Inner Realm of Patria    Antarbhumi Ramrajya

Hello! Saluí! Namasté! Jai Bhagwan! ("I bow to the divine within you.") With the blessings of Ganesha, Saraswati, Shiva, Krishna, Radha, Rama, Sita and all the Devas and Devis, welcome to the Internet home of the Inner Realm of Patria, or in Sanskrit Antarbhumi Ramrajya. Patria, unlike some other micronations or virtual nations, has never formally issued a declaration of secession from a macronation, i.e. a "real" country such as Canada (the macronation with which Patria has enjoyed a special relationship since 1867), and does not claim a physical area such as a few city blocks in Toronto - although back in the 1970's there had been visions of it occupying an impressive chunk of real estate, possibly in Central Asia, having a population almost that of Canada, and even claiming a colonial empire that included Madagascar and the disputed Spratly Islands. Rather, Patria is an "Inner Realm" that exists anywhere you want it to be and is accessible to anyone through meditation and sadhana (yoga practices). Patria was established as a sovereign, independent realm on June 30, 1818, (an auspicious date in a previous lifetime of this site's creator) although its recorded history - then known as the Republic of Castoria - began in 1972-73 when as an 8th-grader at Toronto's Forest Hill Junior High, Michael Brooker needed a diversion to help survive his home-room class, and later to survive high school and being a teenager in the (ugh!) 1970s. In those days, the names "Republic of Castoria" and "Patria" were used interchangeably, but "Castoria" fell out of favour circa 1978, surviving today only in the name of the capital city, Castoropolis. Once a liberal, secular republic, Patria underwent a profound and powerful spiritual transformation (known popularly as the "Dharmic Revolution") beginning in late 1989, sparked in part by the collapse of the Berlin Wall and the end of the Cold War. Since 1992 Patria has been a de facto Hindu theocracy, nurturing and propagating the teachings of Sanatan Dharma ("sanatan" = eternal; "dharma" = truth or righteousness, but is difficult to translate literally), as taught in the Vedic scriptures, the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali, and the Bhagavad Gita, as well as in Mahatma Gandhi's philosophy of ahimsa (nonviolence), and commonly referred to in the West as "Hinduism", although the Constitution of Patria recognizes a First Amendment-type guarantee of religious/spiritual tolerance.



Like some other Micronations such as Talossa and New Worcester Kingdom, Patria was hatched in the mind of an adolescent boy. But unlike most micronations, its originator has never assumed the role of King, President for Life or Grand Phoo-bah. In fact, there is no King, President or other human-incarnation head of state (elected or otherwise) in Patria. As Ramrajya or a Divine Kingdom, a deity of the Hindu pantheon and an aspect of the Divine Mother, Saraswati -- Goddess of learning, speech, language, music and the arts -- is the Queen, Protectress and Ishta-Devata (Patron Goddess) of Patria. All executive and legislative powers are vested in the Congressus Patriaë, a 333-seat legislature elected to a four-year term. On April 17, 2010 elections were held for the 49th Congressus Patriaë (XLIX Con. Pat.), which was inaugurated on June 30, 2010 for a term ending June 30, 2014. Patria's Inauguration Day is a special celebration held on the steps of the Capitol in Castoropolis every fourth year on June 30.  It borrows some elements of the U.S. Presidential inaugural ceremony, but with much better weather than is usually experienced in Washington, DC on January 20.  Transcriptions of recent Inaugural Addresses may be viewed by clicking on the links at the top of this page.  The party holding a plurality of seats in the 49th Congress - as it did in the 48th Congress (XLVIII Con. Pat.) elected in 2006 - is the Amrita Party, a party devoted to the worship and teachings of the "hugging saint" Mata Amritanandamayi (Amma). During the 47th Congress (2002-2006) the Amrita Party merged with the Spiritual Regeneration Movement (SRM), a Hindu nationalist/revivalist party similar to India's Bharatiya Janata Party. In 2009, the SRM ended its merger with the Amrita Party, unofficially renamed itself Swadeshi Ramrajya Movement, and adopted a strongly economic nationalist platform combined with Gandhi-style non-violent resistance to globalism and free trade.  Although in previous Congresses, Mr. Brooker had assumed the role of Patria's de facto Head of Government (without ever claiming the title of Prime Minister), in the 49th Congress, as in the 47th, that function will for all practical purposes be fulfilled by Amma, in her role as House Leader of the Amrita Party. Mr. Brooker serves as an Amrita Congressman in the 49th Congress, representing the city of East Castoropolis, Caesarea. Other parties include the Chakra Party, a New Age party, which is a sometimes uneasy ally of the SRM and Amrita but more often than not its chief rival, using the slogans "Transformation, not Transcendence!" and "no Gurus, just right!", National Union, a rightist, tough-on-crime, law-and-order party that bills itself as "The Man's Party! Forged in the fire! Tungsten Tough! Testosterone in your balls=NU on your ballot!", Lilith Party, "The Grrrrrls party!" appealing to women, particularly lesbians, Libertarian Party "Less government, more freedom!", Social Democrats (merged with Progressive Labour for the 2010 election in an effort to "unite the left"), Green Party (economic conservatives disguised as left-wing tree-huggers), Rationalist Party (promotes atheism and the philosophy of Objectivism, based on the writings of Ayn Rand), Party for Personal Responsibility (a one-trick pony: pay down the deficit, cut social spending, plus a dose of personal responsibility), Jungle Party (a smack-talking personality cult for fans of Jim Rome), Chastity Party ("because sex is dirty!") and about 20 others. Unlike Canada, Australia, the U.S. and U.K., but like most of the democratic world, election is by proportional representation, so virtually any fringe party is guaranteed one or two seats in Congress.

For children 12 and under who are interested in creating their own country, check out this micronational handbook for kids: How to Build Your Own Country, published by Kids Can Press.

Please click on the links at the top of the page to explore the Inner Realm.  Or scroll down a bit for some basic background information about Patria.  Enjoy your visit!

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Election of Patria's 49th Congress - April 17, 2010

2010 election campaign, news and other events:
Please visit Patria's Campaign 2010 blog and Patriavotes2010 Twitter account, for profiles of the parties in the race for the new Congress, campaign speeches, electioneering slogans, as well as legislation passed by Congress, diplomatic affairs, and other news from the Inner Realm as the 21st century's second decade begins.

49th Congress party standings, and +/- change from 2006:
Amrita - 78 (-10 but included SRM in 2006)
Chakra - 63 (+15)
SRM - 50 (included Amrita in 2006)
National Union - 35 (-35)
Social Democrats - 33 (+3)
Jungle - 21 (+9)
Green - 18 (-6)
Libertarian -8 (-7)
Lilith - 7 (-9)
Incel - 5 (new)
Chastity - 3 (-3)
Family Values -2 (-2)
10 parties awarded one seat each.

The Amrita, Chakra and Social Democrats, along with several minor parties, have formed a "Positive Possibilities" coalition, which, along with the more moderate SRM caucus, should be sufficient to obtain the two-thirds super-majority needed for filibuster-proof ratification votes.

Offical election returns - seat allocations by Precinct and party.

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A few ready-reference factoids about Patria:

Capital City: Castoropolis (in Sanskrit: Kashipura), Patria's largest city, containing elements of Washington, DC, Canberra, Brasilia and New Delhi in its street layout and topography.

States or Provinces: Yes, but they're called Precincts. Patria consists of 13 Precincts: Aeolia, Ambrosia, Antioch, Arboria, Caesarea, Canardière, Centralia, Fredonia, Haldimania, Lazuria, Mauretania, Nova Columbia, Pottsylvania. Like other capitals such as Washington, Mexico City, New Delhi and Canberra, Patria's capital city is contained in the Federal District of Castorpolis (cf. District of Columbia, Distrito Federal, Union Territory of Delhi, or Australian Capital Territory). The Ministry of External Affairs of Patria strongly favours separating Ottawa from Ontario and Hull from Québec, to create a Canadian National Capital Region/Région de la capitale nationale.

Ceremonial Head of State: Saraswati Devi. Represented in Congress, as Speaker of the House, by her avatar (incarnation), Amma Karunamayi Sri Sri Sri Vijayeswari Devi.

Extra-Territorial or colonial claims: Madagascar and the Spratly Islands. These claims date from shortly after 1818 and have never been contested by any other country, so they must be kosher. The Madagascar claim, however, was abandoned in the early 1980's after Congress failed to ratify a constitutional amendment that would have made the tenrec (a small hedgehog-like mammal found only in Madagascar) Patria's national animal.

Official languages: English [de facto working language], Sanskrit [spiritual lingua franca], Patrienish, a quasi-Romance/Indo-European based language, with many Sanskrit borrowings. If you are interested in learning Sanskrit, visit the American Sanskrit Institute. "Shusha", a free Devanagari Windows True Type font for Sanskrit and Hindi, may be downloaded here. Sanskrit texts on Patria's web pages have been typed with the "Shusha" font.

Currency: Patrienish Rupee (RsPat.) $1.00 U.S. had been fixed for years at 37.5 RsPat., but since the Great Recession of 2008-09 it is now trading at approximately 40 RsPat to one USD. Better (or sometimes worse) exchange rates are usually available on the black market.

National Anthem: Ma'oz Tzur, a traditional Hebrew Hanukkah song. Listen to a MIDI version here. View the musical notation. An English translation, Rock of Ages (not to be confused with Christian hymn), written by 19th century rabbis Marcus Jastrow and Gustav Gottheil, is the official English version:

Rock of Ages, let our song praise Thy saving power.
Thou amidst the raging foes wast our sheltering tower.
Furious they assailed us,
But Thine arm availed us.
And Thy word broke their sword,
When our own strength failed us.

The Patrienish lyrics are as follows:

Ramrajya, illíx stotríx Tía shaktí laüdaquämi.
Apí rudríxæ shatríxæ bhuvís nostríen raxxatí.
Rudríx nosím assilínt
Tía ashtrí íllím fecafugít.
Tía shastrí brít íun gladí
Í svaní balí fallaxít.

Flag: (See top of page) In use since 1818, officially standardized Jan. 25, 1973 by the 39th Congress: a tricolour saltire similar to the Jamaican flag, but with red, white and blue where Jamaica's flag has green, gold and black respectively. Looks like Scotland's St. Andrew's Cross, but with red instead of blue in the upper and lower quadrants.

 Ensign: Adopted July 17, 1992 by the 44th Congress
 The "Om" symbol in saffron-orange centered in the fly is recognized as the symbol of yoga and Hinduism.

Motto: AQUILA CUM COLUMBA VOLAT ("The eagle flies with the dove"; from lyrics of Stephen Stills song Love the One You're With, translated into Latin.)

Coat of Arms: (See top of page) Shield/Escutcheon: Bleu Celeste, a dove volant Argent, in the beak a sprig of olive Vert; issuant from the base a demi-sun in its splendour Or, having 13 rays Or, upon which is charged the Omkara ("Om") device Sable; on a chief a saltire Argent, per Gules and Azure (i.e. the flag of Patria, see above for non-heraldic description).
Crest: On a wreath Argent and Sable, a bald eagle Proper.
Supporters: Dexter (i.e. viewer's left): A female South Asian Indian representing the Divine Mother, wearing a sari and supporting in exterior hand the Trishula (trident) of Shiva. Sinister (i.e. viewer's right): A male Canadian hoser-type or Voyageur, the symbol of Mike Brooker's Alma Mater Laurentian University, wearing a lumberjack flannel shirt, jeans and toque, and supporting in exterior hand a paddle. Beauty, eh? :-)
Motto: See above, Sable on a scroll Argent.

National Holidays: New Year's Day, Jan. 1; Flag Day, Jan. 25; Election Day, every fourth year on the third Saturday of April (April 15, 2006, April 17, 2010, April 19, 2014); Patriot's Day, third Monday in April; Independence Day & Inauguration Day of new Congress, June 30; Initiation Day or Dharma Day, July 17; Solstice/Yule, Dec. 21-25 (official secular or neo-Pagan replacement for Christmas), Mahasamadhi/Saptah Day, Dec. 29. Other holidays such as Shiva Ratri, Janamashtami, Guru Purnima, Diwali, and Navratri are celebrated according to the Hindu lunar calendar; the Gregorian calendar dates vary from year to year.

Flower: Sacred Indian Lotus (Nelumbo nucifera)

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© 2009, Ministry of the Interior, Inner Realm of Patria. Updated Oct. 12, 2010.

E-mail the Inner Realm: patria1818@yahoo.com