Garhwal

Primary culture

Nepali (Eastern Aryan)

Capital province

Garhwal (511)

Government

Feudal Monarchy

State religion

Hindu

Technology group

Indian

Garhwali ideas

Traditions:

−10% Development cost

+1 Attrition for enemies

Legacy of the 52 Garhs

−0.05 Monthly autonomy change

Himalayan Kingdom

+10% Fort defense

+10% Garrison size

Martial Diplomacy

+10% Morale of armies

Land of Serene Beauty

−1 National unrest

Source of the Ganges

+1 Yearly devotion

+1 Yearly legitimacy

Protecting the Land of the Gods

+2 Tolerance of the true faith

Crossroads of Faith

+1 Tolerance of heretics

+1 Tolerance of heathens

Ambition:

−10% Stability cost modifier

Garhwal is a one province minor in the Himalaya, south of the mountain range and north of Delhi and Jaunpur. A delicate situation that can prove a challenge even for experienced players. In history Garhwal remained independent but saw no expansion for almost the entire timeline, and was annexed by Nepal in the early 19th century.

Decisions[edit]

As an Eastern Aryan nation Garhwal can form Bharat.

Form Bharat (as Eastern Aryan)

Form the mighty Bharat and bring all the lands of the Indian subcontinent under your rule.


Potential requirements Playing with normal or historical nations Bharat does not exist. The country: is not the Mughals has a culture of the Eastern Aryan culture group. is Dharmic, Theravada, Vajrayana, or Mahayana. is not colonial nation. is not Steppe Nomads does not have country flag `formed_india_flag` If the country is AI-controlled, it must have at least 15 cities. it can not be a former colonial nation. is not custom nation	Allow The country: is not a subject nation other than a tributary state. is not a nomad nation. is not at war. has a stability of 3. has embraced Feudalism has a culture of the Eastern Aryan culture group. owns its core provinces: Multan (506), Lahore (507), Surat (517), Delhi (522), Central Doab (524), Madurai (536), Tondainadu (539), Daulatabad (545), Cuttack (552), Pataliputra (558), Gauda (563), Assam (566), Bidar (1948), Halar (2052), Kumari (4410), and Mansura (4503).

Effects The country: changes to Bharat. gets Empire government rank. gains permanent claims on all provinces of the Indian subcontinent if not owned by the country. gains 10 prestige. removes all its provinces from the HRE if it is a member of the HRE and is not the emperor or an elector. gains new missions gets the event ‘New Traditions & Ambitions’ if it does not have custom ideas. set country flag `formed_india_flag`

Strategy[edit]

Garhwal starts out in a difficult situation, with the mighty and often hostile Delhi to the south and the Himalayas blocking expansion to the north. The player is often faced with the decision to support either Delhi or Jaunpur.

Initial moves[edit]

Koch and Tirhut start out friendly and can be allied from the start in most cases, one might refrain from royal marriages though as they will likely be subject of future conquest. With initial alliances secured Garhwal can work to improve relations with either Jaunpur or Delhi, or any other friendly major power in India depending on the situation. One can instantly fabricate claim on Kangra and declare war as soon as they have a claim, the war should be easy as Kangra often finds itself without allies. After the war Garhwal's development will be nearly doubled, just make sure your armies outnumber the Kangra army as you will be attacking into hills. This will open up possibilities for expansion westward, into Kashmir and Ladakh, but make sure to keep out of the way of Timurids for now and take no province they have a claim on as they start out very powerful and will usually attempt to expand into India.

Next Garhwal can take on its eastern neighbour, Nepal. They also usually find themselves with few or no allies and together with Koch and Tirhut the player should be able to beat them. They make a useful vassal, but take one or two provinces to keep them loyal. By now you should be able to secure an alliance with a major power, dissolving the alliances with Tirhut and Koch, declaring war and giving their provinces to your new vassal Nepal might be for the best as rapid expansion is desirable.

Further expansion[edit]

Now the player has to choose between expansion into either one of Jaunpur, Delhi, or possibly into Bengal. They will most likely rival each other, so rivaling one will make the other friendly. Keep an eye out for a good time to strike, such as when Delhi is at war with Timurids or Jaunpur with Bahmanis, and call in your ally and take as much land as you can cope with.

Another option is to expand into Tibet, however both Tibetan states are tributaries of Ming so make sure Ming is busy with other wars or become a tributary yourself. However, the Tibetan provinces are of wrong religion and rather poor, so carefully consider whether or not they are worth it.

Keep an eye on what is going on in southern India, usually either Bahmanis or Vijayanagar will become a dominant power in time and can stop the player's expansion dead in its tracks. This should obviously be avoided so keeping them both about equally strong until you can defeat them should be a priority.

In the west Timurids will most likely fall apart, meaning expansion into Persia is possible. In the rare cases where they survive without Persia and/or Afghanistan gaining independence they can still be defeated, as they are a horde their units will suffer penalties if fighting in rough terrain, such as hills or mountains, and conflict with the Ottomans will mean they have less time to focus on you.