Alternative History
Empire of Bharat
भारतीय साम्राज्य
Timeline: An Honorable Retelling
Flag of Bharat (An Honorable Retelling) Emblem of India
Flag Emblem
Motto: 
हर हर महादेव
"Praises to Mahadev"
Anthem: 
Jana Gana Mana
"Thou Art the Ruler of the Minds of All People"
CapitalPune
Largest city Delhi
Official languages Marathi
Regional languages Telugu
Government Federal parliamentary constitutional monarchy
 -  Chhatrapati Shahu IV
 -  Peshwa Leena Sanjay Jain
Legislature National Assembly
 -  Upper house Rajya Sabha
 -  Lower house Lok Sabha
Population
 -   estimate 1,425,775,850 
Currency Indian rupee (₹‎)
Drives on the left
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The Empire of Bharat (Marathi: भारत का साम्राज्य), commonly known as India (Marathi: भारत) and historically referred to as the Maratha Empire (Marathi: दिल्ली साम्राज्य) is a country located in South Asia. Bordered by Persia to the west, China and Bhutan to the north, and Burma to the east, Bharat remains one of the largest countries in both population and landmass. Credited as the birthplace of Hinduism, Buddhism, and Jainism as well as having been ruled by various Manichaeist and Christian empires, Bharat has a large amount of religious diversity and is one of the most religiously diverse countries on the planet.

Bharat has also been a large player in global politics, emerging as an independent nation in 1857 and rapidly industrializing in the following decades. Bharat's imperial ambitions would culminate in the country's colonization of East Africa during the Scramble for Africa, an invasion and occupation of Southeast Asia, and a prolonged conflict with China and Japan during the Fourth Great War. The country's imperial ambitions would come to an end following the war, and the Empire would realign itself with the West during the Cold War.

Today, Bharat is a highly wealthy and cosmopolitan society, dominating trade and geopolitics. It is a member of the League to Enforce Peace, the South Asian Community and the Association of Hindu Nations.

History[]

Pre-Delhi Empire history[]

History of Bharat

Dawn of the Delhi Empire[]

The Delhi Empire, a significant medieval empire predominantly centered in Delhi, endured for a span of 320 years, extending from 1206 to 1526. Originating after the incursion of the Ghurid dynasty into South Asia, the governance of the empire was based on the theological tenants of Manichaeism and. Commencing with the Mamluk dynasty, the Khalji, Tughlaq, Sayyid, and ultimately the Lodi dynasty each successively assumed power.

Remarkably expansive, the Sultanate held sway over extensive territories encompassing present-day Bharat and certain regions of Persia and Burma. Its dominion encapsulated considerable swathes of the Bharatiya subcontinent, signifying a profound influence and control over these regions during its existence. The Delhi Sultanate is also notable for bringing Manichaeism to the Bharatiya subcontinent.

Maratha Empire[]

India partition AHR

European spheres of influences within the Bharat subcontinent (circa 1850)

European colonization and Rebellion of 1857[]

By the early 1600s, European powers had begun to increase their trade and influence within Bharat. The English East India Company, founded in 1600 on the charter of Elizabeth I, had begun to expand its influence in the Bharati subcontinent to compete with the Spanish and Portuguese who had monopolies on Bharat-European trade at the time. The arrival of Europeans had coincided with the internal stagnation and decline of the Delhi Empire which was brought on by infighting.

A weakened Delhi Empire allowed for European trading companies to further establish control over the subcontinent. Early on, the English East India company struggled to establish a foothold due to the Dutch East India being the predominant trading power in India at the time. After a while, the competing European powers took advantage of the declining Delhi Empire and began occupying land in what became known as "company colonies". By 1850, Russia, Portugal, England, the Lublin Commonwealth, France, and Scotland all had company colonies and spheres of influences within Bharat while the Delhi Empire was limited to just the city of Delhi. The soldiers of the once-prominent Delhi Empire, known as Sepoys, had been split amongst the European powers as mercenaries. The European powers also caused infighting amongst the Sepoy, recruiting them and using India as a frontline during the Seven Years War and various other European conflicts.

Bharatiya nationalists, disgruntled with foreign influence and infighting on the continent, would lead a mutiny amongst the Sepoy in 1857, sparking the Bharat Revolution. The European powers, weakened by infighting on the Indian subcontinent, would quickly unify in a grand coalition to defeat the revolution. However, the military leadership of Bahadur Shah Zafar coupled with the Europeans' weakened stance on the subcontinent would result in the expulsion of European powers from the subcontinent following the coalition defeat at the Battle of Visakhapatnam on 12 December 1857. The last European power to withdraw from the subcontinent were the French on 5 June 1858.

Indian Empire - AHR

A map detailing the expansion of the Bharata Empire (1857 - 1942)

Bharat Empire and imperial expansion[]

Following the expulsion of European powers from the subcontinent and the reunifying of the subcontinent under the Delhi Empire, Emperor Shivaji III would start a series of political and economic reforms known as the Delhi Reformations. These reformations resulted in the establishment of a proper constitution for the Empire, the reorganization of the titles of Emperor and Peshwa under a Westminster-style parliamentary system. The Peshwa became an elected Prime Minister while the emperor's powers within the system became limited to more of a figurehead role. Shivaji also sought to rapidly industrialize India and create an empire similar to those of Europe and Japan. Recruiting many former colonial advisors and western industrialists, Bharat began a period of rapid industrialization starting in the early 1860s and lasting until the early 1890s.

During this period of imperial expansion, Bharat fought several wars against their neighbors, including a war against Burma, driving the English out of and permanently occupying the Maldives, and participating in the Scramble for Africa, establishing a tributary state in the Dar-al-Ahmed, occupying Eastern Africa and an attempted invasion of Ethiopia.

William Jennings Bryan, 1896

William J. Bryan (pictured), the U.S president who negotiated an end to the Bharat-German War with the Treaty of Yonkers in 1902

Despite this expansion and industrialization, Bharat was not invited to the Conference of Timbuktu which split control of the continent between various European powers and the Mali Empire. Instead, the land of Eastern Africa was given to Germany which had begun to set up control in the region in the late 1880s. However, the Emperor of Bharat refused to recognize German Africa and also began sending envoys and settlers to eastern Africa. In late 1892, Bharat officially conquered the Sultanate of Zanzibar, a German protectorate in the region. The dispute over eastern Africa would culminate into the Bharat-German War in 1902. Germany, underestimating Bharat and Bharat's rapid industrialization, sent a smaller fleet of ironclads and a garrison of troops to attempt to retake Zanzibar. However, the newly modernized Bharat military would best Germany at the Battle of Zanzibar. After a few months of fighting, U.S. President William Jennings Bryan would negotiate an end to the conflict in what is now known as the Treaty of Yonkers in 1902.

The treaty would ultimately solidify Bharat control over East Africa, though Bharat had to compensate Germany for losses. Germany, with the backing of France, was still allowed to keep their colony around Lake Ukerewe. Despite the compensation, the war was seen as another victory of Bharat over Europe for the first time since 1857. However, many Bharat nationalists were bitter at the fact that compensations had to be paid and protests began against the government of Peshwa Yogarasa Nandi. After protests turned to riots, Nandi resigned as Peshwa and the military was sent in to quell the rioters. This resentment by many Bharatas due to paying compensation and feeling they deserve more territory would culminate in an irredentist and active nationalist movement starting in the late 1900s/early 1910s.

Savitri Devi, circa 1937

Savitri Devi, Peshwa of Bharat (1930-1946)

Despite Bharat neutrality during the Third Great War, this irredentist and nationalist movement would culminate in the election of the Fascistic National Movement in 1927. The election of Asit Krishna Mukherji to the position of Peshwa wouldn't be met with universal support by Bharatis, however. By 1930, an active anti-fascist movement had emerged within Bharat, consisting of a wide coalition of non-Hindus and non-Manichaeists, democrats, libertarians, and communists who actively opposed the policies of Mukherji's government. This resistance culminated in the assassination of Asit Krishna Mukherji on 23 April 1930. The fascist parliament would elect Savitri Devi, the late Mukherji's wife, to succeed him as Peshwa.

While the election of the first female Peshwa marked outrage by many social conservatives within the National Movement, Devi would purge these members on 5 March 1931 in an event which is now known as Bloody Friday within India. In her speech to the National Assembly after the purge, Devi would blame non-Hindus as "agents of the Kali Yuga" who sought to kill her and bring down the Indian nation as whole. In her speech, she proclaimed the virtues and superiority of Hinduism as the "one true religion", blasted the Manichaeists in the government as weakening the state and Indian people, and declared her desire to see a world "dominated by Bharat and the virtues of Hinduism" as a means to speed up the process in achieving Krita (Satya) Yuga.

Throughout the early 1930s, the Bharata Empire would undergo a period of massive militarization and nationalist mobilization. In 1934, the Kingdom of Burma would be invaded and annexed on the grounds of "protecting the Hindu populations" in the region. During this time, Indian Muslims and Manichaeists faced persecution while Buddhists were tolerated. This persecution included heavy taxation of non-Hindu religious institutions, non-Hindus being barred from governance, and non-Hindu businesses and enterprises being forced to register with the state. This persecution sparked outrage in the international community, with many calling for a boycott of India and international action against the country. In relation, Bharat pulled out of the League to Enforce Peace on 12 April 1934.

Ananda Mahidol portrait photograph

Thailand's King Rama VIII (pictured) forming a defensive alliance with Japan was the precursor to the start of the Fourth Great War in Asia

The occupation of Burma would draw concern from Japan and China, the other large Asian powers on the continent at the time. European countries would also be worried about potential Indian occupation of their colonies, leading to countries such as Scotland to militarily reinforce their colonies on the island of Borneo. During this time, Bharat would continue to expand militarily and reinforce occupied Burma. Rama IX, the Buddhist King of Thailand, feared occupation by Devi's Hindu-fascist regime, and therefore began aligning closer to China and Japan. Thailand would enter into a defensive alliance with Japan on 5 June 1935 in order to avoid a potential Bharat invasion into Thailand as had occurred in Burma a year prior.

Modern history[]

Government and politics[]

Federal government[]

State and local government[]