More on India (& GZGverse in general) (LONG)

Again, thank you all very much for the feedback and suggestions, they'll
go 
into making this a better project.

I had to make some assumptions about how the GZGverse evolved, some 
'behind-the-canon' stuff that isn't specifically mentioned by Jon. Some
of 
the economics might be fuzzy, but bear with me.

(And a lot of this is written stream-of-thought from a few ongoing 
brainstorms, so...)

There were a few major turning points in history, things that from 2193
we 
can point to and say, 'Here is where things changed, this is a lynchpin
of 
history'. The destruction of Israel, in 2027, is one of those. This
event 
shocked a previously interventionist USA, already hesitant about it's 
ability to change the MidEast, into withdrawl from the region, and from 
much of the rest of the world in general. The lone giant, incognizant or

uncaring of the rise of the European Community or China, went back into
an 
isolationist slumber.

The lack of response to the destruction of Israel and the subsequent 
expansionism of the House of Saud gave the nod to those with dreams of 
greater things to begin their own marches outwards; Indonesia, the 
Pan-African Union, and eventually China. The 'post-modern' dream died as

across the globe, conquest became policy once more.

The new Great Powers were shaping up, as the 21st century wound its
bloody, 
twisting path about shock after shock. The fate of Russia was sealed as
the 
Chinese juggernaut ground across Asia. More and more of Muslim Araby
fell 
under the sword of the House of Saud, oil-fed and full of the Prophet's 
fire. Indonesia made its dream of empire reality. And all the while, the

world looked on in pity and spite as the United States slowly tore
itself 
apart with internal divisions, social and economic issues it could no 
longer contain. The final blow came in 2049, with the assassination of
the 
President by actors unknown - presumed domestic - and the collapse of
the 
Federal government. The rest of the world, or at least those with some 
foresight, had seen the end coming in one form or another, with
investment 
in the USA steadily declining over decades. The subsequent collapse of
the 
American economy was still a terrific shock to the world's markets and 
economy in general; trillions in debt was never going to be paid back,
all 
of the apparatus by which the USA interacted with the world was gone.
This 
was another turning point - here, history changed.

So what does all this mean for India?

First, the fall of the USA from the economic pinnacle changed the
language 
landscape of the world. English was still a common language, as many
spoke 
it, but as other power blocs grew, so did the need to speak to them in 
their own tongues. India has no issues with learning new languages, over
20 
exist within its own borders, even though Hindi is the most common. By 
2193, English, Chinese, French, German, Arabic, Hindu, Malay (Bahasa 
Indonesia) are all somewhat commonly known and taught.

Second, the traditional allies of England, Canada and Australia were
rather 
occupied with their own problems. Australia in trying to fend off the 
Indonesian octopus, England (and Canada) with the slow, painful 
reconstruction of their fallen friend, the former USA. India was on her
own.

India had had an economic and technical relationship with the Soviet 
Union/Russia, but those were hardly enough to intervene when China set
its 
sights north, and west. Later, in 2051, when the Eurasian Union turned
its 
gaze south (seen as inevitable), India had hard choices to make.
Acquiesce, 
or fight? Flush with success in Siberia and Russia, and stymied by
European 
resolve, China wanted to expand once more. It was the confrontation
between 
the Europeans and the Chinese that gave India the idea to do what she
did - 
full mobilization, and a nuclear staring contest, held over the
negotiating 
table. There were skirmishes, some quite large, but both sides held 
back...and the Chinese blinked.

India let out a collective sigh of relief, and then launched into 'phase
2' 
of the plan. The Eurasian Union had the hostile Romanov Hegemony to the 
west, the expanding Indonesian Commonwealth to the southeast. To the
east, 
Japan and the cipher of the Americans. The Eurasian's socialist
government, 
even with loosening economic reforms, wanted the influx of hard currency

from the capitalist world, and that was the carrot that India offered. 
India would buy Eurasian products, providing them a market a billion
strong 
and still growing. Uncharitable observers would label India a new
'client 
state' of the Eurasian Union, others might call India pragmatic.
Whatever 
label one might apply, it worked; not perfectly, but it did. The ESU did

not gain the Indian Ocean ports it coveted, but India turned from
potential 
enemy to a 'close acquaintance', if not an ally.

Friendly ties were maintained with the reborn Anglian Confederation 
(despite Eurasian objections), the bonds of history not forgotten. And 
having friends on the other side of two sworn enemies is never a bad
thing...

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