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Updated Sunday 15 May, 2011 12:18 PM |
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This Day in Alternate History Blog
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Not Cricket
At least seven high-profile locations were hit in the financial capital, including two luxury hotels - the Taj Mahal Palace (pictured) and the Oberoi Trident - where dozens of hostages were held by armed gunmen. By good forture alone, this tally excluded the Angrezi Raj National cricket team - Mr Kevin Pietersen & co. had checked out of the the Taj Mahal Palace only a few days before the attack. November 27th marked the anniversary of the start of the Second Mutiny. After a meteor shower devastated Western Europe in 1878, the British government evacuated 1.5 million refugees to India. When the subcontintent suffered from drought and famine, millions of desperate, starving Indians rebelled after hearing rumors of food being shipped back to Britain. In 1948, the Indian National Congress led protests that only ceased with the execution by hanging of the leadership including Mohandas K. Gandhi and Jawaharlal Nehru. Exactly sixty years later, the establishment of the Angrezi Premier League (APL) would draw nationalist fervour. A Caucasians only rule restricted the high profile, limited overs cricket to either British nationals or "citizens" of the white dominions of New Zealand, Australia and South Africa. The Viceroy Chris Patton confirmed that the APL regulations would continue, as would the arrests in Bombay. A group of "suspected" gunmen that included Sourav Ganguly and Sachin Tendulkar would be released without charge as the authorities took a huge number of innocent young men into custody to re-establish authority in the capital.
Footnotes - Author’s Note: We understand fully that the tragic events in Mumbai ensure that alongside 911 the 27th November will be a controversial date for alt-historians. Treading carefully, we have written this post and ask for your indulgence; this alternative explores what might have been, meant to entertain and provoke thought, not to offend. The origination of our tale was the decision by the English Cricket Team to return home. We were not impressed with the communication of that decision, nor the frequent and hypocritical threats to boycott other regimes sporting events due to human rights issues, wondering if perhaps other nations might not boycott the 2012 Games in London based on that same logic. In short, we heard a strong and unpleasant echo of empire that we amplified in this story, set in the universe of SM Sirling's novel of 2002, The Peshawar Lancers.
Steve Payne, Editor Today in Alternate History, a Daily Updating Blog of Important Events In History That Never Occurred Today. Imagine what would be, if history had occurred a bit differently. Who says it didn't, somewhere? These fictional news items explore that possibility. Possibilities such as America becoming a Marxist superpower, aliens influencing human history in the 18th century and Teddy Roosevelt winning his 3rd term as president abound in this interesting fictional blog.
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In
2008, on this day of historical significance the city of Bombay was struck
by a series of co-ordinated attacks which killed 101 people and injuring 287
more.