Bashurat Crisis

The Bashurat Crisis, sometimes referred to as the Satrian Crisis or in Satria the Parvat Uprising was an international crisis in the Rajadom of Ajahadya in 1909 over Etrurian commercial interests and nationals in the Bashurat Valley being threatened by an uprising by native workers and soldiers and the inability of the Raja of Ajahyadya, Shahu II, to protect Etrurian nationals and commercial interests. This resulted in the governor of Satria Etruriana, Salvo Lazzari, ordering Etrurian troops supported by contingents contributed by native Thakurs under Etrurian protectorate of Satria Libera into Ajahadya to restore order.

Shahu II appealed to the Gaullican governor of Sangte for assistance, fearing that the Etrurians intended to depose him and either incorporate Ajahadya into the Etrurian Empire or restore his exiled brother, Kaval I to the throne, promising numerous concessions to Gaullica in the form of reductions in tariffs, granting of Extraterritoriality and the transfer of royal lands to Gaullican companies in exchange for their support.

The two armies shadowed each other up either bank of the Bashurat River for several weeks while the Raja prepared a defence of the capital, Banabadura. Scouting parties briefly clashed at the Bashurat State Railway Bridge, mistaking the other for elements of the Satrian rebels which threatened to escalate into a colonial conflict over the Bashurat river valley. Diplomats from both countries met and negotiated a compromise without the involvement of the Raja, where the Gaullicans agreed to shadow the Etrurian army while it put down the rebellion before returning to Satria Etruriana while also agreeing to pressuring the Raja to pay reparations to Etrurian companies for their losses.

The crisis ended with the Etrurian army decisively defeating the uprising and returning to Satria Etruriana, but firmly pushed Shahu II into the Gaullican sphere of influence and also showed his lack of firm control over Ajahadya. Although the revolt itself was defeated, many who had fought for it escaped into the mountains and jungles or be sheltered by locals and later formed the core of the Green Pardals after the Saahl Gold Fields Revolt in 1911. Many prominent figures in Satrian history were involved in some way with the Crisis; Mohan Balchandra and Jalender Sarai both fought with the Raja's army against the uprising, while Arjuna Kalsarah and Udit Dhinsa fought with the uprising.

Background

Following Etrurian conquest of the Alsamid Heavenly Dominion and the establishment of protectorates over many Thakurates during the early and mid-1800s, governing the former territory of the Heavenly Dominion under Satria Etruriana, while the Thakurates that became protectorates of the Etrurians were grouped into Satria Libera and remaining nominally independent. The unexpected arrival and swift demise of the Alsamid Heavenly Dominion led to the Raja of Ajahadya at the time, Shahu I, making concessions of extraterritoriality and reductions of tariffs and allowing Etrurian companies preferential treatment in Ajahadya in exchange for recognition of his rule over Ajahadya in the Treaty of Vadavarja signed in 1864, aligning Ajahadya with Etruria which then was the only Euclean power in the region.

Shahu II, last Raja of Ajahadya.

The arrival of Gaullica in the region through the annexation of the Ansan Empire in 18xx caused a shift in the power between Etruria and Ajahadya, with a second potential benefactor in the region. Ajahadya became a battleground for influence between Etruria and Gaullica, playing the two Euclean powers off against one another to secure Ajahadya's continued independence which included sending one of Raja Kulachandra I, son of Shahu I, two sons to Etruria and Gaullica for a Euclean university education. Kulachandra I successfully preserved Ajahadyan independence, holding the potential to defect to Gaullica to prevent too much Etrurian interference in the affairs of Ajahadya and the loss of its preferential status.

Upon Kulachandra I's death in 1905, his eldest son, the Etrurian-educated Kaval I ascended to the throne of Ajahadya. His younger brother, Shahu II, led a palace coup with the support of the nobility, having promised to restore their positions of prominence which were removed under Kulachandra I. Kaval I fled to Etruria, asking the Etrurian government under Alfredo Di Rienzo to restore him to his rightful throne. Shahu II likewise appealed to the Gaullicans for protection from an Etrurian invasion while simultaneously promising that despite his pro-Gaullican stance that he would uphold all the terms of the Treaty of Vadavarja. Not wanting to invade Ajahadya with a promise from the new Raja to uphold the Treaty, Etruria agreed that Shahu II could remain Raja while Kaval I was allowed residence in Etruria to remain as a replacement if Shahu II needed replacing with a more compliant ruler.

Many within Ajahadya were dissatisfied at the coup's result from Shahu II's accession to Etrurian demands, having backed him against the pro-Etruria Kaval I in the hope of seizing Etrurian-owned properties and a purge of many of Kaval I's advisors in the following years created a feeling of discontent among military officers and nobles outside of those who had backed Shahu II's coup.

Events

Initial Events (July 5th - July 13th)

The initial center of the revolt was a cotton plantation 60 miles south-east of Parvat, near the village of Kalaghar in northern Ajahadya. The plantation was almost entirely staffed by native Ajahadyans, either as agricultural labourers or managers, with contact with the Etrurian company that owned the plantation, Cristoforo, being through their office in nearby Parvat which served as the center of the company's operations on several cotton plantations in northern Ajahadya. The strike began on July 5th, 1909, after the plantation's manager, Partap Jawanda, informed the workforce of 200 labourers that their wages were being reduced by a quarter. This reduction in wages resulted in a near-riot that Partap brought under control after elaborating that he and all other native Ajahadyan staff, including himself, had likewise had their wages cut, while Etrurian staff working in Satria did not.

Partap Jawanda declared that they would occupy the plantation until their wages were restored, sending their demands back to Parvat by telegram later the same day from the telegram station at Naiki. No reply was sent, and instead a group of three Etrurians and one translator, led by Erico Montalbo was sent to negotiate with the strikers on the 6th to prevent damage to the plantation and its crops of rubber. The delegation stated that the strikers were to return to work by the 11th and that elements of the 63rd Parvat Light Infantry Regiment would be dispatched to retake the plantation from the strikers if they failed to do so. A debate was held among the labourers on the 11th on what course of action to take; some suggested that they burn down the plantation and fleeing into the surrounding villages with their families, others suggested that they arm themselves as best as they could to fight off the 63rd. Fearing that if they fled, reprisals would be made against the surrounding villages, the strikers took the Etrurians hostage spent the next few days preparing barricades around the plantation while Partap made the choice to negotiate with the 63rd.

2nd Battalion, 63rd Parvat Light Infantry Regiment arrived at Kalaghar on the 11th, and were met by Partap and the Etrurian's translator. The battalion's commander, Maj. Ayush Nayar, was informed of the Etrurian hostages, and returned to Kalaghar where the 2nd Battalion had encamped to inform his superiors of the situation with the hostages.

On the 12th, Nayar recieved orders by telegram that the 2nd Battalion was to obtain the release of the hostages and secure the plantation by storming it with the strikers to be killed. Nayar read the orders to his subordinates on the morning of the 12th who did not voice protest initially, but upon informing the men of the 2nd Battalion, they refused to take up arms against the unarmed civilians. Nayar requested that the hostages be released on the 12th and asked the strikers to disperse, attempting to fulfil his orders peacefully. The strikers again refused to disperse or release the hostages.

On the 13th, Nayar informed his superiors by telegram that the men of the 2nd were on the verge of mutiny, would not attack the plantation and that the situation could not be resolved peacefully, and later that same day was informed that anyone who refused to attack the plantation on the 14th would be considered to be in revolt. Nayar informed his men of this on the night of the 13th, and the 2nd Battalion again refused to attack the plantation on the 14th. Unable to fulfil his orders, Nayar informed his commanders that he and the 2nd Battalion were in mutiny by telegram on the night of the 13th.  

The Revolt Spreads (July 14th to August 6th)

Nayar's men dispersed into the countryside on the 14th and 15th, fearing the inevitable reprisal against them from the other battalions of the 63rd and other regiments barracked at Parvat. Nayar advised the strikers at the plantation to do the same, and they abandoned the plantation after burning the cotton crop and executing the Etrurian hostages. The soldiers and strikers moved between villages, many of which had been similarly affected by Etrurian agricultural companies exploiting their monopolies on land to cut wages to labourers. By the 20th, several plantations had been burned to the ground with their labourers joining the uprising or returning to their villages.

By the 18th, the Thakur of Zubad, Hardas Guram, had realised that this risked turning into a region-wide uprising against both his own rule and that of the Raja and ordered the other three battalions of the 63rd, along with the 37th Zubad Horse Lancers Regiment, the 71st Parvat Rifles Regiment and two battalions of the 82nd Zubad Regiment and 91st Zubad Light Infantry Regiment while also forming the 132nd Zubad Police Regiment from the cadets of the Parvat Officer Academy and members of Parvat's civilian police. Believing this to be a sufficient force to pacify the countryside against what was, at the time a poorly-armed peasant revolt, the Thakur chose to await the arrival of the other two battalions of the 82nd and the 91st from their patrols along the border with Satria Libera against bandits.

By the time the rest of the 82nd arrived on the 21st, however, the situation had drastically worsened for Hadras, as several regiments of Togoti cavalry stationed along the border with Kituk, namely the 14th Erwat's Togoti Lancers Regiment, 15th Kodir's Togoti Lancers Regiment and the 29th Togoti Horse Lancers Regiment had openly refused orders to move south to suppress the uprising, the elite 6th Togoti Light Infantry Regiment had openly mutinied while the 83rd Narlajabad Light Infantry Regiment, 89th Zubad Regiment and 90th Zubad Regiment along with the 25th Mountain Battery had taken control of the town of Narlajabad under Maj. Gen. (Ret.) Sher Wasir who had been discharged shortly after the removal of Kaval I, around 80 miles south of Kalaghar, declaring their intent to depose Shahu II.

The 76th Zubad Regiment during the Siege of Parvat.

Splitting his forces on the 22nd, Hardas left the untested and unreliable 132nd to defend Parvat while his army of around ~8,000 men marched against Wasir's ~6,000. After being harassed on the way by peasant guerillas and many soldiers deserting, Hardas' army arrived at Narlajabad on the 24th. Choosing to rest his men to attack the following day, Hardas' army was surprised by a night attack by Wasir's forces in the Battle of Narlaajabad, taking heavy losses from Wasir's artillery and forcing them to withdraw back towards Parvat in disorder, more men deserting on the way.

Hardas' army arrived back at Parvat on the 26th, where he was reinforced by the remains of the 76th Zubad Regiment which had retreated from further north as the rebellious Togoti moved southwards towards Parvat, fighting them in a series of running battles until they arrived at the city. Hardas, rather than marching out to meet the Togoti in battle where their superior cavalry gave them an advantage in mobility, instead prepared to defend the city until reinforcements arrive.

The mutinous Togoti, numbering around ~8,000, united under the leadership of Pazzaq Khan, arrived at Parvat on the 27th, camping nearby while Sher Wazir's army of ~4,000 marched through the night to arrive on the morning of the 28th, encircling the city and starting the Siege of Parvat. Hardas mustered his force of around ~7,000, leaving the untested but rested 132nd and the exhausted 76th, numbering roughly half of his forces, to defend the northern side of the city while the rest of his force attempted to break out of the city.

Once again, Hardas' attack was thrown back by Wazir's artillery with heavy losses. Hardas consolidated his forces, preparing for a last defence of the city's formidable fortifications while awaiting reinforcements from the Raja. The news of the siege of Parvat, however, sparked further uprisings throughout both Zubad and Togotistan, resulting in the storming of armouries by peasants while bandit groups raided across the countryside. On the 5th, after several days of skirmishing, nightly raids and artillery bombardments of the city's defences, the 132nd and the city's population, pushed to the breaking point, stormed the Thakur's sanga-durga and murdered him while other parts of the regiment opened the city's gates and surrendered it to the rebels on the morning of the 6th.

Foreign Intervention (August 6th to August 18th)

The fall of Parvat sent shockwaves throughout Ajahadya and Satria. What the Raja had called a 'local revolt' that would be dealt with by the Thakur of Zubad had not only defeated the Thakur's army twice, but also taken the regional capital of Parvat itself. Many regiments of the Ajahadyan Army in Zubad mutinied, marching towards Parvat, joined by armed peasant militas. The army of Wazir entered Parvat on the morning of the 6th, taking control of the city as the locals feared what would happen if the Togoti were allowed entry.

Although there was some looting, Wazir's diary records that he was able to largely keep his men under control, save for around Etrurian-owned properties which were frequently burned by mobs led by soldiers, their owners or inhabitants usually being shot and strung up in the streets by rural labourers from the Etrurian plantations or local craftsmen that had been forced out of business by Etrurian companies that harboured the most resentment towards them.

Standoff and Negotiation (August 18th to August 30th)

The Bashurat State Railway Bridge in the present day.