Goday

Goday (Sittapinian: Ghodhai [gʱoɖʱaɪ] Goday pronunciation: [goːɽəj]) is the capital of the Goday District, and the second most populous city of Sittapini. Located in the Strip Island, Goday has a population of 330,592 according to 2020 census, and was the former most populous city in the country, until being surpassed by Naragoti, the country's capital, in the late 1980s, due to people migrating for economic reasons.

The city was established in 1835 by the British colonialists to increase trade between the Sittapinians and the Europeans. The country's first port was built here, and was the sole port city until the establishment of Pulaphani in Ramasa in 1904. As a British colony, Goday immediately grew to becoming one of the major cities in the island. The city was annexed by the Obanacian, later Mahbartha, empire in 1913. Goday eventually declined during the Sittapinian civil war, especially under the rule of the Walakarimasist People's Democratic Army, and heavily stagnated after the war when people moved to the capital. At present, the city remains one of the major and most prosperous cities in Sittapini.

Etymology
The former name of the Strip Island was Ghaw ta Dhai, which meant 'big long island' in Early Sittapinian. The city's name derives from this phrase, and was simplified to just 'Goday'.

Settlement and British Goday (1823-1913)
The northern area of the Strip Island, where Goday stands today, was settled by humans at approximately early 19th century AD by the northern Sittapinians. The small principality of Ghawtadai was established in 1823, but only survived for a small period of time until the British colonialists were allowed to settle in the island by the Sittapinian monarchy. The principality was immediately dissolved after the establishment of the port city of Goday.

The crown colony of British Goday was established in 1836, a year after the city itself was founded. Brits began to settle in the new city, and grew overtime. Dubbed the "London of the East", Goday was most famous for its colonial architecture, which almost all of them were demolished by the PDA during the civil war, and heavy English influence. Goday became the center of the British sphere of influence in the Kagrash Sphere. Ethnic Sittapinians began to settle in Goday in the early 1910s, hence, tensions grew between the Europeans and the natives, even though some of the whites married Sittapinian women. Europeans in Goday were known as Yingresan.

Annexation by Tahamirjadasa (1913-1943)
Goday, along with Sittapini itself, was annexed by Rasa Tahamirjadasa in 1913, which forced almost all of the white population of the city to be expelled back to Britain. The city was heavily "Hajorized" and the Hajors began to outnumber the Sittapinians by population in the mid-1910s. Places that were left abandoned by the whites were reinhabited by the Hajors. The Sittapinians, however, were allowed more freedom and became a significant minority in the 1920s. The city was industrialized further and became the second most populous settlement in the Mahbartha Empire.

The famous Yomrajahadun Temple was built by Tahamirjadasa in the absolute center of Goday in 1929. Goday was also officially renamed to Yomrajahadun the same year, and became the empire's second capital. Some of the Dajankagrash minority began settling in Goday and established the Noor Muhammad Mosque, one of the significant landmarks of the city. Goday's satellite town, Bilphorang, was established in 1935, specifically for the ethnic Sittapinians, whom criticized the idea since they see this as segregation. The majority of the Sittapinian population in Goday boycotted the migration to Bilphorang, and tensions between the Hajors and the Sittapinians escalated in the late 1930s.

In 1940, one of the most deadly riots have occurred in Goday between the both sides. The Goday riots lasted from April to November 1940, with around 1,000 Hajors and 255 Sittapinians killed during the clashes. Several Obanacian-built temples and mosques were set on fire, and caused a large number of Obanacians in Goday to return back home. Tahamirjadasa later implemented a nationwide state of emergency and began expelling hundreds of Sittapinians from the Obanacian province of the empire. This caused a Sittapinian from Goday to unironically assassinate Tahamirjadasa in 1942.