Thulahn

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Thulahn is the fictional small Himalayan country in The Business, a novel by Scottish writer Iain Banks, published in 1999. The main character, Kate Telman, becomes involved in the acquisition of the country for the Business, in order to get a seat at the United Nations.

Thulahn is small and underdeveloped, bleak and vulnerable: the football pitch doubles as the airport, "the royal palace is heated by yak dung" and the "national sport is emigration". It resembles an exaggerated version of Bhutan or Nepal.

When Kate discusses religious freedom in Thulahn with Suvinder Dzung, he says:

"'This is a pluralist society [in Thulahn]. We respect the beliefs of our Hindu brothers and sisters. Buddhists tend not to see themselves as being in competition with others. The Hindu faith is like Judaism, providing an ancient set of rules by which we may live one's life and order one's thoughts. Ours is a younger religion, a different generation of thought, if you like, grafted upon a set of much older traditions, but having drawn lessons from them, and respectful of them. Westerners often see it as more like a philosophy. Or so they tell us.'

'Yes, I know a few Buddhists in California.'

'You do? So do I! Do you know--'

I smiled. We swapped a few names, but, predictably, came up with no matches."

Under the Business's plan, Thulahn would be utterly changed, if not destroyed, and its people thrust into the modern world. Kate is given the job of negotiating with Thulahn's Crown Prince Suvinder Dzung, who falls in love with her.