1 ' ~ "^nnmiHiBP'"'- ™~"
INDIA ^
ND THE WAR.
I
I
I
With an Introduction by
LORD SYDENHAM
I
INDIA AND THE WAR
*rl
IMPERIAL SERVICE TROOPS
A group representative of the Imperial Service
Troops maintained by the feudatory Princes of
India, and including men of many of the races and
tribes already touched upon in these notes. These
troops are held at the disposal of the King-Emperor
in case of need, and, when called upon, take their
place with the British-Indian Army. The total
of this force is very considerable, aggregating
approximately fifteen regiments of cavalry and
twelve battalions of infantry, to which must be
added mountain batteries, some companies of sap-
pers, and valuable transport corps (both mule and
camel). The Imperial Service Troops thus form
not only a notable and splendid testimony to the
loyalty of the feudatory Princes and peoples, but
also a fighting force of great value.
INDIA AND THE WAR
WITH AN INTRODUCTION
BY
LORD SYDENHAM OF COMBE
G.C.S.I., G.G.M.G., G.G.I.E., F.R.S.
FORMERLY GOVERNOR OF BOMBAY
WITH 32 ILLUSTRATIONS
HODDER AND STOUGHTON
LONDON NEW YORK TORONTO
MOMXV
Printed in Great Britain by Hazell, Watson A Viney, La.,
London and Aylesbury.
The coloured illustrations of types of Indian
troops are taken (by permission) from The
Armies of India, painted by Major A. C.
Lovett, Text by Major G. F. MacMunn,
D.S.O. (A. & C. Black). The explanatory
notes which accompany these pictures have
also been compiled wholly or mainly from
information contained in the same work, to
which the fullest acknowledgment is made.
The uncoloured illustrations are taken
(by permission) from The Historical Record
of the Imperial Visit to India (John Murray).
CONTENTS
PART I
INTRODUCTION
British Rule in India . . 1
By Lord Sydenham of Combe
PAQK
APPENDIX I
Extracts from Queen Victoria's
Proclamation of 1858 . . 28
APPENDIX II
The King-Emperor's Proclamation
of 1908 .... 32
vii
viii CONTENTS
PART II
paoi
India's Rally to the Empire . 37
Text of the King-Emperor's
Message . . . .39
Extract from a Speech of the
Most Hon. the Marquess of
Crewe, K.G., Secretary of
State for India . . 42
Comments of the Indian Press 55
Statements by Leaders of
Indian Opinion . . 63
Message of Lieut.-General Sir
James Willcocks to the
Indian Army Corps . . 75
RAJPUTANA INFANTRY
This illustration shows men of various Rajput
regiments. The Gujars, who are shown to the left,
belong to a race believed to be of Scythian origin
(like the Jats), who settled on the banks of the
Indus and spread to Gujarat, Rajputana, and
Delhi In the Punjab they ultimately adopted the
Mahomedan religion. They have been enlisted
only of recent years, but have proved a success as
soldiers. In ordinary life they are mainly graziers,
and the name is often used to denote the occupation
rather than the race.
LIST OF ILLTJSTBATIONS
IN COLOUR
Imperial Service Troops . . Frontispiece
PAGE
Rajputana Infantry ..... viii
6th King Edward's Own Cavalry and 8th
Cavalry xii
14th Murray's Jat Lancers : Risaldar-Major 4
25th Cavalry (Frontier Force) ... 10
31st Duke of Connaught's Own Lancers :
Daffadar ...... 14
38th King George's Own Central India
Horse : Lance-Daffadar ... 20
Rajput Regiment
15th Ludhiana Sikhs .
Dogras
33rd Punjabis : Subadar
39th Garhwal Rifles .
b ix
26
80
36
44
50
x LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
PAGE
45th Rattray's Sikhs ..... 54
2nd King Edward's Own Gurkha Rilfes (Sir-
moor Rifles) : Subadar-Major . . 60
6th Gurkha Rifles ..... 68
Bikaner Camel Corps ..... 74
IN HALF-TONE
His Highness the Aga Khan, G.C.S.I., G.C.I.E. 2
Her Highness the Nawab Begam of Bhopal,
u.L.o.L, (i.C .I.i'j.. CI. .... 6
Colonel His Highness the Maharaja of
Bikaner, G.C.S.I., G.C.I.E., LL.D., A.D.C. 8
Major-General His Highness the Maharaja
Scindia of Gwalior, G.C.S.I., G.C.V.O.,
LL.D., A.D.C 16
His Highness the Nizam of Hyderabad,
His Highness the Maharaja Holkar of
Indore ....... 22
Major-General His Highness the Maharaja
of Jaipur, G.C.S.I., G.C.I.E., G.C.V.O.,
LL.D 24
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS xi
PAGE
Major-General His Highness the Maharaja
of Jammu and Kashmir, G.C.S.I., G.C.I. E. 32
Major-General His Highness Maharaja Sir
Pratap Singh, Regent of Jodhpur,
G.C.S.I., G.C.V.O., K.C.B., A.D.C. . . 34
Major His Highness the Maharaja of Kish-
ANGARH, K.C.S.I., K.C.I.E. ... 38
His Highness the Maharaja of Kolhapur,
G.C.S.I., G.C.I.E., G.C.V.O., LL.D. . . 40
Colonel His Highness the Maharaja of
Mysore, G.C.S.I
His Highness the Jam Sahib of Nawanagar
His Highness the Maharaja of Patiala
G.C.I.E. ......
His Highnefs the Maharaja of Travancore
u.L.a.l., Ij.C1.i1.. ....
His Highness the Maharana of Udaipur
G.C.S.I., G.C.I.E. ....
Map of India
48
56
64
66
70
76
6TH KING EDWARD'S OWN
CAVALRY AND 8TH CAVALRY
JATS
The Jats are a race spread over the whole of
upper India. They are supposed to be of Scythian
origin. They form a large proportion of the
Sikh sect, but there are also many hundreds of
thousands professing the creed of Islam, and also,
besides these, many Hindus who call themselves
Jats. They are an agrarian race — peasant farmers
— but consider fighting the most honourable of
professions. The greater part of the Sikhs who
serve in our Indian Army are Jats.
PART I
INTRODUCTION
BRITISH RULE IN INDIA
HIS HIGHNESS AGA SULTAN SIR MAHOMED
SHAH, AGA KHAN, G.C.S.I., G.C.I.E.
The Aga Khan has no territorial possessions, but
is the spiritual head of the Khoja community of
Mahomedans in Western India. He received
the title of His Highness as a personal distinction
in 1886, was created K.C.I.E. in 1898, G.C.I.E.
in 1902, and G.G.S.I. in 1911.
The principal seat of the Aga Khan family is in
Bombay. His Highness is highly educated and
enlightened, is a good speaker, and has travelled
widely. He has done much for his community
and for the Moslem world generally, and is a great
supporter of education.
Vernon.
A
His Highness the Aga Khan, G.C.S.I., G.C.I.E.
PART I
BRITISH RULE IN INDIA
The establishment of British dominion in
India has no parallel in the history of the
world. The great Empires of ancient and
modern times have been built up by con-
quests, successively consolidated and carried
out overland from the source of central
power. The latest of such Empires — that
of Germany — was created in little more than
250 years by successful war in accordance
with the deliberate designs of a ruling
dynasty formerly based upon the ideal of
a union of the German peoples and in recent
years disastrously expanded into a claim to
dominate Europe. British Rule in India
has been won by the sea, and its growth
from the period of maritime exploration
4 BRITISH RULE IN INDIA
leading to small settlements on the coast-
line was an evolution brought about by the
operation of inexorable forces.
In the internal conditions which existed
in India in the eighteenth century, it was
inevitable that dominion must pass to the
Power which could assert and maintain
naval supremacy. Portugal, Spain, Holland,
and France had all contended for mastery,
and the decision, momentous to the destiny
of India, was reached in a long series of
Western wars by sea and land. Once secure
against the interruption of her maritime
communications with the East, Great Britain
might have proceeded to impose her do-
minion by systematic steps ; but this was
not attempted, or contemplated. The oc-
cupation of Bengal, following the rout of
the Nawab at Plassey in 1757, and the
transfer of the Government of the East
India Company to Calcutta, marked the first
great steps in the direction of political
power. Not only were British resources
14TH MURRAY'S JAT LANCERS
Risaldar-Maior
JATS
The Jats are a race spread over the whole of
upper India. They are supposed to be of Scythian
origin. They form a large proportion of the
Sikh sect, but there are also many hundreds of
thousands professing the creed of Islam, and also,
besides these, many Hindus who call themselves
Jats. They are an agrarian race — peasant farmers
— but consider fighting the most honourable of
professions. The greater part of the Sikhs who
serve in our Indian Army are Jats.
BRITISH RULE IN INDIA 5
so greatly increased that the position and
prestige of the French in India were jeopar-
dised, but the Power which was to prove
strongest at sea obtained territory giving
direct access to the vast plains and the great
water-ways which stretch north-westward
for 1,200 miles towards the Indus and the
Hindu Kush. Bengal had been ruled for
centuries by foreigners, and the capitals of
the great conquering dynasties had been
founded in the broad fertile regions watered
by rivers fed from the Himalayan snows.
But never before had the gate of this region
been held by a Power which came by and
drew its resources from across the sea.
Clive had shown unerring military instinct ;
but he cherished no project of dominion.
Before returning to India in 1765 to deal
with " the critical situation of the Company's
affairs " l he wrote that —
" If ideas of conquest were to be the rule
1 Dispatch of the Court of Directors to the Council in
Bengal.
6 BRITISH RULE IN INDIA
of our conduct, I foresee that we should by
necessity be led from acquisition to acquisi-
tion until we had the whole Empire up in
arms against us."
In the Resolution of the House of Com-
mons x thanking Lord Wellesley after the
defeat of Tippu, Sultan of Mysore, who had
formed an alliance with the French to evict
us from India — a defeat which " established
on a basis of permanent security the tran-
quillity and prosperity of the British Empire
in India " — Sir Alfred Lyall traced the sound
of the first Imperial note.
No one can form a just judgment of the
steps — for the most part absolutely in-
evitable— which led to the establishment of
British Rule without some knowledge of the
history of India and of the internal conditions
of that country in the eighteenth century.
Mongols, Aryans, Persians, Greeks, Scy-
thians, Huns, Arabs, Afghans, Turks, and
Moguls have in successive streams passed
1 October 1799.
BHOPAL
HER HIGHNESS NAWAB SULTAN JAHAN BEGAM,
G.C.S.I., G.C.I.E., C.I., BEGAM OF BHOPAL
Bhopal is the principal Mahomedan State in the
Central India Agency, and ranks next in import-
ance to Hyderabad among the Mahomedan States
of India. It is bounded by the territories of
Gwalior and Indore, by several petty States of the
Central India Agency, and by British territory.
The area of the State is 6,902 square miles (a
little less than the size of Wales), the population
is 730,383, chiefly Hindus, and the yearly revenue
about 38 lakhs (£253,300).
The present ruler, Her Highness Nawab Sultan
Jahan Begam, G.C.S„L, G.C.I.E., C.I., succeeded
her mother in 1901, and has followed closely in the
footsteps of her eminent predecessors. She takes
an active part in directing the work of her officials,
and inquires personally into all grievances. In
education she is greatly interested, and maintains
numerous schools, including two large girls' schools
and an industrial school for widows.
Her Highness maintains a large body of Imperial
Service Troops, both cavalry and infantry.
Bremner.
Her Highness the Nazvab Be gam of Bbopal, G. C.S.I.
G.C.I.E., C.I.
6]
BRITISH RULE IN INDIA 7
into India. Some penetrated deeply, found-
ing kingdoms and mixing in greater or less
degree with the aboriginal inhabitants and
with their predecessors. Almost all have left
some mark upon the language, customs, and
religions of the most heterogeneous aggregate
of peoples to be found in the world. For
seven hundred years India was subjected to
recurring waves of warlike Mahomedans,
who at length built up the most powerful
state and dynasty that had existed prior
to the coming of the British. " Asiatic
dynasties," wrote Gibbon, " present one
unceasing round of valour, greatness, dis-
cord, degeneracy, and decay," and before
the death of Aurungzebe in 1707, the Mogul
Empire had completed this round and was
tottering to its fall. Upon its ruins arose
the Maratha power which, surging from the
south-west, took Delhi, occupied the Punjab,
and strove for the mastery of Upper India.
At Panipat in 1761, the Maratha army,
which had attracted to itself hordes of
8 BRITISH RULE IN INDIA
armed freebooters, was routed by Ahmed
Shah, who had invaded India through the
passes of the north-west a year before. The
Afghan leader made no attempt to create
a new Moslem dynasty and soon withdrew
his troops laden with spoils. The military
power of the Marathas never recovered from
this blow and degenerated into dangerous pre-
datory forces which, after spreading devasta-
tion far and wide, were finally shattered in
1818. The effects of the breaking up of
the Mogul Empire, which had exercised
authority with growing inefficiency over a
large portion of India, were catastrophic.
In the pregnant words of Sir Alfred Lyall,
the Indian people " were becoming a master-
less multitude prepared to acquiesce in the
assumption of authority by any one who
could show himself able to discharge the
most elementary functions of government in
the preservation of life and property."
Such were the conditions existing over a
vast territory, and out of the welter British
BIKANER
COLONEL HIS HIGHNESS MAHARAJA SIR GANCA
SINGH BAHADUR, G.C.S.I., G.C.I.E., A.D.C.,
LL.D. (CANTAB.), MAHARAJA OF BIKANER
Bikaner is one of the largest States of Rajputana,
in which it is situated near the States of Jodhpur
and Jaisulmer.
The area is 23,000 square miles (rather more
than three times the size of Wales), the population
is about 701,000, chiefly Hindus, and the yearly
revenue is about 41 lakhs (£273,400).
His Highness was born in 1880, succeeded his
elder brother in 1887, and was invested with full
ruling powers in 1898. He is second to no Indian
ruler in the enlightenment and efficiency of the
administration of his State, and is a keen soldier.
In 1901 he served with the British Forces in
China.
In the world of sport His Highness is well known
as a polo player, and has few equals as a shot,
both with gun and rifle. He is an A.D.C. to His
Majesty the King-Emperor of India.
■■/'
Herzog & Higgins.
Colonel His Highness the Maharaja of Bikaner
G.C.S.I., G.C.I.E., LL.D., A.D.C.
BRITISH RULE IN INDIA 9
power gradually wrought peace and order.
It is false to speak of the conquest of India.
We found ourselves confronted by inex-
orable forces originating in the distant past —
forces which combined to produce a state
of anarchy unparalleled even in the blood-
stained annals of India. Only a strong
power brought to bear from the outside
could have rescued the country from ruin.
And when the stupendous task was accom-
plished, more than one-third of all India and
one-fourth of the population was left, and
remains to-day, under direct Indian rule.
The existence of nearly 700 Native States,
ranging from Hyderabad with more than
thirteen millions of people to the hereditary
domain of a small chief with not so many
thousands, is often ignored in this country
and is little realised elsewhere. Some of
these States were rescued from chaos and
re-created by the British Government,1 to
1 Thus the important State of Mysore was reconstructed
under its ancient Hindu dynasty, and after a period of
2
10 BRITISH RULE IN INDIA
which all owe the consolidation of their
power and the security of their territories.
The Queen's Proclamation in 1858 ' gave the
promise that —
" We shall respect the rights, dignity, and
honour of the Native Princes as our own,
and we desire that they, as well as our own
subjects, should enjoy that prosperity and
social advancement which can only be
secured by internal peace and good govern-
ment."
This promise, which was renewed fifty
years later by King Edward VII.,8 has been
faithfully kept, and the protected Princes
and Chiefs know well that the stability of
their historic houses and the maintenance
of their rights depend entirely upon the
strength of British Rule. They perfectly
understand that the triumph of Pan-
Germanism would involve anarchy through-
British administration ending in 1881 has prospered ex-
ceedingly under the wise Rule of the late and the present
Maharaja.
1 Appendix I. 2 Appendix II.
25TH CAVALRY (Frontier Force)
PATHAN
The Pathans claim for themselves, in common
with the Afghans, a Jewish descent, the legendary
ancestor being a certain Kais, said to have been
37th in descent from King Saul, and to have
lived in the days of Mahomed. However this
may be, Afghans and Pathans appear to be closely
allied, and the latter dwell for the most part
between the Indian border and Afghanistan, with
some in Afghanistan itself and some within British
territory. There are many tribes of them, among
whom may be mentioned the Afridis and the
Khattaks, both of whom make fine soldiers. The
Pathans are of fierce temper, and much given to
blood-feuds ; these quarrels are suspended while
the men are on service, but promptly resumed
on retirement or during furlough.
BRITISH RULE IN INDIA 11
out India, and that the imposition of German
methods of government, of which the guiding
principle is that might is right, would rob
them of all they hold dearest. They have
one and all nobly responded, in the martial
spirit of their ancestors, to the call of loyalty,
and the wonderful announcement made by
the Viceroy on their behalf is the most
striking proof of their heartfelt devotion to
the British Crown which has guaranteed
their honour and their possessions.
Before leaving India in 1856, Lord Dal-
housie, in prophetic words, pointed to the
duties which remained to the British rulers.
"I trust," he said, "we shall still feel
that all we have yet done must be regarded
as no more than the first beginnings of
greater things that are to come. In regions
so vast as these and among interests so
various, all progress must be gradual and
slow."
The depredations of Marathas and Pin-
daris had been suppressed. British authority
12 BRITISH RULE IN INDIA
had been extended to the geographical
frontier, and the process of consolidation
was making sure way, after a period of wars
frequently recurring, when the wild outbreak
raised by the Mutiny of the Bengal Army
threatened for a time to bring back the
age of anarchy. In 1858 the Government
of India was transferred to the Crown, and
for more than half a century the internal
peace of India has been kept secure. Only
when order had been restored and firmly
established on the basis of law and justice
could Government devote itself to the
" greater things " to which Lord Dalhousie
referred.
It is impossible here to give any idea of
the great work of ameliorisation which is
going on with increasing speed. Sir John
Strachey in his valuable book described the
machinery and methods of government.
The interesting studies of M. Chailley explain
the problems and the difficulties of adminis-
tration on Western lines in an Eastern
BRITISH RULE IN INDIA 13
country. That some mistakes should have
been made was inevitable. No form of
government is perfect, and mistakes as
great as any perpetrated in India have
occurred in countries where the problems
are relatively simple. It can, however,
fearlessly be claimed that the progress
achieved in India has no parallel in similar
circumstances.
The total permanent debt of British India
on March 31, 1911, was £270,063,145, of
which no less than £195,836,888 was in-
curred for public works (railways and irriga-
tion), leaving £40,426,063 as ordinary debt.
In 1857 there were about 300 miles of rail-
way ; the mileage now exceeds 33,000, and
the benefits have proved immense. The
great irrigation works commanded more than
16,000,000 acres in 1910-11, and have since
been largely increased. In the Punjab
especially, new towns have sprung up where
formerly a sparse population led a precarious
existence. Roads and bridges are being
14 BRITISH RULE IN INDIA
multiplied. The total sea-borne trade reached
260 J million pounds in 1911 with an excess of
exports of 29J millions. For the same
year the burden of taxation per head was
Is. lljd., and including land revenue which,
in accordance with the old custom of India,
is not taxation, the amount was 3s. 7 'Id.
The cotton industry, which is mainly in
Indian hands, increased the number of mills
in ten years from 71 to 226, and new in-
dustries supported by Indian capital are
springing up, while the mineral output shows
marked development. In primary educa-
tion there have been rapid advances in late
years, and more than one-fourth of the boys
of school age are receiving instruction, while
slow but steady progress is being made with
girls' schools, and needed reforms in higher
education are being gradually accom-
plished. The results of the wonderful ma-
terial progress of India have been the
enrichment of large classes which in pre-
British days had no chance of bettering
31ST DUKE OF CONNAUGHT'S
OWN LANCERS
Daffadar
DEKKANI MAHRATTA
The Marathas or Mahrattas are the land-owning
class of the Deccan — of the plateau and the
seaboard of Western India. They first became
famous under the chief Sivaji, who attempted to
overthrow the Great Mogul and to establish a
Hindu empire. Later in history they waged two
great and obstinate wars against the British, the
first famous, amongst other battles, for Welling-
ton's victory at Assaye. They have long served
with high distinction in the Bombay Army, and
have a reputation for great wiliness and endurance.
Several of the princely families of the old Mah-
ratta confederacy still reign over feudatory States.
BRITISH RULE IN INDIA 15
their position, the steady growth of purely
Indian enterprise, and the first beginnings
of an abandonment of the ancient system
of hoarding in favour of remunerative in-
vestment. As in all countries similarly cir-
cumstanced, the cultivating classes suffer
when the rainfall fails over any large area.
In good years, there is probably no happier
or more contented peasantry in the world.
Such appalling periodic devastations caused
by famine as are recorded in the annals of
India have ceased. Highly organised ad-
ministrative methods aided by railways have
minimised the actual want in bad years,
and the tracts rendered immune by irriga-
tion are being steadily increased. Plague is
still a scourge, and the immense develop-
ment of communications causes it to spread
more easily than in former days ; but
prolonged researches have provided the
medical authorities with preventive measures,
and the inherited resentment of the people
against sanitary precautions shows signs of
16 BRITISH RULE IN INDIA
abatement. Wages have everywhere in-
creased, and Indians of middle age see
marked evidence of a general improve-
ment in the resources of the rural popu-
lation.
The establishment of the Pax Britannica
throughout India was accomplished mainly
by Indian soldiers trained by British officers
and supported by small bodies of European
troops. The creation of the fine Native
Army of India — a work of which any nation
might be proud — was a growth from hap-
hazard beginnings. " An ensign and thirty
men " with " a gunner and his crew "
representing British power in Bengal at the
end of the seventeenth century, a small
garrison sent to Bombay when it was at
length transferred to the Crown as part of
the dowry of Catherine of Braganza, and a
few companies formed from factory guards
at Madras were the seeds from which sprang
the three great Presidential Armies ; but
Dupleix in 1748 was the first to raise bat-
GWALIOR
MAJOR-GENERAL HIS HIGHNESS MAHARAJA
SIR MADHO RAO SCINDIA BAHADUR OF
GWALIOR, G.C.S.I., G.C.V.O., A.D.C., LL.D.
(CANTAB.)
The great State of Gwalior is the largest in the
Central India Agency, bounded on the east by
British districts, on the south by other Central
India States, and on the west by Rajputana.
The total area is 25,862 square miles (nearly three
and a half times the size of Wales), the population
is about 3,000,000, mostly Hindus, and the yearly
revenue is estimated at Rs. 1,64,00,000 (£1,082,500).
The present Maharaja succeeded in 1886 at the
age of ten years. Besides being a keen and able
soldier (he served on the staff of Sir A. Gaselee in
China in 1900), His Highness is a most enlightened
administrator. His energy is indefatigable, and he
devotes the closest personal attention to all the
details of the government of his vast estates. He
received the degree of LL.D. of Cambridge Uni-
versity in 1903. He is an A.D.C. to His Majesty
the King-Emperor of India. The Gwalior State
maintains several regiments of Imperial Service
troops, both cavalry and infantry.
Vandyk.
Major-General His Highness the Maharaja Sc India of
Gwalior, G.C.S.L, G.C.F.O., LL.D., A.D.C.
16]
BRITISH RULE IN INDIA 17
talions of Mussalman troops drilled in
European fashion in the Carnatic. In 1754
the first regiment of the British Army — the
39th Foot — arrived in India, and at the
end of the eighteenth century the European
forces belonging to the Royal and the East
India Company's armies numbered about
1,3,000 men. The exigencies of war led to
a rapid increase of Indian regiments, and
when the Great Mutiny broke out, there
were about 311,500 Native and 39,500 Euro-
pean troops in India. In many severe
campaigns the Indian troops displayed
great bravery under British leadership, and
to the close relations between officers
and men engendered on stricken fields
our military success was due. Upon the
mutual trust and affection existing between
them the strength of the Indian Army
depends to-day, and the stirring Order of
the Day l issued by Lieut.-General Sir James
Willcocks on October 10 expresses the con-
1 See page 75.
3
18 BRITISH RULE IN INDIA
fidence reposed in our gallant Indian soldiers
by their commanders.
The old army of the Company rendered
Imperial services in many parts of the world
— Ceylon, Amboyna, Egypt, Macao, Bour-
bon, Rodriguez, Java, Persia, Afghanistan,
Burma, and China. Indian troops as
soldiers of the Crown have distinguished
themselves in Abyssinia, Afghanistan, Egypt,
the Sudan, Somaliland, Burma, and China,
and were brought to the Mediterranean
in 1885, while Indians in a non-combatant
capacity rendered useful aid in the South
African War. When the whirlwind of the
Mutiny engulfed most of the Bengal regi-
ments and drew into its vortex the classes
over a large area which had resented the
suppression of freebooting, the great mass
of the people of India remained faithful to
the Government. The small British forces
employed never lacked willing assistance
from Indians. The many Irregular Native
Corps, hastily raised, played a great part
HYDERABAD
COLONEL HIS HIGHNESS ASAF J AH, MUZAFFAR-
AL-MULK WAL MAMALIK NIZAM-UL-MULK,
NIZAM-UD-DAULA, NAWAB MIR SIR USMAN
A LI KHAN BAHADUR, FATEH JANG, G.C.S.I.,
NIZAM OF HYDERABAD
Hyderabad, the principal Native State in India,
is situated in Southern India, and is bounded on
the north-east by the Central Provinces, on the
south and south-east by the Presidency of Madras,
and on the west by the Presidency of Bombay.
The area of the State is 82,698 square miles (more
than one and a half times the size of England), the
population is 13,374,676, and the average annual
revenue about 498 lakhs (£3,319,700). The State
was founded by one of the Generals of the Emperor
Aurangzeb in 1724.
The present Nizam is 29 years of age and
succeeded his father on August 29th, 1911.
The Nizam is entitled to a salute of 21 guns.
The State maintains two regiments of Imperial
Service Cavalry.
His Highness the Nizam of Hyderabad, G.C.S.I.
i«
BRITISH RULE IN INDIA 19
in breaking the rebellion, and the Bombay
and Madras armies not only prevented it
from spreading south, but rendered valuable
assistance in the field. After 1858, the
Indian Army was entirely reconstituted.
The separate Presidency Armies, into which
many differences of customs and equipment
together with some abuses had crept, were
abolished, and after a series of reforms the
forces in India, with a stiffening of about
75,000 British troops, were organised as a
Northern and a Southern Army under a
unified system. Many of the historic regi-
ments with a notable record of war service
remain ; others date from the irregular corps
created by British officers during the Mutiny.
The long internal peace has tended to lessen
the warlike qualities of some of the Indian
races, and the present Army is drawn mainly
from Northern India, exclusive of Bengal,
the principal classes composing ib being
Punjabi, Hindustani or Deccani Mahome-
dans, Sikhs, Jats, Gurkhas, Hindu Rajputs,
20 BRITISH RULE IN INDIA
Dogras, and Pathans. Such a classification
gives no idea of the numerous clans com-
prised, each with some peculiar characteris-
tic, custom, and prejudice of its own, illus-
trating the involved diversification of the
Indian people which, in Northern India
especially, corresponds to no geographical
area.
The large armies formerly maintained by
the Indian Princes have dwindled as the
country became settled and agriculture in-
creased ; but twenty-five Native States now
provide contingents of Imperial Service
Troops or Transport Corps well armed and
equipped, and generously placed at the
disposal of Government by their Rulers
whenever needed. The Imperial Service
Troops have rendered valuable services to
the Empire in the past and they are now
represented with the Allied Armies and in
Egypt.
The splendid contingent which the Indian
Army has given to the Imperial cause con-
38TH KING GEORGE'S OWN
CENTRAL INDIA HORSE
Lance- Daffadar
GAKKAR (Punjabi Mussalman)
The Mahomedans of the Punjab (exclusive of
the Pathan element) consist mainly of Hindu
tribes who have at various periods accepted
Islam. Some tribes claim a foreign origin, main-
taining that they invaded and conquered the lands
they occupy. Among these is the well-known
military class of the Gakkars. The Punjabi
Mahomedans supply many excellent soldiers to
the Indian Army. They are enlisted in regi-
ments according to their tribes, tribal pride and
tribal traditions being thus preserved and promoted.
'.;: *.
BRITISH RULE IN INDIA 21
tains in its ranks descendants of the most
martial races of the world. The Rajputs
were renowned and chivalrous warriors when
Europe was emerging from barbarism. Their
military achievements cover a long period in
the annals of India. Rajput clans spread
far from the home of their power ; but im-
portant States remain under the ancient
dynasties, and the heads of some great
historic houses are now serving the King-
Emperor in Flanders. Among the Maho-
medan troops, there are descendants of the
great fighting races which swarmed into
India from the north-west; while others
have an Aryan ancestry, or represent the
sections of the peoples of India — Rajputs,
Brahmans, Jats, and Marathas — which em-
braced the Moslem faith. Mahomedans in
India are to a considerable extent non-racial.
The Sikhs, among whom Jats preponderate,
have no common ethnical affinity. They are
the adherents of a reformed Hinduism, first
preached by Baba Nanak of Lahore in the
22 BRITISH RULE IN INDIA
latter half of the fifteenth century, and since
spread widely among the Hindu clans of the
Punjab and especially among the cultivating
(Jat) population. The early adherents of
the new religion suffered greatly at the
hands of the Mahomedans ; but, out of
persecution, grew the great military sect
which after the fall of the Mogul Empire
established a short-lived kingdom in the
Punjab. The Sikhs, our sturdy opponents
in two wars, gave valuable assistance in
the Mutiny and have since been largely
recruited. The maintenance of their mili-
tary qualities and of the purity of their
religion is due in great measure to their in-
corporation in the Indian Army.
Under British rule, the Marathas have
settled down into peaceful cultivators and
their instincts as horsemen have been lost ;
but they supply six infantry battalions to the
Army, and they have lately distinguished
themselves at the head of the Persian Gulf.
Dogras include Brahmans, Rajputs, and Jats
INDORE
HIS HIGHNESS MAHARAJADHIRAJA TUKOJI
RAO HOLKAR BAHADUR, MAHARAJA OF
INDORE
The Great Maratha State of Indore lies to the
north and south of the Norbada river in the
Central India Agency. It consists of several
isolated tracts which border on British territory,
on Rajputana, and on numerous other States of
Central India. The total area is 9,500 square
miles (about one-third the size of Scotland), the
population is 1,079,074, mostly Hindus, and the
yearly revenue about 76 lakhs (£507,000).
His Highness the Maharaja is now in his 25th
year. He takes great interest in all his State
affairs as well as in world politics. He is a good
horseman and shot, and excels at various games,
especially lawn tennis. He has lately played in
the Riviera championship tournament with A. F.
Wilding, the well-known Australian player.
The State maintains an Imperial Service Trans-
port Corps.
//'. E. Gray.
His Highness the Maharaja Holkar of Indore.
22]
BRITISH RULE IN INDIA 23
who did not embrace either Islam or the
Sikh religion. They come mainly from
Jammu, a feudatory State of the Maharaja
of Kashmir, who descends from a Dogra
Rajput family. Gurkhas and Hazaras are
drawn from outside of British India.
The former, Mongolian in early origin, are
largely intermixed with other races and
form several clans under a Rajput dynasty.
They were first recruited after the Nepal
War of 1814, and their fine soldierly qualities
have been often proved in the field. The
2nd Gurkhas, which recently suffered
severe losses near Ypres, shared with the
60th Rifles the honour of holding the ex-
posed flank of the little army which, from
the Ridge at Delhi, dealt the first great blow
to the mutineers.
The Pathan tribes of the north-west
borderland are divided into numerous clans
who claim a Jewish descent, but have no
racial homogeneity, although their barren
mountainous country with its severe climate
24 BRITISH RULE IN INDIA
has given them common characteristics.
They are born fighters, hardy and vigorous,
and frequently at war with each other.
The Pathans, originally confined to irregular
corps, have been enlisted — Afridis especially
— in considerable numbers in recent years,
and their great endurance, marching power,
and alertness as scouts fit them admirably
for mountain warfare.
This brief sketch can give little idea
of the many elements which compose the
unique Army of India. Never before have
so many races, so widely differing, been
brought together in a great military organisa-
tion and united in the bonds of a common
loyalty. The fine forces which the King-
Emperor reviewed at Delhi in 1911, the
Princes and Chiefs, some of whom can trace
their lineage far back into the dim history
of old India, and the vast masses of simple,
kindly people who showed the most touching
devotion to their Majesties, combined to
presage the spontaneous rally of our Indian
JAIPUR
MAJOR-GENERAL HIS HIGHNESS SARAMAD-I-
RAJAHA-I-HINUUSTAN RAJ RAJINDAI SRI
MAHARAJADHIRAJA SIR SAWAI MADHO
SINGH BAHADUR G.C.S.L, G.C.I.E., GC.V.O.,
LL.D., MAHARAJA OF JAIPUR
The State of Jaipur lies in the north-east and east
of Rajputana. Its area is 15,579 square miles (more
than twice the size of Wales) ; the population is
2,636,647, and the annual average revenue is
about 80 lakhs (£533,300). The present Maharaja
was born in August 1862 and succeeded in
September 1880. The title of Colonel of the
13th Rajputs was bestowed upon His Highness
on September 2nd, 1904, and that of Major-
General at the Coronation Durbar on December
12th, 1911. The degree of LL.D. was conferred
on April 10th, 1908, by the University of Edinburgh.
His Highness was invested with full powers in
September 1882. He takes a prominent part in
the administration of the State, and all important
matters are disposed of by himself assisted by his
council of 11 members. He enjoys a salute of
21 guns, of which four are personal. His Highness
was one of the Indian Chiefs who were selected
to attend His Majesty the late King-Emperor's
Coronation in England. The State maintains
an Imperial Service Transport Corps, which has
been twice on active service, viz., during the
Chitral and Tirah campaigns.
#
Johnston 1$ Hoffman.
Major-General His Highness the Maharaja of Jaipur
G.C.S.I., G.C.I. E., G.C.r.O., LL.D.
24]
BRITISH RULE IN INDIA 25
fellow-subjects to the British Crown in the
time of national danger. The late Admiral
Mahan could justly write that : " The testi-
mony to the uprightness and efficiency of
her (Great Britain's) Imperial rule, given
by the strong adherence and support of
India and the Dominions, is a glory exceed-
ing that of pitched battle and overwhelming
victory." '
When the Government of India was trans-
ferred to the Crown in 1858, it was the wish
of Queen Victoria that her message to the
Indian people should " breathe feelings of
generosity, benevolence, and religious tolera-
tion," and these sentiments have inspired the
progressive changes which have since been
wrought into the administration. Provin-
cial Councils have been reconstituted to
enable Indians to occupy executive posi-
tions, and this system will in time be ex-
tended to all India. No administrative
post except that of Head of a Province is
1 In October last.
4
26 BRITISH RULE IN INDIA
now inaccessible to Indians, who also hold
one seat in the Council of the Viceroy and
two in that of the Secretary of State. In-
dian judges sit in all the High Courts, and
the administration of justice is mainly in
Indian hands. Full opportunities are given
for the expression of Indian opinion upon all
measures of Government, and every griev-
ance alleged receives the most careful in-
quiry. A great system of local and municipal
self-government, managed almost entirely by
Indians, has been set up, and will gradually
teach lessons of citizenship as it is under-
stood in Western countries. British rule,
impartial and impersonal in its action,
though depending for success mainly upon
the personal characteristics of its agents,
and loyalty to one Sovereign remain the only
cementing force amongst 313 millions of the
most diversified people in the world — the
only force which stands between them and
anarchy deeper and darker than that which
followed the break-up of the Mogul Empire.
RAJPUT REGIMENT
The word Rajput means literally " sons of prinees "
or "of rulers." After the Aryan Hindu invaders
from the north had come into India, they gradu-
ally broke up into three great divisions — the
Kshattryas or soldiers, the Brahmans or priests,
and the Vaisiyas, or general civil population.
The first-named class, composed of the military
followers or clansmen of the chiefs, called them-
selves " Sons of Princes." To-day Rajputs are
to be found all over India, even as Brahmans
are — in the Punjab (where they have accepted
Islam, but none the less remain Rajputs), in
Nepal, and as far west as the Deccan. But the
term is generally used — and especially so far as
military use is concerned — to denote the Rajputs
of Rajputana and Delhi, towards the west, and
the Rajputs of Oudh towards the east. The
Rajputs of Rajputana are famous as horsemen,
those of Oudh as infantry. The Rajputs have
high military pride and a great record in military
history.
BRITISH RULE IN INDIA 27
And only under British rule can the diverse
and jarring elements of a country as large as
Europe without Russia be gradually welded
together in the bonds of a common nation-
hood. This vital truth is grasped by the
wisest of the Western-educated classes of
India, who realise the nature of the work
which has been accomplished in their midst.
In the words of Nawab Nizamut Jung,
High Court Judge of Hyderabad :
Unmindful of their ancient name
And lost to Honour, Glory, Fame,
And sunk in strife
Thou found'st them, whom thy touch has made
Men, and to whom thy breath conveyed
A nobler life !
To lead her people onwards and upwards
is alike the mission of British Rule in India
and the justification of its maintenance ;
but, in the words of Lord Dalhousie, the
" progress must be gradual and slow."
APPENDIX I
EXTRACTS FROM A PROCLAMATION BY
THE QUEEN IN COUNCIL TO THE
PRINCES, CHIEFS, AND PEOPLE OF
INDIA (PUBLISHED BY THE GOVER-
NOR-GENERAL AT ALLAHABAD,
NOVEMBER 1, 1858).
VICTORIA, by the Grace of God of the United
Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, and
of the Colonies and Dependencies thereof in
Europe, Asia, Africa, America, and Aus-
tralasia, Queen, Defender of the Faith.
Whereas, for divers weighty reasons, We have
resolved, by and with the advice and consent of
the Lords Spiritual and Temporal, and Commons,
in Parliament assembled, to take upon Ourselves
the Government of the Territories in India here-
tofore administered in trust for Us by the Honour-
able East India Company :
Now, therefore, We do by these Presents notify
and declare that, by the advice and consent afore-
said, We have taken upon Ourselves the said
Government ; and We hereby call upon all Our
28
QUEEN VICTORIA'S PROCLAMATION 29
Subjects within the said Territories to be faithful
and to bear true Allegiance to Us, Our Heirs, and
Successors, and to submit themselves to the au-
thority of those whom We may hereafter, from
time to time, see fit to appoint to administer the
Government of Our said Territories, in Our name
and on Our behalf.
We hereby announce to the Native Princes of
India that all Treaties and Engagements made
with them by or under the authority of the Honour-
able East India Company are by Us accepted, and
will be scrupulously maintained ; and We look
for the like observance on their part.
We desire no extension of Our present territorial
Possessions ; and while We will permit no aggres-
sion upon Our Dominions or Our Rights to be
attempted with impunity, We shall sanction no
encroachment on those of others. We shall
respect the Rights, Dignity, and Honour of Native
Princes as Our own; and We desire that they,
as well as Our own Subjects, should enjoy that
Prosperity and that social Advancement which
can only be secured by internal Peace and good
Government.
We hold Ourselves bound to the Natives of Our
Indian Territories by the same obligations of Duty
which bind Us to all Our other Subjects ; and
those Obligations, by the Blessing of Almighty
God, We shall faithfully and conscientiously fulfil.
30 BRITISH RULE IN INDIA
Firmly relying Ourselves on the truth of Chris-
tianity, and acknowledging with gratitude the
solace of Religion, We disclaim alike the Right
and the Desire to impose our Convictions on any
of Our Subjects. We declare it to be Our Royal
Will and Pleasure that none be in any wise favoured,
none molested or disquieted by reason of their
Religious Faith or Observances ; but that all
shall alike enjoy the equal and impartial protection
of the Law : and We do strictly charge and enjoin
all those who may be in authority under Us, that
they abstain from all interference with the Religious
Belief or Worship of any of Our Subjects, on pain
of Our highest Displeasure.
And it is Our further Will that, so far as may
be, Our Subjects, of whatever Race or Creed, be
freely and impartially admitted to Offices in Our
Service, the Duties of which they may be qualified
by their education, ability, and integrity, duly
to discharge.
We know, and respect, the feelings of attach-
ment with which the Natives of India regard the
Lands inherited by them from their Ancestors ;
and We desire to protect them in all Rights con-
nected therewith, subject to the equitable de-
mands of the State ; and We will that generally,
in framing and administering the Law, due regard
be paid to the ancient Rights, Usages, and Customs
of India.
15TH LUDHIANA SIKHS
The Sikhs are not, correctly speaking, a race,
but a religious sect, which includes a large pro-
portion of the Hindu tribes and races of the
Punjab. They form a military-religious order,
professing a reformed Hinduism, on which later
teachers (gurus) grafted a military organisation.
The name itself means " disciple." The faith of
the Sikhs has spread to most of the Hindu tribes
of the Punjab, but the Jats form the predomina-
ting element. The wars against the Sikhs were
among the most stubborn and critical of those
which the British had to fight in India. In the
Mutiny, however, the Sikhs remained faithful to
the British, and rendered splendid service. They
are tall, well-made men, of great courage. They
wear their hair unshorn, though concealed be-
neath their turbans, and curl their beards and
whiskers. By the rules of their faith they are
forbidden to smoke tobacco
QUEEN VICTORIA'S PROCLAMATION 31
It is Our earnest Desire to stimulate the peaceful
Industry of India, to promote Works of Public
Utility and Improvement, and to administer its
Government for the benefit of all Our Subjects
resident therein. In their Prosperity will be Our
Strength ; in their Contentment Our Security ;
and in their Gratitude Our best Reward. And
may the God of all Power grant to Us, and to those
in authority under Us, Strength to carry out
these Our Wishes for the good of Our people.
APPENDIX II
PROCLAMATION OF THE KING-EMPEROR
TO THE PRINCES AND PEOPLES OF
INDIA, READ BY HIS EXCELLENCY
THE VICEROY IN DURBAR AT JODH-
PUR ON NOVEMBER 2, 1908
It is now fifty years since Queen Victoria, my be-
loved mother, and my August Predecessor on the
throne of these realms, for divers weighty reasons,
with the advice and consent of Parliament, took
upon herself the government of the territories
theretofore administered by the East India Com-
pany. I deem this a fitting anniversary on which
to greet the Princes and Peoples of India, in com-
memoration of the exalted task then solemnly
undertaken. Half a century is but a brief span
in your long annals, yet this half-century that
ends to-day will stand amid the floods of your
historic ages, a far-shining landmark. The pro-
clamation of the direct supremacy of the Crown
sealed the unity of Indian Government and opened
a new era. The journey was arduous, and the
advance may have sometimes seemed slow ; but
the incorporation of many strangely diversified
32
JAMMU AND KASHMIR
MAJOR-GENERAL HIS HIGHNESS SIR PRATAP
SINGH BAHADUR, G.C.S.I., G.C.I.E., MAHA-
RAJA OF JAMMU AND KASHMIR
His Highness is a Dogra Rajput, and is 64 years
old.
He has a salute of 19 guns. His State covers an
area of 80,000 square miles (about one and a half
times the size of England). It has a population of
3,158,126. It stretches from the plains of the
Punjab to the watershed of the Himalayas, and
can boast of every variety of climate and scenery.
His Highness takes a great interest in the ad-
ministration of his State.
The Imperial Service Troops maintained by the
State took part in the Hunza (1888) and Ghitral
(1895) expeditions, and rendered valuable services
on each occasion.
Clifton.
Major- General His Highness the Maharaja of Jammu
and Kashmir, G.C.S.I., G.C.I. E.
32]
THE KING-EMPEROR'S PROCLAMATION 33
communities, and of some three hundred millions
of the human race, under British guidance and
control has proceeded steadfastly and without
pause. We survey our labours of the past half-
century with clear gaze and good conscience.
Difficulties, such as attend all human rule in
every age and place, have risen up from day to day.
They have been faced by the servants of the
British Crown with toil and courage and patience,
with deep counsel and a resolution that has never
faltered nor shaken. If errors have occurred,
the agents of my Government have spared no
pains and no self-sacrifice to correct them ; if
abuses have been proved, vigorous hands have
laboured to apply a remedy.
No secret of empire can avert the scourge of
drought and plague, but experienced admini-
strators have done all that skill and devotion are
capable of doing to mitigate those dire calamities
of Nature. For a longer period than was ever
known in your land before, you have escaped
the dire calamities of War within your borders.
Internal peace has been unbroken.
In the great charter of 1858 Queen Victoria gave
you noble assurance of her earnest desire to stimu-
late the peaceful industry of India, to promote
works of public utility and improvement, and to
administer the Government for the benefit of all
resident therein. The schemes that have been
34 BRITISH RULE IN INDIA
diligently framed and executed for promoting
your material convenience and advance — schemes
unsurpassed in their magnitude and their boldness
— bear witness before the world to the zeal with
which that benignant promise has been fulfilled.
The rights and privileges of the Feudatory
Princes and Ruling Chiefs have been respected,
preserved, and guarded ; and the loyalty of their
allegiance has been unswerving. No man among
my subjects has been favoured, molested, or dis-
quieted, by reason of his religious belief or worship.
All men have enjoyed protection of the law. The
law itself has been administered without disrespect
to creed or caste, or to usages and ideas rooted
in your civilisation ; it has been simplified in
form, and its machinery adjusted to the require-
ments of ancient communities slowly entering a
new world.
The charge confided to my Government concerns
the destinies of countless multitudes of men now
and for ages to come ; and it is a paramount duty
to repress with a stern arm guilty conspiracies
that have no just cause and no serious aim. These
conspiracies I know to be abhorrent to the loyal
and faithful character of the vast hosts of my
Indian subjects, and I will not suffer them to turn
me aside from my task of building up the fabric
of security and order.
Steps are being continuously taken towards
JODHPUR
HONORARY MAJOR-GENERAL HIS HIGHNESS
MAHARAJADH1RAJA SIR PRATAP SINGH
BAHADUR, G.C.S.I., K.C.B, A.D.C., LL.D.
(CANTAB.), REGENT OF JODHPUR
His Highness is 68 years of age.
The numerous distinctions which he has received
testify to the great value of the services which he
has rendered to the Empire. His Highness, who
was Regent of Jodhpur for his nephew in 1895,
voluntarily assumed that duty again in 1911 on the
latter's untimely death. From 1902 to 1911 he was
Maharaja of Idar, which is now administered by
his adopted son.
He served in the Tirah campaign and the
Mohmand expedition, and held the command of
the Imperial Service Lancers in China. His
dignities include those of G.G.S.I., K.G.B., and
LL.D. He is an Aide-de-Camp to His Majesty
the King-Emperor of India.
As a soldier the Maharaja is a splendid example
of the traditional courage and loyalty of the ancient
Rajput blood, and is famous as a horseman, a polo
player, and a sportsman. In spite of his years he
insisted on serving in person with the British
Expeditionary Force.
Jodhpur is one of the three chief States of
Rajputana, and the Maharajadhiraja is the head
of the Rathar clan of Rajputs. The area of the
State is 34,963 square miles (one and one-sixth
times the size of Scotland) ; the population is
2,057,553, and the average annual revenue about
72A lakhs (£483,250).
The present Maharajadhiraja Sumer Singh was
born on January 15th, 1898. His Highness being
a minor has not been invested with ruling powers.
Gobindram iff Oodeyram.
Major-General His Highness Maharaja Sir Pratap Singh,
Regent of Jodhfur, G C.S.I. , G.C.V.O., K.C.B., A.D.C.
34]
THE KING-EMPEROR'S PROCLAMATION 35
obliterating distinctions of race as the test for
access to posts of public authority and power. In
this path I confidently expect and intend the
progress henceforward to be steadfast and sure, as
education spreads, experience ripens, and the
lessons of responsibility are well learned by the
keen intelligence and apt capabilities of India.
From the first, the principle of representative
institutions began to be gradually introduced,
and the time has come when, in the judgment of
my Viceroy and Governor-General and others of
my counsellors, that principle may be prudently
extended. Important classes among you, repre-
senting ideas that have been fostered and en-
couraged by British rule, claim equality of
citizenship and a greater share in legislation and
government. The politic satisfaction of such a
claim will strengthen, not impair, existing authority
and power. Administration will be all the more
efficient if the officers who conduct it have greater
opportunities of regular contact with those whom
it affects, and with those who influence and reflect
common opinion about it. I will not speak of the
measures that are now being diligently framed for
these objects. They will speedily be made known to
you, and, will, I am very confident, mark a notable
stage in the beneficent progress of your affairs.
I recognise the valour and fidelity of my Indian
troops, and at the New Year I have ordered that
36 BRITISH RULE IN INDIA
opportunity should be taken to show in substan-
tial form this, my high appreciation, of their
martial instincts, their splendid discipline, and
their faithful readiness of service.
The welfare of India was one of the objects
dearest to the heart of Queen Victoria. By me,
ever since my visit in 1875, the interests of India,
its Princes and Peoples, have been watched with
an affectionate solicitude that time cannot weaken.
My dear Son, the Prince of Wales, and the Princess
of Wales, returned from their sojourn among you
with warm attachment to your land, and true and
earnest interest in its well-being and content.
These sincere feelings of active sympathy and
hope for India on the part of my Royal House and
Line only represent, and they do most truly
represent, the deep and united will and purpose
of the people of this Kingdom.
May Divine protection and favour strengthen
the wisdom and mutual goodwill that are needed
for the achievement of a task as glorious as was
ever committed to rulers and subjects in any
State or Empire of recorded time.
DOGRAS
The Dogras come from the hills between the
Punjab and Kashmir. They are of the old Aryan
Hindu stock. They have never accepted Islam,
nor on the other hand joined the Sikh movement.
Though they have been enlisted in large numbers
only in recent years, the Dogras are very highly
valued as soldiers for their good behaviour, high
courage, and great physical endurance. Besides
those in British service, the feudatory State of
Jammu and Kashmir maintains a force of Im-
perial Service Troops consisting mainly of Dogras,
and these served with much distinction in the
Ghitral campaign.
PART II
INDIA'S RALLY TO THE
DEFENCE OF THE EMPIRE
KISHANGARH
MAJOR HIS HIGHNESS SIR MADAN SINGH
BAHADUR, K.C.S.I., K C.I. PI, MAHARAJA OF
KISHANGARH
His Highness is a Rathar Rajput and is 30 years
old. His State covers 858 square miles and his
subjects number 88,000. The annual revenue
is estimated at about 8£ lakhs (£56,660). He has
a salute of 15 guns. His State was founded
in 1594 by Kishan Singh, second son of Maharaja
Udai Singh of Jodhpur. He served with distinc-
tion for over two years in the Imperial Cadet
Corps. He was entrusted with ruling powers in
December 1905. His Highness was made an
honorary Captain in His Majesty's Army in
March 1908 and an honorary Major at the
Coronation Durbar on December 12th, 1911.
Herzog & Higgins.
Major His Highness the Maharaja of Kishangarh,
K.C.S.I., K.C.I.E.
38]
INDIA'S RALLY TO THE
DEFENCE OF THE EMPIRE
The spontaneous outburst of loyalty from
all parts of India on the outbreak of the war
is shown in the documents that follow, and
needs no elaboration.
Message from the King-Emperor to the
Princes and Peoples of India,
September 8, 1914
To the Princes and Peoples of My
Indian Empire :
During the past few weeks the peoples
of My whole Empire at Home and Overseas
have moved with one mind and purpose to
confront and overthrow an unparalleled
assault upon the continuity of civilisation
and the peace of mankind.
39
40 INDIA'S RALLY TO THE EMPIRE
The calamitous conflict is not of My
seeking. My voice has been cast through-
out on the side of peace. My Ministers
earnestly strove to allay the causes of strife
and to appease differences with which My
Empire was not concerned. Had I stood
aside when, in defiance of pledges to which
My Empire was a party, the soil of Belgium
was violated, and her cities laid desolate,
when the very life of the French nation was
threatened with extinction, I should have
sacrificed My honour and given to destruc-
tion the liberties of My Empire and of
mankind. I rejoice that every part of the
Empire is with me in this decision.
Paramount regard for treaty faith and
the pledged word of rulers and peoples is
the common heritage of England and of
India.
Among the many incidents that have
marked the unanimous uprising of the popu-
lations of My Empire in defence of its unity
and integrity, nothing has moved me more
KOLHAPUR
HIS HIGHNESS SIR SHAHU CHATTRAPATI
MAHARAJ, G.C.S.L, G.C.I. E., G.C.V.O., LL.D.,
MAHARAJA OF KOLHAPUR
Kolhapur claims the first rank among States in the
Bombay Presidency, and the Ruler, descended
from the younger branch of Shivaji the Great, the
founder of the Mahratta Empire, bears the dis-
tinctive and honorific title " Chattrapati Maharaj."
The present Maharaja was born on June 26th,
1874, and succeeded on March 17th, 1884. The
area of his State is 3,165 square miles (nearly
twice the size of Somersetshire), the popula-
tion 910,011, and the average annual revenue
about 49 lakhs (£326,600). His Highness enjoys
a salute of 21 guns, two of which are personal.
He received the title of G. C.S.I, in 1895 and the
title of G.G.V.O. in 1903. His Highness attended
the Coronation ceremony of the late King Edward
and was decorated with the insignia of the G.C.I.E.
by the King-Emperor at the Delhi Durbar in De-
cember 1911.
The administration of the State is markedly
efficient and His Highness takes a keen interest in
every detail.
His Highness the Maharaja of Kolhapur, G.C.S.I.
G.C.I.E., G.C.F.O., LL.D.
40]
THE KING-EMPEROR'S MESSAGE 41
than the passionate devotion to My Throne
expressed both by My Indian subjects, and
by the Feudatory Princes and the Ruling
Chiefs of India, and their prodigal offers of
their lives and their resources in the cause
of the Realm. Their one-voiced demand to
be foremost in the conflict has touched My
heart, and has inspired to the highest issues
the love and devotion which, as I well know,
have ever linked My Indian subjects and
Myself. I recall to mind India's gracious
message to the British nation of goodwill
and fellowship which greeted My return in
February 1912 after the solemn ceremony
of My Coronation Durbar at Delhi, and I
find in this hour of trial a full harvest and
a noble fulfilment of the assurance given by
you that the destinies of Great Britain and
India are indissolubly linked.
6
Extract from a Speech of the Marquess
of Crewe, Secretary of State for
India, in the House of Lords,
on September 9, 1914
Offers of Service and Money
I received yesterday a summary of offers
of service and money made in India to the
Viceroy. The rulers of the Indian Native
States, numbering nearly 700 altogether,
have with one accord rallied to the defence
of the Empire and offered their personal
services and the resources of their States.
From among the many Princes and nobles
who volunteered for service in the war the
Viceroy has chosen the Chiefs of Jodhpur,
Bikaner, Kishangarh, Rutlam, Sachin, and
Patiala, Sir Pertab Singh (Regent of Jodh-
pur), the Heir Apparent of Bhopal, and a
42
SPEECH BY THE MARQUESS OF CREWE 43
brother of the Maharaja of Cooch Behar,
together with other Princes belonging to
noble families. The veteran Sir Pertab
Singh, in spite of his seventy years, refused
to be denied the right of serving the King-
Emperor in person and is himself going to
the front, accompanied by his great-nephew,
the reigning Maharaja, who is only sixteen
years of age and who was brought up at
Wellington College. These have already
joined the Expeditionary Force.
There are twenty-seven States in India
that maintain Imperial Service Troops, and
immediately on the outbreak of war the
services of all of those corps were placed
at the disposal of the Viceroy. From twelve
of those States the Viceroy has accepted
contingents of infantry, cavalry, sappers,
and transport, and also the Bikaner Camel
Corps ; and some of those have already
embarked on active service. Further than
that, a number of Chiefs, entirely of their
own volition, combined to provide a hospital
44 INDIA'S RALLY TO THE EMPIRE
ship to be named The Loyalty, for the
use of the Expeditionary Force. The Maha-
raja of Mysore has placed a sum of Rs. 50
lakhs l at the disposal of the Government for
expenditure in connection with the Ex-
peditionary Force. The Viceroy adds that
the Maharaja of Gwalior, besides sharing in
the expenses of the hospital ship — the idea
of which was started by himself and that
eminent lady the Begum of Bhopal — has
placed large sums of money at the disposal
of the Government of India for the purpose
of providing a great number of horses as
remounts. From Mahomedan Loharu in
the Punjab and from two States in Baluchis-
tan there are offers of camels with drivers
to be supplied and maintained by the Chiefs
and the Sirdars of those States. The Maha-
raja of Rewa, a distinguished Chief in
Central India, has offered his troops, his
treasury, and even his private jewellery to
be placed at the disposal of His Majesty the
1 About £333,333, or $1,600,000.
33RD PUNJABIS
Subadat
PUNJABI MUSSALMANS
This regiment is recruited from those Hindu
tribes of the Punjab which have accepted the
Mahomedan religion, and which have been
already mentioned in the note on the Gakkars.
This illustration shows them to be men of very
fine physique.
SPEECH BY THE MARQUESS OF CREWE 45
King-Emperor. I ought to add that a num-
ber of Chiefs, the Maharaja of Kashmir, the
Maharaja of Bundi, besides the Maharaja
of Gwalior, the Maharaja of Indore, and the
Maharaja of Orchha, have besides indepen-
dently subscribed large sums to the Fund of
His Royal Highness the Prince of Wales.
The Maharaja of Kashmir gave a large
subscription to the Indian Fund, and, what
will seem to your Lordships rather a new
departure in the case of an Indian Prince,
presided at a meeting of 20,000 people held
at Srinagar and himself delivered a stirring
speech, as the result of which large sub-
scriptions were collected. The Maharaja
Holkar offers, free of charge, all the horses
belonging to his State forces which the
Government may find it convenient to accept.
The Nizam of Hyderabad has made a similar
offer, as also have the Jam of Jamnagar and
some of the other Bombay Chiefs. The
Viceroy adds that every Chief in the Bombay
Presidency has placed the whole of the
46 INDIA'S RALLY TO THE EMPIRE
resources of his State at the disposal of
Government.
Then we go further afield. The Mehtar
of Chitral — a name which evokes memories
of quite a different kind — and the various
tribes in the Khyber Agency have sent loyal
messages and offers of support to His Ex-
cellency's Government. All States, however
remote, and some of the quite small States,
have expressed their desire to give such
assistance as they can. The Viceroy goes
on to say, very truly, that last but not
least, outside India altogether, generous
offers of assistance were received from the
Nepal Durbar. The Nepal Government have
placed the whole of their military resources
at the disposal of the British Government,
and the Prime Minster offered a sum of
Rs. 3 lakhs * to the Viceroy for the purchase
of machine guns or field equipment for some
of the British Gurkha regiments, and also
gave large donations from his private purse
1 £20,000, or $100,000.
SPEECH BY THE MARQUESS OF CREWE 47
to the Indian Relief Fund and to the Prince
of Wales's Fund. He also offered Rs. 30,000*
for the purchase of machine guns for the
4th Gurkha Rifles.
Then we go still further on to the heights.
We find that the Dalai Lama has offered
1,000 Tibetan troops for service under the
British Government. He also states that
innumerable Lamas all over Tibet are offer-
ing up prayers for the success of British
arms. In fact, there is only one spirit and
one movement over the whole of India.
The Viceroy has received thousands of
telegrams and letters from every quarter
expressing loyalty and the desire to assist ;
and the local administrations have also
received a vast number. They have come
from every community, from all manner of
different associations, religious and political,
from all the different creeds, and from count-
less numbers of individuals offering their
resources or their personal services.
1 £2,000 or $10,000.
4S INDIA'S RALLY TO THE EMPIRE
There have also been a number of en-
thusiastic offers of medical help, of some of
which I hope we shall be able gratefully to
avail ourselves. The Zemindars of Madras
offered 500 horses at quite an early stage in
the proceedings ; and the Imperial Indian
Relief Fund, which was started, of course,
quite independently of any fund here, for
the relief of distress caused in India itself,
has been responded to with great enthusiasm
and vigour. There were a certain number
of Indian Chiefs in Europe at the time.
These have not been any more backward in
offering their assistance and help. I find
that of those who were in these parts the
Maharaja and the Maharani Maji Sahiba
of Bharatpur subscribed to the Indian Relief
Fund and offered the whole resources of
their State to Government. The Raja of
Akalkot, a Bombay Chief, offered his per-
sonal service ; and the Raja of Pudukota
placed his entire resources at the disposal
of Government. The Gaekwar of Baroda
MYSORE
COLONEL HIS HIGHNESS MAHARAJA SIR
KRISHNARAJA WADIYAR BAHADUR, G.C.S.I.,
MAHARAJA OF MYSORE
His Highness is a Kshatriya (Hindu) and is 30 years
old. He succeeded his father in February 1895,
and was invested with full administrative powers
in August 1902. His State covers an area of
29,500 square miles (about the size of Scotland),
has a population of 5,449,800, and the average
annual revenue is about 236 lakhs (£1,573,180).
He has a salute of 21 guns.
His Highness personally controls all the branches
of his administration, and is a very capable and
enlightened ruler. He maintains a large force of
Imperial Service Troops.
Barton.
Colonel His Highness the Maharaja of Mysore ; G. C.S.I.
48]
SPEECH BY THE MARQUESS OF CREWE 49
placed at our disposal the whole of his
troops and the resources of his State. The
son of the Mir of Khaipur, a Mahomedan
Ruler in North-West India, offered his
personal service. And I find also that of
the British- Indian residents in this country
a great number, young and old, have shown
their one desire to offer some form of assist-
ance— personal service, or medical service,
or some form of contribution to the Empire
— in a most loyal and generous manner.1
Proceedings in the Legislative Council
This afternoon I received a telegram
from the Viceroy describing what happened
yesterday at the meeting of his Legislative
Council at Simla. The Viceroy tells me that,
1 Further offers of help were subsequently announced,
notably that of His Highness the Nizam of Hyderabad,
who offered a contribution of 60 lakhs of rupees (£400,000)
towards the cost of the war, and, in particular, to defray
the entire expense while on foreign service overseas of
his own regiment of Imperial Service Lancers and of the
20th Deccan Horse (of which he is honorary Colonel).
7
50 INDIA'S RALLY TO THE EMPIRE
in opening the proceedings, the members
stood while he conveyed to them the message
from the King. The Viceroy made a speech,
in which he said that he was sure he was
expressing the views of the Council and of
the whole of India in assuring His Majesty
of unflinching lovaltv and devotion. He
went on to dwell upon the causes which led
up to the war and the wicked and wanton
manner in which it had been thrust upon
the British Empire, and he explained the
whole-hearted efforts which had been made
by Sir Edward Grey for the preservation of
peace so long as such preservation was
possible. He expressed, of course, on his own
account also, the warmest gratitude for the
attitude of the people of India which has
been described in what I have just stated
to your Lordships. Then when the Viceroy
had concluded, Mr. Chitnavis, representing
the Indian community, expressed the grate-
fulness which they all felt for His Majesty's
Message, and asked the Viceroy to assure
39TH GARHWAL RIFLES
The Garhwalis, or inhabitants of the Garhwal,
a hill district west of Nepal, somewhat resemble
the Gurkhas and used to be enlisted in Gurkha
regiments, but are now formed into separate
battalions, though retaining the Gurkha rifle uni-
form, as shown in the illustration. The Khasias
are the best fighting race among them, but they
all make good soldiers. In physique they are
short, like the Gurkhas, but not so thick-set.
I
i '«»vtr
«
SPEECH BY THE MARQUESS OF CREWE 51
His Majesty that the whole country was with
him in this hour of crisis and would loyally
and devotedly do everything possible to
ensure the success of the British arms. He
then moved the following resolution :
" That in view of the great war, involving
most momentous issues, now in progress in
Europe into which our August Sovereign
has been forced to enter by obligations of
honour and duty, to preserve the neutrality
guaranteed by treaty and the liberties of a
friendly State, the members of this Council,
as voicing the feeling that animates the
whole of the people of India, desire to give
expression to their feelings of unswerving
loyalty and enthusiastic devotion to their
King-Emperor and an assurance of their
unflinching support to the British Govern-
ment. They desire at the same time to
express the opinion that the people of India,
in addition to the military assistance now
being afforded by India to the Empire,
would wish to share in the heavy financial
52 INDIA'S RALLY TO THE EMPIRE
burden now imposed by the war on the
United Kingdom, and request the Govern-
ment of India to take this view into con-
sideration and thus to demonstrate the
unity of India with the Empire. They
request His Excellency the President to
be so good as to convey the substance
of this Resolution to His Majesty the
King-Emperor and His Majesty's Govern-
ment."
That was seconded by one of the principal
Mahomedan leaders, the Raja of Mahmuda-
bad, who made an important speech. It
was supported by one of the Punjab Sardars,
and was further supported in an eloquent
speech by Mr. Malaviya, one of the leading
representatives of Indian opinion. It was
also supported by a distinguished Mahome-
dan gentleman, Sir Fazalbhoy Currimbhoy,
who speaks for Bombay ; by Mr. Ghuznavi,
speaking for the Mahomedans of Eastern
Bengal ; and by Mr. Banerjee, who is well
known as an exponent of liberal views in
SPEECH BY THE MARQUESS OF CREWE 53
Bengal. Mr. Banerjee, in supporting the
Resolution, pointed out that —
" It was the duty of the Council to focus
the sentiments of support and enthusiastic
loyalty by which every province of the
Empire was animated. They desired to
tell the world, the enemies of England and
all else whom it might concern, that their
loyalty was not lip-deep, but that behind
the serried ranks of one of the finest armies
of the world were the vast and multitudinous
races and peoples of India bound together
as one man."
The Viceroy replied, and the resolution
was carried without a single dissentient.
I think, my Lords, that we must all agree
that this demonstration of true and heartfelt
loyalty in India to the King-Emperor and
to the Government is one of the most grati-
fying facts as the outcome of the present war.
As we all know, the devotion and the offers
of support from the self-governing Dominions
of the Crown have been not less striking.
54 INDIA'S RALLY TO THE EMPIRE
Those Governments are manned by people
of our own blood, with countless memories
and traditions which centre round these
islands. But it is, perhaps, even more
striking, certainly not less gratifying, that
those who speak for the various races in
India — races which represent a civilisation
of almost untold antiquity ; races which
have been remarkable in arms, in arts, and
in the science of government — should in so
whole-hearted a manner rally round the
British Government, and, most of all, round
the person of their Emperor at such a mo-
ment as this ; and I am certain that this
House will desire to express, through those
of us who are entitled to speak for it, its
appreciation of their attitude and our recog-
nition of the part that they have played and
are playing.
45TH RATTRAY'S SIKHS
J AT SIKHS
This regiment is composed of men of Jat race
who belong to the Sikh sect. The Jats form,
perhaps, two-thirds of the Sikhs, and probably
make the most valuable soldiers of all the Sikhs.
Comments of the Indian Press
The " Tribune " (Lahore)
We are prepared to make these sacrifices
and more at the proper time. And here we
would make one suggestion. If any troops
are to leave this country for active warfare
in Europe, let Indian as well as British sol-
diers be sent without distinction of race and
creed to serve side by side in defence of our
united cause. If Indian troops are sent
on these terms, there will be unbounded
enthusiasm in India. Let there be no ques-
tion of c prestige " or the inadvisability of
employing brown against white soldiers.
Prestige must be based on conduct and on
no other considerations.
55
56 INDIA'S RALLY TO THE EMPIRE
The " Bengalee " (Calcutta)
Behind the serried ranks of one of the
finest armies in the world, there stand the
multitudinous peoples of India, ready to
co-operate with the Government in the de-
fence of the Empire, which, for them, means,
in its ultimate evolution, the complete recog-
nition of their rights as citizens of the freest
State in the world. We may have our
differences with the Government — and what
people have not ? — but in the presence of a
common enemy, be it Germany or any other
Power, we sink our differences, we forget our
little quarrels and close our ranks, and offer
all that we possess in defence of the great
Empire, to which we are all so proud to
belong, and with which the future prosperity
and advancement of our people are bound
up.
NAWANAGAR
HIS HIGHNESS JAM SHRI RANJITSINHJI
V1BAHAJL JAM SAHEB OF NAWANAGAR
Nawanagar is one of the first-class States in the
Kathiawar Agency under the Government of
Bombay. It is about the same size as Devon
and Somerset, and has a population of 337,000.
The annual revenue averages 22J lakhs (£150,000).
The State has an extended sea-coast, and supplies
one squadron of Lancers to the Imperial Service
Troops.
The present Chief is a Jadeja Rajput, and
belongs to the same house as the Rao of Gutch.
He is 42 years of age, and succeeded his cousin
as Jam Saheb of Nawanagar on March 11th, 1907.
He is entitled to a salute of 11 guns. He was
educated at the Rajkumar College of Rajkot, and
at Trinity College, Cambridge. He is the well'
known cricketer. He first appeared for the
Sussex County Club in 1895, and was champion
batsman for All England in 1896 and 1900. He
accompanied Stoddart's "All England" Eleven
to Australia in 1897-98. He is the author of
"The Jubilee Book of Cricket."
Vandyk.
His Highness the Jam Sahib of Nawanagar.
561
COMMENTS OF THE INDIAN PRESS 57
The " Herald " (Dacca)
If the loyal meetings which are being held
all over the country do nothing else, they
will at least give the enemy to understand
that Britain does not stand alone in the
fight in which she had to enter much against
her own will ; and that the vast people of
an Empire in which the sun never sets stand
behind her like one man, ready to place at
her disposal the last gun, the last man, and
the last penny they possess.
The " Indian Patriot " (Madras)
The whole continent of India is moved
by one feeling of concern and one feeling of
loyalty and devotion. A united people of
three hundred millions, merely standing
behind the Government, imparts a moral
stimulus and sense of strength which no
enemy, however powerful, can disregard.
8
58 INDIA'S RALLY TO THE EMPIRE
The " Beharee " (Bankipore)
India's fortunes are indissolubly linked
up with those of England. As Lord Curzon
rightly said, India cannot do without
England, and England would be impotent
without India. It is not implied that the
mother-country has not enough men to
fight the battles, or that it cannot unaided
crush Germany. But the Indians and the
Europeans in this country owe it to them-
selves to don the armour in defence of the
Empire, to defend India, and, if need be,
to go to any other part of the world at the
call of the motherland.
The " Advocate " (Lucknow)
Now that England is at war with a foreign
enemy she may absolutely depend upon the
loyalty of the people of this country. They
may have their grievances, they may have
their differences with the Government, but
COMMENTS OF THE INDIAN PRESS 59
they are firmly attached to British rule ;
they are fully prepared at this crisis to place
their resources at the disposal of the authori-
ties in defence of their country.
The " Jam-e-Jamshad " {Bombay)
This is the time when India should feel it
to be her duty to show to the world — to
England's foes and allies alike — how greatly
she is attached to her, how staunch and
resolute is her devotion to her interests, how
ready and willing she is to make any sacrifice
she can in men and treasure, for the defence
of her possessions and the assertion of her
honour and dignity
The " Gujarati " (Bombay)
Never in the history of British India has
there been such an outburst of enthusiastic
and fervent loyalty to His Majesty's Govern-
ment as has been witnessed during the last
60 INDIA'S RALLY TO THE EMPIRE
few days since Germany and Great Britain
declared war upon each other and Europe
thus became involved in the gravest com-
plications. The Indian people have held
meetings throughout the country to give
expression to their sentiments of profound
loyalty and offer Government such help and
assistance as lie in their power. Hindus,
Mahomedans, and Parsis have already
offered and have resolved to offer prayers to
the Almighty for the success of the British
arms, and the whole country has as it were
been moved to its depths by an overpowering
consciousness of the impending danger. The
deputation from the National Congress now
in England have sent a letter to the English
press, conveying to the King-Emperor an
expression of their loyalty, emphasising that,
whatever be the differences in times of peace,
all Indians are united to Britain in times of
war. Splendid offers of pecuniary help and
even personal service by the Ruling Chiefs
and Princes of India and Maharajas and
2ND KING EDWARD'S OWN
GURKHA RIFLES (Sirmoor Rifles)
Subadar-Maior
GURUNG GURKHA
The old kingdom of Gurkha was originally a com-
paratively small part of Nepal, but the term Gurkha
is now applied to the majority of the inhabitants
of Nepal. These comprise several races, both
Aryan and Mongolian. The Gurung tribe is
Mongolian. There are twenty battalions of
Gurkhas in the service. The Gurkha soldiers,
most of whom are short men though powerfully
built, wear a rifle uniform and the old " Kilmar-
nock" cap, the universal army forage-cap of
Crimean days. The Sirmoor Rifles (to which the
officer in the illustration belongs) wear the same
uniform as the British 60th Rifles, in memory of
the fact of the two regiments having held the
exposed flank of the Ridge of Delhi together
throughout the Siege. The relations between the
Gurkhas and the British soldiers — both officers and
men — are extremely friendly, and the value of the
Gurkhas as fighting men can hardly be exaggerated.
*r
\
^"T mstt^^ww
COMMENTS OF THE INDIAN PRESS 61
great Zamindars are being announced in
rapid succession, and the whole country is
animated with an ardent feeling of unswerv-
ing loyalty to the Throne and with a keen
consciousness of the interdependence of all
the parts of the British Empire. On the
top of these demonstrations in the mofussil
and in the sister provinces there was held
at the Town Hall the largest and the most
enthusiastic and representative meeting ever
held in that hall. There is no doubt that
the meeting and its proceedings presented
the most memorable scene that has ever
been witnessed in the historic Town Hail.
The Moslem "Hitaishi" (Calcutta)
The British Government has pledged itself
that, though it is at war with Turkey, it will
not attack our Holy Places nor permit the
Russians or French to attack them; there is no
reason for us to be anxious about it. What-
ever may be the fate in store for Turkev in
02 INDIA'S RALLY TO THE EMPIRE
this war, there is no reason why Indian Mos-
lems should make themselves uneasy. Dur-
ing the late Balkan war, when the European
provinces of Turkey were one by one passing
under the control of the Christians, even in
those times of serious danger Turkey did not
seek the help of the immense Islamic world
for the preservation of her dominions, and
it can never be possible that now that same
Turkey will seek help when she has gone to
battle in order to help Germany.
The British Empire is known as a Moslem
Empire. For under no other sovereign on
earth is there such a large Moslem population
as under the British sovereign. In par-
ticular, no other sovereign is such a friend
either of Islam as is the British sovereign.
Such being the British Government, it is
our bounden duty to show our sympathy
for it in all ways during this time of danger.
Statements by Leaders of Indian
Opinion
His Highness the Aga Khan, the spiritual
head of a very important section of Ma-
homedanism and the most influential per-
sonage in Moslem affairs in India, when
invited to express his opinion on the war
and its effect on Indian Moslems, made the
following declaration :
"The outpouring of Indian loyalty, which
has so gratified the British people, is entirely
in accordance with the traditions of Indian
sentiment and loyalty, and with the expecta-
tions I formed when the clouds of war so
suddenly gathered over Europe while I was
visiting my followers in East Africa. I am
confident that the spirit of devotion to the
British cause thus exhibited will be main-
tained, whatever fluctuations may come in
63
64 INDIA'S RALLY TO THE EMPIRE
the fortunes of war before the righteous cause
of the Allies is crowned with victory. The
loyalty of the Indian Moslems to the King-
Emperor is proof against any attempts of
German diplomacy in the Near East or
elsewhere to create a bastard pan-Islamic
sentiment in favour of the ' mailed fist '
made in Germany.
" There is, however, no need to differentiate
between the various communities, races, or
localities of the Indian Empire. All classes,
religions, and sections are united in eager
support of the Imperial cause, and in gratifi-
cation that their martial representatives are
to assist, for the first time in history, in
upholding that cause on the Continent of
Europe. The decision to employ Indian
troops is necessary, for it would have tended
to chill the enthusiasm of the country if, as
in South Africa at the beginning of the
century, her sons had been denied the
opportunity to prove on the battlefields of
the West, as they have done so often in the
PATIALA
HIS HIGHNESS MAHARAJADHIRAJA SIR BHU-
PINDAR SINGH MAH1NDAR BAHADUR,
G.C.I.E., MAHARAJA OF PATIALA
Patiala ranks first among the States of the Punjab,
and is the senior of the three Sikh States known as
the Phulkian States. It consists of three separate
divisions, of which the largest lies south of the
Sutlej river, the second is hill country stretching
up to Simla, while the third is an isolated tract 180
miles from the capital on the borders of Rajputana.
The total area is 5,412 square miles (about the size
of Yorkshire), and the yearly revenue about 73
lakhs (£457,000). The population is about 1,500,000,
of whom 55 per cent, are Hindus, the remainder
chiefly Sikhs and Mahomedans.
His Highness Maharaja Sir Bhupindar Singh,
who is now in his twenty-fourth year, succeeded
in 1900 and was invested with full powers in
October 1909.
He is well educated and takes a personal interest
in his affairs ; he is also athletic and a good
cricketer.
The State maintains one regiment of Imperial
Service Lancers and two regiments of Imperial
Service Infantry.
i$6&i
Craddock.
His Highness the Maharaja of Patiala, G.C.I.E.
64]
OPINION OF INDIAN LEADERS 65
East, their fidelity to the King-Emperor.
This advance in the growth of Indian co-
operation in the responsibilities of Empire
will be another stone in the great landmark
of a beneficent Viceroy alty."
In the course of another speech His High-
ness said :
" He had always been convinced that Ger-
many was the most dangerous enemy of
Turkey and other Moslem countries, for she
was the Power most anxious to enter by
1 peaceful penetration ' Asia Minor and
Southern Persia. But she had been passing
for years past as a sort of protector of Islam
— though Heaven forbid that they should
have such an immoral protector. Happily,
so far as the Moslem subjects of the King
were concerned, these efforts were absolutely
futile. They would never break down the
strong wall of their loyalty, which was
based on the consciousness that their dearest
interests, religious as well as civil, were
guaranteed to them by British rule more
9
66 INDIA'S RALLY TO THE EMPIRE
securely than they could be by any other
dominion. All Indians knew that if Britain
was ever weakened India's aspiration, India's
whole future would go to pieces. On the
other hand, India was an inexhaustible
source of man-power and wealth in natural
resources to the British Empire. She asked
no more in return than that the Queen's
Proclamation of 1858 should be kept in the
letter and the spirit."
Mr. Justice Abdur Rahim, an Indian
Judge of the Madras High Court, wrote as
follows to The Times on September 14 :
" We wish to avert by all that lies in our
power the humiliation of a change of govern-
ment. We have assurances afforded to us
in the history of British occupation of India,
by the promises of our Sovereign and the
pledges given by British statesmen on solemn
occasions, that the British Government in
India has a higher purpose to serve than
merely the maintenance of peace and order,
which any Government must secure if it
TRAVANGORE
SRI SIR RAMA VARNA KULASEKHARA KR1THI-
PATI, G.C.S.I., G.C.I.E., MAHARAJA OF
TRAVANCORE
Travancore, the largest State under the political
control of the Madras Government, is bounded on
the east by the districts of Madura and Tinnevelly,
on the north by the Native State of Cochin and
the Coimbatore district, and on the west and
south by the Indian Ocean. It is one of the most
picturesque portions of Southern India. The area
of the State is 7,129 square miles (nearly the size
of Wales), the population 3,428,975, and the average
annual revenue about 138 lakhs (£919,900).
The present Maharaja was born in 1857, and in
1885 succeeded his uncle. He was created a
Knight Grand Commander of the Star of India in
1888 and a Knight Grand Commander of the Indian
Empire on New Year's Day, 1903. His Highness
was present at the Coronation Durbar at Delhi in
1911. He is entitled to a salute of 21 guns, two of
which are personal.
The administration of the State is carried on
under the authority of the Maharaja, and a popular
consultative Assembly has recently been con-
stituted.
■
Wiele y Klein.
His Highness the Maharaja of Travancore,
G.C.S.I., G.C.I.E.
6b]
OPINION OF INDIAN LEADERS 67
is to exist at all. That purpose is to enlist
by means of Western education the sympathy
and co-operation of the people in the ideals
of Western civilisation, so that they may
ultimately be fitted to administer the affairs
of their own country as an integral part of
the British Empire. From the Germans
we can have no similar guarantees. The
progress in the desired direction may have
been slow in the past, but we have every
hope that the pace will now be considerably
quickened ; this hope is greatly fostered by
the recent administrative reforms with which
Lord Morley's honoured name is associated,
and by the sympathetic attitude of Lord
Hardinge, our most popular Viceroy, to-
wards national aspirations and sentiments.
We believe that by remaining within the
orbit of the British Empire we shall be able
sooner to realise the destiny of India than
otherwise. These are cogent reasons for
our sinking all differences in the face of a
common danger, apart from the apparent
68 INDIA'S RALLY TO THE EMPIRE
justice of the British attitude in this
war."
Mr. Dadabhai Naoroji, a veteran of eighty-
nine who has been closely connected with
social and political work in India for the
last sixty years or more, and was the first
Indian to gain a seat as a member of the
British House of Commons, wrote the follow-
ing letter to The Times on September 5 :
"We are a people of the British
Empire. Let us see what our duty and
position is.
"If ever India expects to attain again her
former glory, on the advanced character and
scale of modern British civilisation, of liberty,
humanity, justice, and all that is good, great,
and divine, it shall be at the hands of the
British people and with the British people
as self-governing members of the British
Empire.
"We are above all British citizens of the
great British Empire, and that is at present
our greatest pride. On the other hand, is
6TH GURKHA RIFLES
This picture shows men of another Gurkha regi-
ment in their rifle uniform. The character of their
physique-short and "stubby"— is clearly shown,
as well as the Mongolian type of their heads.
OPINION OF INDIAN LEADERS 69
Britain engaged in the present great struggle
for some selfish purpose, for extension of her
own dominion and power ? No, it is simply
for keeping her word of honour and for
righteously discharging a solemn obligation
for the peace and welfare of minor and weak
Powers.
" Fighting as the British people are at
present in a righteous cause, to the good and
glory of human dignity and civilisation,
and, moreover, being the beneficent instru-
ment of our own progress and civilisation,
our duty is clear — to do every one our best
to support the British fight with our life
and property.
" I have been all my life more of a critic
than a simple praiser of the British rule of
India, and I have not hesitated to say some
hard things at times. I can therefore speak
with the most perfect candour and sincerity
as to what the British character is, what the
civilisation of the world owes to the British
genius, and what we Indians owe to the
70 INDIA'S RALLY TO THE EMPIRE
British people for benefits past as well as
benefits to come.
" Yes ; I have not the least doubt in my
mind that every individual of the vast mass
of humanity of India will have but one desire
in his heart — viz. to support to the best
of his ability and power the British people
in their glorious struggle for justice, liberty,
honour, and true human greatness and
happiness.
" The Princes and people of India have
already made spontaneous offers, and until
the victorious end of this great struggle no
other thought than that of supporting whole-
heartedly the British nation should ever
enter the mind of India."
The following is a letter from Mr. Bhupe-
dranath Basu, who is closely connected with
the movement of the Indian National Con-
gress, and with various social and political
activities in India :
" I have read with deep emotion — a senti-
ment which will be shared by all my country-
UDAIPUR (MEWAR)
HIS HIGHNESS MAHARAJADHIRAJA MAHARANA
SIR FATEH SINGHJI BAHADUR, G.C.S.I.,
G.C.I.E., MAHARAJA OF UDAIPUR
The area of the State of Udaipur (Mewar) in
Rajputana is 12,691 square miles (more than
one and a half times the size of Wales) ; the
population is 1,293,776, and the average annual
revenue about 26i lakhs (£176,600). The Udaipur
family is the highest in rank and dignity among
the Rajput Chiefs in India. They belong to
the Sesodia sect of the great Gehlot clan and
it is their proud boast that they never gave a
daughter to any Mahomedan Emperor. The
Ruling Chief is considered by Hindus to be
the representative of Rama, the ancient King of
Ajodhya, by one of whose descendants, Kanak Sen,
the present family was founded about A.D. 144.
The present Chief was, on the death on December
23rd, 1884, of the late Chief without issue, unani-
mously selected for the gadi by the Maharanis and
Sirdars. This selection having been accepted and
confirmed by the supreme Government, His High-
ness was installed on March 4th, 1885, and was
invested with full powers of administration on August
22nd, 1885. He was created a Knight Grand Com-
mander of the Star of India in February 1887, and
a Knight Grand Commander of the Indian Empire
in December 1911. During the visit of Their
Majesties to India for the Coronation Durbar in
1911 His Highness was appointed Ruling Chief
in Waiting. The administration of the State is
carried on under the personal supervision of His
Highness the Maharana. His Highness is entitled
to a salute of 21 guns, two of which are personal.
His Highness the Maharana of Udaipur.
G.C.S.I., G.C.I. E.
701
OPINION OF INDIAN LEADERS 71
men, here and in India — the announcement
that Indian soldiers are to participate on
European soil in the world-wide struggle
now going on. We are grateful to the
Marquess of Crewe for the eloquent and
moving terms in which he referred to India
in his speech in the House of Lords. Repre-
sentatives of an ancient civilisation and
possessed of an old-world chivalry and
valour, the Indian soldiers will not be
unworthy of the task to which they are
being called. For the first time they will
stand side by side with their British com-
rades against a common European enemy ;
for the first time the Indian people will
realise that they are trusted in the hour of
danger ; it is no time for looking back, but
for the first time we feel that we are truly
the equal subjects of the King.
"The noble Marquess has said that sufficient
safeguards have been provided against ex-
ternal or internal danger in India. There
is no fear of either. Whatever intrigues
72 INDIA'S RALLY TO THE EMPIRE
Germany may stir up in Turkey, Moslem
and Hindu in India are alike united in their
unswerving devotion and loyalty to the
Empire in this crisis. Nobody doubts, what-
ever may be the temporary difficulties, that
we shall emerge victorious out of this
terrible chapter in our history, and, if I
may say so, in the history of England,
brighter and nobler than any in the past, for
now and henceforth England, India, and the
Overseas Dominions will stand and grow
together, united in bonds sanctified on the
field of battle."
Mr. Surendranath Banerjea, another pro-
minent leader of the Nationalist movement
in India and twice President of the Indian
National Congress, used the following words
in seconding a resolution of loyalty at a
meeting held in the Calcutta Town Hall on
August 14 :
" A slur had been cast upon the genuineness
of Bengali loyalty. There were those who
were never tired of pointing to Bengal as a
OPINION OF INDIAN LEADERS 73
speck in the Indian horizon, darkened by
the presence of revolutionaries. This was
a weapon in their hands. With them it
was a plea to retard the cause of Indian
advancement. These men, if they had eyes
to see and ears to hear, should note the
wave of loyal enthusiasm which within the
last few days had swept over the country
from one end to the other. If the revolu-
tionaries could be counted by the handful,
the loyal population could be reckoned by
millions. What was the secret of India's
loyalty ? Indians were loyal because they
were patriotic. In the present circumstances
of India, and for a long time to come, loyalty
and patriotism were indissolubly linked to-
gether, acting and reacting upon each other
and strengthening each other. Indians were
loyal because, apart from the emotional
side of it, they believe that with the stability
and indeed the permanence of British rule
were bound up the best prospect of Indian
advancement. . . . Let all combine, young
10
74 INDIA'S RALLY TO THE EMPIRE
and old, high and low, rich and poor, and
maintain unsullied the ancient reputation
of their country for duty and faithful service.
Service rendered in this crisis would not be
forgotten — it would be lovingly remembered
— it would promote sympathy between the
different parts of the Empire — it would
strengthen the bonds of amity and goodwill
between England and India and help forward
the satisfactory solution of the many grave
problems upon which the contentment, the
happiness, and the prosperity of our people
so largely depended. Out of evil, good often
cometh, and so in the dispensation of Provi-
dence this great calamity may help to forge
a new bond of mutual love, of mutual
esteem and of mutual regard between Eng-
land and India, pregnant with vast possi-
bilities of good to India and the Empire."
BIKANER CAMEL CORPS
RATORE RAJPUT
This man, a Rajput by race, belongs to the Camel
Corps which forms part of the Imperial Service
Troops maintained by the feudatory State of
Bikaner. The Corps is five hundred strong,
and has served in China and Somaliland.
Lieut.-General Sir James Willcocks'
Message to the Indian Army Corps
at the Front
Order of the Day, No. 1
Soldiers of the Indian Army Corps
We have all read with pride the
gracious message of his Majesty the King-
Emperor to his troops from India.
On the eve of going into the field to join
our British comrades, who have covered
themselves with glory in this great war, it
is our firm resolve to prove ourselves worthy
of the honour which has been conferred on
us as representatives of the Army of India.
In a few days we shall be fighting as has
never been our good fortune to fight before
and against enemies who have a long history.
But is their history as long as yours ? You
75
76 INDIA'S RALLY TO THE EMPIRE
are the descendants of men who have been
mighty rulers and great warriors for many
centuries. You will never forget this. You
will recall the glories of your race. Hindu
and Mahomedan will be fighting side by side
with British soldiers and our gallant French
Allies. You will be helping to make history.
You will be the first Indian soldiers of the
King-Emperor who will have the honour of
showing in Europe that the sons of India
have lost none of their ancient martial
instincts and are worthy of the confidence
reposed in them.
In battle you will remember that your
religions enjoin on you that to give your life
doing your duty is your highest reward.
The eyes of your co-religionists and your
fellow-countrymen are on you. From the
Himalayan Mountains, the banks of the
Ganges and Indus, and the plains of Hin-
dustan, they are eagerly waiting for the news
of how their brethren conduct themselves
when they meet the foe. From mosques and
COPYRIGHT
GEOGRAPHIA Lw 55 rUEl S7R£tT ^CKJON fC
MESSAGE OF SIR JAMES WILLCOCKS 77
temples their prayers are ascending to the
God of all, and you will answer their hopes
by the proofs of your valour.
You will fight for your King-Emperor and
your faith, so that history will record the
doings of India's sons and your children will
proudly tell of the deeds of their fathers.
James Willcocks,
Lieut.-General,
Commanding Indian Army Corps.
Camp,
October 10, 1914.
Primed n Great Britain by Hazell, Watson <Sc Viney, Ld.,
London and Aylesbury.
THE LIBRARY
UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA
Santa Barbara
THIS BOOK IS DUE ON THE LAST DATE
STAMPED BELOW.
Series 9482
J \\\\\\\\\U\\\ W\'i 1V\1 r,H\ -v\i i\iivi»m»'» '•'
A A 000 284 507 1
■
■ ■
9 0
Live Music Archive
Librivox Free Audio
Metropolitan Museum
Cleveland Museum of Art
Internet Arcade
Console Living Room
Books to Borrow
Open Library
TV News
Understanding 9/11