Syalat

Syalat ཤྱལཏ
Capital	Jarakshetra
Largest city	Kaloprayaga
Official languages	Khas Kura
Demonym(s)	Syalati
Government	Military oligarchy
• Mukhtiyar	Indra Rosyara
• Mulkaji	Taral Mishra
Legislature	Consultative Assemblies
• Upper house	Sabha
• Lower house	Samiti
Population
• 2022 census	20,081,119
GDP (nominal)	estimate
• Total	$147.7 billion
• Per capita	$7,354
Gini	57.4 high
HDI (2022)	0.569 medium
Currency	Paisa
Driving side	right

Syalat (Khas Kura: ཤྱལཏ), also known as the Jackal Coast, is a country in central Ochran. It is situated between the southern coast of the Chulha Sea and the snow-capped mountain ranges that define the country's land borders with Ankat and Shimlar-Pashmir. The country takes its name from the shores of the southeastern Chulha which is known for its many inlets, islands, reefs and submerged rocks which made the coastal waters treacherous to navigate and a hot-spot for Chulha pirates. Much of the Syalati hinterland is made up of rugged peaks and valleys which break up the landscape into semi-isolated biomes and communities, most of which rely on rivers fed by meltwater for subsistence due to the low levels of rainfall in the region. The populace is most concentrated near the coast in major cities like Kaloprayaga where Syalat's economy is centered, while the political center of gravity is pulled towards the interior by the large but dispersed rural population. The national capital is Jarakshetra, a planned city built in the early 20th century within the remote Jar Valley deep in the mountainous center of the country.

The four regions of Syalat are home to a diverse group of cultures with ties to different parts of Ochran. The central Prathara highlands and the coastal Khasira region are homeland of Syalat's dominant Khas culture, a cousin of the south Ochrani Arya Terasi and Pashmu peoples. Khondi Pradesh in the north is influenced by Untsangasar and the Chuyan peoples of the steppe. In the southwest of Syalat lies Paktunkwa, homeland of the Pakhtuns, an Azagartic people with cultural ties to the Shirazamite Ayars. Syalat's complex political history and physically divisive and isolating geography has historically impeded cultural assimilation and fostered the preservation of these distinct local cultures, only spurred on by the historical domination of foreign states over Syalat to include the Bayarids or Zilung Chen. This trend continues into the modern era through the rule of the Begana Army, a military and political institution defined by its practice of almost exclusively inducting foreigners without ties to Syalat into its ranks. The Begana government of Syalat takes the form of a nominally meritocratic bureaucracy whose functionaries are drawn from all ethnic and religious groups in an equitable fashion, within which internal conflicts and inter-ethnic infighting is dispassionately adjudicated and suppressed by the foreign military oligarchy presiding over the state.

Government

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The national administration, also called the Begana government, is dominated by the Begana Army and its leadership who exercise political power through the State Gaxag. The Gaxag is made up of voting members with the title Kalon who are always current or former ranking members of the Begana Army, as well as the Mantri non-voting civilian advisors who are typically heads of administrative departments granted the privilege of sitting in on meetings of the Gaxag in order to provide their expertise and advice to the council. The head of the council is the Mulkaji, equivalent to a Prime Minister, whose responsibilities center around controlling accession to the Gaxag, leadership appointments for the offices of the administration, and the daily affairs of the council. The chief executive of the state, the Mukhtiyar, is elected by the Gaxag and serves for life, holding broad executive authority as well as the official command of the Begana Army and the Syalati military. The Mulkaji serves at the pleasure of the Mukhtiyar, who holds the power to dismiss and appoint another Mulkaji at will.

Economy

Syalat is an agrarian country, with some 12 million of its citizens dependent on agriculture for income and subsistence. This preeminent agricultural sector is subdivided into dedicated cereal cropping of rice and barley, cash cropping of many economically important crops such as saffron crocus and opium poppy, and textile cropping of flax and cotton. Meat is uncommon in Syalati cuisine and is often expensive, restricting its regular consumption to the wealthier class of the citizenry. As a result, animal husbandry in Syalat is focused on production of wool and hides, with sheep being the principal farm animal in the countryside. Mining has a long history on the Prathara plateau, where some of the world's oldest active iron mines can be found. Taken together, the primary sector activities of the Syalati economy contribute roughly two thirds of the national GDP and employ more than 80% of the population. Secondary sector industries in Syalat are mainly based on the production of textiles and processing of the country's other agricultural products for export. The more industrialized textile mills, tool factories and other more modernized firms which can be found in the major coastal cities on the shores of the Chulha sea contribute disproportionately to the GDP relative to the portions of the national workforce involved in such enterprises. This phenomenon contributes to the significant economic inequality experienced in Syalat, adding to the concentration of wealth within a few firms in a handful of urban centers while the majority of the country remains underdeveloped and agrarian in nature.