs, sticks, and pipes were being swung with reckless abandon.

Capitan de Fregata Olmos appeared at his side.  "I've got men standing by with axes if we have to cut the lines and cast off.  Be sure your men are ready to get up off the gangway if I have to cast off."

"I've got a platoon covering the gangway.  None of those bastards are getting aboard."

The militia men were now pressed up against the refugees, who were starting to panic.  They pushed forward, and people began to fall underfoot or get knocked off the wharf, into the sewage-heavy water.  It wasn't just the mob screaming now.

Parker opened his mouth to call for shots into the air -

BOOOOM.

- and he turned to see a cloud of cordite smoke swirl away from the foremost turret of Warrior, anchored a half-mile offshore.

BOOOOM.

BOOOOM.

Turrets trained fore and aft, facing empty waters, the armored cruiser fired a single threed hundred five millimetre gun every five seconds.

BOOOOM.

BOOOOM.

In between shots, Parker noted that the intensity of the screaming - and the amount of movement on the wharf - was diminishing.

BOOOOM.

BOOOOM.

BOOOOM.

There was silence - even the din from the surrounding city seemed to fade - as the mob, the refugees, the marines, and the militia awaited Warrior's next move.  But there were no additional shots, nor movement of guns, or anything else.  The Colombian flagship rested at anchor, a mute grey bulk not unlike a dormant volcano.   

The Bharati officer seized the initiative then, shouting a string of instructions.  His men, battered and weary, drew themselves up, determined to do their jobs - to protect civilian lives, even foreign ones.  The officer shouted a single word, and the militiamen took one step forward, stamping their feet down hard and shouting in unison.

The mob slowly fell back.  They resumed shouting and hurling abuse - but they fell back.  The militiamen pressed them, opening up space between the refugees and their own numbers.  The refugees began to calm down, and some began to haul up their trampled neighbours or attempt to help those in the water.

Senora Isabella nudged alongside her sister.  Topaz was drawing closer to the other side of the wharf.

Parker exhaled slowly.

"Drop the aft gangway, lead those people straight over to Isabella as soon as she's ready for them", Capitan de Fregata Olmos called out.  "Let's go!"

[P3D]

December 14, 1915
Cochin Naval Base

The town was a calm spot within the chaos that seemed to engulf all of Bharat - or at least the port cities where most of the non-Hindu population lived in this seclusive empire. An Orange troop transport was loading refugees that sook the safe haven the proximity of the base and the garrison town provided.
In the shadow of the fortress, the Orange sloop ORNS Tsonga was anchored next to the battleship BNS Shatpura. The small crew of the sloop was being given a tour of the old battlewagon built in Durban 30 years ago.

In one of the cooler rooms inside the fortress, a meeting was taking place. Admiral Gopal Rao, General Varun Singh, and Prabhat Khumar from the Ministry of War was meeting with three man.  They were recognizable as the two people behind Kranitz&Co., Industrial and Mining Equipment Import-Export Company: Martin Kranitz himself, the latter representing '&Co.', Pavel Hanacek (Capt. ,retd., ORN), and a Orange Foreign Ministry Official.
"We think that the presence of armored cars would make the dealings with the unruly elements much easier" replied Khumar.
"Both the Nau Sena (Navy) and the Army want their new equipment delivered by yesterday, so to speak. The submarines would be transferred from the Navy. They are brand new, being completed in the next two weeks. The brief war with Italy resulted in huge submarine orders, but the Navy realized that there are more submarines available than trained crews available in peacetime. The armored cars would come from Army reserve stock. Now about the details..."

After the meeting concluded, and the arms dealers withdrew, one of the Indians approached them.
"How can I be of service, General Singh?"
"I want to ask you a favor. What do you know about Sikhism?"
Herr Kranitz looked at his companion.
"Some" replied Hanacek.
"The majority of my people lives in the Mughal Empire. A smaller part, although still significant number lives in Bharat*. The current upheaval spared us up till know - the population mainly regards us as a Hindu sect, but that might not be the case in the future. Our association with the military provides us some safety, but it might not be to rely upon it blindly."
"How can I help you?"
"We have to consider migration if the current state of affairs continues to worsen. Orange is one of the possible destinations. You are close to your government. I'd ask you to mention it to the relevant peoples, we might need help in the future."
"We will see what can we do."

*:By my guesstimate, Sikh population is around 2 million total (1/10th of today), mainly living in Mughal, and 200,000 or so in Bharat.

[maddox]

IC

A sizeable group of Sikh are living in Kolkata, and are very well connected to the military and police. Just because they are militantly lawfull good.

OOC, with a Sikh temple right behind the corner, I do like what I have seen from those guys.

[miketr]

To those that might be digging around on what's going on in Bharat your people will dig up the following in time.

The Origins of Hindu Nationalism

"Hindus are bound together not only by the tie of the love they bear to a common fatherland and by the common blood that courses through their veins and keeps our hearts throbbing and our affection warm but also by the tie of the common homage we pay to our great civilization, our Hindu culture." - Savarkar

The center of the movement is a Hindu Reform movement within Bharat that dates from the late 19th century.  At first this movement was general with many figures involved.  In time the reform movement coalesced into a Hindu Nationalist movement to defend against the perceived Christian and Muslim cultural contamination of Bharat.  Islam had long been a source of friction in Bharat because of various Muslim invasions and resulting periods of foreign rule but the new wave of Christian Missionaries made matters worse.  With stories of forced conversions, secret baptisms and murder of Hindu's as part of "alien" religious rights all combined with the marked and noticeable economic weakness of Bharat compared to other powers around the world.  The central belief of the movement under its young leader Vinayak Damodar Savarkar is that it is impossible to be a Hindu, Hindu being not only religious but ethnic from the movement's point of view, if one follows religions that have an origin outside of Bharat.  It is believed that having holy cities out of Bharat itself makes ones political loyalty divided.  Once Bharat is united culturally it will be possible for all Hindu's to take their rightful place in the world.

Despite the term Hindu Nationalism it is believed that Hinduism, Jainism, Sikhism and Buddhism are all one in the same as they all originated within Bharat and long co-existed together and had a great deal of exchange of ideas. 

The current center of the movement can be found in the central Indian city of Bhopal.  A city with a long history of Muslim Rule and a hot bed of Hindu Nationalism.

The Spread of Hindu Nationalism and Local Forms

The 19th century leaders of Hindu Nationalism were Bal Gangadhar Tilak, Bipin Chandra Pal and Lala Lajpat Rai.  These leaders did much to spread the Hindu Nationalism and make it a political force within Bharat.  Of these three Bal Gangadhar Tilak and his urging of the killing of foreigners and the resulting Bombay bombing in 1897 is viewed by many as the transition point of Hindu Nationalism into its modern and violent form.  Tilak was sentenced to 18 months in prison for incitement to murder but this time in jail made him a hero to the radical faction of the Nationalist movement and cemented Tilak's role as its leader.  Tilak urged Hindu's to refuse to buy foreign goods and instead seek out local products.

In time this anti foreign movement came to include ideas and not just goods.  It was such a rally in 1905 that saw the burning of foreign books that Vinayak Damodar Savarkar a student at Poona College entering the movement.  Savarkar was noted by many for his intelligence and speaking abilities and began to rise quickly within the Nationalist movement.  In 1907 Savarkar choose to study abroad for Law to learn more of foreigners; in particular those nations that had seized holdings from Bharat.  During this time abroad Savarkar wrote a major work on the history of foreign intervention in Bharat which became wildly popular among Hindu Nationalists. Soon Savarkar's abrasive anti-foreign rhetoric caused him to be expelled but he was able to complete his degree by correspondence.

Back in Bharat Savarkar practiced law and specialized in defending those that attacked or killed foreigners; soon Savarkar began to write newspaper articles on this subject calling those who died in such activities as Martyrs of Bharat.  The articulate Savarkar rose through the movement and in time developed the idea of social unity between Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists and Jains.  This unity Savarkar believed was key requirement of loyalty to the fatherland and as a defense against foreign cultural contamination.  As such missionaries were viewed as foreign agents.  Also Savarkar spoke out against caste discrimination and untouchability.  This caused Hindu nationalism to spread from an elite and higher cast centered movement to grow greatly in the lower casts and spread widely. 

By 1912 Savarkar was considered by many to be the leader of the movement and he worked to expand it even further.  Savarkar ordered many publications to be started to increase awareness in Hindu Nationalism; especially in the port cities where foreigners especially missionaries and businessmen could be found.  Soon publications of the movement started to appear in Bengal, the Mughal Empire and the foreign holdings along Bharat. 

In these various locations the message of Hindu Nationalism underwent local adaptations.  In Bengal and the Mughal Empire it became a rallying cry for Hindu's living under Muslim domination and wishing for autonomy or even unity with Bharat.  During the Balkan Wars Hindu Nationalists rallied against Muslim Powers and openly hoped for Ottoman Defeat.  In the foreign holdings the movement acquired an almost purely anti-Christian bent instead.

Violence in the Movement

The Hindu Nationalist Movement has had its violent streaks.  The 1897 Bombay Bombing and number of attacks on Christian missionaries in 1912 including noted Gran Colombian missionary Santiago Batista are past examples.  The most recent violence is different from past examples in a number of ways.  First the scale is larger by several orders of magnitude compared to past incidents in the number of people involved.  Second it's over a much larger geographic area and in particular is occurring not just in the interior but all along the coasts and even more ominous outside the borders of Bharat.  Last the nature of the violence is far more brutal than past incidents with reports of body mutilations of the dead being common.                 

[P3D]

To be PITA, Sikhism originated from the Mughal empire (Punjab) not the Bharat Empire - thus can be interpreted both ways by the criterion. But if the popular will won't turn against them, there won't be any need for them to emigrate, that's true - to Mughal, to French Bengal or Orange, for that matter.

[miketr]

OOC I wouldn't worry as whats going isn't rational and some might view only HINDUISM as the lone true religion and that Sikhism, Buddhism and Jainism are all degenerates just not as bad as Muslism and Christians foreign scum that need to die right this second.  Especially when its clear that movement isn't tightly controllled (while large) and is subject to local mutation.  Also some might just view as whats going on as just dangerous and destructive and worry that they will be next or just get caught in the cross fire.  This said the logical out growth of Hindu nationalism is first to boot the foreigners out, then the muslims, then the foreign holdings and then destroy the Mughal Empire and Bengal (I have been told by the mods no NPC wars so don't worry about this last point).  Real time line does in time indeed see anti-Sikh violence by Hindu Nationalists just far in the future.  The moral is write what you will there is cover.

Also if the Sikh's do want to flee some place Mughal Empire while closer has its own problems as Muslims in the long term are very much a problem towards a pagan subject class in a Muslim Majority state.