Re: India, GZG-style (LONG)

Very nicely done. I like it.
----- Original Message -----
From: "Noah V. Doyle" <nvdoyle@insightbb.com>
To: <gzg-digest@lists.CSUA.Berkeley.EDU>;
<gzgpedia-digest@lists.CSUA.Berkeley.EDU>
Sent: Sunday, January 11, 2004 12:19 AM
Subject: India, GZG-style (LONG)

> For your perusal, I submit: The Republic of India. Please comment
upon,
> question, praise or savage this as you see fit. Any and all feedback
is
> appreciated.
>
> This is the beginning of the effort: the timeline and a few overviews.
> Number/Size/Name/Location of colonies is still undecided, outside of
the
> general notes. I plan to have this up on the net sometime in the next
month
> or so, with images and SSDs to follow. Ship images, well...as I get
them
> painted.
>
> India in the GZGverse
>
> This work is non-canon. It is intended to add another mid-level player
to
> the GZGverse, with little disruption to the
> established timeline of events.
>
> There are a few departures from standard GZG canon in this work.
Primarily,
> the invasion of India by the Eurasian Union.
> There are a few other alterations, specifically the destruction of
Delhi
> (and subsequent razing of Amritsar), and the other
> later actions that cascade from the ESU occupation of India. It's my
> opinion that this will add much to the canon, and
> detract very little. I aim to make this at the very least reasonably
> compatible with what Jon has already established in
> order to satisfy my own sense of completeness, and to make the Indian
> nation and forces as 'canon' as possible.
>
> The Republic of India (India) is a Conventional power (subject to the
> judgement of Jon & The List), with the following
> ratings, per the GZGpedia site:
>
> Political: 6
> Military: 6/7
> Economic: 6/7
> Size: 7/8
>
> (Slash-divided ratings represent India's transitional state. If the
humans
> can win the Xeno War, she might be able to take
> her place just below the Major Powers, but this, like all else, is in
> question...)
>
> The Republic of India entered the 21st century as the world's most
populous
> democracy in the world. While making great
> strides in technical and industrial fields, it was still weighed down
by
> internal divisions, low literacy, and grinding
> poverty for much of its citizenry. The confrontation with Pakistan
over
> Kashmir occupied much of the national security
> attention, as did the slow growth of China, already well ahead of
India in
> both economics and industry. India could cast its
> gaze west, and see a nuclear-armed enemy. East, and see the potential
> muddle of Indochina, Indonesia beyond that. North,
> Russia, Nepal and China, the latter two contesting their borders with
> India. South, naught but ocean until the cold ice of
> the Antarctic...and some of the most important trade routes in the
world.
> Danger threatened, while opportunities beckoned.
> India had a very fine line to walk, in the coming years. It would fare
the
> best it could, in a changing world, and beyond.
>
> 2010+ - The staring match over Kashmir continues on for decades, with
both
> sides sparring now and then, the sabre-rattling
> kept low-key, as neither are willing to escalate to the presumed
nuclear
> war that would follow.
>
> 2027 - India watches the destruction of Israel and the beginning of
the
> consolidation of Islamic Araby under the House of
> Saud with no little trepidation. Industrial, agricultural and
technological
> self-sufficiency is given high priority, a trend
> that will continue for more than a century; the practice of buying and
> improving/adapting the work of others proves to be
> fruitful.
>
> 2032 - India adds its own monies to the Gilderstein Foundation, under
the
> table; small amounts, but it was to have a large
> dividend later.
>
> 2037 - Border clashes with Pakistan flare up, after the hardline
Security
> Alliance Party is elected to control both houses of
> the Sansaad, the Indian Senate. Pakistan is informed, despite its new
> backing by the expanding House of Saud, that the status
> quo in Kashmir will be enforced.
>
> 2043 - The conquest of Malaysia and Borneo by Indonesia, and the
expansion
> of the new caliphate (now stretching from Morocco
> to Pakistan) puts India in what Muslim pundits name 'The Prophet's
Vice'.
> The creation of the Pan African Union puts still
> more pressure on India, on the maritime borders. The Indian Navy, a
> benefactor of slow, steady expansion, patrols almost all
> of the Indian Ocean, denying the newly-created Islamic Federation and
the
> PAU navies blue-water access, while guaranteeing
> passage of all commercial ships. The ports of Chennai, Kolkata and
Mumbai
> bustle with international shipping, adding to
> India's coffers.
>
> 2047 - The Chinese invasion of Russia and subsequent coup close any
> non-hostile land border India might have had. Surrounded
> now by enemies, India again makes her neutral stance very clear -
backed
up
> with naval and ballistic missile defense
> exercises.
>
> 2050 - Indian markets are hit hard by the collapse of the USA, as are
> others worldwide. Still trying to raise its
> population's standard of living, some 'austerity measures' are met
with
> resistance, and internal cultural divisions sharpen
> for a time.
>
> 2051 - The Eurasian Union delivers, quietly, an ultimatum to India -
join
> the EU, peacefully, or else. Three months of tense,
> high-level negotiations ensue in private, with the militaries of
India,
the
> EU - and both the IF and Indonesia - on alert.
> Terror incidents are borne stoically by India, the leadership
emphasizing
> the importance of these talks. The Treaty of
> Amritsar is signed, guaranteeing peace between the EU and India, and
Indian
> neutrality. The IF and Indonesia are outraged,
> but stern warnings from the EU are taken to heart. Rumors fly, neither
> denied nor confirmed by the Indian government, that
> at the talks India threatened to take all of Eurasia with them, should
they
> fall.
>
> 2052 - Industrial and military contacts between the EU and India are
> created, with economic ties growing at a rapid rate on
> their own.
>
> 2054 - India's eastern borders are reinforced as the Indonesian
> Commonwealth conquers Burma. Bangladesh is absorbed back into
> India, with a massive Muslim population flight to the new border with
the
> IC. Low-level incidents occur, but nothing
> escalates, despite sharp words from both sides. The Indian Navy
reminds
the
> IC that no major naval movements into the Indian
> Ocean will be tolerated, nor will the use of the archipelagos as a
pirate
> base. The latter is practically unenforceable, but
> occasional clashes do occur, as elements of the Indian Navy pursue
pirate
> vessels over the (vague) borders.
>
> 2058 - Formal relations are established with the Anglian
Confederation,
and
> a brisk technological trade begins once more.
> Indian know-how earned in long years of lifting its people from
poverty is
> sold to the new super-state, to help with
> conditions in certain parts of the old USA. Cultural negotiators are
also
> dispatched, to ease the transition, emphasizing
> their neutrality.
>
> 2062 - As humanity takes its first step to the stars, the active links
> between India, and both the EU and the AC, make the
> subcontinent a hotbed of corporate and political intrigue. The EC, the
PAU
> and the LLAR all establish major trade missions
> and embassies in New Delhi.
>
> 2073 - India launches her first FTL vessel, a modified ESU craft,
after
> years of careful technical study and debate. The
> concept of transiting into another 'universe' is viewed at first with
great
> hesitation by Hindus, but scientific reassurance
> eases religious concerns. This is seen later as the watershed
turnaround
in
> India's cultural backwardness.
>
> 2075+ - India begins a long-term plan for shipping significant
portions of
> its population off-world, think-tanks mulling this
> long before technological feasibility. India would choose its colonies
> carefully, and huge amounts of colonists would help
> make their startups productive, swiftly. 'Trade, and Room to Breathe'
is
> the motto of the Colonization Service. This era is
> also known as 'The Expansion Peace', with conflicts easing, at least a
> little bit, for a little while. India takes full
> advantage of this by ramping up their technological capabilities,
> reverse-engineering whatever they can get their hands on,
> from anyone (and selling anything, to anyone, the accusation is made).
>
> 2110 - India stays generally neutral in the conflict between the IC
and
the
> OU, happily threatening forces from both sides if
> their struggles stray too far into the open areas of the Indian Ocean.
It
> does watch the use of grav vehicles with particular
> interest, paying the OU exorbitant sums of money for good-condition IC
wrecks.
>
> 2123 - India again , publicly, stays pointedly neutral as the IF and
the
> ESU clash, stemming from Muslim pogroms in the
> southern territories. Secretly, India assists the ESU against the IF
in
> intelligence matters.
>
> 2128 - Some Indian units are hired out in the Mercenary War, to gain
> experience against 'professional' forces - the combat
> zone of the 'Stans, while good for blooding new units, doesn't provide
very
> modern opponents. The fighting between the PAU
> and the IF is watched, closely, with Indian Navy units attempting
again to
> contain the fighting away from commercial routes.
>
> 2130+ - Indian and IF units clash occasionally along the spacelanes,
as do
> IC ships as well. The two Muslim empires have
> their hands quite full with New Israel, however, India doing what it
can
to
> keep them on their toes while maintaining
> studious public neutrality. Indian and Israeli technology flows back
and
> forth, through back channel means. Indian naval
> units, following their nautical predecessors, take on a personal
challenge
> of exterminating pirates, often going well out of
> their way to find and hunt them down.
>
> 2137 - The First Solar War tests India's neutrality, as both sides
make
> efforts to sway the small but competent navy to their
> side. India politely refuses all offers, and continues to be a conduit
for
> negotiations and espionage.
>
> 2143 - The formation of the UNSC is leapt at by India, already with a
> tradition of unflappable calm and neutrality. India
> also embarks on a naval expansion program, buying up obsolete and
damaged
> ships, those cast off by the recent combatants.
> Into the shipyards they go, to be used as parts, forged into new
vessels,
> or to come out enhanced, modernized.
>
> 2145 - India once again keeps its collective head down, as the Second
Solar
> War rages across Human space. Indian crews gain
> some more space combat experience, as the UNSC fends off the
occasional
> determined foray into the Core systems.
>
> 2158 - India engages in a second round of ship-buying and
modernization.
> Indian naval architects are considered ambitious and
> skilled, if somewhat cavalier. India and New Israel begin secret
technical
> consultations.
>
> 2163 - The takeover of New Riyadh by an Islamic fundamentalist
faction,
and
> the ensuing IF civil war, puts India on high
> alert, putting them on a good footing to deal with the sudden outbreak
of
> the Third Solar War.
>
> 2173 - Despite Indian insistence on the guilt of the IF for the Sumani
IV
> Incident, the 3SW only intensifies; having learned
> from the first two, all major powers conserve their strengths,
allowing
the
> war to stretch for 10 years, and more.
>
> 2183 - As strange things begin to happen on the Outer Rim, new
domestic
> ship designs begin to emerge from Indian docks,
> supplementing the (mostly) Eurasian vessels in use.
>
> -FB1 End-
>
> 2184 - India greets the news of other sentient life with joy - and its
> apparent hostility with concern. Indian scientists go
> to great lengths to get whatever data and resources they can, about
this
> new threat (and opportunity).
>
> 2186 - India announces to the UN that it will can no longer remain
neutral,
> not facing this new threat. Indian assistance is
> offered to both the UNSC, and to the other national fleets. Both the
NAC
> and the ESU and their major allies accept, to one
> degree or another. IF and IC naval commands refuse.
>
> 2189 - Indian losses at the Battle of Centaurus, both in national and
UNSC
> crews, is significant. The new designs fare well,
> however, and the losses are replaced by some of the newer, modern
ships,
> but never enough.
>
> 2193 - India refuses to abandon its colonies - thankfully, few are on
the
> Kra'Vak axis of advance. Much of the Indian fleet
> can be used for the defense of the Core, and Sol...
>
> -FB2 End-
>
> ---
>
> Basic Military Overview
>
> Navy (Space & Wet): India uses mostly purchased ESU ships/hulls,
modifying
> them to a greater or lesser degree. Technologies
> are often mixed, as India tends to purchase from several suppliers.
There
> are a few capital fleet units (one being a
> Konstantin-class CVA, another a Komarov-class SDN), and a good amount
of
> mid-sized and smaller ships. Domestic units have been coming out of
India's
> slipways for approx. 10 years, in the mid-range of hulls.
>
> Army: India strives to keep up with the neighbors, so to speak, buying
most
> of their ground combat technology from the ESU.
> India can field a significant amount of reasonably high-tech troops,
and a
> larger amount of mid-tech forces.
>
> Doctrine: Protect Trade. Remain Neutral. Hunt Pirates. Warn Once, then
> Smash. (Under the table: if it hurts the IF and IC,
> it's a good thing. Be nice to the ESU, but remember the ties to the
NAC.)
>

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