WesWorld

Just pre-coronation stuff for now, as I'm still working out the particulars of that event

5 April 1930

With the launch of the battleship Shah Jahan several days ago, the Indian Navy now finds itself pondering the future of the Babur, the vessel to be replaced by the new battleship.

It is certainly not possible for Babur to remain in service in her current guise, as this would violate India's treaty limits. Options left to the navy include retaining her in a training or experimental role, scrapping her, or possibly finding a third owner for the twenty-plus year old battleship.

Admiral Kashiram Paswan told AWNR, "Between the two training cruisers and the coming training carrier, we're generally satisfied that we have the capacity we need for training. This is particularly true now that our growth spurt is tailing off. So I don't think we're going to use her in that role."

If scrapped, the fleet would expect to recoup about 15% of the ship's value in terms of scrap sales. There is also the possibility of retaining features such as the ship's main gun turrets for use in land-based installations or possibly in future coastal defence vessels. "It's an appealing option in one sense, but we have to consider that these are fairly elderly guns at this point", Admiral Paswan pointed out.

The notion of sale has crossed the navy's mind, but the Admiral says that the navy has not actively solicited bids for her. "She'll be in service for another two years, most likely. We'll entertain proposals that come to us, but I don't think we would go out and look for a buyer for another year at the least."

Until then, one of the world's eldest battleships will continue to do her duty, even as her successor takes shape in Mumbai.

10 April 1930

India's marine reconnaissance capabilities have taken a great step forward with the introduction of the Mayawati M-8 Chaukidar ("Sentinel"). The twin-engined flying boat flew its first patrol mission yesterday from the naval base at Male, where Observation Squadron Fourteen is based.

"We envision deploying several squadrons, to Male, Gan, and Diego Garcia, to Trincomalee, Port Blair and Sittwe, and to Mumbai", stated Naval Aviation Command spokesman Major Atul Sehwas. "These aircraft will allow us to police our waters in a thorough and comprehensive manner."

The aircraft is some time in coming, the contract having first been tendered in 1925. "Our difficulties tracking both Danish warships and Siamese merchant vessels in the summer of 1924 prompted the contract. More recent experience with the PRS Panay has confirmed that knowledge. However, the domestic aircraft industry had little experience in designing and building flying boats. It took some time for an acceptable variant to be developed."

Major Sehwas noted that airships had been considered and rejected for the role. "We do not possess domestic helium reserves, and so would rely on hydrogen - which is not desireable. The flying boat also requires much less complex support facilities, and is not so visible or vulnerable as an airship - key considerations if we wish to track a hostile vessel."

The Chaukidar has a crew of five, and is armed with three machine guns. It can carry up to five hundred and fifty kilograms of bombs, depth charges, or, rescue and survival equipment. The aircraft has a top speed of 210 kph, and a range of sixteen hundred kilometres.

[Hmmmm, wasn't there supposed to be a rather important event on the 12th of April? Or is that going to be handled in another posting?]

With regards to Babur, how about an experimental weapons ship like Iron Duke? She had some turrets landed and replaced with various other new weapons mounts, such as the 5.25"/50 turret.

Quoted

[Hmmmm, wasn't there supposed to be a rather important event on the 12th of April? Or is that going to be handled in another posting?]

A subsequent post in this thread - though to be fair, I was mistakenly thinking I'd set a 23 April date for it. Easily solved - I just made the airplane article for the 10th instead of the 18th.

[OK, I was just wondering if the Raj had had a change of heart and was going to abdicate in two years or something. ]

12 April 1930

An audience of hundreds - family, ministers, advisors, governors, and foreign dignitaries - were in attendance today as the Raj ceded the Crown of Bharat to his elder son.

Regrettably, the coronation was closed to all members of the media, but a spokesman described the coronation thusly:

“The Raj spoke briefly about his reign before acknowledging his physical inability to continue. He named his son, Shrinivas, as his successor, then abdicated his title. He removed the Crown of Bharat and placed it upon the throne before taking his place amongst the esteemed guests in the audience.

“The guru of the court prayed for the health of the Raj and wished him success in the next phase of his life - a modification of the usual prayer, which assumes the death of the sovereign. He then called upon the successor to take the Crown. His Royal Highness then entered the Throne Chamber and named himself. The guru led His Royal Highness in a lengthy ceremony of prayer before placing the Crown of Bharat upon His Royal Highness and naming him as Shrinivas I, Samraja of Bharat and Warden of Asir.”

13 April 1930

A transcript of the speech given by His Royal Highness Shrinivas I, Samraja of Bharat and Warden of Asir, on the Voice of India following noon prayers:

“I bid a good afternoon to you, citizens of Bharat and of Asir. It is a new era for us all, as I assume my new duties as your sovereign, and I wish to take a few minutes to speak to you about this new era in our history.

“First, however, I wish to thank my father, the Raj, for his dedication and great work on behalf of our nation over the past twenty years. He continued the process of modernizing our economy and developing modern infrastructure. He took steps to safeguard our health and safety through a widespread medical program, through funding of modern research, and in the programs intended to minimize the effects of cyclones and monsoons. He listened to you, the people, when told of corruption within government, took steps to reform government, and introduced public participation.

“Internationally, he had the foresight to shield us from the horrors of the Great War, while using minimal amounts of armed force on matters of principle - the liberation of our occupied lands, the safety of our people, the rights of our Asian friends. He sought out honourable friends and allies and established productive relationships. He worked on matters of global significance, such as arms limitation and financial stability.

“For all this, I thank my father, the Raj. There will never be another like him. It seems fitting, then, to explain why I have not taken the title of Raj. It is not simply a matter of respecting my father and his myriad accomplishments.

“Let me remind you of the origins of the title. When Bharat fell under the thrall of the British, our ruler was the raja Rajaram III. Not only did they fail to understand the proper spelling of the title, they also found it amusing to refer to their system of puppet government as ‘the Raj’ as a distasteful play on Rajaram’s own name. Upon escaping the clutches of the British, my great-grandfather Brashkar took the title ‘Raj’ as a reminder of the perils of European domination and internal weakness. His son, Ashoka III, took the title for the same reason, as did his son, my father Rajiv.

“It seemed that I, too, might take the title, but circumstances are changed. This is not a weak, battered nation and we do not need to fear other nations’ ambitions. We are a modern, united empire asserting the rights of its citizens, respecting those of its neighbours, and mentoring friends who are but a few steps away from attaining similar status. I felt it fitting, then, that our empire have an emperor, and the only real question was the appropriate term for it. That is why I have taken a title somewhat simpler than my father’s, ‘Samraja of Bharat and Warden of Asir.’

“On Asir - the choice of the term ‘Warden’ is carefully chosen. Asir is not a part of India, and I shall not pretend to have claim over Asir or her people. What I do have is the inherited responsibility to provide Asirites with the knowledge and tools they need to become self-governing and self-reliant. In the next five years, I expect we will have a plebiscite to determine how Asirites view their political status.

“With regard to the coming months, I can say that I do not expect to implement any immediate changes to national policy, preferring instead to manage a smooth transition. I have therefore asked my father’s ministers and advisors to remain in their substantive positions, and they have consented to do so. I have no doubt that these wise and educated gentlemen shall continue to serve Bharat in good stead.

“I do expect that I will be undertaking some travel over the next few months. I will be seeking to meet with the heads of state of our allies to the east and west. I will also look to build bridges with our immediate neighbours in China, Tibet, Nepal, Burma, and Siam. My brother Brashkar, who has ably served as regent for my father, has graciously agreed to do the same on my behalf as required.

“With that, I shall conclude my remarks. I thank you for your attention, and wish you a day of tranquillity and prosperity.”



[OOC:

In case y’all were curious:

-My original use of the term “Raj” was based on a pretty crappy understanding of India. Now that my understanding is less crappy, I know that the word for “king” is “raja”, rather than “raj”, though the two are pronounced the same (the “-a” suffix is silent). The whole raj story is my way of retroactively excusing the error.

-I thought about giving Shrinivas the title “maharajadhiraja”, or “great king of kings”, but this terms out to have never been used in the sense of “emperor”. The next option was “padshah”, which the original mughal emperors, Shrinivas’ ancestors, used - but this seems to be only applicable to Muslim rulers, and Shrinivas is Hindu, so “Samraja” (silent “-a”) is the title I’m going with.

-The empress Prea’s title, incidently, is “samraji”, pronounced as it’s written.

-I'll have a bit more Q2 news on the weekend.]

Well writen, as always Rocky. It'll be interesting to see just what happens in Asir in the future.

Nicely written, Rocky. All hail the Samraja!

Ward of Asir? So Asir has become a part of the Empire and will be handled as such - at least until they chose not to be a part of India?

I know the new emperor explained Asir is no part of the empire officially but I have some doubts if this will not read different on internal papers. Why mention it in the title if it is so unimportant? Why dedicate a larger part of the speech to the topic?

If Asir is really seen as independant then I would have expected it to be a non-factor. Obviously it isn´t.

I've corrected the title to "Warden". Asir is the "ward", which can be defined as "a child or young person under the care and control of a guardian appointed by their parents or a court."

You'll notice that Shrinivas' title is a mere seven words long, whereas the Raj had a title that was about fifty words long. Basically, Shrinivas took anything that belongs to India and lumped it under the part "samraja of Bharat" bit, and then added the "warden of Asir" part explicitly because Asir is not part of India and he is not its emperor.

But if players wish to interpret otherwise, that's their perrogative.

Good stuff, again, Rocky.

I was going to have Presidente de la Vega give a "public" speech, but the muse is currently running a picket line so we'll assume it happened "off-stage".

That's also why I didn't have the media in for the ceremony itself - I'd have to be more creative, and it just wasn't happening. Whereas I had the speech framed out weeks ago.

Unfortunately, AWNR's star reporter was part of the Japanese delegation present (due to her other duties).

Fortunately, the rest of the crew (+ equipment) was unable to get inside.