Once, not so very long ago, a land not so far away gained freedom. Its people were righteous, and so its rulers, harking back to legends of forest dwelling sages and their paths of peace, laid claim to the spiritual leadership of the world. Being peaceful, they had no armies and fought no wars. However, to meet the require¬ments of modernity, they did maintain large standing ‘congregations of persua¬ders’ who often encountered ‘periods of sorrowing’ with neighbouring countries. Being recently free, they continued their struggle against the white confederation of the Feringhees, and in this they had the support of the Tatar republic.
Nov-Dec 1988, volume 12, No 6