Reborn In 17th century India with Black Technology

16th September 1657

Akhand Bharatiya Empire, Imperial Capital - Bengaluru

The head office of Bharatiya Internal Pragya is located on the 7th street of the Imperial Capital. Since Bharatiya Internal Pragya is a publicly known government organization, its headquarters is quite large. The Bharatiya Internal Pragya constantly cooperates with many professionals across various industries whenever there is a case where specific knowledge of a particular industry is required.

Normally, Bharatiya Internal Pragya invites the person in this field to the head office.

For this reason, the head office of the Bharatiya Internal Pragya is frequently visited by people around the clock. The people working for the agency do not have fixed hours like others; instead, each agent or employee is assigned a specific day of the week for their leave. This makes Bharatiya Internal Pragya an organization that works 24/7 for 365 days.

Selvan, the director of Bharatiya Internal Pragya, had just entered the headquarters. Those in the lobby were surprised by his arrival, but only for a moment, since their professionalism quickly took over as they saluted him and escorted him inside.

The reason for this treatment was that Selvan usually does not stay long at the headquarters, as he travels wherever he is most needed, whether it is a different town, city, or even state.

This is why so many agents in the headquarters were surprised; they don’t get to see their director often. There are even some new agents who have never seen Selvan in their lives. Especially during this critical period of North and South Integration, Selvan is even harder to meet, as he is frequently required to be in the northern part of the empire.

Bharatiya Internal Pragya is not only monitoring for separatist elements in the north but also simultaneously expanding its network.

Even though Bharatiya Internal Pragya took over the old networks of Bharatiya External Pragya during the Mughal Empire’s existence, the nature of Bharatiya Internal Pragya is such that intelligence collection is done using a wide-net approach. For this reason, many more intelligence agents are required in the Internal Pragya than in any other intelligence agency combined.

Fortunately, with the agents inherited from Bharatiya External Pragya, the backbone of the empire’s northern intelligence network had already been built.

Selvan continued to climb the floors until he reached the topmost floor of the building. Upon getting to the top, he found the space divided into two sections: one was his office, which also contained a small cubicle for his assistant, and the other was his secret research wing.

Unfortunately, he felt a little melancholy when he remembered that this research wing would soon need new residents, as there was no doubt that his Majesty would take over his three best residents.

*Creek!*

Pushing open the door, he found three people, all lost in their work. Surprisingly, there was also a woman among them.

*Knock knock*

The attention of the three people was immediately attracted toward the sound, and they were surprised to see who was standing at the door.

"Director!!"

Just as they were about to step forward and greet Selvan, the words that left his mouth left them dumbstruck.

"Hey, guys, His Majesty wants to see you three."

"Wha- What?"

Arnav Sharma looked around at his companions with a stunned expression, struggling to process what he had just heard. Meanwhile, Kabir Mehta and Meera Nair stood in silent shock, at a loss for how to respond.

Selvan knew that they were in disbelief, but he continued anyway, "Immediately leave for the Simhasana Bhavana. A carriage has been arranged for you."

The three people were still very confused about what was happening, but being accustomed to following orders, they robotically completed the task. They cleaned up their workspace, arranged the intelligence reports, gathered their belongings, and left. Surprisingly, the director actually walked them to the carriage.

The carriage was actually the rare Raya Mobility carriage. They had never been in one of these before. As they got into the carriage and felt the softness of the cushions beneath them, they began to understand that they were really going to meet with His Majesty. The words of the director began to sink in, and all three of them started to get nervous.

Selvan took one look at the three of them with a mix of reluctance and hope, a very contradictory emotion, and said, "Truth to be told, I’m very reluctant to let you three go. You have all done an amazing job in your work, especially you, Meera. You have been a big help in cracking down on sixteen different separatist movements. But with that said, I also want you to progress further in life.

The position I have for you will be the fullest extent of what I can provide, but whatever His Majesty is planning can only be greater than what I can offer. So, when you pass His Majesty’s assessment, which I am confident you will, make sure to remember this old director of yours and help him out to the best of your ability."

All three of them felt a little touched, especially Meera Nair. She knew that His Majesty would not have known their names if it hadn’t been for the director introducing them. Her eyes became moist, but she did not let the tears fall; she is a strong woman who has stood up for herself.

"Thank you for your kindness, Director. I will forever remember this favor of yours."

Arnav and Kabir, though a bit slow to understand, quickly grasped the favor they had received from the director. "Just give us a call, Director. We will help you unconditionally to the best of our abilities," they said, their faces resolute.

---

Vijay, sitting in his office room, was coincidentally listening to the report about the three people Selvan had recommended.

"Arnav Sharma, male, 25 years old, born in Satavahana State, he is married and has one child who is currently studying in junior primary school in Pune."

"Kabir Mehta, male, 28 years old, was born in Gujarat but migrated to Vijayanagar after the war. His talent in reconnaissance and management caught the eye of Director Selvan, and he was directly recruited during the recruitment campaign. He is married and has two children. The family is currently living in Hampi.

The elder child has just entered middle school, and the younger child has not yet reached school age."

"Meera Nair, female, 23 years old, was born in Cheranadu to a Brahmin family. Her parents died due to an infectious disease that spread in their village. She has some distant relatives but grew up on her own. She is currently married to the (ADGP) Additional Director General of Police, Satish, in Satavahana State, and currently has no children."

Vijay was surprised that there was actually a woman among the people Selvan had recommended. Not that it was inappropriate, but it is rare for women to reach such heights in any department.

"Selvan is pretty open minded, isn’t it? He actually does not care if a woman gets promoted in his department." Vijay knew many of his own subordinates who resist the promotion of women within their organizations, departments, or ministries due to their inherent biases.

Sadly, he could not forcefully order them to promote women nor could he set up a quota of women in the organization, department, or ministry, as it would be disastrous. So he let it be, hoping that the next generation of politicians and officers would be more open-minded.

Ganesh smiled and said, "If you ask me, it’s not too surprising, Your Majesty. Selvan’s daughter, who is currently in middle school, has grown up after surviving a life-threatening disaster without her mother’s care. Her strength has clearly shaped Selvan’s view that women are far from weak."

Vijay had a look of realization, ’ Makes sense. Sadly, the effect is not reproducible. Oh well.’

"Are they on their way?" Vijay asked.

Ganesh flipped through the pages. "They are, Your Majesty. They should be arriving any moment now."

Vijay was satisfied. "Good. As soon as they arrive, interview them according to the method I mentioned."

"Of course, Your Majesty."

---

Meera, Kabir, and Arnav got off the carriage as they were led into the palace by the guards.

The three of them were mesmerized by the beauty of the magnificent Simhasana Bhavana. They had never had the privilege of entering the palace of His Majesty the Emperor. Looking at everything around them simply gave them goosebumps.

Unknowingly, they had already entered the conference room, where they recognized the figure standing inside as Mr. Ganesh from the Emperor’s office. n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

"Mr. Ganesh, good morning to you, sir."

The three of them respectfully greeted Ganesh, who had a smile on his face.

"Thank you, Arnav, Kabir, and Meera. Please sit down."

Arnav, Kabir, and Meera looked around the conference room, waiting to see if His Majesty would arrive, but Ganesh’s actions caught their attention.

Ganesh took out a large sheet of paper. This paper was larger than any they had seen in their lives. If it had to be compared to something familiar, it was the width of two standard sheets of paper they were used to and the height of four standard papers. (A4 sheet)

Ganesh placed three sheets of paper in front of Meera, Arnav, and Kabir. They were surprised to find that the paper contained printed letters in different font sizes, which they initially did not understand. However, as soon as they read the heading of the sheet, they immediately got a clue about what it might be.

"Bharatam Weekly."

Meera immediately understood that this was a kind of media, similar to the pamphlets they use in their department. Reading further, Meera soon discovered that it was set up in such a way that the first line immediately grabs your attention, just like the first line she had read:

"The people of the Philippines have been liberated from the tyranny of the Spanish."

Under such a heading, the events that happened in the Philippines were written in a very informative and easy-to-understand way.

Arnav and Kabir also picked up on the intent of the paper they held: "When can we expect the nation’s integration?" "The damage the Mughal Empire has done permanently to the subcontinent." "A caste supremacist enslaving 30 workers has been arrested." "How the life of the Ahom people has improved after joining the empire."

As they started to read, they could not stop. It was not until 30 minutes later that they had fully completed reading the newspaper. Meera Nair was greatly motivated, and her eyes burned with determination. She couldn’t wait to return to her workspace and prepare something like this.

*Ahem!*

Ganesh had to be the one to wake the three people from their reverie.

"So, as you might have guessed, His Majesty is going to establish a media company called Raya Media, and the paper you hold in your hand is called a newspaper. This newspaper will be the first product of this company. His Majesty is looking for someone to run this media company, and you three have this opportunity because of your skill sets."

"So, here’s the plan: In the next two days, the nobility promotion ceremony will be held. During these two days, you will be given a budget, and with this budget, you three will have to prepare a newspaper similar to the one you have seen. You can employ anyone you like, but keep in mind that the budget is fixed and cannot be increased.

The final deciding factor on whether you pass the test or not will be based on the newspaper you prepare."

"The newspaper in your hand, take it with you. It is a reference for you to work with."

Ganesh got up and bade the three farewell as he had other matters to attend to. "Good luck to you three, and I look forward to working with you if everything goes well."