Background[]
After the Indian Invasion of Central Arabia things within the Indian government were growing steadily unstable. Members of the Indian military had become restless and eager over their practiced ability to conduct warfare. A military coup was set into place and in January on 1971 a serious of attacks and bombings began on members of the Indian Parliament, Union Minister's, Prime Minister and the President Itself.
Escaping an explosion with his life, the Indian President Aprajet Jaganath and Prime Minister Suryapratap Kachhwaha were flown to a hospital were both was later executed by slitting of there of throats live on television. Chief of Army Staff Dinesh Khurana declared himself the new President, Chief of Navy Staff and Air Staff declared themselves the new Prime Minister and Deputy Prime Minister.
Most of Memebers of Parliament were either killed or fled with there families to Europe, Canada and America. Those who couldn't and protested were killed or detained. But the Effectiveness of the Military Goverment didn't last long as the egos of the three clashed. On February 15 of 1971, all three general's were simultaneously killed by A former member of Parliament.
There exit marked the end of all authority in India and complete civil break-down. With little authority to control the spread of drugs and weapons heroine and opium use increased as well as the presence of guns. Small warbands circulated about and discontent civilians protested in vein for their now-dead government to do something.
Their territories in Sri Lanka and Central Arabia disbanded and the soldiers present disappeared or picked up new loyalties. The Government in exile of Sri Lanka came back and formed back there Country which was once invaded by the Indian Forces.
With lack of food, medicines and frustration of people some military bases were either looted or burned or both, those remained protected by angry mobs began to deteriorate with no maintenance and proper command structure. This lead to a big food and humanitarian crisis, United Nations alongwith wealthy countries like France, United States, United Kingdom started humanitarian programmes across the erstwhile Indian Republic, Pakistan and Bangladesh.
The Submarine Incident[]
With the collapse of command a submarine dispatched to the Red Sea disappeared. It's noted to have just simply "disappeared" from Radar. Several theories revolve around its disappearance ranging from being scuttled by pirates off the Somalian coast, captured by the Ottomans , going rogue, or sinking.
The New Cold War Ground.[]
Cold war was at its peak and the Indian Republic no longer existed, USSR which was an ally of the former Republic decided to take the matter in hand and contacted the Maoist Leaders helping them financially and providing them Security through KGB agents, this lead to an alarming situation at the White House and under the order's of President Richard Nixon, United States contacted a Southern Movement called "Punarjanam" lead by Kanda Timay Bagalkoti who aimed to establish a democratic system. The USSR in response increased the funding of the Maoist Movement.
Punarjanam Movement[]
The Punarjanam Movement began after overthrow of all kind of administration by former Civil Servants and Army Veteran's who believed in the Former Union, the leader of the movement Kanda Tomay Bagalkoti began contacting former police officers and adminstration of district's and formed the Punarjanam Army, they formed a Punarjanam Government also dubbing themselves as the Indian Government in exile. The Movement was against the Communism and so accepted the help of the United States. The first began there armed campaign from the South, starting from Chennai and moved towards Sri Lanka, the Sri Lankan Government
With Jaipur under them the UFI's next objective in their unification of India was to target the former Indian capital of New Delhi. Launching traditional assaults mixed with guerilla warfare practiced by their local supporters the UFI lauched a series of attacks on the Delhian Army's outposts and cities before assaulting he city directly. Granted their immense political and military support in the region Mahatma and his men acquired the city in only a couple short months.
A large attributer to the UFI's support was their practice of avoiding the small-towns and feeding and watering displaced villagers and those who did not have the benefit. This act being a show of support for the people where the current government(s) they were under did so little to support them. These acts of kindness bolstering their popularity ratings in Delhi if not their combatant ranks.
Mahatma's Pan-Indian broadcast[]
Shortly after the departure of his troops to Delhi Mahatma and his supporters utilized one of the few working broadcast systems in India to send a targeted broadcast to those still capable of recieving it. Utilizing the Jaipurian television station Mahatma issued the following address:
"People of India. Your regularly scheduled programs have been interrupted for this broadcast, and for that I am sorry. But, if you look out your window and do not feel sorry for the people crawling the streets without the luxury of television, then I have no sympathy for you. How corrupt is out government? Oh, pardon me, governments. I forgot, you're not united anymore." He paused, while the people watching would laugh at the statement. That was intentional. Humor was key in gaining support from crowds. "But I seek to change that. I seek to make us united. Think of a government, with a stable and unanimous economy, and a great empire stretching from the Muslim nations all the way to Indonesia. This is what I envision India to be. Pardon me, truly, if you are not pro-Marxism, but that is the only way to rise to power. Look at our comrades in the north; China and the Asian Socialists are a global power of such a scale not seen since the days of the British. But they are not the British. They are a kind, loving empire seeking to spread their wealth across nations of the world. We must rise up, and join them in this new claim of wealth. United, we stand. Divided, we fall. Even now, we plunge to our death as the broken excuses for governments we live under make foolish choices and fight an invisible enemy. We must come together! We must fight the real enemy, whomever it may be who dares stand against the united wrath of Mother India!"
The station of note, having been siezed by the UFI for the purpose of the broadcast.
Bangladesh Campaign[]
With their victory in Dhaka the UFI march continued east into the lowlands of Bangladesh. Much as was the case in India the UFI conducted select attacks of strategic points and military installations in the region, in conjunction with humanitarian relief efforts amoungst the civilian population to bolster support and keep in check their popularity.
The Battle of Dhaka lasted approximately a month before the city fell to the UFI rush.
The Battle of Dhaka had also lead to the capture of old-India guns that they used on several occasions in the city.
Chinese Interest[]
After catching word of Delhi's fall to the UFI and the TV broadcast the Chinese command in Beijing took a certain interest in India beyond what they had before. Selecting a knowledgable Inteligence Bureau agent they dispatched word to Mahatma offering he join the ASB ; which would grant him access to further supplies to rebuild India as well as more men.
One of his goals being to enter the ASB he accepted the request and several weeks later he had signed the Treaty of Beijing.
Initial military support was minimal with Chinese aid increasing at about the time of the Battle of Ahmedebad. The first material aid to arrive to India was rapid and was donated to the UFI and Socialist India from Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia. Excess food supplies from China were shipped south to India to lighten the load of having to re-feed and care for a broken nation.
Luzon supplied excess wood to aid in reconstruction efforts.
After the departure of the Cambodian General Chea Nyung Taen to Northern India by using Chinese airbases Chengdu, China on January 29th the Chinese military elected to dispatch their own general - Jiung Shaoquang - into Northern India to accompany the Khmer officer and over-see the campaign on the behalf of China as well as continue to support UFI interest.
GLA/Persian Interest[]
Persia, the second most powerful nation neighbouring India after China had remained neutral following the collapse of the central authority, already mobilizing its full forces for its modernization and economic devellopment. This attitude began to change following the fall of Dhaka, signaling the rise of the UFI as the most powerful force in the Subcontinent. The Persian government's inchoate plans to aid the anti-UFI forces were rushed by the attack on Ahmedabad.
This action was seen as a near-direct threat on Persia, Ahmedabad guarding Gujarat, and that region allowing an easy access to the Indus river basin, itself directly bordering Persia. Under the percieved imminent threat of a Communist takeover of Persia's borderlands, the High Command mobilized 120,000 troops to militarily occupy, in cooperation with the local warlords, Baluchistan, Sindh, and Punjab up to Amritsar.
Simultaneously with this operation, the persian secret services, ISIIS, lent support to the resistants in Ahmedabad. Ultimately however, their intervention was too late and ill-planned, and the city was eventually taken, and with it were captured the totality of the Persian soldiers stationned there, as well as the Persian artillery.
Following this fiasco, the Persian government decided to follow a different strategy. Instead of intervening directly, it decided to support a native movement, which would have more legitimacy and sway. Thus Kanda Timay Bagalkoti, a Southern Indian rebel leading a marginal movement called Punarjanam, or Resurrection, was contacted. The movement he headed was extremely heteroclite, and its only binding forces were the desire to reunify India under a democratic system and the driving out of foreign powers, namely China.
With persian subsidies, the movement, up to then extremely spread out through India, won the municipal elections in Bombay on Janury 6th. Now with heightened visibility and a central seat of administration, the movement positioned itself as the champion of freedom and democracy. Following Kanda's, also known as Neta, or "Guide", speech on January 26th, in which he expounded the Punarjanam movement's ideals in a nation-wide broadcast, it definitely became the UFI's main opponent.
Backed by both Persia and the Global Liberation Army, the movement gathered all the warlords and petty states opposed to the UFI around it, creating an extremely loose confederation of warlords, princes and small republics in South India and the Indus river basin, only held together by a common fear of the UFI and persian money.
Persia has since the beginning of its involvement invested several billion rial in India, in both weapons and money, which has been used to fuel devellopment programs throughout Free India, in order to hold the promises made by the Punarjanam movement to improve the lot of the Indian people. As such, Dharavi slum, the biggest in the world, in Bombay, has begun to be modernized with public sanitations and running water. Similarly, the Persian Red Crescent has launched massive interventions in India, trying to fight the worsening living conditions of hundreds of millions of Indians since the beginning of the Civil War.
Battle of Ahmedebad[]
On November a south-bound UFI army had reached the city of Ahmedebad where GLA-supported combatants had entrenched themselves and were ready to fight them off. Utilizing the public support the UFI had garnered over the past several years though, UFI combatants were capable of entrapping anti-socialist Indians in the Bhudra Fort in the middle of the city and trap them. Persian relief to the city ended with the similar entrapment of their men within the fort where their own guns were turned on them. Several months went by where the Persian-GLA combatants were strained to the point of surrender.
The Chinese are noted as practicing increased presence during this time and combat helicopters originally stationed in Tibet, then in Jaipur moved south to the besieged city and conducted aerial raids on Persian movement and attacks on Persian artillery positions. These same positions being captured and the guns incorporated into the UFI army in that area.
Battle of Baleshwar[]
The Battle of Baleshwar is the second major engagement in the Indian Civil War. Lasting the course of half a year from January 29th 1977 to officially July 24, 1977. The battle resulted in another defeat for the scrappy Punjanarab movement, largely stemmed from allowing to be surrounded and choked by the greater UFI force. The battle also serves as a mobilization of UFI assets south-bound to retaliate against Punjanarb holdings south of Balesore and in Gujarat. It also came to confirmed status the Punjanarab were being supplied by the Persians by the UFI-Chinese forces.
Baleshwar is also significant in that it was the first battle a third power - Cambodia - involved itself, as per fulfilling itself per ASB doctrine. Though has not marked a general ASB engagement on the subcontinent.
Nostalgic references[]
Posts from the old thread concerning the fall of India
The assasination of the first politician (TorchwoodArchive): http://forum.spore.com/jforum/posts/list/1170/69131.page
End of the Coup (TorchwoodArchive): http://forum.spore.com/jforum/posts/list/1440/69131.page
UFI app (TorchwoodArchive): http://www.minecraftforum.net/topic/860113-precipice-of-war-a-alternate-history-1977-rp-this-title-does-not-amuse-hugs/