WesWorld

Two news reports for the price of one!

5 April 1923

In Alleppey, the Rana has announced the creation of a new organization intended to promote Indian feats of exploration and discovery.

“The Adventurer’s Guild of India will provide funding, administrative, and logistical support to those who push forth into new territory, be it geography or technology”, the Rana said to a packed audience in the Imperial Hotel’s Grand Ballroom yesterday.

The new organization, for which the Rana will be the executive director, will be based in Alleppey. A call for abstracts is expected in the summer, which would in turn support projects mounted in 1924.

Initial funding for the Guild includes the entire 50,000 rupee sum that the Rana collected in 1921 after a long-range flight by Japanese pilot Oonishi Manzo. The daring voyage reportedly caught the interest of the Empress, who began laying the groundwork for the guild early last year.

18 April 1923

Near As Salif, six Indian soldiers are dead following a skirmish with guerrilla forces belonging to Arabian ruler Prince Saud. No details have otherwise been released by the army.

This is the first instance in which Prince Saud’s forces have been clearly identified as being involved in a clash with Indian forces in the As Salif region.

31 May 1923

The Indian government has confirmed that it is largely responsible for loans to Germany earlier this year. Those loans barely allowed the German government to avoid defaulting on reparations payments to France and other nations.

Had the reparations not been paid, it is believed that France would have invaded Germany, possibly leading to a wide-scale conflict.

9 June 1923

The Adventurer’s Guild of India has opened its doors to receive proposals for funding. Three men were waiting when the event took place - mountaineers Bhaskar Awati, Vishnu Soblok, and Madhvendra Sagar, who have between them scaled many of the tallest mountains in India.

“We are here to request funding for an organized expedition to scale Sagarmatha”, Awati told a crowd of reporters. “The British have twice climbed upon it without reaching the peak, and seek to try again next year. We believe it is important that an Asian mountain be conquered by those of us who live around it - not by tourists from the other side of the world. To this end, we will seek funding to finance the expedition, and also ask that the Guild negotiate permissions from the governments of Tibet and Nepal to attempt the feat.”

Sagarmatha, is the world’s tallest mountain at twenty-nine thousand feet and straddles the Nepalese-Tibetan border. Known also as Qomolangma on the Tibetan side, and as Mount Everest in European circles, the mountain has yet to be climbed. A British expedition led by George Mallory got to within 2000 feet in 1922, but lost seven sherpas in the process. Mallory has stated that he intends to try again in 1924.

14 July 1923

The first cyclone of the season has come and gone. Apart from a few lost fishermen east of Dhaka, the storm left little more than flooding and structural damage in its wake.

1 August 1923

The Indian Navy’s power projection capabilities have been enhanced now that the oiler Mahanadi has joined the fleet for its shakedown cruise. The ship is expected to join the Western Maritime District, where it will support deployments to As Salif and Europe.

5 August 1923

Another skirmish and more deaths in the As Salif area after Indian and Saudi soldiers clashed two nights ago. This time it seems that India got the upper hand in the encounter, killing eight while losing three of its own infantrymen.

A British official in Sana’a, Yemen, speaking on condition of anonymity, said, “Our sense is that Prince Saud is sufficiently irritated with India’s occupation of As Salif that he intends to drive them out. I can’t say I disagree; India has no business here.”

India’s Foreign Affairs Minister, Jal Kadharni, responded by saying, “India has a moral obligation to secure the lands around As Salif for the benefit of its people. We have been waiting almost two years for the League of Nations to accept our request for a mandate in the region, only to be confronted with dithering and disdain by some of the member-states. Once that mandate is received, we can complete our task and the people of Asir can determine whether they wish to join in Prince Saud’s newly-carved kingdom.”

8 August 1923

More heated words from Riyadh, Sana’a, and Hyderabad as British and Saudi officials commented on Indian statements about As Salif.

“The Indian foreign minister said that India has the obligation to secure As Salif for the benefits of its people. I fail to see how the people of India can possibly benefit from such imperialistic actions”, said Sir Oscar Pakingham, the British ambassador to Yemen.

The Yemeni government issued a terse and somewhat cryptic note to the effect that Indian aggression would be repelled with dire consequences, while a Saudi official noted, “Their words betray their intentions.”

Foreign Affairs Minister Kadharni was visibly angered by the attacks. “Obviously I meant that India would secure As Salif for the benefit of the people of As Salif. My words are being twisted to meet the ends of others”, the minister said when reached by telephone.

2 September 1923

A source within the Indian Navy has confirmed that the fleet will be starting construction on two battleships next year.

“I think we were going to wait a bit longer, but the brass are getting worried by the surge in building by countries like Denmark and the Netherlands - not to mention the Dutch alliance with Italy and Iberia now. There’s a fear that we’ll wake up one day to find a Danish battlegroup at Tranquebar, demanding their old outpost back.”

As for where and when the ships will be laid down, the source replied, “With only one class three slipway completed so far, the first ship - Akbar will be her name - will have to be built at Madras once the cruiser Lucknow is launched. The second ship will undoubtedly use the class three slip being built at Mumbai right now. That probably means a lay down next summer or fall.”

Quoted

not to mention the Dutch alliance with Italy and Iberia now

Italy refutes that it is currently allied to the Kingdom of the Netherlands. Italy is currently a member of a tri-party agreement with Iberia and Denmark.

Italy would like to state that she supports India's position in the As Salif region. She is not enamoured by the League either.

"There’s a fear that we’ll wake up one day to find a Danish battlegroup at Tranquebar, demanding their old outpost back.”

Well, you´ll never know if there won´t be a joined Indian - South African naval exercise in that region - right at that time.

[Depends on the information available to SPEARFISH I guess....]

However, the SAE doubts the Netherland to have any interests in that reagion.

The Government of India reminds the Government of Italy that the quote has been attributed to a purported anonymous source within the Indian Navy. Should that source actually exist, he certainly does not speak for the Government of India.

India does appreciate Italy's support on the As Salif mandate situation. Given that both states have interests in the Red Sea, there may be merit in a high-level discussion of issues related to the region.

The Kingdom of Denmark is dismayed by the comments atributed to spokesmen from the Indian navy. The Crown has NO interest in reclaiming historical possessions, but it IS determined to protect it's interests in the Far East.

Quoted

The Kingdom of Denmark is dismayed by the comments atributed to spokesmen from the Indian navy.

...and with two governments now incorrectly interpreting this person's comments as official Government communications, Navy Security decides it's about time to figure out who the troublemaker is, and punish him severely...

Egads! An Indian SNAFU!! AIS (Atlantian Intelegence service) agents were having a fit with all the intel floating around after this one!

Hopefully you're referring to the Foreign Minister's difficulties; that was a SNAFU (but then, As Salif has been a SNAFU from the get-go).

Lots of intel, and some of it may even be correct!