WesWorld

India News, Q1/1923

5 January 1923

India has confirmed that its military is training a cadre of local fighters in a camp near the town of As Salif. Foreign Affairs Minister Prakash Zinta called the move, “a prudent measure to ensure that the people of As Salif and its neighbouring communities can have the safety and security they deserve when our mission ends.”

India’s military presence has quietly increased over the last year as a result of the ongoing warfare spanning the Arabian peninsula. The army has a force of two infantry battalions, one of cavalry, and one of artillery present, and a mixed squadron of pursuit and reconnaissance aircraft has been stationed at a new airstrip at Kamaran Island. The navy, meanwhile, has stationed two torpedo boats at Kamaran.

Although Yemeni fears of an invasion have thus far been unfounded, the Indians have aggressively patrolled a wide perimter around As Salif in recent months, fighting a number of skirmishes with bandits and irregular militiamen. Over thirty Indian soldiers have perished in these encounters.

Reports have suggested that India originally intended to leave As Salif over a year ago, but has delayed the departure for political and humanitarian reasons. A petition to the League of Nations to acquire a formal mandate for the area has been in limbo for some time.

16 January 1923

The Imperial Ordnance Works of Pondicherry has embarked on a massive expansion of its production facilities. The plant is one of the nation’s largest producers of heavy artillery, manufacturing fifteen and twenty-one centimeter guns for both the navy and the army.

IOWP spokesmen could not be reached for comment, but inquiries to citizens of Chinna Salem, near IOWP’s proving grounds, were neither surprised nor happy to hear of the news. “That just figures”, complained local schoolteacher Smriti Kumar. “There are days where it seems like a god is jumping up and down behind the school. It’s very disruptive.”

A local farmer, who did not wish to be named, said, “I done my time in the army, been round every gun they use. I know their sounds. They ain’t shooting fifteens or twenty-ones over there on their range right now, nope.”

2 February 1923

The Rana is in London today, where she will be having tea with Queen Mary. It’s the first time that the two have met, and also the first direct meeting between the two royal families in almost seventy years. She will fly to Berlin tomorrow for a meeting with Chancellor Cuno of Germany.

The Rana had previously been in Stockholm, where she spent the weekend skiing with Princess Prahminder. Prior to that, she and other directors of the Imperial Bank of India had been in the United States for a tour of several factories and meetings with leading industrialists.

After a brief stop in Kiel, the Rana and her entourage will board the royal yacht Hindustaan for a return trip to India via the Mediterranean and Red Sea.

28 February 1923

The Meteorological Survey of India’s Antarctic mission has ended three weeks early, after its ship was damaged in a collision with pack ice. Kamal Pashira, the survey’s director, said, “The ship and crew were in no immediate danger but we played it safe anyway and sent the ship to Durban for repairs.

The dispatch to Durban was not surprising, as the ship made a brief stop in late December to the South African port to take on a small scientific team from the University of Durban. “It was an excellent opportunity to expand the mission to include flora and fauna studies”, enthused Mr. Pashira. “The South African team came aboard to examine the aquatic and avian populations of the Antarctic and we found some potentially interesting connections between their work and our climate observations.”

Not all of the mission was spent strictly on work. “On New Year’s Eve many of the crew boated over to a large floe and celebrated with a football game between the South African researchers and a team of Indian scientists and crewmen. I’m sad to say that although India scored twice late in 1922, the South Africans came back with four goals in 1923 to win by a final score of 4 to 3.”


[Note: There's a useful site called www.rulers.org for anybody interested in knowing who was a ruler or minister for most nations in the past few centuries...]

I´m pretty sure I know what kind of guns they are testing... *g*

I wonder if the As Salif thing will ever end? If India can´t calm down all parties involved it might get bloodier day by day. :o(

Are japanese forces still around in As Salif?

Regards,

HoOmAn

Quoted

Are japanese forces still around in As Salif?

I certainly hope not. They're good friends and all, but you never know when they'll send in the ninjas or Oonishi Manzo. Who, incidentally, has been awful quiet of late...

Quoted

I wonder if the As Salif thing will ever end?

I think sooner or later every nation learns that invading another land isn't just about kissing pretty girls and handing out candy bars. This is India's turn.

Frankly, I'm also stringing it out because I've identified a handful of ways to revitalize the story and run with it.

What, no crowing about South Africa's triumph on the floe?

J

Quoted

Originally posted by The Rock Doctor

What, no crowing about South Africa's triumph on the floe?

Uh - no.... The SAE team is not all too proud about the penalty shot during the last minute. Could have been a nice 3:3 otherwise....

Regards,

HoOmAn