Now my casus belli is gone and I need to fabricate claims for every single province. This was apparently because they bordered a nation that was Western and significantly more advanced than they were for a very long time (I acquired Goa early 1500s). Since I held Goa from very early in the game, three Indian nations holding about 1/2 of India westernized (picture below, see the icon to the right of Bahmanis signifying technology group).
However, something set me back significantly. I thought the nice casus belli I acquired earlier in the game to be able to freely conquer Asian and African primitive nations would work nicely.
I thought this wasn't too ambitious, and indeed by the beginning of 1600s I held south India.
I am playing as Portugal and my goal from the beginning of the game has been to conquer the entire Indian subcontinent (or at least a very sizable portion) by the game's end.
