Flocculencio
Donor
I can actually see that working very well for mixed-ethnic states. Not all of them, of course, but in at least one or two I can see the majority/plurality ethnic group supporting the King partly for being one of them (and therefore amenable to their interests) and also for being a ceremonial religious leader and 'defender of the faith', whatever that faith is. However, the King can simultaneously be a defender of minorities, granting special privileges and protections to minority castes/ethnicities/religions. They in turn would support the king in order to protect their interests, and so a 'nation' arises out of multiple, possibly conflicting ethnicities due to all parties coming to rely on and respect the king.
The problem is then one of just how much power and devolution to grant. The Hapsburgs managed to calm Hungarian nationalism by elevating Hungary to equal status with Austria but then the Bohemians and Yugoslavs started getting grumpy. Vijayanagar will actually be in a directly analogous position with the royal family being Kannada and the Tamils being probably the largest single ethnic groupin the Empire but with a large Telegu population and a smaller but still distinct Malayalee population.
Also, sorry, I know I seem to be focusing on Vijayanagar but thats just because thats where my interest lies. I don't want to seem like I'm running this scenario down.
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