Reborn In 17th century India with Black Technology

When one mentions the integration of an empire spanning 4 million square kilometres, hundreds of thousands of ethnicities, and a population of 190 Million, it does not only mean the integration of infrastructure, nor does it only mean the integration of the political system. More importantly, it means the integration of the people.

This is exactly what happened after the Aikyotsava festival. Before Aikyotsava, the northern part of the empire and the southern part of the empire were divided like two different nations in a loosely bound alliance, similar to the Austro-Hungarian Empire, with restrictions on travel and communication except for government purposes. Now, after integration, all restrictions have been lifted; there are no such barriers anymore.

In hindsight, the integration of the people seems like a good thing, which for the most part, holds true. But if unprepared, it could also be a double-edged sword that can cut the hand that controls it.

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In the northern part of the empire, during the time the Mughal Empire ruled, they provided a lot of employment for the locals, which kept them fed. Although the jobs were menial and were the kind of jobs done only for the enjoyment of the Mughal nobles, they still kept a lot of people alive. But after the Mughal Empire was destroyed, the private economy they had created was destroyed with them.

This left a lot of people jobless. A lot of people were thankful to the Dakshina Bharatiya Empire for bringing them out of their misery, but there were some who felt numb and could not see the future anymore.

Fortunately, the Ministry of Transportation, Ministry of Education, Ministry of Internal Affairs, Ministry of Communication, and Ministry of Justice took action immediately. A construction boom started all over the northern part of the empire. National highways were constructed, going from one major city to another. Schools, colleges, and universities were constructed in all major cities in the north. Police stations, circuit courts, and high courts were constructed in all necessary places. Post offices were built and were added to the post office network of the empire, and communication towers were laid down, connecting one region to another and one state to another.

Even though all these projects were only done for the major cities in the north, where there was already some level of civilization, the projects took a lot of labour resources, which kept a lot of people busy and stopped them from doing something they would regret.

However, sadly, even after all this, the number of jobs generated was not enough. In the empire’s population of nearly 190 million, around 142 million are in the northern part of the empire. Of that population, roughly 71 million are able-bodied men, and among them, 70% are engaged in agriculture and their inherited trades like butcher, craftsman, blacksmith, jeweller, etc. This only accounts for forty-nine point seven million jobs.

That leaves nearly 28.4 million capable people jobless. This is a ridiculous number, especially considering that 28.4 million is nearly 60% of the southern part of the empire’s population. According to the government, all the projects occupy only 10 million jobs, which means at least 18.4 million people are still jobless in the northern part of the empire.

In normal circumstances, this is not a huge problem because these 18.4 million people are scattered across nearly 3 million square kilometres, making it unusual for more than a few dozen to appear in a small village. But what happens when all these people, stressed out from having no job, no land, and no happiness, suddenly see a beacon of hope rising up from the south?

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Mirzapur, Uttar Pradesh

"What sort of a life am I living now brother Indra, tch…"

A young man, not more than 20 years old, cried out bitterly as he watched the labourers going to work at the nearby construction site, with a happy expressions on their faces.

"Sigh, what can we do about it, Manju? Maybe we got some bad karma in our last life. We’re paying for it now."

Another young boy, though older—around 22—patted Manju on his shoulder, trying to calm him down. However, the bitter expression on the boy’s face was unmistakable.

Looking around, there were nearly 15 people just like them, with defeated expressions and sad faces, all looking as if they had lost their souls. Some couldn’t help but sob quietly.

This was a scene that could be seen in every village, town, and city in the northern part of the empire. There were always people who were unlucky and were left with no way of making their own living.

They missed all the job recruitments during all the construction projects put forward by the government, and now, sadly, they are left with nothing to do. Although living is not a problem, as the local panchayat does provide food once a day, it is still not enough for them to eat; it is only enough for them to survive. They had unconsciously become the new untouchables of society.

Even though they came from various different castes and creeds, now everyone had become equal in their poverty.

However, for the unfortunate in Mirzapur, the hope of living came running toward them in the form of a scrawny little boy.

"Brother, good news! Good news!"

Indra, who had been lost in contemplation, was suddenly awakened by a shrill scream.

When the little boy came over to the tent where everyone stayed, everyone’s attention was momentarily fixed on him, their eyes revealing a curious expression.

Indra looked the boy up and down. "What happened?" he asked.

"Brother Indra, I just heard that there is a recruitment going on near the panchayat. As soon as I heard, I came running here!"

Everyone’s eyes immediately lit up. Manju, who had been crying until now, was suddenly full of energy. "Let’s go! What are we all waiting for?" he screamed, running toward the panchayat.

Indra was no exception; he picked up the little boy onto his shoulders and ran at full speed.

However, to everyone’s surprise, when they got to the panchayat, there was indeed the promised recruitment, but no one was actually signing up for it. Maybe there were one or two people, but nothing more than that. This was really unusual.

Everyone was hesitant to move forward; in the end, they all turned towards Indra, their nominal leader. Indra understood that he would have to be the spearhead, so he moved forward.

"Excuse me, sir, is some sort of job recruitment going on here?" he asked with a humble expression, his hands folded and his back bent.

The middle-aged man, who was happily chewing a leaf, looked at the tall young man in front of him. But before he could answer, he gestured for the young man to wait as he picked up a pot and spat out the juice from his mouth. The inner lining of the pot, already red, turned an even darker red.

Indra was totally confused. ’Couldn’t he just spit outside? Why waste a perfectly good pot for it?’

The middle-aged man let out an apologetic smile. "I’m sorry, I’m just used to it. I’ll get fined back home if I spit anywhere else you see. so it has kind of become a habit."

Then the middle-aged man eyed Indra’s humble posture, his expression suddenly became unhappy.

"Anyway, stand up, stand up. You don’t have to put yourself so low. We don’t do all that stuff in the South."

Indra was still clueless about everything but straightened his back a little.

The middle-aged man looked at the large crowd behind Indra and suddenly remembered why they had come. "You’re looking for jobs, aren’t you?"

Indra simply nodded his head.

"Right, there are jobs, but let me say this first: the jobs are not in the northern part of the empire but in the southern part. So, you would have to emigrate to the south and live there for the next few years."

"Only if this is acceptable can the job be provided; if not, I’m sorry."

Indra suddenly realized why there was no one in the queue. If they had to permanently live in the South for the job, no one with a family or even a simple job would want to emigrate, because in the minds of the people, once separation takes place, it is almost impossible to meet again.

Whereas the great immigration for jobs in the 21st century happened because there were proper communication channels between any part of the nation, so it didn’t really matter where the labourers went as long as there was money to make and they could speak to their families.

In this era, even with the best Arkha Dristhi communication systems, it is still a service for the ultra-rich or government offices. At least in the North, it hasn’t reached the point where even a middle-class person could use it as in the South. Communication for the normal people living in the north is almost impossible.

However, all these things were not a problem for Indra and his group. After a quick discussion, everyone came to a conclusion to emigrate to the south.

"We are willing, sir," Indra said, with Manoj and the others behind him nodding their heads in acceptance.

The middle-aged man was surprised but happy nonetheless. "Good, good. The job is to manually run the mill, which powers the papermaking workshop of Mr. Basava and his Acharya Papers company."

"Each of you will be paid 150 Varaha per month, along with a place to sleep and ample food to eat three times a day."

The middle-aged man put forward a contract. "Once you sign here, all of you can officially join the job."

Initially, everyone, including Indra, was confused as to what a contract was, but after the middle-aged man explained, they understood this novel way of making promises. They were about to dip their thumb in the ink and press it on the contract, but Indra stopped them.

"Sir, could you please explain how long we have to do the job according to the contract?"

"It’s five years," the middle-aged man replied, stretching out five fingers.

"Then, is it possible that within these five years, if we are no longer able to do the job or no longer want to do it, can we leave at any time?"

"NO!"

The middle-aged man stared directly into Indra’s eyes.

"However, if health reasons prevent you from continuing the job, then according to the regulations, Acharya Papers Company will send you to the nearest hospital and ensure you recover quickly. But, in the unfortunate case that you cannot recover and have contracted a dangerous disease, I am very sorry to inform you that you will only receive two months’ salary and will be terminated from the job, left to fend for yourself."

"In case you want to voluntarily leave the job, you’ll need to inform your manager one month in advance and work for the company for that month without any pay, or until we can find your replacement."

"So, what do you think?" The middle-aged man chewed his leaf and stared intently at Indra, who he found interesting.

Indra thought for a while and felt that the conditions were not too harsh. After confirming one last time with his brothers, he resolutely pressed his thumb onto the contract paper.

Manju and the others did the same.

The middle-aged man was overjoyed and immediately arranged a carriage to set off for Gangapuri. He had been tasked with recruiting a few hundred people and given a deadline of nearly two months, but who would have expected that this quota would be filled within a few weeks here in Uttar Pradesh?