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Revolution of the Torch
Agniprikirm

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Clockwise from top left:
Torch protest in Matrain, Legion-organized torch protest in Deriol,
Sorisnag flag of the National Coalition, Great Night of Fire in Changard,
first responders in Asokha responding to a bombing

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Date: October 23rd, 1970 - December 1st, 1970

Location: Dominioan, primarily in large cities

Caused By:

• 1973 Oil Embargo against states supporting Israel during the Yom Kippur War

• Government Emergency Military Oil Reserves policy and resulting shortages

• Silver August Ceasefire between Dominioan and LSR Chakor

• Perceived American influence on public, military, foreign, and economic policy

• Dominish Legion popularity and subsequent crackdown by Dominioan

• Increased anti-Chakori and xenophobic sentiment, rise in ethnonationalism

Goals:

• End of oil reservation for Dominish military fighting in North Dominioan

• Annulment of the Silver August Ceasefire, impeachment of some politicians

• Establishment of a Dominish ethnostate [1]

• Increase in the power and presence of the Dominish Legion [2]

Methods: Public protest, torch marches, rioting, communal violence

Results:

• Crackdown by Dominish police against protestors

• Suspension of the Silver August Ceasefire, communal rioting

• 1974 Police Counter-Riot Act, increased political control by Partisan Front

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Parties

Dominish Government

National Coalition Dominioan

Dominish Police and Military

Industrial Gantham of Dominioan

Chakori Liberation Movement [3]

Sur's Soldiers

American Government [3]

Dominish Legion [2]

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Leaders

DOMINISH PM

Various Figures

Narendram Kejeriwali

Nikolas Patrivatni [2]

Sun'e Lom-Mosieu [3]

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Casualties

Deaths: 900+ protestors, 89 police officers and soldiers, 2 politicians (disputed cause)
500+ civilians (mostly Chakori victims of communal violence)

Injuries: 1000+ protestors, 200+ police officers and soldiers, 200+ civilians

Property: Est billions of dollars in riot damage, destruction of Changard State Capitol
by protestors through arson

The Revolution of the Torch (Dominish: Agniprikirm, lit "Fire Revolution/Cycle") was a series of protests, riots, and organized bouts of communal violence in Dominioan from October to December of 1973. Primarily a grassroots movement, coordinated on the national level by the temporary National Coalition Dominioan and allies like the Industrial Gantham union, the Revolution of the Torch was motivated by a spillover of ethnic tension in Dominioan that had built up for several years, and sparked by the 1973 Oil Embargo and the Dominish government's policy of reserving oil for military usage on the North Dominish border. The tactics of the protestors ranged from peaceful demonstrations under law enforcement supervision, to nighttime "torch marches" (the movement's namesake), to preplanned incidents of rioting, bombing, and communal violence against Chakori and Dominish citizens. Counter-protesters, referred to as duasirs (Dominish for "douser") for their tactic of throwing water on "Nationals" (National Coalition Members), also engaged in civil disobedience, both legal and non-legal. The Revolution of the Torch is often considered a success, due to the protestor's demands for an end to oil reservation, the annulment of the Chakori ceasefire, and the impeachment of several politicians, all being met. The Revolution is also considered a precursor to the founding of the ethnonationalist Social Republic of Dumonoeun later in the Civil War.

The Revolution of the Torch is considered a far-right, ethnonationalist, and fascist (disputed) protest movement by most Dominish Civil War historians. This is especially due to the commonly alleged role of the Dominish Legion [2]. a Dominish nationalist terrorist group, in organizing protestors and riots in Chakori-majority communities, especially in Deriol. Some believe that much of the common people's outrage was spurred by Legion activism and spreading of misinformation. However, the extent to which the Dominish Legion was involved is seriously debated. The crackdown of the Legion in the early 70s was absolutely unpopular and played a role in causing the Revolution, but Legion leadership dismissed the actual Revolution as "the ramblings of the poors," and any support from Legion members may not have come with Legion support itself. But some local branches and chapters are confirmed to have organized rallies and riots with the National Coalition Dominioan, thus calling into question the true nature of many of the torch marches. Several other militant groups took part, including Sur's Soldiers, a paramilitary group (not known to take part in terrorist activities, however), and on the side of the duasirs, the Chakori Liberation Movement terrorist group is known to have fought Nationals on the streets during riots. But while the role of far-right militants in the Revolution is questioned, the role of far-right sympathies is not, with the National Coalition explicitly calling out "Chakori, Muruganian, Damonish (slur for moderate Dominish civilians), and Muhhamedist influence in government" as part of their reasoning for protest. In recent years, many Dominish nationalists and ethnonationalists have attempted to downplay the violent and racist elements of the Revolution of the Torch, painting it as peaceful civilians being gunned down by the government. While police brutality against Nationals was widespread, attempts at whitewashing have drawn criticism from international watchdog agencies and left-wing parties in Dominioan.

In modern times, in part due to the aforementioned whitewashing efforts, the Revolution of the Torch is believed by many Dominish to have been a good thing. In 2003, a poll by the State College of Deriol City found that 56% of Dominish (ethnicity) believed the Revolution of the Torch was "positive for Dominioan," with 17% believing it was "very positive," while only 30% believed it to be "negative for Dominioan," with 14% being "unsure" or "unaware of the Agniprikirm." A similar 2021 poll run by the Dominish Civil War Historical Society found that the percentage remained very similar, with 52%, a slight drop, believing the Revolution of the Torch "had primarily positive results." These results vary wildly by demographic, for example, in the 2003 poll, people over 55 (closer to the Revolution's date) were much more unsure, with 36% seeing the Revolution as a positive, 24% seeing it as negative, and a 40% plurality not choosing either. People under 30, though, in the 2021 poll, were much more convicted in their beliefs, but also more polarized, with 59% believing mostly good things came out of the Revolution, 39% seeing it as mostly negative, and only 2% being unsure. Chakori citizens of Dominioan, who were often targeted by National Coalition and Industrial Gantham mobs, overwhelmingly see it as negative, at over 98%. Internationally, many opposed the Revolution at the time, and still do today, in part due to the Nationals' tendency to be anti-globalist and anti-America. One exception is Russia, formerly the Soviet Union, which supported the Nationals, as it interfered with the Dominish government, their enemy at the time, and the protestors also attacked business leaders and globalist capitalists.

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Background

Entering the 1970s, Dominioan had been fighting the Dominish Civil War against North Dominioan, Chakor, and Murugan, for over a decade. The war, which had at first been brutal fighting across the island, tearing apart all nation's economies, had moved into lower scale urban warfare, especially after the first wave of recruits, tanks, and other vehicles were exhausted. By 1968, most soldiers were simply holding positions. Specifically, in 1969, Chakori anti-air cannons, which had been their greatest weapon during the war, had demolished Dominish air forces, which had been their best weapon in air raids across North Dominioan, causing advances to stall across the entire island, especially as Chakor and North Dominioan continued to infight. During this period, Chakori and Dominish relations began to cool very slightly as Chakor started to crack down on the Chakori Liberation Movement terrorist group that they had previously provided aid to, with Dominioan doing in kind to the Dominish Legion. This crackdown on the Dominish Legion came in the form of sting operations on Legion hideouts, which were often basements or attics in houses of members where they held meetings and stored weapons. These sting operations were incredibly unpopular among the populace, as Dominish police would often refuse to present a warrant or reason, and would destroy belongings and beat family members in the process of arresting Legion members and confiscating their equipment. Many of the populace saw the Dominish Legion as a benevolent force protecting Dominish minorities in Chakor from terror (which they did do in some cases), and thus also saw this crackdown by the government as dangerous for their brethren in Chakor, an enemy country.

During the entire Civil War, opinion polling on Dominioan's enemies found consistently that Chakor and Murugan ranked as far more hated than North Dominioan. Sentiment at the time is described by historian Keiji Akihito in his 2011 book "The Natu: Dominish During the Civil War":

...with one of the most common mistaken assumptions being that North Dominioan was the "main enemy" of the Dominish in Dominioan proper.
Excluding the Social Republic period, which throws off data across the board, polling of the Dominish people unanimously confirms that Chakor
and Murugan, rather than North Dominioan, ranked consistently lower in their image among the Dominish people. This is not to downplay the
hate for North Dominioan, of course - in regions bordering the Socialist Republic, the image of North Dominioan plummets far below Murugan
and Chakor - but rather, it is to emphasize one of the most important lessons students of Dominish Civil War history, and indeed modern
observers, must learn: the Dominish people are a cohort with significant internal cohesion. This can be seen in the successful reintegration of
North Dominioan after the war, in rising vote totals for Dumonuenatu, even in daily conversation: slurs like "Chuka" are thrown around without
apprehension. It should be no surprise, then, that Dominish sympathized with their brothers and sisters in the northeast more than those dirty
primitives in the northwest, the Chakori...

Akihito thus reveals what is believed by many to be another cause of the Revolution: government prioritization of relations with Chakor rather than North Dominioan despite internal ethnic tension.

Regardless of this opposing opinion, this cooling in Dominish-Chakori relations continued into 1972, with the Legion crackdown (and CLM crackdown) ongoing. The Partisan Front, the governing party of Dominioan for the entirety of the Civil War, expressed intent to open impeachment inquiries into politicians like Ahprodov Ellas, who they alleged had Legion financial connections, in June of that year. This caused even more outrage, and counter-allegations of corruption were dismissed. Meanwhile during this time, opposition politicians of the Troashakra Lost released a report, the July Files, in July detailing how American and especially British financers were well-connected with Partisan Front politicians and Dominish business leaders. The reaction at the time was muted, but it became a rallying point later. During this time, relations with Chakor continued their slow cool into an uneasy trust, and in December, the Partisan Front, looking to shore up their support, which had declined, announced that the national highway system would be renovated. However, this backfired, as their plan to use private contracters to construct the roads lead to backlash when it was revealed by the Free News Network of Dominioan (a Soviet-North Dominish funded radio network) that Nangunde Concrete Solutions, one of the major benefactors of the tax money that was to go to the private contractors, was owned in part by a conglomerate of British and Canadian investors. This caused a resurfacing of the July Files in the public consciousness, and some riots broke out in Asokha, which were quickly put down by local police. Thus, the highway renovation plan was temporarily put on hold. The ties with America were not undone, however. There was truth to the July Files' claim of American and Dominish collusion in governance and economics. America viewed Dominioan as another Cold War ally, and an especially important one, because they feared that if the island fell to socialism, then the entire Indian Ocean would fall under socialist influence. In the view of Cold War American officials, if Dominioan was socialist, then an unfriendly India, Sri Lanka, and Dominioan could cut off Southeast Asia from the west, and control trade through the region. As the Vietnam war continued to decay, this view only became more strengthened, and military and economic aid to Dominioan continued to flow from America. Dominioan did pay this effort in kind, often supporting America and its allies during other conflicts, which would become an issue during the Yom Kippur War later on.

Into 1973, trust in government remained low (with the unbanning of minor Chakori political party Chukari-e C'umpinoni contributing to this), but the Partisan Front continued on its path without much care. Their reasoning for trying to cool relations with Chakor rather than North Dominioan was due to fear among much of the top military brass and Partisan Front leaders that Chakor's (and the CLM's) potential to rile up the Chakor minority in Dominioan could result in large scale riots among the civilians, which would likely draw international backlash, since the Dominish majority would likely brutally crush the hypothetical Chakori uprising. Their goal was thus to pacify the Chakori, while also continuing their war against North Dominioan. The belief among many in government at the time, according to most historians, was miscalculated due to their underestimate of the threat that the Dominish Legion was to their power. For much of the early Civil War, the Dominish Legion was in an uneasy truce with the government, not working for them, but neither interfering in each other's operations, either. Figures like Mohinda Kejeriwali (father of Narendram Kejeriwali, Commander of the Military during the Revolution), five-star general, and Jaraman Japani, a famous military strategist, actually advocated for the "back-scratch policy," described as targeted aid to the Dominish Legion in the form of refusing to prosecute them or close their financials, which would allow the Legion to "aid" Dominioan through their terrorist attacks on Chakori and Muruganian soil. However, when the decision to cool relations with Chakor was made, this flippant view of the Legion resulted in the government very quickly pivoting to opposing it, since they considered it mostly irrelevant. The actual size of the Legion, and the extent to which it was supported by the populace, was totally ignored by the government, who believed the "band of pistol-toting ruffians" (in the words of Japani) would easily fall. However, as evidenced by the crackdown continuing into 1973, it was far more difficult than expected, and was a drain on government funds. This difficulty and thus extended length of the crackdown made the brutality of it even more clear, and despite the public outcry against it, the government, still committed to their policy, continued.

This police focus on counter-terrorism is believed by some to have enabled the protestors to easily organize, although some question this notion, placing the blame on a general government tendency of allowing protest to get out of hand as long as government property remained untouched.

Prelude and Buildup

The actions directly leading up to the Revolution of the Torch began in early 1973, with the first signs of planned opposition to the Dominish government in the form of protest. The Industrial Gantham of Dominioan, which would become a lead figure in organizing the Revolution alongside the National Coalition Dominioan, was a union that boasted over 1 million members in factory jobs. It was known for its xenophobia among its leadership, especially against immigrants, and this extended into hatred of globalization and western influence on the economy. They had been one of the lead voices criticizing the government after the release of the July Files and the highway controversy, and several of the local chapters in Matrain were considered more radical than the rest. In January, they were planning to call for an All-Industrial Strike, a special strike which the Industrial Gantham would use only in dire straits, as it also called for all industrial unions in Dominioan to strike along with them. This was far too extreme for the tastes of union leadership, some of whom had connections to the Troashakra Lost, who viciously opposed any radical action, being moderates. However, the idea gained much popularity among the Matrain chapters before being officially shut down.

In terms of government policy, the commonly recognized point-of-no-return is the Silver August Ceasefire. In late July, a temporary breakdown in Dominish-Chakori relations occurred when Dominish soldiers suddenly began to move to surround the small town of Yongu-ong (Chakori for "silver-town") on the Chakori border. This scared the Chakori troops, who fired, initiating the first battle between Chakor and Dominioan since early 1972. The fight was won by the Chakori, who repelled the Dominish unit (who were later revealed to have acted rogue, and were reprimanded). This broke the trust between Chakor and Dominioan which, while better than a few years before, was still very uneasy, and there was a sudden fear and belief that the hard-war, rather than soft-war, between Chakor and Dominioan would start again. However, Narendram Kejeriwali, Commander of the Dominish military at the time, scheduled a series of sudden, short, and tense meetings with his Chakori counterparts (who had a decentralized leadership). Dominioan was desperate to not let the situation with Chakor spiral out of control after years of hard work, and Kejeriwali was able, after the series of meetings over two weeks in August, defuse the situation. He would do more than just temporarily ease tensions, though. On August 18th, the Dominish and Chakori governments announced a ceasefire, commonly referred to as the Silver August Ceasefire. The Silver August Ceasefire declared a total ceasefire on the Dominish-Chakori border for six months, on the grounds of "mutual agreement to tend to wounds." This was only a continuation of the status quo, as before the Battle of Yongu-ong, a battle had not been fought on the border for around a year, meaning the Ceasefire only set into words what was already policy. However, it is regarded as one of the most critical mistakes the Dominish government made. Public opinion of the government, which was already low, tanked severely in the aftermath of the announcement of Silver August. Dominish people still widely disliked Chakor, as described by Akihito, and putting into writing what was painted by nationalist pundits as "letting the Chukas win" was incredibly unpopular, especially because news reports mistakenly reported that the Battle of Yongu-ong was a stalemate rather than a Dominish loss for several weeks afterwards.

Into September, tensions continued to rise, and the first concrete actions were taken. A lone wolf terrorist bombed a police office on September 12th, although no one was injured, and he was arrested. He was also a leftist, rather than a rightist, like most of those dissatisfied with the government at the time. The Industrial Gantham also threatened its first strike on the 28th, although it did not follow through. Some debate is had among historians, especially within the context of the greater Dominish Legion role debate, as to what role the September 21st Proscription of the Dominish Legion as a Class 1 terrorist organization by Dominioan had in causing the Revolution. While many dismiss it as mostly irrelevant outside of continuing the trend of Legion crackdown, some view it as one of the most critical moments in making the Revolution inevitable. As aforementioned, the Dominish Legion may have played a role in organizing many protests and riots in Chakori-majority areas during the Revolution of the Torch, although this is very disputed. It is generally accepted that some local level branches did take part in assisting with organizational capacity with the National Coalition Dominioan, but if the heterodox historians who claim that the Legion was intricately involved with coordinating the Revolution at the highest level are to be believed, then the September 21st proscription was very important. The claim made [2] is often that Class 1 status (the highest possible threat) forced the Dominish Legion to pivot its strategy to fighting the government over fighting the CLM and Chakori, its traditional enemies. The Revolution, while grassroots in origin, was thus coopted by the Legion as a tool to use against the government in the form of mass action. Evidence cited in favor of this are private messages between high-level Legion members commenting on the Revolution as "convenient," and describing efforts during the time to "push the protestors in [the Dominish Legion's] direction." Money from rich members of the Legion (who often ranked higher) did flow to the National Coalition Dominioan in many isolated cases as well. However, the claim of a coordinated Legion effort in the Revolution is disputed due to the presence of private messages between leaders of the Legion who counter the claim, such as the aforementioned "the ramblings of the poors" statement, which came from Nikolas Patrivatni himself, the (assumed) Gangarech (Leader) of the Dominish Legion at the time. The mainstream claim is summed up by historian and wartime journalist Holietnusha Puthriv:

...[the claims] of Dominish Legion involvement in the Revolution of the Torch thus have some merit, as all theories tend to have. There is always a kernel of truth to claims that accredited historians make. There are absolutely
sources showing intent to use the Agniprikirm as a weapon against the government among the highest ranks of the Legion's membership. This is undeniable. However, what this shows us is not that the Legion was involved with the
Nationals from behind the scenes, as some suggest, but rather, they are another confirmation of a well-known historical fact about the Dominish Legion: during the 60s and 70s, it was notoriously disorganized. As a terrorist
organization, the Legion was well known amongst far-right and paramilitarist-nationalist Dominish circles as bloated, heavily infiltrated by federal agents, and populated by many younger Dominish with less idealism and more
bloodlust. With this understanding, the contradictory messages from higher-ups who opposed the Revolution do not become some confusing paradox that must be explained away. Rather, they are more evidence for our point. The
Legion absolutely, on some scale, was involved with the Revolution of the Torch. But to claim anything above local, chapter-level participation at any level of certainty, is to make a monster out of shadows. Let us not fool
ourselves into thinking of the Legion as the well-ordered cohort it never was. Internal conflict and contradictory actions and goals were the norm. A coordinated Legion support for the Agniprikirm was thus impossible.

What is undisputed is that the October, the Yom Kippur War and OPEC Oil Embargo set the Revolution of the Torch finally into motion. As aforementioned, Dominioan and America shared a close Cold War relationship, and Dominioan often supported American and western efforts in other regions. When America declared its support for Israel after the coalition of Arab states invaded in October of 1973, Dominioan followed suit, pledging non-lethal medical aid and food to the Jewish State. On October 18th, the OPEC oil cartel of countries, in an effort to squeeze the economies of the countries supporting their wartime enemy, declared an oil embargo on all countries supporting Israel. Dominioan fell under this distinction. Dominioan did import much of its oil from the Middle East, and their other import sources were western countries also affected by the embargo, who were forced to stop exporting their oil surpluses. The sudden energy shock, in the words of DOMINISH PM, the Prime Minister of Dominioan at the time, "[was] the match that lit the torch." The sudden collapse of energy supply lines worldwide hit Dominioan especially hard due to its crude manufacturing-production dependent economy, with industry suddenly lacking its power source, layoffs started immediately, and inflation skyrocketed multiple percentage points in a few days.

With the economy now essentially in free-fall, the period between the 18th and 23rd of October (the day that the Revolution officially began) was an incredibly tenuous one. While the economy started its collapse on the 18th, it was the 19th and 20th that saw the worst of the suddenly hiked prices. Several bread protests outside of stores were held, although not on a large, organized scale. On the 21st, the government of Dominioan announced price ceilings on several goods, including food and manufacturing equipment, but the sudden rush to buy those products that ensued caused rolling shortages, several companies to close shop early, and riot-like scenes in store aisles. The price caps were immediately lifted the next day, and prices shot up even more to make up for the lost day of market correction, causing even more outrage. During this period of a few days, the National Coalition Dominioan (at the time called the Outraged Citizens Group (Skratmalatiganth), changed to the National Coalition on the 23rd) was formed by the Industrial Gantham in Deriol, in a meeting with several local unions, alongside the far-right Deriolic Parathos Party and the Sur’s Soldiers paramilitary group, on the 19th (some claim that Legion members were present as well). The Outraged Citizen’s Group was formed in anticipation of a large-scale protest in response to the economic crisis, although by the 21st, opposition to the Silver August Ceasefire, calls to remove Chakori and immigrants from Dominioan, and other nationalist positions were added to the docket of protest goals.

The final straw that initiated the first official protests was the announcement of the Government Emergency Military Oil Reserves policy, passed on the 23rd. Put simply, the Dominish government’s policy in response to the oil shortages was to hoard the federal reserve of oil supplies for usage on the frontline of the war. While praised as a positive, securing move by most parties in Parliament (including the Troashakra Lost), the policy specifically reserved most of the oil for fueling vehicles on the line with North Dominioan, where most of the fighting at the time was taking place. This caused immediate outrage among the populace who, as aforementioned, hated the Chakori far more than the North Dominish. After the announcement on the morning news of the policy’s implementation, sporadic protests began breaking out in front of government buildings across Dominioan. The first protest considered to be part of the Revolution of the Torch, the Deriol Protest, started at 11:28 AM. The Outraged Citizens Group, which had mobilized to the protest several minutes after the first crowds gathered, immediately moved over 1000 members to the scene in front of the Deriol Capitol Building, dwarfing the previous 500-strong crowd. With their numerical advantage, the Outraged Citizens Group — renamed the National Coalition Dominioan during the protest — began essentially directing the flow of the protest. By midday, over 3000 protestors were present (the amount of non-Nationals and Nationals became indeterminable past 11:49), waving Dominish flags and brandishing sticks and metal poles. Police, who had been deployed earlier on to deal with a much smaller crowd, were overwhelmed and panicked, and on 12:32, October 23rd, an unknown police officer saw one of the protestors rushing at him with a spiked metal pole, and he shot. The unknown protester was the first death of the Revolution of the Torch, and the subsequent breakup of the crowd by brutal police force injured several more. By the end of the day, news reports were covering the scene, and the media (themselves dealing with the economic crisis, staffed by mostly Dominish) were largely sympathetic to the protestors, letting the National Coalition even speak on air. The Nationals used this opportunity to call for more protest across Dominioan, officially stating their platform, and demanding for the Dominish government to submit to their demands.

The Revolution

The Dominish government ignored the demands of the protestors, trusting that the brutal breakup would destroy any chance of the upstart movement gaining any support. But the passionate appeals to Dominish nationalism, anti-Chakori, and anti-government feelings resulted in revolutionary mentality sprouting overnight. This was assisted by the Industrial Gantham of Dominioan (the national union above the Deriol branch) declaring its support for the Deriol branch’s actions — in part because the Deriol branch maintained a significant stranglehold over union war chest funds — and began messaging to members across Dominioan to strike and protest. The 24th began with early morning protests in Asokha, Matrain, Deriol, Gut Ikamari, Unger, and dozens of other large cities. The largest, the protests in Deriol and Unger, numbered over 10,000 in number, while the Gut Ikamari protest was put down by a local National Guard regiment quickly, preventing it from growing. Due to the still very disconnected nature of the sudden grassroots protests, the Revolution of the Torch (at the time referred to by the media as the “Oil protests”) had differing demands depending on the protest and location, with Industrial Gantham/National Coalition organized protests often calling for an end to the GEMOR policy and an expulsion of Chakori immigrants to “create jobs,” more spontaneous protests often only being against high prices, and the few riots in Chakori communities that happened on the 24th being explicitly racist in nature (there are links to the Dominish Legion in these attacks [2] that are disputed). The protests on the 24th inspired even more media coverage, which allowed the National Coalition to continue pushing its platform over the air. The government response was slow, as they had not expected such a massive overnight increase in protestor count, and police were prevented from taking any radical or violent action due to the sheer number of protestors, who they feared could overwhelm them at any time. The DOMINISH PM called for peace in an official address that night, but it fell mostly on deaf ears, as protests on the 24th were largely peaceful in most cases, although the aforementioned isolated incidents of ethnic rioting did occur in Chakori enclaves in Asokha and Matrain.

The 25th saw the National Coalition (which now included several more small far-right nationalist parties and paramilitaries) effectively take its role as the organizer of the protests and riots on a nationwide scale, with the National Coalition’s membership now massive, local chapters were able to distribute orders and platforms with much more ease across all of Dominioan. The official platform also changed to move the movement beyond the recent policies of the government, with the Nationals now explicitly calling for an end to the Silver August ceasefire, the impeachment of several dozen politicians connected to the July Files scandal and the highway improvements debacle, and for the government to officially declare Dominioan as Chakori-majority. This came mostly at the demand of the new members of the National Coalition, including political parties and paramilitaries, and was much to the chagrin of the Industrial Gantham, who wanted to focus more on the economic crisis of the moment. This internal conflict within the National Coalition never resulted in any defection or breakup of the Coalition, but the Industrial Gantham did see its influence in the Revolution of the Torch only decline from the 25th on. One leader of the Asokha branch, Therm Odania, left the organization due to the brewing tensions, though. The protests on the 25th were even larger, with the Second Deriol Protest (which would go on from the 24th to the 10th of November) now numbering almost 20,000, dwarfing the second place Unger and third place Asokha, numbering a still large 12,000 and 9,000 respectively. The 25th also saw the first cases of bombs and full scale rioting, with a pipe bomb being detonated in Sohoanatha, and with the Asokha protest seeing rioters breaking into stores and stealing products. The Matrain, Unger, Deriol, and Asokha protests also saw the first protestors attending with firearms.

From the 26th to the 28th, the protests only grew in number, with law enforcement and government scrambling to decide on a course of action. Several isolated incidents of fighting between protestors and police claimed lives, with most of the violent protests being concentrated in Asokha, while five Chakori were killed in a bout of communal violence on the 27th in Matrain. Law enforcement focused their efforts on protecting government property, which allowed protestors to block streets, storefronts, and residential areas with relative ease. The Deriol protest, which had become the epicenter of the entire movement, grew to a size of over 30,000 protestors by the 28th. On the 27th, the first torch march was held, at midnight in Lamasa. Organized by National Coalition members (with several confirmed members of local Dominish Legion chapters in attendance), explicitly going against the Industrial Gantham’s wishes, torches were handed out to over 60 protestors, who then marched through the streets of an ethnic-Chakori neighborhood on the outskirts of the city near midnight, chanting slogans and warnings of potential violence. During coverage of the incident, journalist Marianne Sheminga referred to the entire protest movement as the “Revolution of the Torch” (Agniprikirm)) for the first time, and the name stuck, becoming the term preferred over “Oil protests” over the next few days as other media outlets picked up on the term. This period also saw the first usage of the Sorisnagr flag. The Sorisnagr flag, which depicts a black-and-white “Sorisnagr” (a black box with three hooked arms on the left, right, and top) on a red background, would eventually become one of the most popular, and most divisive symbols of the Revolution. Designed by Sur’s Soldiers member Anthaku Podigram, it was intentionally designed to bring up memories of the Nazi flag, which caused even some internal discomfort over its usage, but after it started being printed out in mass-scale across several protests (especially in Asokha), the National Coalition adopted it begrudgingly.

After several days of National momentum, the government started to respond on the 29th. Narendram Kejiriwali, Commander of the Military, ordered National Guard movements to move in and break up protests across Dominioan, while local police units were permitted to use deadly force if necessary. However, the government’s delay in response had resulted in several of the protestors, as aforementioned, building up weapon stockpiles, and the first firefights of the Revolution occurred on the 29th. Over 300 deaths are recorded to have occurred on this day, the most of any during the Revolution. The government’s response was also largely focused still on protecting government property, which the large protests (close to 35,000 in Deriol) had started to encroach on. Chakori neighborhoods received little to no support, and many Nationals continued to torch march through Chakori areas, and ethnic rioting killed over 20 on the 29th alone. The targeting of the Chakori lead many to take up arms to protect themselves, firing back and killing several Dominish protestors, which resulted in outrage among the Nationals. The Dominish Legion, while their role in influencing the increased focus of the National Coalition’s ire on the Chakori is uncertain, is known to have started attacking Chakori families at an increased rate during this period. The Chakori Liberation Movement is also believed by many to have armed Dominish Chakori during this period. Their role was certainly present, but the extent to which they took part in clashes with protestors and Legion members is debated. It is also known that the American government started shipping small arms and ammunition to the Dominish government on the 29th.

The 30th through the 7th of November essentially saw battle lines set by both sides, with government forces giving up on attempting to push Nationals out of their entrenched positions, and pulling back to protecting government property, and not allowing any new protests to form. The Deriol protest, despite taking damage and almost being broken up by police presence, had swelled to 40,000 present. Protests across Asokha, Matrain, Lamasa, Changard, Sakai, and Munther remained strong as well, while the Unger protest started to dwindle out, declining from a peak of 20,000 to around 4,000 on the 5th of November. This was partially because the Industrial Gantham had directed much of the protesting in Unger, and their reduced enthusiasm as their leadership role declined resulted in the Unger protest declining in kind. It is also known that the Sakai protestors, who numbered around 3,000, had essentially come under the control of the local Dominish Legion branch by the 3rd of November. The protest had started on the 26th of October, and local nationalist politician Bondu Miletei had been acting as an organizer and leader, relatively independently from the National Coalition, although sharing their platform. However, he died from unknown causes on the 1st of November, and the resulting power vacuum is known to have been filled by local Legion militants. Whether or not the Legion assassinated him is hotly debated, but it is known that Miletei differed significantly in his Revolution platform in his refusal to perform torch marches (which had become a popular protest method by that time) and his focus on the oil crisis and high prices, making him more in line with the Industrial Gantham. Outside of Sakai, ethnic conflict had started to take hold of the protests, with bottled up anti-Chakori sentiment and xenophobia starting to overwhelm the anti-corruption calls that were also part of the protests. While the Asokha protest remained largely anti-corruption, anti-oil policy, and anti-Silver August, in Deriol, the protest had essentially turned totally violent by the 5th of November, and most Chakori in the inner city had fled for the outer villages. The 7th of November saw the National Coalition officially adopting the Sorisnagr as its flag, and the police captain of Deriol, Junge Maronti, referred to the protest as “insurrectionary” in a media interview, calling for the government to take action to prevent a revolution from “toppling the country.” While there was no fear of North Dominioan taking advantage of the situation, given that the military remained relatively united under the Dominish government without any mutiny, and North Dominioan was in the middle of its own military shortages, the idea of a revolution shook the Partisan Front, and on the 8th, a renewed effort to combat the Nationals began. Several incidents of police brutality are recorded, especially in Munther protest, which numbered around 2,000. Over twenty known deaths are recorded from a police intervention against a crowd of protestors breaking windows in the Commercial District of Munther. 3 police officers also died during that operation. The November 8th “counterattack,” as it is referred to by some, is considered an utter failure, as the massive sizes of the protest crowds made them hard to break up. Counterprotesting “duasirs” are also known to have started organizing their efforts under the Dominish Peace League organization on either of the 7th of 8th.

During this first two weeks of the Revolution of the Torch, the protestors had widespread political and supply support from non-protesting civilians, outside of leftist and Peace League counterprotestors. The National Coalition of Dominioan explicitly called for protestors to avoid breaking into or rioting near Dominish-owned businesses, with the Industrial Gantham explicitly calling for the looting of foreign subsidiary corporation storefronts. Thus, most citizens are known to have seen the Nationals as a positive force, who were fighting “for the common people.” Chants and songs such as “Stay Away Foreigners, Dominioan is Ours!,” “the Fathers and the Fatherland,” and “Labor and Country United” became especially popular, and their lyrics were often hung on banners outside of homes to signify solidarity with Nationalist protestors. Some citizens are known to have provided food, such as Yanmie Apatrie He (He is an honorific), a Deriolic priest of a temple who distributed all of his offerings to Sur in the name of the Nationals, which he then distributed to hungry protestors, who would wait outside of his temple chanting his name. However, November 9th marked the beginning of a particularly violent bout of protesting in Asokha and Matrain, which saw over 200 recorded incidents of attempted bombings, at least 30 dead police officers and soldiers, and cases where protest groups would get too violent and rowdy, resulting in the destruction of more civilian property than condoned by the National Coalition. Once again, the Dominish Legion is suspected to have played a role in inflaming tensions, especially in the Jungkar District of Matrain. The local Legion chapter is confirmed to have placed agents among the crowds to chant violent slogans, incite violent clashes with police and counterprotesting duasirs, and distribute rocks. This resulted in widespread distaste spreading across Dominioan for the Nationals, and while the National Coalition released a new pamphlet of protest guidelines, the movement began to slightly fracture, as the Asokha protestors insisted that they had done no wrong. The Deriol protest fell in numbers down to 25,000, with other protests seeing significant deserters. The media is also credited with playing a significant role, as coverage became far less sympathetic, and National Coalition members were no longer given interviews. The part played by the Dominish government in this change in tone is often discussed among historians, as there are allegations against the Partisan Front, Troashakra Lost, and the Nongeri Peoples Party collaborating (in an effort lead by millionaire Partisan politician Hindush Kamur) to bride the largest news network in Dominioan, the Times of Dominioan, to change their coverage of the Revolution.

November 9th through the 11th saw a cell of rainstorms and thunderstorms hitting parts of the Dominish Isles, causing flooding, terrible conditions, and weather which resulted in many protestors deserting and returning home. Most protests dramatically declined in their attendance, with the Deriol protest actually entirely disbanding on the 10th due to severe wind and lightning threats. During this time, government efforts to resecure the positions the Nationals gave up mostly failed, because to enforce their lockdown orders, troops had to be moved in, but the roads were so flooded, that many local police chiefs refused to send their men in. For the next few days, weather was still terrible, and many protestors from small villages were simply unable to reach the protest sites in the large cities due to dirt and gravel roads being unusable. Thus, crowds remained smaller, and relatively benign, staying within government condoned protest areas and not attempting any nighttime torch marches.

These torch marches had become one of the defining symbols of the movement ever since it was dubbed “Agniprikirm,” and without them being held, enthusiasm and galvanization of the National Coalition’s base declined over this period as well. The Chakori Liberation Movement is also credited with pushing back the more terror-inclined elements of the National Coalition, alongside some chapters of the Dominish Legion, from Chakori neighborhoods.

In Changard (the capital city of Changard state), the weather was especially terrible on the 9th and 10th, with governor Rajootana Palihe abandoning the Changard State House for his second home in Bajta-Bolihi, a majority-Chakori tourist town in the northwest. This outraged the Changard protestors, who felt that he was abandoning the people. This was considered especially egregious because Palihe was one of the lead figures in negotiating the Silver August Ceasefire, helping organize the Kejiriwali’s meetings with the Chakori government, and he was accused of “fleeing to his benefactors.” As anti-establishment sentiment was already at a fervor, this inspired one of the members of the Dumonouenatu Army (not to be confused with the modern political party, unrelated) paramilitary group, one of the National Coalition members in the area, to strike specifically against the local government. Subhas Nosi was one of the Army’s “Commanders,” and, without seeking approval from his superiors, he began organizing a massive torch protest on the night of the 19th, the day that Palihe returned to the State House. Nosi and several of his friends contacted the rest of Changard’s National Coalition members, and found a supportive Industrial Gantham, who had long opposed Palihe’s labor policy. The anticipated crowd for the torch protest on the night November 20th was 1000, but over 3000 are believed to have turned out, with Nosi claiming more than 4000 during his police questioning. Police plants in the National Coalition were aware of the planned torch march, but the size of the crowd chanting anti-Chakori slurs like “Chuka” and demanding for Palihe’s head overwhelmed them. In one of the most infamous nights of the Revolution of the Torch, referred to as the Great Night of Fire, the torch marchers and police officers increasingly agitated each other, and when an officer dragged out a young protestor and starting beating him on the street, the crowd charged the line of officers and few soldiers. Over 50 officers were killed in the single deadliest incident for law enforcement officers in the entire Revolution of the Torch. At least 30 protestors were killed, with countless more injured. As the organized march grew out of hand, eventually, the protestors-turned-rioters turned their sights on the State House building, and they took their torches to it. While the outside did not burn, several protestors threw bricks at the building, breaking the windows, and hundreds of protestors hurled torches and matches into the building, setting it ablaze. Reinforcement arrived several minutes after midnight to break up the riot, but the building was already in flames, and several employees within it had died. Palihe himself had arrived on the morning of the 20th, but after being informed of the protest, he had taken residence at a friends house. 500 protestors were arrested in the crackdown, and another 13 died. Over the next three days, the military essentially held the entire city of Changard on lockdown, quelling the National Coalition’s protest efforts through tear gas and shock batons, weapons that the government had just approved for usage against the rioters. The image of the burned down State House, and protestors with guns and clubs setting fire to the corpses of police officers, caused public opinion of the protestors to tank even more. However, it did send fear up the entire government structure, with the Kejeriwali claiming that “we need need to stop these protests now, before the Capitol Building is next.”

The Industrial Gantham condemned the Great Night of Fire, although they were outvoted in their attempt to condemn it in the National Coalition of Dominioan as well. While protests had again gained more steam since the weather improved, after the burning of the State House, many abandoned the protests and the National Coalition, with some of the political parties within the organization leaving it. This left mostly paramilitaries like the Dumonouenatu Army and others like them in the Coalition, alongside the Industrial Gantham and some loyal political parties. The protests decreased in size, with the new Deriol protest never growing larger than 10,000, allowing the Asokha protest to overtake it in size with 12,000 on the 24th. The tactics used to enforce lockdown orders in Changard proved very effective, and the Dominish government deployed them nationwide, especially after the American government donated thousands of shock batons for police usage. The military was also deployed in a more active role, to supplement police forces. Images of tanks rolling through Matrain and Lamasa became rallying points for the Nationals, who gained some strength again through the end of November, but by the 27th, the largest protest, in Lamasa, was less than 10,000. The Nationals did see their first victories, though, with impeachment hearings against some of the politicians the National Coalition called for beginning on the 26th, and the end of the oil reservation policy on the 29th, allowing for government oil reserves to be pumped into the market, cooling price inflation.

The Revolution of the Torch entered its death throes on the 29th, when the Industrial Gantham officially left the National Coalition. The Deriol faction, which had played a large role in keeping the support for the Coalition high, had faced accusations of misusing war chest funds, and they were outvoted by the rest of the Gantham’s national membership. The official statement claimed that with the cooling of inflation, the agreement of the government to bar foreign companies from some investments in crucial industries, and the end of the oil reservation policy, the Industrial Gantham’s demands were met. With this, the largest chunk of the National Coalition’s membership was no longer protesting. The National Coalition also was then mostly made up of more radical militant groups, and the focus of the protests became even more ethnic and inflammatory in nature, with more incidents of targeted communal violence, again especially in Chakor. Palihe was also found dead in his own home — the cause of his death is disputed, although the popular assumption is assassination, some signs point to suicide. The government also announced in a November 30th press conference, with Kejiriwali delivering the address, that it would be taking a more strict stance against Chakori “infiltrators,” and ending its “ill-founded campaign against internal threats when foreign ones are far more relevant.” The National Coalition, and most of the media, interpreted this as a concession to be more lenient with Dominish nationalists like the Legion, and that the government would focus more on the Chakori issue then forward. On the 1st of December, the National Coalition officially disbanded due to an internal vote, citing “the achievement of all of its goals” as reasoning. The end of the National Coalition is usually cited as the end of the Revolution of the Torch in any official capacity, although sporadic protests and riots continued until the end of December, most of them ethnic in nature.

Some historians have noted that the end of the National Coalition on the day after the Dominish government vaguely referenced to a policy of leniency with the Legion is suspicious, but some also point to the already increasing tensions within the actual National Coalition itself, the end of the worst of inflation, and a general exhaustion with rioting as causes.

Aftermath

With sporadic protesting continuing into the end of December, especially in the form of attempted anti-Chakori pogroms, the Dominish government continued anti-riot measures in the forms of lockdowns and military police presence across Dominioan. This was concentrated in Asokha, Matrain, and Lamasa. The Deriol protest, which had been the largest, did not see any continuation after the National Coalition dissolved itself, due to organizational structures being based around that organization.

Over 1,500 people are believed to have died during the protests, with about as many suffering injuries. The high death/injury ratio is due to extreme police brutality in dealing with protestors near government property, especially in Asokha and Deriol, and Unger, to some extent. The majority of casualties (both deaths and injuries) were protestors, while police/military casualties remained relatively little, due to the general tendency of police and military forces not to overstep their boundaries and remain near government property. This resulted in protestors (outside of aforementioned problem areas, which saw the most protestor casualties) mostly avoiding them. Military members made up an even smaller portion of the law enforcement casualties due to their better arms and access to higher-quality medical technology. Non-protesting civilian casualties made up another large portion of casualties, with most of the deaths being Chakori civilians who were victims of targeted communal violence and ethnic riots. Injuries and other non-death casualties, however, were mostly proportional to population. This is due to attacks against Chakori often being intentionally lethal and intended to kill, while injuries and other casualties were often caused by misthrown explosives, general looting, or police/military brutality when enforcing lockdown orders. Thus, Dominish make up the majority of non-death casualties, due to them making up a majority of the population.

The Revolution of the Torch mostly ended due to the protestor's demands being met. With the impeachment hearings, the end of oil reservation, and the promised harsh stance against Chakori influence, the Dominish government essentially acceded to the National Coalition Dominioan's platform. The actual concrete results of this acceptance are debated as to the extent of their effectiveness, however. The impeachment hearings resulted in over 20 lower-level parliamentary members being expelled, with most being from the Chakori People's Party (which was later banned in 1975). However, the Partisan Front used this to consolidate their power, with none of the National Coalition's list of Partisan politicians being impeached. The oil reservation policy being repealed resulted in a temporary cooling of prices, but the economy remained very weak and unstable until the beginning of 1975. Measures against the Chakori were quite effective for a while. The Chakori Control Act was proposed in the immediate aftermath, a bill which intended to strip Chakori of legal citizenship, although it failed to pass. Several proscriptions against Chakori rights organizations, labeling them as "terrorist sympathizers," passed, hampering their ability to raise funds and advocate effectively. Violence against Chakori increased due to a silent refusal by the Dominish government to prosecute it for several months afterwards. Most notably, the Silver August Ceasefire was nullified, and troops were redirected to the northwest border with Chakori. This had a side effect of effectively sending the operation in Murugan into a stalemate, as the Dominish government refused to pull troops from the North Dominish border, and thus forces were redirected from Murugan to fill the Chakor gap. The Revolution of the Torch is credited with delaying Chakori-Muruganian rights efforts by years, as the Minorities Protection Act (which afforded most ethnic minorities in Dominioan full citizenship privileges) did not pass until 1979.

Property damage was immense, especially because the Nationals tended to target businesses affiliated with foreign companies or foreign investors for looting, and these businesses were often large or rich.

The Dominish Legion also saw a significant uptick in membership, activity, and sympathy among the Dominish population. The government, under the direction of the Partisan Front, mostly adhered to the promise of turning away from a harsh counter-terrorist position they had alluded to. [1]

Outside of Dominioan, the Revolution caused outrage among most of the nation's allies. America especially was outraged at several measures passed after the National Coalition dissolved which prevented foreign investors from fully owning a Dominish company. However, the CIA used the Revolution of the Torch as a case study in an effective far-right resistance campaign against a government, which inspired their later funding of the Social Republic of Dumonouen. Chakor also saw relations collapse, and while fighting on the border did not begin again until the late 70s, they also instituted a policy of military buildup on the border as well.

Legacy

The Revolution of the Torch is unanimously accepted as an inspiration for the Social Republic of Dumonouen. The Social Republic acknowledged the "Sorisnagr Battalions" in their founding manifesto as "a torchbearer for our movement."

The Revolution of the Torch remains important in modern Dominish politics. Chakori citizens remember it as a painful reminder of their former second-class status, and the Chukari-e C'umpinoni party (a Chakori rights party) has advocated for establishing December 1st (the day the National Coalition dissolved) as "National Unity Day." However, this has never happened. To the rest of Dominioan, the legacy of the Revolution of the Torch is complicated, with opinions on its impact widely varied and contentious, with a slight edge to believing it was overall positive among ethnic Dominish. Apologetics for the Agniprikirm are present among some Dominish politicians, with most notable advocates being members of Dumonouenatu, which also performs apologetics for the Social Republic of Dominioan. One legacy of the Revolution which has remained contentious is the Police Counter-Riot Act, passed in 1974, which increased police power to deal with rioters causing property damage with violent force, designed to prevent another protest movement from getting out of hand. The Act has been accused of being utilized to excuse police brutality and violence in cases of other protest movements, even minor, peaceful ones.

The Revolution of the Torch was described by historian Herman Young as "perhaps the most influential protest movement in Dominish history," due to "[it] essentially setting Chakori rights movements back half a decade, causing Chakori-Dominish relations to collapse, creating tensions within Dominioan's wartime allyship coalitions, and being one of the main precursors for Dominish fascism in the Social Republic."

The Sorisnagr flag is still used today by various far-right Dominish nationalist groups, most notably the All-Dominish Socialist Nationalist Party (EDSNE), and the tactics of the Nationals during the Revolution, like torch marches and pipe bombings, have inspired countless other far-right movements in Dominioan, who often emulate National Coalition protest doctrines during their campaigns or rallies.

Template by Soleanna, template here. Highly modified by Dominioan for the specific purposes of this dispatch.

Section 1
The purpose of this bill is to properly overwrite proposals that require to be amended, as well as, repeal and store previous versions of the bill, and define what a bill should look like.

Section 2
Bill proposals need to have at minimum 2 sections to explain what the bill is about, one to summarize the point of the bill and the rest of the sections explaining the changes that the bill is supposed to do, every section needs to talk about a different change as specifically as possible.

The bill proposal should not add changes that don’t relate to the other, for example, proposing in one section a change in the ministerial cabinet and in another the addition or removal of some Embassy Rules. The bill has to be cohesive and coherent with its changes.

A bill is defined as a piece of legislation that is proposed and if its passed by popular vote it becomes law, a law that does not alter the constitution, which means that any bill that violates any clauses in the constitution can be deemed by the Minister of Domestic Affairs or the Head of Justice as unconstitutional and automatically vetoed from voting.

A bill must have at minimum 2 sections, one to summarize the objective the bill, the other to explain in detail what the bill is supposed to do, the bill in question must not cover changes that do not relate to each other, for example, changing the RMB Rules while merging 2 cabinet positions, to avoid this the bill must address one or the other, failure to do so the bill may be rejected by the Minister of Domestic Affairs or the Head of Justice.

Section 3
Every bill proposal that gets passed has to be stored in Callista Dispatches to prevent malicious editing and removal of the bills. This to ensure that the bills are not manipulated.

A bill that is being amended must still follow the guidelines of Section 2, and the changes must be highlighted in red color font, while striking the section that is being amended. To eliminate without amending sections it is important that there are at minimum 2 sections, and the sections are stroke while in red highlighting that the section is being removed.

To repeal the bill the person amending the bill must give enough reasons as to why the bill should no longer be considered a law, and this is done by writing a different factbook highlighting in red the reasoning behind the repeal of the bill just like an amendment. In cases when the purpose of an amend is to unify several bills that cover the same thing, it will be considered as a repeal & replace amendment.

A repeal & replace amendment has the purpose of repealing several bills that were made laws while amending them all in one factbook to unify all of them, this is done in special cases when there are way too many legislation that cover one single topic and constantly overwrite themselves. For example, at the time of this being made there are multiple bills about the RMB Rules that contradict each other and cover one single thing, and repealing and amending them one by one would take too long for it to be done. This is a special case and only meant to ease up already passed legislation before the amendment of this bill

Section 4
To edit bills that have already been passed the nation proposing the editing must submit a separate bill proposal highlighting the changes they want to make to it while respecting the guidelines already explained, in a different factbook. If it is passed the changes will be reflected in the bill.

After a bill is amended, the amendment of such will overwrite the original, however, it won’t be deleted and the original will be linked to the newer version to keep track of the previous versions of the bill.

If a bill is repealed it will no longer be stored in Callista Dispatches and deleted, the same thing goes with the repeal & replace amendments, in which case, all the bills that were unified in one factbook will be deleted while the amendment will be stored and considered as the original law.