Ayvana

Princely States of Ayvana अय्वन
Flag Coat of arms
Anthem: Grand March of the Confederation
Capital	Sargenari
Largest city	Jegurjur
Official languages	Bangla Marathi Sanskrit Telgu
Demonym(s)	Ayvani
Government	Federation of Princely States
Population
• 2020 estimate	165,787,757
• 2020 census	165,787,757
GDP (nominal)	estimate
• Per capita	$11,400
HDI (2020)	.85 very high
Currency	Ayvani Rupee
Date format	dd-mm-yyyy CE
Internet TLD	.avi

Ayvana refers to a region of Ochran organized into a confederation of princely states bordering Ankat and Jhengtsang to the east and Uluujol to the north. It is made of up 6 Princely States who elect a Peshwa and Council of Ministers, along with many other diverse political formations. Since the end of the Sandhyāra yud'dha Ayvani farmers are no longer bound to any particular prince and the princes lost claim to wide tracts of land outside cities or forts. For the regions outside princely control, distinctive sociopolitical models known as Ayvani Communalism developed - where farmers organized into agrarian communes led by charismatic religious figures. Unfortunately, this distinctive sociopolitical form is now under threat with urbanization and the growth of agribusinesss.

While no specific date exists for when the Confederation began, a historical consensus has emerged it began with the Sargenari Accords in 1743 where various Hindu Kingdoms organized with the Catholic kingdom Konikar and the Ishur Sultanate to escape out of Shambhala hegemony. These accords began the Atapa Revolts which eventually morphed into The War of the Feuding Suns - a destructive war that completely reshaped the landscape of southern Ochran. In 1785 when the Wars ended, the States united into a defense pact for their common protection. The first test of this new union was the growth in influence by trading powers such as Tsurushima, Mutul, and Arthurista - who created numerous trading posts and made inroads into traditional Ayvani industries. The Confederacy was forced to strengthen itself with the establishment of a common trading policy, standards for currency, and the creation of common trading cartels for goods such as tea or sugar. For most of the 19th century the Confederation would engage in steady modernization.

The balance of power within Ochran was completely disturbed when Jhengtsang fell into revolution. There would be a series of wars known as the Jhengtsangi Revolutionary Wars, totally changing the spital order in Ochran. Afterwards for over 30 years, from the 40s to 60s, Avyana would fall into a constant insurgency known as the Sandhyāra yud'dha. The peace accords ending it - signed in Koshigawa - saw the effective end of feudalism in the country, forcing the states to modernize. Ayvana quickly annexed many foreign trading cities on its coast - threatening to cut away water supplies - and an economic boom began.

Today, Ayvana has a rapidly growing manufacturing based economy. The country is a major exporter of consumer goods, textiles, electronics, petroleum products, and steel. Its rapid growth has allowed quick diversification into new areas and establishing more of a service sector. Unfortunately, the economic boom has led to the development of massive vertically integrated conglomerates who have huge amounts of political influence. Many of those conglomerates also have stake held by the Princes - in many ways unifying the state and economy. The countries rapidly expanding cities are some of the densest in the world and contain extreme inequality.

The nation's eccentric contrast between the old and modernity, and the unique and diverse cultures, cuisines, and philosophies within it has made it an object of fascination among observers. This fascination is only furthered by Ayvana's rare status of being a political formation which does not fit neatly into the category of a "nation-state" in the world.

Politics and Government

The Peshwa's Palace

Being that Ayvana is not a nation-state, there exists no large central bureaucracy at the highest level of the confederation. Instead Ayvana exists as a collection of treaties that give limited powers to the Peshwa, and his Defense Council - as of now limited to monetary policy, foreign policy, defense policy, interstate commerce, and infrastructure. Many see this limited apparatus as a coordination mechanism, allowing other political units to cooperate with each other without comprimising their own autonomy. At the highest level, Ayvani political organization has been designed with this principle in mind.

Oversight of these limited functions is done by the Peshwa, who appoints Chief Executives to lead various departments. The Peshwa is elected every 5 Years by the Ayvani Consultive Congress - a body of princes, businesspeople, bankers, and religious leaders. Ayvana has 4 departments: the Office of Interstate Commerce, the Central Bank of Ayvana, the Ayvani Armed Forces, and the Ayvana Railroads and Highways Board. There exists no judicial system however all bodies as per their founding charters are required to respect the laws of local princes. The army is regulated through the legal concept of Uttara, since their funding is reliant on princely support.

At the local level there exists various political units - princely cities, urban villages, rural communes, and religious monasteries. All of them have distinct constitutions and a diversity of political structures. These units are organized into a distinct spatial order - where instead of clearly defined borders there exists local agreements which delineate control of space. These agreements are signed with and primarily backed by the princes, giving them a preeminent position. As such all other political units are defined vis a vis the agreements with clearly delineated princes. Princes are also the only ones to have clear judicial systems, as a result businesses are primarily located in those areas and use labor from outside the princely cities. Some see these princely cities as "IQ shredders" which take the smartest from the periphery and reduce their birthrates to further the reproduction of capital.

Ayvana has a complex system of internal passports, where princely cities effectively control internal movement and access to services. There exists a class of permit for Residents and Migrants, Residents are given both services and access to employment whereas migrants are only given access to employment and have to rely on religious charity for support. As such, religious institutions led by godmen have gained massive amounts of influence in recent years. These religious institutions straddle the line between white grey and black market activity. Much scandal has erupted over the godmen, many of whom have been forced to renounce their positions by the Ayvani Consultive Congress. All political units rely on the idea of zulka, where payments with another body are given in exchange for protection.

Outside the princely cities there exists a vast heterodoxy of polities, many of which utilizing the panchayati raj system. Local villages elect village elders who settle disputes and engage in wider diplomacy. These assemblies organize into larger khaps who have a better position to negotiate in the interests of the community. In recent years vast corruption has developed within this system, as khap leaders are taking in a large share of farmers crops for reduced prices and selling them to cities at higher ones, pocketing the difference. Many farmers are forced to take in barely subsistence wages as a result. Said corruption has forced many farmers to move towards overcrowded urban villages and work in sweatshops. Leftist scholars have drawn attention to how these activities created the cheap labor pool that enabled the Ayvani Economic Boom to occur. Another factor has been encroachment by foreign agribusiness into Ayvana, out-competing local farmers.

Princely States

Kingdom of Konkiar

By far the wealthiest state, Konkiar is the economic center of Ayvana. In it are headquarted many of the largest conglomerates, and foreign multinationals. Konkiar's ideology is integralist, believing that the temporal power of the king should be restrained towards the spirtual power of the church. Temporal power is organized into a trinitarian structure, with three branches. All of these are thought to derive their power from the king, who derives his power from the people and ultimately god. Konkiar's legal code is heavily inspired by Belsaria - one of the major reasons foreign MNCs base there.

Konkiar has no political parties, and all candidates for office must be vetted by the church. Legislatures meet once every week to write and submit laws for the king. Konkiar elections don't work on the principle of "one man one vote", but instead a corporatist structure where various guilds and social classes are given representation.

The role of the church in Konkiar is quite elusive, as it hasn't been clearly defined. The church is thought to hold power over all spirtual affairs, however in many respects it does interfere in the temporal. One example of it's interference is it's mangement of most of the free education system. The church is an insitution of social redistrubution, using dividents from it's various assets to reinvest in art, education, and social charity. While the Christan population in Konkiar has lost it's majority since the 00s, the church still remains an important facet in Konkani life.

Sultanate of Ishur

Ishur is the most populated state, due to the extreme fertility of it's territory. Politically, it is an absolutist state, dominated by the Sultan of Ishur and his royal court. The Sultan appionts ministers who run important govermental functions across his realm. The legal system of Ishur functions through various district maginstrates appionted by the Sultan. These maginstrates decide on criminal cases, not civil matters. Ishur has a system of religious courts for civil matters, and has distinct court systems for Hindus, Buddhuists, and Christans to respect their customs. Civil Yen courts in Ishur utilize a modified version of Iqar.