Chapter 57: The Weight of Stagnation

Not all princely states succumbed to the economic embrace so readily. Some princes, steeped in tradition and wary of any perceived loss of sovereignty, steadfastly refused Bharat Corporation's overtures. They saw Adav's economic proposals as a Trojan horse, designed to erode their power.

Adav's response was not punitive, but devastatingly effective. Those who resisted found their economies subtly but relentlessly stagnating. Railway lines, planned to pass through their territories, were rerouted, bypassing them entirely. New industrial complexes were deliberately located just outside their borders, drawing away their skilled labor and leaving their own subjects unemployed. Bharat Corporation, which now controlled vast swathes of India's internal trade, simply made it unprofitable for merchants to deal with states that remained outside its economic orbit.

Nationalist sentiment, subtly fueled by the Bharat Broadcasting Corporation, also began to exert pressure. Citizens within the isolated princely states saw the stark contrast between their own stagnant economies and the booming prosperity of their neighbors integrated into the Indian Union. Discontent simmered, often manifesting as peaceful but persistent demands for reform and integration. Without a unified economic base, and facing a population increasingly aware of the benefits of belonging to the larger, prosperous India, the resisting princes found their traditional revenues dwindling, their power eroding, and their subjects growing restless. The pressure was pervasive, silent, and ultimately, irresistible.