The Republic of Kashmir
کٔشِیر कॅशीर कश्मीर ཀཤམིར كەشمىر کشمیر
کٔشِیر कॅशीर कश्मीर ཀཤམིར كەشمىر کشمیر
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Hasan said:
Map of Kashmir
Spoiler :
The Republic of Kashmir
Population: c.20,000,000
Capital city: Iskandarabad
Largest city: Srinagar
Official Languages: None
De facto: Kashmiri, Dogri, Hindustani, English
Government: semi-presidential democratic republic
Head of State: Jamal Nadim (KCD)
Head of Government: Rasul Iqbal (KCD)
Political freedom: Partly free
Economic policy: interventionist, pragmatist
Social policy: liberal
Foreign policy: non-interventionist
Religious policy: pluralist
Kaetif policy: tolerant
Economic development: medium
Economic growth: fast
People development: medium
Infrastructure development: medium
Corruption: problematic
After the First Cataclysm, India was gradually reunited as the Imperial Republic of India, and later the United States of India, under Kashmiri leadership. Over many years, the USI through persuasion and coercion expanded its control over most of India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal, Bhutan, and Iran, and parts of Sri Lanka, Afghanistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan and Tajikistan.
In time, popular discontent, heightened international tension and revolutionary fervor contributed to the Communist Revolution that established the Soviet Union (often referred to as the Second Soviet Union or the USSR-in-India to distinguish it from the 20th century Soviet Union). However, the Revolution soon turned sour. The new regime proved repressive and incompetent, and many world governments turned against it and vowed its destruction. The conflict between the Soviet Union and the capitalist powers eventually led to the world war that ushered in the Second Cataclysm. With vast tracts of the country a nuclear wasteland, and the rest depopulated and rendered destitute by war, civil strife and famine, a multi-ethnic mob of all political affiliations stormed the Soviet Government buildings/bunkers in Islamabad, declaring the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics dissolved, then began killing each other.
Iskandar Mirza, head of the Republic of Kashmir, declared himself King Iskandar I of the reestablished Kingdom of Kashmir. The Kashmiris saved what they could of the countrys cultural heritage and provided sanctuary for millions of refugees before the King decided in light of escalating violence to declare complete neutrality in all conflicts and sealed Kashmirs borders. Although it was one of the more prosperous and stable of the Soviet successor states, Kashmir nevertheless struggled under the pressure of the Second Cataclysm. The King ordered the construction of vaults and forts around the country to stash food and weapons and provide shelter for the populace from the global radioactive fallout. Ruling by decree, the King enacted martial laws, suspended civil liberties, cracked down on corruption and overhauled the administration, before gradually managing a transition back to democracy as the dust settled on a brave new world.
In the final years of the Second Cataclysm Kashmir became a republic, Iskandar Mirza was elected President, and the borders were reopened. Blue Zone Kashmir became an oasis of relative safety and stability in a shattered India. President Mirza led the country through the immediate aftermath, and presided over a period of liberalization and rapid economic growth. However, he also lived to see the beginning of the internecine political unrest which would plague the country for over a decade. Mirza himself was assassinated after he signed a law granting kaetifs, whose increasing presence in the country proved fatally divisive, equal rights with humans. Defying its own history, Kashmir managed to remain territorially cohesive through these difficult years. But political instability worsened in the years that followed Mirzas death, with violent demonstrations, riots, assassinations, and coup detats happening with alarming regularity. Though analysts generally agreed that recent years have seen an improvement, political assassinations still happen almost on a daily basis. A new generation of leaders is paving the way towards a more civil political culture, and two charismatic liberal young leaders, Jamal Nadim and Rasul Iqbal, are currently President and Prime Minister, respectively, but they have many enemies, and they face a daunting task of building a nation beset by so many problems.
Economically, Kashmir is doing quite well relative to most of the world, and definitely doing well compared to the smoldering slums of Hindustan or the medieval agrarian economy of Punjab. Yet it is estimated that despite recent alleviation efforts half the population still lives in poverty. Of the economic reforms and infrastructure development projects which were under consideration during Mirzas term none became a reality; they became casualties of the poisonous political climate. Prime Minister Iqbal is trying a pragmatic, grassroots-based policy to raise living standards and capitalize on Kashmirs lead in skilled workers and technological knowledge, so far with limited success.
Crime, organized or otherwise, is rampant. Corruption makes the problem harder to deal with still. The ruling coalition is perceived in some circles to have failed in delivering their promise to make the streets safe, and some are now looking back to extremist parties for solutions. A nationalist party and an Islamist party have gained ground in recent years, though both have been criticized for hypocrisy with regards to their stance on crime and violence, and neither are strong enough to challenge the ruling coalition despite the factional conflicts within the coalition.
Kaetifs constitute perhaps five percent of the population, but their presence sparked the most contentious issue of Post-Cataclysm Kashmir. The Kaetif Equality Law passed by Mirza was repealed two years later by President Siddiqi, and it was not until recently that a (watered-down) version of the original Equality Law was enacted by President Nadim. While many now accept kaetifs as people, many remain vehemently against treating them as such. Most people are ambivalent, and when asked what they feel most would say they are willing to tolerate kaetifs, but either they would not grant them equal status to humans, or they desire kaetifs and humans to remain apart as much as possible.
