Hello!
This question is probably best suited for the Civilization and Community Forum, but I've thought it probably more sensible to concentrate my questions in this one forum, for practical sake —but please redirect me if necessary.

In september-august 1942 WWII is going badly for GB and Churchill conceives the idea of trying to persuade the Congress Party of India to stop their anti-british activities in order to help defending the subcontinent from japanese threat (since Japan has already taken Singapore, Malaya and Rangoon).

In a conversation with George VI, the P.M. explains the King that India "Is like a three legged stool. Hindustan, Pakistan and Princestan. The Latter, being minorities, will remain under our rule".


What I find puzzling is that this last area —Princestan—, which seems to come out straightaway from Churchill's mind, is not referred to anywhere in the Net, not even in the Britannica. What I would need is a Spanish equivalence for Princestan, but his being too much asking here, I thought it acceptable, as a solution of fortune, that Princestán (with the accent in the "a") might do the trick in Spanish —unless (and that's why I am here) this Princestan turns out to have something to do, or is another way of pointing at, the much more common Rajastan. I don't think it's the case, but would like to know it for sure. If there are not synonyms, I'll go ahead with my "á"-solution.

Thanks a lot for your help.

CM

There were a number of States in India governed by maharajahs.

This, I take it, would be the "Princestan" being referred to.

Wiki list of the biggest Princely States in 1947:

Princely States

OK, great. That means it is not the Rajasthan. It's in fact the Princely States, you're right. That's translatable.

Thanks a lot.

CM.

I think your approach is reasonable particularly as it is a made up word (made up presumably by Churchill). 'Stan' in both Urdu and Persian just means "place of" or "home of".

However you should probably be aware - if you are not already - that adding '-stan' to a place-name currently can have a right-wing, pejorative meaning. For example the right-wing, anti-immigration British press (such as the 'Daily Mail' or the 'Daily Express') might sarcastically refer to London as 'Londonstan' or 'Londonistan', say in an article about its mayor (who just happens to be muslim) thereby deliberately implying London as being "over-run" or "in the control of" muslims etc. This sort of insidious language is probably limited to Britain, or at least to countries where English is the majority language (the US, Australia etc), although some years ago I did see it used (but probably ironically or for shock effect, and to be honest I can't recall the circumstances) in 'Le Soir', which is a main-stream, French-language, Belgian newspaper (although it clearly struck a chord with my extreme Catholic/right-wing father-in-law, who contemptuously waved the said newspaper and its headline under my, rather surprised, British nose).

I'll admit I was a bit surprised myself by Churchill's word, particularly at that date (1942) as the modern state of Pakistan, created in 1948 by the independence and partition of British India, has itself a made-up name being an acronym. But from wiki I have now discovered that the name was coined as early as 1933 (and so would have been familiar to Churchill in 1942) by Choudhary Rahmat Ali, a Pakistan Movement activist, who published it in his paper "Now or Never" when he wrote about, "... thirty million Muslim brethren who lived in PAKSTAN—by which we mean the Five Northern units of India viz: Punjab, (Afghan Province), Kashmir, Sind, and Baluchistan".

That's very interesting. Concerning the addition of -stan as a way of demoting a place or a person as belonging to a culture the user of the suffix hates or disdains: I agree. It's one of the many forms of what we could call heterofobia, which includes the whole list of fears, misunderstandings and ignorances some (or many) human beings can carry in their viscerae (not in their hearts, if you pardon my poetry) —whatever language they choose to communicate with, as far as I see.
The other points you mention are part of what makes that book a real "ocean" to translate. That's a wonderful challenge, but time-constrained.

I really appreciate your help.

CM

MM, I have a vague rememberance of that, not only in "Le Soir", but also in the Dutch language papers..could it be something like Idiotistan...It had I suppose certainly something to do with the Flemish-Francophone relationship...
"my extreme Catholic right-wing father-in-law"
MM have a look to the section of geopolitics of Passion Histoire, there I react on an on the first sight normal thread: Are the French going more to the Mass than before, but as I read after a time further, it was in reality about the new extreme Catholic right-wing French , now emerging again. I said: I thought that there was separation of Church and State in the French Republic from 1905 on...
And it is exactly the same overhere with the new Van Langenhove (hope that nordmann now have not again difficulties on his website with hate mails from the far right) as I explained with photos and youtubes in my thread "Are we back to the Thirties"...links with the devote Catholic wings of Europe as mentioned overthere...
How these extreme Flemish Catholic nationalists will do it with their extreme right-wing French Caztholic nationalists...I saw some days ago on the French teletext of the RTBF (Belgian Francophone Radio and TV) about the new formation wished by the right-wing Italian Salvini: An international formation of nationalists   But as Le Pen wants to do the same, she wasn't  there, as Orban from Fidush and if I recall it well not the one from Poland...already two factions in the international nationalists... ?
My sister says: It is as they became all mad in Europe; vestons jaunes, marches about climate instead of going to school, everything put in question...the "68"s again or a new right wing Europe of the Thirties...

Kind regards from Paul.

Now I remember MM...was it not "Absurdistan"?...By remembering that word I came via google on this in Dutch:
http://www.indymedia.be/index.html%3Fq=node%252F6229.html
"Tintin in Absurdistan" about the reportage from the RTBF (Francophone Belgian television), where I each day look to the teletext to have together with BBC world, the teletext from the Dutch NOS and indeed the one from the RTBF (the Dutch language Belgian TV don't give no teletext anymore, I suppose they think it is only for the oldies not going with their time.)
And yes this Dutch site speaks about the fictive stunt of the RTBF of 2006 "Bye, bye Belgium" and they had in the middle of the emission to put a continuous announce that it was a fictive emission, as those Belgians are not that better than those Americans of the famous radio emission of the Ufo's in the Thirties.
Emission about the independence of Flanders (in the heat of the communautary struggle)...
As it is only in French and the English translation is nearly nihil, I give only the links for those, who understand French...
https://www.rtbf.be/info/medias/detail_bye-bye-belgium-en-2006-le-docu-fiction-de-la-rtbf-creait-un-electrochoc?id=9479103
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ck7lu8p1MZE

I have skipped through the film why I know it nearly all and I have not that much time
And I found also something about the "rattachistes" those Walloons, who want to join la Douce France...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mzHttyIdnEo
But 15 years later it is nearly dead...


Kind regards from Paul.