Malivia

[Aquinas]

March 4549

Padagavakar becomes Minister for Cows in humiliating demotion

Following machinations in Parliament which saw the positions of Prime Minister and President merged into one and the new top job going to sitting President Karam Kamal, outgoing Prime Minister Amish Padagavakar has returned to the Cabinet, taking on the newly-created job of Minister for Cows.

He is putting on a brave face, however, and trying to give an impression of being enthusiastic about his new role. Tomorrow he is embarking on a tour around the country to try to organise the establishment of a national network of gaushalas (cow shelters), and this morning he appeared on a breakfast television programme extolling the health benefits of drinking cow urine.

[Aquinas]

June 4549

President Karam Kamal offers "reset" on foreign policy

President Karam Kamal has used his first major speech on foreign policy in order to for "better international relations between Malivia and the rest of the world" and to offer a "reset" on the country's foreign policy. "If other nations are willing to show goodwill to us, then we will show goodwill to them," he said.

Significantly, he announced Malivia would no longer seek to become a member of the Deltarian-led Coalition of Social Revolutionary States (CARSS), saying "Malivia continues to regard Deltaria as a firm friend and an important ally" but that "joining CARSS would be a cause of internal division for us, and would confuse some of our international friends".

He also offered to engage in "open and constructive dialogue, without pre-conditions" with the Selucian government over Malivia's sovereignty claims. "We need to bring the two parts of Malivia closer together," he said, calling for "all restrictions on travel and trade between Malivia and the Malivy Islands to be removed".


Free cow urine for all Malivians











Minister for Cows Amish Padagavakar has announced distilled cow urine will be offered free to all Malivians. And by all Malivians, he means all Malivians - Malivy Islanders, also known as "Selucians", will be able to apply for the product as well.

Announcing the new policy in a speech at the Bovine Research Centre in Hitam, Padagavakar spoke at length about the health benefits of cow urine, and promised the widespread use of the substance for therapeutic purposes will improve health outcomes, cut healthcare costs and reduce the economic cost caused by sick days at work. In relation to the latter issue, he cited a study conducted by the Hitam City police service where, under a pilot scheme, police officers were compelled to drink cow urine 5 times a day whenever they were off sick. Within 3 months of this policy being introduced, absenteeism fell by 40%.

[Arya]

MALIVIAN GENERAL STRIKE!

Workers all over Malivia in various industries have declared a general strike protesting the introduction of recent capitalist laws and policies and the raising of sales tax on essential and non luxury goods which caused a great increase in its price. The strikers are also protesting the recent cut in taxes on the rich and decrease in budget for social services and education. The general strike has been organised and inspired by the Malivian Nationalist Party (Socialist). The general strike can have a very bad effect on the national economy if it does not end soon.

[Aquinas]

August 4762

Milk sipping miracle spurs Gerajan revival



Two weeks ago, in a quiet Gerajan (OOC: Hindu) temple on the outskirts of Kajpur, Inderjeet Patil, a humble 67 year old widow, offered up a bowl of milk to an idol of the Gerajan elephant god Maha, beseeching him to cure her of an excruciating haemorrhoid problem which was devastating her confidence and causing her to spend more and more time on her own, like a virtual recluse.

To her amazement, as she held the bowl to Maha's trunk, the milk slowly began to disappear, as though the idol was drinking it up. She called for the attention of the pujari (OOC: Hindu priest), who at first was sceptical, but as he watched closer, observed something extraordinary was indeed occuring.

"It's a miracle" the pujari exclaimed. Before long, the same phenomenon was being reported all across the country with Maha statues and devotees holding spoonfuls and bowls of milk.

Inderjeet's haemorrhoids disappeared overnight. On hearing this, Yogi Ravindra Gupta, a top local Gerajan guru, interrupted a yoga session to hold an interplanetary spiritual conference with Maha, and then telephoned Inderjeet to tell her "Maha says he gave you the haemorrhoids so he could take them away". Similar miracles have been reported elsewhere.

Amidst all of this, Malivians have been descending upon their temples in greater numbers than ever before, looking to their old traditions for answers and comfort. One important development, albeit a little noticed one so far, has been the re-emergence of the Rajutti National Party, a political movement dedicated to the revival of Gerajan values and pursuing the interests of the majority Rajutti (OOC: Indian) community. What the long-term consequences of this will be, we are yet to discover.


Ganapul inquires about welfare of businessman believed missing in Zardugal

Rajutti National Party leader Patanjali Ganapuli has written to the Zardic authorities, raising his concerns about the prominent Malivian entrepreneur Vipul Joshi, who went missing after visiting Zardugal in order to attend to matters relating to his Rajutti restaurant business. His family fear he was caught up in the violent backlash against capitalists.


Ayurveda Maliva offers partnership deal to MMM



Ayurveda Malivia (AM), the largest manufacturer of Ayurverdic medicines in the country, has offered to enter a partnership with More Medicament Manufacture (MM).

AM Chief Executive Ikshu Naresh said:

Ayurveda is an ancient, powerful and highly-respected traditional form of Rajutti medicine, which is used by more than 70% of Malivians. Malivians know Ayurveda works, and the great thing now is - the rest of the world wants to experience it too. MMM is the kind of organisation which has the global reach to massively expand our exporting business, and that's why we want to work with them. Together, we could bring the benefits of Ayurveda to move people across the world than ever before, and that is a prospect all of us here at AM are really, really excited about.

The proposal is not uniformly popular, however. On the one hand, many Rajuttis, including the leadership of the newly-formed Rajutti National Party, are fearful that the "globalisation" of the Ayurveda industry, with the involvement of non-Malivian corporations, might lead to the sector losing touch with its traditional roots. On the other hand, critics of Ayurveda argue it lacks any real medical basis, and provides no more than a placebo. Some commentators predict MM will be wary of risking its international credibility by becoming involved with alternative medicine, although others say if MM passed off this opportunity then they would be missing out on a potentially massive untapped market.


Renowned astrologer presents Queen Amelie II with birth chart for her son




Harpreet Vemalakonda


Harpreet Vemulakonda, the world famous practitioner of Jyotishya (OOC: Hindu astrology) with a reputation for accurately predicting the outcome of sports matches, has dispatched to Keymon's Queen an astrological birth chart and life reading for her newborn son, Prince Carlu. He promises he will not reveal the contents of the reading to anyone, and has suggested to the Queen that she shares the chart with her son once he reaches 14 years of age.

[aurek]

viewtopic.php?f=17&t=64&p=157626#p157626

[Aquinas]

January 4763

Controversial mass village baptism ends in violence

Yesterday afternoon, Rameshwar Kulkarni, a missionary from the Reformed Hosian Church, was planning to baptise 31 converts at a well in the small village of Odanthurai, in north-eastern Dendhadrash.

To an outside observer, this might seem like an event that should pass off quietly, but not in this conservative Gerajan Rajutti (OOC: Hindu Indian) village - and most certainly not at this well.



The Rajutti community has been divided for millennia along caste lines, with each caste generally only marrying amongst itself, and with members of higher castes tending to enjoy social and other privileges denied to those in lower castes.

At times, low caste Gerajans have converted to other religions, notably Hosianism, in an attempt to escape caste discrimination and join a new religious community in which they could participate more on the basis of equals. Unfortunately, however, the promise of emancipation did not generally prove true. Even within the membership of the Bishopal Church and the Aurorian Patriachal Church, Malivia's two largest Hosian organisations, caste discrimination has continued.

It caused quite a stir, then, when Kulkarni toured his village, preaching a radical message of social emancipation and spiritual salvation, denouncing the caste system in fierce terms which nobody has heard before. He has been as forthright in his condemnation of Hosian communities which practice caste discrimination as he has of the Gerajan ideology it originated from.

This brings us back to the village well in Odanthurai. Not just any well. A well reserved, by custom, only for members of the 4 recognised social castes, and for cows. Most definitely not for "untouchables", those at the very bottom of the caste system, who are in fact deemed to be so lowly as to be outside the caste system altogether. In Gerajan tradition, even to touch an "untouchable", or to consume food or drink they have touched, is to risk having ones spiritual purity contaminated.

Yesterday afternoon, Kulkarni made a purposeful attempt to violate this social norm in the most dramatic way he could think of, which was to baptise 31 of his converts at the well - 26 of whom were "untouchables".

The backlash was violent. A mob assembled. Kulkarni was hospitalised with broken ribs and facial injuries. His mass baptism ceremony was interrupted after only the third baptism. And the well, by the way, was badly damaged as a result of the fighting. It has now been put beyond use, and has still not been repaired. Locals say it takes a long time to get anything done in Odanthurai. But people are patient. "What we don't get around to doing in this life, we can do in the next" is a common saying.

Yesterday's incident has provoked a political backlash against the Reformed Hosian Church and similar Hosian groups. Not only Gerajan leaders, but also the leadership of the Bishopal Church and the Aurorian Patriarchal Church fear that with its lively services and radical message, it might take converts away from them. They are also suspicious that the Reformed Hosian Church missionaries in Malivia are backed by Likatonian money, and that they are taking advantage of their wealth in order to bribe poor members of other religious communities in to converting. It remains to be seen how, if at all, the government will respond to public demands to "do something" about the "invasive missionaries and their foreign money".

[John Cracker]

RHC Denounces Both Sides

[Aquinas]

February 4763

Rajutti National Party sweeps to power

In another sign of the growing self-confidence of Rajuttis (OOC: Indians) and Gerajans (OOC: Hindus) in Maliva, the Rajutti National Party (RNP) is celebrating a landslide victory in this month's General Election. President Patanjali Ganapuli has appointed an all-Rajutti, all-Gerajan Cabinet, defying earlier expectations that he would award some token appointments to individuals from other communities outside his own party.


Babar Commission recommends quotas scheme for government jobs

The Commission for the Investigation of Discrimination in the Public Sector, set up under the previous government and led by Professor Asneh Babar, published its final report yesterday. In his report, Babar provides evidence of "significant institutional discrimination against some social groups, both in terms of hiring, promotions and bonus payments". He identifies the Esinsindu (OOC: Afro-Caribbean) community, and the "untouchable" and Adivasi (OOC: tribal) castes within the Rajutti community as the primary victims of this discrimination, noting that together these groups comprise about 47% of the population but hold only 10% of public sector jobs, with those being concentrated in lower-paid roles. To help remedy this, along with the introduction of anti-discrimination education programs and new anti-discrimination guidelines, he recommends that each department of government should be set a target of filling at least 20% of their vacancies with individuals from these communities.

There has been considerable backlash against the recommendations from much of the Rajutti press and amongst RNP parliamentarians, with the view being that public sector appointments should be made purely on the basis of merit, and that a quota system would result in stronger candidates being discriminated against in favour of weaker ones. However, many others are insisting discrimination is so endemic in the public sector that positive discrimination is the only way to change the organisational cultures which have developed. Rameshwar Kulkarni, a missionary from the Reformed Hosian Church and campaigner for marginal communities, has endorsed the the Babar Commissions proposals, whilst expressing the hope that "after 10 years or so, it may be that the quotas are no longer necessary".

President Patanjali Ganapuli has said his government will "carefully consider" the proposals, although there are widespread doubts as to whether he will make any serious attempt to implement them.


Kulkarni "accepts the discipline of the Church" as his followers split

Rameshwar Kulkarni has responded to the Reformed Hosian Church's reaction to his controversial mass baptism by saying he "accepts the discipline of the Church", explaining that "whilst I am passionate about challenging caste discrimination", he "will not attempt an exercise like the last one again".

His followers have become divided over this, with some leaving to form a new group called the Independent Reformed Hosian Church, which aims to engage in " radical peaceful but direct action protests" in order to "advance the cause of social justice".


Minister for Cows praises Likatonian cow campaigners

Minister for Cows Satyender Ahluwalia has offered his "heartfelt gratitude and support" to cow rights campaigners in Likatonia, who appear to have successfully persuaded the Conservative Republican Party to introduce a bill prohibiting the slaughter of cows for meat. "We hope to have cow slaughter completely eradicated worldwide by the end of the century," he added.

[John Cracker]

viewtopic.php?f=18&t=8643&start=40

[Aquinas]

February 4764

Esinsindus excluded from jobs quota

In a divisive move, the government has indicated it intends to reject the proposal of the Babar Commission to reserve 20% of public sector jobs for Esinsindus (OOC: Africans/Jamaicans) and members of the disadvantaged Untouchable and Adivasi (OOC: tribal) Rajutti (OOC: Indian) castes. Instead, it intends to forge ahead with a plan to reserve 5% of public sector jobs for Untouchables and Adivasis only.

Untouchables and Adivasis collectively make up about 10% of the population but hold only 2% of public sector jobs, so hopefully stand to gain from the 5% quota. However, Esinsindus, who also face social and economic disadvantage in Malivia, make up 37% of the population but hold only 8% of public sector jobs, and will not receive any additional help from the new scheme. Some employment experts fear that if anything, the new quota may further squeeze Esinsindus out of jobs, since they are largely competing with Untouchables and Adivasis for the same low skilled, low paid roles.

President Patanjali Ganapuli has justified excluding Esinsindus from the quota by arguing that "for cultural reasons, Esinsindus are reluctant to work and accept the discipline of the workplace, and this is the reason they are under-represented in the public sector," claiming "it is impossible to find any real statistical evidence that they are actually being discriminated against in any significant way". Liberal commentators have roundly denounced these comments.

Part of the political motivation for the move is likely to be the fear the President and his supporters have long had of an alliance of solidarity forming between the Esinsindus and lower caste Rajuttis. Signals of such an alliance had been appearing, particularly with the formation of the Social Justice Foundation, a cross-community organisation campaigning for civil rights and equality; the Reformed Hosian Church, which has pointedly challenged caste and racial divisions; and the recent release of The Uprising, a popular historical movie about Rajuttis and Esinsindus joining together to fight against their Luthori overlords of the East Artania Company. Ganapuli is believed to be hoping that by placating lower caste Rajuttis, he will be able to encourage them to identify more with the rest of the Rajutti community and less with the similarly disadvantaged Esinsindus.

Not all Rajuttis are happy with the new quota, though. Protests are taking place this week at the University of Modalin, organised by higher caste Rajuttis who feel their future prospects are being endangered by giving "special treatment" to those lower down the caste hierarchy.


Government targets Hosian proselytisers with controversial legislation

President Ganapuli is attempting to spearhead controversial legislation through the Lok Sabha which would make it a criminal offence to "to convert a person from their religious faith through the use of force, inducement or dishonest means". Civil rights groups fear this is aimed squarely at Hosian (OOC: Christian) missionaries attempting to convert Gerajans (OOC: Hindus) to Hosianism. Hosians frequently face accusations, more often than not unfounded, that they are coercing or bribing Gerajans to convert. Malivia's judiciary is famously dominated by conservative-minded Gerajans, which raises doubts about how much of a fair chance Hosians will be given to defend themselves when such charges are brought against them.

Rameshwar Kulkarni of the Reformed Hosian Church has fiercely denied his organisation has played any role in coercing or bribing Gerajans to convert, stating:

Means of conversion like that are completely alien to our beliefs and our ethics. For conversion to be real and meaningful, it has to come from the heart - there is no other way. It is true that we provide support for the poor, but we always offer this as a gift. There are no conditions attached. If the person we are helping does not want to talk about religion, we always respect that.

Higher caste Rajuttis shun Grace Project food

It is being reported that in the village of Odanthurai, many families - including many poor and hungry ones - are refusing gifts of food from the Reformed Hosian Church's Grace Project because the food has been prepared by people lower down the caste hierarchy than themselves. In Rajutti Gerajan culture, there is a stigma against eating food that has been handled by people from lower castes. In particular, there is a great fear that food touched by Untouchables and Adivasis is "impure" and "spiritually contaminating", and Brahmins (the highest caste), especially, are reluctant to eat anything unless it has been prepared by other Brahmins.

Rameshwar Kulkarni, the Church's lead missionary in Odanthurai, has commented:

Well, I am prepared to speak openly about this: it depresses and frustrates me incredibly that caste is such a barrier in this society, to the extent that it can even determine whether a hungry person will agree to eat food or not. This is a distortion of the wonderful plan God has for us.

There are mixed views amongst my colleagues about how we should deal with this. Some say it is a matter of principle that we should never cater to caste prejudices. And I do understand that view. Others say that we need to reach out to people where they are, rather than where we wish they were, and that it would become much easier to engage with this community if we only used Brahmin caterers. One can argue this different ways and there is perhaps no easy answer. We are going to be writing to our spiritual leader, John Benton in Likatonia, to seek his advice.

Cow vigilantes lynch suspected cow traffickers at the Hobrazian border



Gau Raksha Paltan (Cow Protection Organisation), Malivia's notorious cow vigilante group, has claimed responsibility for the murder of 3 Hobrazians and 2 Esinsindu Malivians in Walkaunar Pradesh, not far from the border with Hobrazia. In a statement, the groups said:

The Esinsindus were selling cows to Hobrazians to be murdered for meat. Five of those involved have now paid the price. Be warned: THOSE WHO DISRESPECT HOLY MOTHER COW WILL BE PUNISHED FOR THEIR CRIMES.

Transporting cows from Malivia to other countries to be slaughtered is not technically a criminal offence in Malivia, although it is deeply frowned upon by most Rajuttis.

The government has condemned the lynchings, although cynics point out that nobody from Gau Raksha Paltan has been arrested since the Rajutti National Party came to power, despite a number of incidents having taken place. Minister for Cows Satyender Ahluwalia has, however, promised to look in to introducing a complete ban on cows being transported abroad.