Malivia

[Aquinas]

July 4784

Suspected Pahladgarh spy found dead

Chayla Purohit, a mysteriously wealthy Devadasi prostitute suspected of wheedling secrets out of lustfully inebriated Deltarian officers from the Czar Dušan military base and then selling the information to third parties has been found dead in the early hours of the morning next to a goat feeding station, her body upturned in a plastic bin, completely naked, with her legs splayed wide open, exposing her private parts to the full view of horrified onlookers.

Rumour and speculation is swirling around as to who was responsible. Amongst the most popular theories at the moment are:

- that her murder was arranged by the Deltarian establishment at Czar Dušan military base, eager to send out a warning to future spies.

- that her murder was arranged by the leaders of the Untouchable community in Pahladgarh, either on behalf of the Deltarians, or out of jealousy that she had become so wealthy.

- that her murder was arranged by members of the criminal underworld, in connection with some feud or other.

The news of this incident has been embarrassing to Malivia, which gains great economic benefits from the military base. Ramesh Vemulakonda, the Minister of Defence, has written to his Deltarian counterpart, Klára Staňková, to assure her "the Deltarian troops, officials and their families are perfectly safe in Malivia" and that "this is an extremely rare type of incident, which our police are dealing with as best they can".

This evening, nearly 70 Devadasis were seen protesting outside the entrance to the military base, chanting slogans accusing the Deltarians of being "murderers" and demanding "Justice for Chayla".


No change on Vanuku relations "for at least another year" says Mahalanabis

Foreign Minister Vrikodara Mahalanabis has welcomed what he described as the "positive and constructive noises" coming from Vanuku's latest utterings on Vanukean-Malivian relations, but warned "Vanuku's nuclear test has made things very difficult, and we cannot conceive of changing our policy on Vanuku for at least another year, and even then only after consultation with the international community, and in particular with our friends within the Transnational Association for the Sovereignty of Nations".

Some concessions to Vanuku have been offered, however. The trade tariff on Vanukean goods, which was set at 30% after the nuclear test, has been reduced to 20%. The bodies of the two Vanukean cow poachers who died in Malivian police custody have been repatriated to Vanuku. Also, the Inika Town Police, whilst insisting it "defends the honour and the actions of our officers in this incident", has said "all deaths in police custody are a matter of deep regret, and we are sorry the lives of these two men ended in this tragic way".

Since these measures were announced, Internal Affairs Minister Chatur Nijasure, a leading hardliner in the Cabinet, has given a bravery award to the police officer, Mahesh Yashvasin, who shot the two Vanukean poachers. It is understood the Foreign Minister and the Prime Minister were not consulted about this.


Workers' Textiles wins court case over tax squabble

A court in Verana has thrown out an attempt by the Finance Ministry to force Workers' Textiles (WT), the Lodamun-based workers co-operative, to pay what it claimed was 23 million Malivian Crowns of unpaid tax. The judge praised the jury for their decision, and said he was "satisfied that the company has been managing its tax affairs properly and ethically".

However, the court also threw out a counter-claim by WT that the Finance Ministry had subjected them to a "political victimisation campaign" and should therefore pay WT both their full legal costs and additional compensation.

Following the verdict, Prashant Jadhav, the Minister for Education & Culture, has sent a team of inspectors to the schools WT has recently opened, in order to establish "whether they are providing an appropriate standard of education, and whether they are subjecting children to unacceptable left-wing political indoctrination".


Manas asked to become "Emperor of Terra, Heaven and Eternity"

According to recent leaks, Prime Minister Patanjali Ganapuli has written to Emperor Manas and the government of Vascania, asking for Emperor Manas to adopt the title "Emperor of Terra, Heaven and Eternity" in response to the Zardic Emperor proclaiming himself "Emperor of Terra". The letter argues "it is important to make sure our Emperor is not outranked on formal state occasions by this Zardic upstart" and that "we need to send out a message about Manas' greatness".

[Aquinas]

Malivian cow terrorists hijack plane

[Aquinas]

January 4785

Vemulakonda grumbles as Badaran aid softens anti-Hosian sentiment

All across the country, aid from Badara, in various forms, including food, pharmaceutical drugs and clothes, has been flooding in to the poorest communities, where it has been most gratefully received.

Not everybody is happy, though. The hardline faction within the Rajutti National Party is angry that the government has allowed in this aid, when it is widely known so much of it has been donated by Badara's Hosian (OOC: Christian) community. There have even been 3 separate attempts by Gerajan (OOC: Hindu) activists to halt the distribution of the aid under the controversial Freedom of Religion Act, arguing the aid was an attempt to convert Gerajans to Hosianism. Each of these attempts failed, with the courts ruling that the distributors of the aid were making no attempt to engage with the recipients about religious matters.

Ramesh Vemulakonda, the Defence Minister and a leading figure in the hardline faction, has told a Rajutti newspaper that "Malivia does not need Hosian money" and that "Hosian money is always tainted, always corrupting, always coming with an agenda". However, he appears to have been over-ruled on the issue by the Prime Minister and others in the Cabinet, who were more keen to accept the aid than to worry about who provided it.

At least in the short-term, the generosity of Badara's Hosians may have marginally tempered the hostility of poorer (and usually lower-caste or non-caste) Gerajans towards their Hosian neighbours. Anecdotally, there are reports of Gerajans writing letters of thanks to the donors in Badara, and even of them leaving small offerings of respect and gratitude outside Malivian Hosian churches, such as flowers. This last phenomenon has caused some bemusement, since the largest churches in Malivia, the Bishopal Church and the Aurorian Patriarchal Church, are not connected to the Apostolic Church of the Isles, which organised the aid collections in Badara. Malivians though, it seems, do not entirely understand this point, but perhaps Yusuf al-Thani, Patriarch of Al'Kamelah for the Apostolic Church of the Isles, seeing the small but positive impact his scheme has had on community relations in Malivia, will not be altogether too bothered by this.

[Kubrick]

"Avoid accidents, release the hostages" says Director Ráhklarz of the SSA

[Aquinas]

June 4785

Kalkali language professor sacked

Clendon Midwinter, has been dismissed from his position as Professor of Kalkali (OOC: Sanskrit) Language at the University of Hitam, just 3 weeks after his appointment. This follows an intense campaign by students at the university and Gerajan (OOC: Hindu) activists who argued it was wrong to allow such a prestigious post to be occupied by a non-Gerajan. In Gerajan culture, Kalkali is regarded practically as a holy language, and some find it shocking the language should be studied by a man like Clendon Midwinter, who - as an Esinsindu Hosian (OOC: Afro-Caribbean Christian) is neither Rajutti (OOC: Indian) or Gerajan.

Education Minister Prashant Jadhav supported the campaign against Midwinter, and is believed to have threatened to cut off the university's funding unless they removed him.

Arjuna Roychaudhuri, who held the professorship until his recent retirement and was on the panel which recommended Midwinter's appointment as his replacement, has hit out at what he called "a disgusting, cowardly decision made on the basis of political pressure and bigotry". Padmini Panda, another academic within the university's Kalkali Language Department, has resigned in protest and announced she is seeking to resume her career in Vascania, where she hopes to find another post.

Midwinter has not yet spoken publicly about his sacking, but it is rumoured he is consulting with lawyers and trying to drum up support within the academic community both in Malivia and abroad.

[Aquinas]

January 4786

Kapudia vows to clamp down on "slum factories"



Trade & Industry Minister Nagini Kapudia has promised "Malivia will no longer turn a blind eye to exploitation and poor working conditions in our slums". She was referring to the notorious situation where the worst of the country's slums have become more like nightmarish industrial factory prisons than residential areas, with countless people crowded together, living, working and sleeping in the same rooms, under some of the toughest imaginable conditions. Exploitation, forced labour and child labour are rife, and accidents common - although almost always hushed up.



The finger of blame is often pointed at manufacturers who, rather than employ workers directly in factories, where working conditions are at least somewhat monitored by government inspectors, decide to contract out the work instead to the slum-dwellers - who in turn frequently end up exploiting other slum dwellers just as much as they are being exploited themselves.

Malivian governments have talked about tackling the problem before, and Kapudia - a woman with socialist sympathies, politically - is keen to at last make some progress in getting something done. How much can be achieved, though, remains to be seen. Powerful economic interests are at stake, and many of her Cabinet colleagues - most especially the Finance Minister, Arjuna Singh, and the Internal Affairs Minister, Chatur Nijasure, are not known for their progressive attitudes towards the poor. Even amongst her own department's army of officials and inspectors, there are varying degrees of enthusiasm for doing anything very much about the slums.


Territorial disputes between Hijras heating up

Malivia's third gender community, the Hijras, have been reported as becoming increasingly militant in their wedding-crashing antics, and have always had a reputation for being tough - largely through no choice of their own, due to the social hostility and physical aggression they experience on a day-to-day basis.

Reports are now mounting that territorial conflicts between different groups of Hijras are becoming more common, leading to public slanging matches and even physical fighting on occasion.

Hijras typically live in groups, headed by a guru or leader, who has disciples or chelas. They make a living variously through performing rituals and dances at weddings and on the birth of children, begging, and for some, prostitution. There is a tendency for groups or clusters of groups to form a sense of "ownership" over a "territory", and not to allow outside Hijras to operate within it. In the past, in general terms, this has tended to work amicably enough, with senior figures in the Hijra community ironing out differences in whose territory is where. Of late, though, this system of co-operation appears to be breaking down, particularly in Modalin, the capital, and Hitam, one of the country's major religious centres. It is difficult to say why this is happening, although some commentators point to an increase in violence against Hijras, which may in turn have led to them becoming more physically confrontational in self-defence, and a diminishing in the social clout of traditional authority figures within the Hijra community.

[Aquinas]

May 4795

"Rejoin us!", Ganapuli appeals to Malivy Islands

Prime Minister Patanjali Ganapuli has congratulated the new government of the Malivy Islands (aka Selucia) for "throwing off the alien Hosian (OOC: Christian) yolk" and appealed to "our Malivy Island brethren" to "recognise the common shared heritage of Geraja (OOC: Hindusim) and Religio Seluciana (OOC: Roman polytheism), and the common values and history of our peoples and rejoin us to begin the the task of rebuilding a Greater Malivia".

Malivia has staked a territorial claim on Selucia since December 4532, which was reaffirmed more recently in the Greater Malivia Act of 4770.

Recent events in Selucia have caused excitement amongst the Malivian political classes, raising hopes that with the tide turning against the influence of the Aurorian Patriarchal Church, a pathway might open towards embracing a "Malivy Islands" identity. It remains to be seen how seriously this will be taken in Selucia, though, since up to now, the Malivy Islands movement has always been something of a fringe identity. Over many years, though, Malivian-based Gerajan leaders have made painstaking efforts to reach out to Selucian pagans, and indeed Selucian pagan leaders have periodically been invited to serve in honoured positions, including even on the Swami Council.


Hosians protest outside Selucian embassy

More than 200,000 protesters, mainly Hosians, have demonstrated outside the Selucian embassy in Modalin to campaign against anti-Hosian persecution in Selucia, where the controversial Constitutio Cleri is requiring all clerics, and even the Arch-Patriarch himself, to be appointed by democratic election.

The leadership of the two largest Hosian denominations, the Bishopal Church and the Aurorian Patriarch Church, have issued a joint statement condemning the developments in Selucia and calling on "people in Malivia and across the world to stand up in support of religious freedom".

Foreign Minister Vrikodara Mahalanabis has stated "this is an internal matter for Selucia" but that "we are observing these developments with interest and with a great sense of hope".

[Polites]

Geraja Collegium founded

[Aquinas]

November 4795

Prince Madhu crowned Emperor Manas II

Following the death of Manas, Emperor of Vascania and Greater Malivia, the Lok Sabha has unanimously voted to allow him to be succeeded as Greater Malivian Emperor by his youngest son, Prince Madhu, who will take the title Manas II, in honour of his father.

Madhu, or Manas II as he is now to be known, is a popular figure in Malvia who has spent a great deal of time in the country, in effect functioning as an unofficial Regent for much of the time, since his elderly father was based in Vascania and did not travel to Malivia much.


Aurorian protesters seize APC churches

A number of churches belonging to the Aurorian Patriarchal Church have been seized by individuals belonging to a group describing itself as "the Constitutionalists", who align themselves with the excommunicated section of the Aurorian Patriarchal Church in Selucia and support its doctrines in controversial areas such as the election of bishops and priests. They claim they have "broken away" from the Aurorian Patriarchal Church in Malivia, and as such, should be entitled to a share of the church's land, property and wealth.

The police have shown no willingness so far to evict the protesters, despite having been repeatedly entreated to do so by church leaders. Suspicions have been raised that the government is colluding with the protesters, and even supplying governments agents to assist them, in order to try to undermine the second most powerful Hosian organisation in the country.

Internal Affairs Minister Chatur Nijasure has described the situation as "an internal matter for the community of the Aurorian Patriarchal Church in Malivia" but promised "if the two sides cannot come to a mutually acceptable compromise, then the government will be forced, reluctantly, to play the part of referee". This has been interpreted as a threat by the government to requisition some of the church's assets and hand them over to its opponents.


Swami Council welcomes formation of Gerajan Collegium in Selucia

The Swami Council, a revered organisation considered the closest thing Geraja (OOC: Hinduism) has to a religious leadership body, has issued a statement welcoming the decision of the College of Pontiffs in Selucia to create a Gerajan Collegium, giving a special role for Geraja within the broader family of the pagan Religio Seluciana. "We are looking forward to further exploring the connections between Geraja and the Religio Seluciana, and building on our relationships with our Selucian brothers and sisters," the statement said.

Prime Minister Patanjali Ganapuli has also hailed the move as "a positive development" and expressed his hope for "greater political, social and economic co-operation between the Malivy Islands and the Malivian mainland".

[Rogue]

Deltarian government pressures Malivia in calming the APC situation