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N INDIAN DISTRICT

.N ENLARGED EDITION OF "POLICE NOTES"

BY

G. G. B. IVER,

Indian Police.

.809 . 819

Price Rs. 2-8-0.

LAHORE:

CIVIL AND»MILITARY Q^ZBTTB PRHS8

1919,

I

1

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Digitized by the Internet Arciiive

in 2010 witii funding from

University of Toronto

littp://www.arcliive.org/details/inindiandistrictOOiver

IN AN INDIAN DISTRICT

AN ENLARGED EDITION OF "POLICE NOTES"

BY

G. G. B. IVER,

Indian Police.

LAHORE :

OITIL AND UIL1TAB7 OAZBTTB PRESS

1919.

" T'l'it fjrs'it hfiyn%n thi^q ivhich is called law, an I 'kit (jrniht dioiiie thing which is called j istice. "

PREFACE.

For one reason or another, which doubtless would not interest the general public, the author was unable entirely to comply with all the requests which he received for copies of his "Police Notes; " and he therefore asks the many whom he thus disappointed to accept his apology. He was naturally surpiised and gratified to find that so many people were interested in iearning some of the details of the inside working of the police in this country, and he has accordingly taken advantage of the unexpected opportunity to revise it completely in accordance with certain suggestions made to him ; and at the same time to add to it largely in order to increase its general interest* In particular the brief sketch of the daily life of an Ordinary Punjab village will, he hopes, not only give valuable information to the newly joined police officer but also make all visitors to the province to some extent familiar with what goes on from day to day amongst the picturesque inhabitants of the Punjab. The author has to thank the public and the Press for its generous appreciation of his humble efforts, and if any of his remarks should give umbrage to any reader, Indian or English, all he cm do is to express his regret and plead that his one motive in writmi: this little book is to promote mutual understanding between the various races that inhabit In lia, an 1 by no moans to offend the susceptibilities of anyone. The excellence of his intention will, he trusts, oua-wiighany in lissre- tions of language committed by a w.-i&er w'lo dj3.i not profe-iS to be skilled in the art.

PREFACE TO POLICE NOTES,

It is a commoaplace that the average English- man at home knows very little about India. It is furthermore admitted that many Englishmen leave India after completing their service with but scaur knowledge of the country and its peoples. The root of the evil is probably to be found in the bad beginning which many young officers make on arrival in the country. If interest were stimulated and guided from the very start, it would be followed by more serious study than we find at present. Tho writer of these notes lays no claim to knowledge above the ordinary, and there is probably little in these pages which is not known to most of those who have lived in the Punjab for any length of time. The idea of this little book is simply to provide some sort of guide to those who have just arrived in Northern India with the prospect of ^psnding the best years of their lives in this part of the world. The notes are meant primarily for Police Officers, but it is hoped that members of ■other services, including tlie Army, may find their perusal to be neither unprofitable nor entirely lacking in interest. They are roughly put together and possess no literary merit whatever. Their chief <:laim to attention is the fact that they are intended to assist the young official in getting to know the country and its people in a fashion calculated to) <io credit to himself, to India, and the Empire.

CONTENTS.

			Page.
r.	— Preliminary	•	1
II.	—Hints on Health		5
III.-	-The Force	.	. 13
IV.-	—District Police Administration	. n
Y.-	—District Government	. 28
VI.-	—Relations with the Magistracy	. 4>2
VII.-	—Relations with the	People	. 48
nil.-	—Example and Precept	. 69
IX.-	—Investigation	•	. 73
X.-	-Rewards	•	9e
XI.-	-Note on Murder	•	. 99
XII.-	-In Camp	,	.. 115

1.

PRELIMINARY.

The telegram from the India Office or your •daily paper has brought you the glad tidings that you have passed inlo the Indian Police. After all the hard work and anxiety the relief is tremendous, and you realise that after certain formalities you will be a servant of the King, and will soon be -on your own. And let me say straight away that your pride is justified, for the Police is one of the finest services in India, and is steadily growing in importance. There is reason to believe that this is ibeing more and more realised and recognised.

I do not propose to deal with the various formalities 3'ou will have to go through after passing the examination as the regulations give all necessaiy information, but I will try to give a few tips which may be of general utility to the young Police Ofiicer coming out to India for the first time.

The (juestiou of outfit is naturally the most absorbing, and judging by the number of useless things which are foisted on young officers by the so-called Indian outfitters, I fancy some advice may be helpful. Let us consider uniform first. Some people advise that only fatigue kit should be brought out from home and full dress procured in Indiar afterwards. My advice is, get everything before you come out. There are muster patterns at the India Office, and you will find you get superior materials with better and cheaper workmanship in England. The outfit will cost you less in the •end and prove more satisfactory in every way. I

would however make an exception in the case of khaki drill articles, which the Indian dirzi will make to your entire satisfaction, and at a fraction of the English cost. All he needs is a good pattern. Moreover, in India the dirzi remembers to shrink the cloth first. The drill uniform I brought out with me I was never able actually to wear ; after one washing it was several sizes too small !

In reijard to mufti, I would advise you firstly not to throw away any of your old clothes, provided the}' are comfortable and fit you well. In^ Northern India you will find them most useful for camp, and remember that in many parts of the country the cold is very severe at night in the winter. In the Punjab for a couple of months or more one needs a fire all day. Many people feel the cold more in India than in Europe, possibly because the houses are not suitably built and are con- structed chiefly with, a view to the hot weather. One or two well cut warm suits or " store clothes," one unlined flannel suit plus your old clothes and! a pair of well cut riding breeches will be suflicient for your main outfit. I would suggest that the breeches be made by a first class tailor ; if they fit you well they are invaluable as a pattern and will father many generations. Cool clothing for the hot weather is far better procured in India. The best general advice I can give is, treat your home outfit as a model for India, just adding to- the articles in which you think you are a bit short.

Don't be let in to bu}ing expensive despatch- boxes and medicine chests, etc These things are cheaper and more suitably prepared in India, but I would suggest your getting a good thermos flask,.

a half minute thermometer, and an electric torch. Also, if you have the money, a second hand shot gun is a purchase you will not retjret. Wait until you arrive in Bombay before getting a sola tojn, and then I suggest a khaki covered Cawnpore Tent Club pattern till you decide by experience which of the various other styles you prefer for use with the "store clothes." I also advise the purchase of bedding and a holdall in Bombay, foi- the railway journey up country is often very cold.

The home outtitter's list invariably includes a heavy zinc lined box. Take ray advice and leave it alone. What these heavy boxes must cost in carriage alone during one's service would be difficult to figure out : they are also unnecessary. The light compressed fibre trunks are best of all, and you will find them moie serviceable in every way. Boxes should be kept off the ground in order to avoid white ants, which work from the ground upwards : a simple method is to place each box on four bricks. For preservation of one's clothes there is nothing better than the dry leaves of the nirii tree. They are very l)itter and will keep moths and insects away most etiectually : the same leaves can be used for years ; all you have to do is to leave a liberal .sprinkling of leaves among the clothes.

If you have the money, a pair of brown Field Boots will be found useful. But ordinary ankle boots and your uniform leggings are all you need for riding in mufti or uniform. You will find a second pair of hair-brushes useful for camp work, where one has long marches, and often has to leave ordinary kit behind to follow on slowly.

4

In regard to stiddlery, I sugcrest purchase in England of the prescribed bit, bridle and wallets only. A good hunting saddle can usually be got for £4 or £5 in India second-hand, while the other items of equipment are unimportant.

I'he suggestions in the above notes are for those who have to economise, and are written with that end in view.

5

n

HINTS ON HEALTH

How many serious illnesses with consequent weakening of one's whole constitution might have been avoided in India by a little knowledge and a little care I 1 he young officer just out trom home, where he could do most things with impunity, never imagines the climate of India to be so treachpro* s that he must coddle himself a little if he is to keep fit. Most of us only learn by sad experience, but by that time the evil is often done, and we are left with the handicap of a weakened constitution to carry on for the rest of our service. How many too have not survived to carry on at all ! A few examples will suffice. A friend of mine walked down the hill from Simla a few years ago, and when he was thoroughly hot he met his pony and cantered through a cold breeze to Chail without putting on a sweater. The result was abscess on the liver, and he very nearly did not pull through, and has never quite regained his health. Another case of abscess on the liver I know of was the result of a dive out of bed in the winter to chase a barking dog out of the compound, my friend failing to put on something- warm before he came outside. Take again the case of a Sergeant- Major at Ferozepcre, who chased some goats out of his compound at midday without putting on a toj)i ; he was buried the next morning.

One might easily multiply these melancholy examples; it is with a view to theii- pievention that I offer a few hints, far from complete no dcubt, bu< gathered from experience. First aod foremost, T

6

would say, avoid i^etting a chill. At'tei- playinj^ i^ames or j^etting very hot invariably put on a sweatei-, and it' you can change your vest or shirt first, so much the better. Failure to take this simple precaution is the most fruitful source (jf illness.

Secondly, avoid cold baths, at any rate in the winter. A few people thrive on them, but they are exceptions who prove the rule. These two " dont's " will carry you a long way. It is sound to carry a thermometer about with you in camp, and to consult a doctor whenever you get fever. Failure to do so cost the Department a very promising young officer a few years ago. He felt unwell but carried on, thinking it would pass off, and it was discovered only • a few days before his death that he was suffering from enteric. Taken in time he would in all prob- ability have recovered. Then as a bachelor "on your own " see that your milk and drinking water are always boiled. If you are raging with thirst on he march or out shooting, etc., don't be tempted to •drink from a niussaq or well, but wait until you get back to camp if you haven't anything to drink with you. It is here that the thermos flask comes in so useful.

It your " internal economy " is apt to get upset, wear a "cholera belt." The best kind can be -made up out of your old tennis trousers, each of which will do for four belts. These are easily shaped to the body by cutting a couple of V's on the lower side, and fastening at the end with hooks and eyes, the edges being bound with soft tape. The great advantage is that they do not ruck up like the knitted belts. The cholera belt prevents chill .to the internal organs, and therein lies its great ■virtue. 1 once read a newspaper article by a doctor

7

in which the writer stated that many diseases, and especlall}^ enteric, would be avoided by the simple precaution of always brushing one's teeth before having clioti hazri. It was pointed out that no Indian would dream of eating his first meal belore he had washed out his mouth, and that this custom of the councry was not without its reiison. It is certainly worth noting that Indians seldom get enteric.

Never start the morning march or ride without a substantial choti hazri. One never knows what may happen, or w'hen one may get the next meal, and it is best to be on the safe side for nothing is so upsetting to the digestion as long spells in the sun without food ; I speak from bitter experience.

In your house or chummery you will also find it a sound precaution to have things like SAlads, grapes, strawberries, etc., washed in a weak solution of permanganate of potash before being brought to table. The potash is a good thing to carry about in any case, being a cure for snake bite, a good gargle for sore throat, and a fair antiseptic for washing a wound. When cholera is about a few grains in your drinking water and a diluted sulphuric acid or vinegar " peg " daily are valuable safeguards. During an epidemic, avoid uncooked fruit and vegetables.

Apart from the above, a supply of quinine, an aperient such as Magnesium Sulphate (which taken with quinine makes it doubly effective), and a small supply of aspirin are about all you will ordinarily want when away from headquarters. Besides j'our- self, remember that you have servants, that they often go sick, and that they have great taith in these wellknown druofs.

8

There are a few iiidioenous medicines, the proper- ties of which are wellknown to Europeans. One of these is Chiretta, which is an excellent tonic. It is- obtainable in any village and is bought in the form of dried twigs. At the cost of two annas enough can be had to last for several months. Break up enough to fill a wineglass to which about the same amount of boiling water should be added as you sit down to breakfast. In about 15 minutes it will be the colour of sherry when it can be strained off and drunk. It is not unpleasant in taste, and is a first class tonic and febrifuge. Another remarkable remedy is iaahgol or fleawort seed, wellknown as a cure for bowel complaints and more especiall}* for d\\sentery. It is obtainable in every bazaar : a teaspoonful is soaked in water till it is quite soft and looks something like frog-spawn. A dose three times a day or more according to the virulence of the attack has l>een known to work wonders. Both the above remedies are, as far as I know, recognised by the medical pro- fession. They may often prove a friend in time of need when no qualified doctor is available. In a case of snake-bite the first precaution is to tie a very tight ligature, and preferably two, above the wound Then puncture the wound with a knife to allow free- bleeding and wash out as much of the poison as possible, tlien rub in a few grains of permanganate of potash. This cure is not infallible, but it has been known to succeed very often, and in any case it is better than doing nothing.

I cannot too strongly emphasize the maxim- *' keep fit. " It is when you are run down that disease gets hold of you. It should be part of your Indian creed to make sure of regular exercise every day. This is fairly easy to arrange in headquarters,.

Diit is more difficult in camp where nding and walk- ing are too often all that one can get in the way of exercise. In the winter a good tramp after par- tridge or buck is all you want, but these luxuries are ■not always to be had. There are some who have made the study of birds their hobby, and they are greatly to be envied for they need never have a dull moment in camp and can always get enough exercise. Failing the above, the best form of exercise I have struck is a singles at Badminton with an orderly. Four bats, a net, a pair of bamboo poles, and a supply of shuttlecocks are all you need, and a rouo-h <30urt can be marked out in a few minutes. It is a really good game and is splendid exercise.

Another form of exercise is " slogging out ' with an old cricket bat and half a dozen string balls. I say " string " advisedly, as many inexperienced fielders join in with no idea of how to catch a ball, but very determined on trying. 1 don't want to be the cause of any more cltaukidars heads being cut open !

During the summer glare glasses should be used for outdoor work during the day time. The glasses should not be too dark, and side pieces of wire gauze should be avoided as the metal gets very hot and causes injury to the eyes. Glasses with vulcanite side pieces are the best, and a very good article of the kind is obtainable in India.

For long rides in the summer sun use a spine pad. Three folds of red flanne], about 5 inches wide, hooked or sewn down the inside of your coat, is as good as anything but wider pads are also made which hook on outside the sliirt or coat.

It has often struck me that the loose end or ehamla of the pwj in is the Indian method of protecting

10

the spine from the sun. It acts iu nmch the same way as the spine pad. The pugri itself is said by those wlio have worn it to be an excellent protection agaiast the sun, but I cannot speak from experience.

In the autumn, which is the fever season, be sure to take quinine or some other prophylactic against malaria. The " quinine parade" is now a well known institution in all regiments, jails, and other Gov^ern- ment insticutions where large numbers of men are collected together. Once or twice a week, and in some cases every da}'-, each man is made to swallow a dose of ([uinine whether he has fever or not. The beneficial results prove the value of the prophylactic dose in no uncertain fashion. The fever germ is in the blood of most people, but health}'' living and the occasional dose of quinine keep the germ under. I was told quite lately by an old hand that a great preventive of fever is to clothe the lower limbs as soon as one is out of bed in the morning and more especi- ally of course in the winter. My informant had been a constant sufferer till be heard of this. He added that in the winter it was advisable to tub at night and not in the morning.

These few precautions will save yon many an illness, and they are worth a trial.

Household servants are closely connected with one's health, and it may not be out of place to give a short account of them. The head servant in the compound is the bearer or valet who is gener- ally referred to as "Sirdar" by the others. The best bearers are Hindus, but that class is disappear- ino-, and most people now employ Muhammadans, as they will also wait at table, while the most a Hindu bearer will do is to hand the drinks and smokes.

.11

Next in importance is the cook or khansamah also known as tlie haivarchi (the " bobberchi " in ineni- sahib'^i Hindustani). He often uses the iniL'<halrhi or scullery boy as an assistant. The mushalchi was originally the bearer of the torch (raushal) to his master's ^xt^/ti ; he reverted to other work when palan- quins died out. The khidinatgar or butler does purely table work, his name signifies simply that he does service (khidmat). The hhistie or water-carrier comes next, a very useful person who usually works hardest and gives the least trouble of any servant. He often cooks the meals of the house servants, and gets his own free from the common dish. Last of all the house servants comes the sweeper, (meJdar), the " knight of the broom," usually known to the rest as " javvidar," a euphemistic title of honour for the out-caste. As far as I am aware the name mehtar is also given on the same principle, cf. the Mehtar of Chitral, a prince of the highest family, not to be confused Avich the Brahman Mehta.

The malt or gardener is usually known as " chaudhri " to the rest, possibly because he superin- tends rather a varied kind of job. The sais or syce looks after your horse : the best syces are Purbias (southerners) of the United Provinces, who originally followed in the wake of our invadino* armies as they came North. They are low-caste Hindus but make the best syces. Their courage in the Mutiny in bringing up horses to their masters under heavy fire »vas remarkable. This completes the initial requirements of a household, but I must mention one other personage. He is found in every club or .hotel and is known as the abdar, i. €., the man who deals with water. In the old days before ice machines were known the cooling of drinks was a very important

12

and lengthy business, so much so that a whole time servant was employed for the purpose. When his master went out to dinner the ahdar took his own water along to the host's house, and there they all met and prepared the drinks by various cooling pro- cesses. When the ice machine came there was no work for the ahdar and he dropped out of the household, but remains in the club and hotel where he acts as head- waiter and dispenser of liquid refreshment.

In the management of servants I can only say don't nag at them, and try to keep your hands off them. When you have to inflict a fine don't retain the monej^ but send the man with it to the nearest charitable institution which is run by his own sect, or to a hos- pital. Let him take the money with a letter and brino- a receipt. The servants are often very trying -and very faithless — a man who has been with you 20 years will leave at a few hour's notice — but in times of sickness, etc., they generally play up very well, and in camp they will march night after night in the bitter cold without complaint, pack up attain the next evening and so on for weeks. On the whole we owe a great deal to our servants, and lam convinced that they will respond far more readily to decent treatment. Let me quote from the Anglo-Indian classic " Behind the Bungalow," which sums up the Indian servant completely. — " The conditions he values seem to be, — permanence, respectful treatment, immunity from kicks and cuffs and from abuse, especially in his own tongue, and above all, a quiet, life, without kitkit, which may be vulgarly translated, nagging. Ill-usage of him is a luxury like any other, pai'd for by those who enjoy it, not to be had other- wise."

13 III.

THE FORCE.

The police force c>f India is governed by the Poh'ce Act V of 1861. By that Act the powers of admin- istration are vested in the Inspector-General. I will be necessarj'' to the purpose of these notes to describe in some detail the various branch(;s of which the Punjab Police is composed. The Province is divid- ed into three ranges, Central, Western and Eastern, each under a Deputy Inspector- General, while there is a fourth officer of this rank who controls the specialised branch known as the Criminal Investiga- tion Department.

There are 28 districts in the Province, of which 9 are in the Central, 10 in the Western and 9 in the Eastern Range. The Deputy Inspectors-General are responsible for the general administration of their charges, but are more especially concerned with in- ternal econom}^ The prevention and detection of crime is the more immediate concern of the District Magistrate of each district subject to the general con- trol of the Deputy Inspector-General and the Commis- sioner of the Division. Thus the ordinary channel of communication for district correspondence is the Dis- trict Magistrate, the Deputy Inspector-General, and the Commissioner, who then forwards it to the Local Government. Subject to the general control and direc- tion of the District Magistrate, who, however, has no concern with the internal economy of the force, the administration of each district is vested in the Superintendent of Police. The district is further sub-divided into police circles, and then again into

14

police stations or thanas. The jurisdiction of a thana is generally known as its " ilaqa." The Superin- tendent has an Assistant Superintendent of the Im- perial Service or a Deputy Superintendent of the Provincial Service to assist him. Next below conies the Inspector, below him the Sub-Inspector, th(; Head Constable and lastly the Constable. Each district is thus a self-contained unit with i^s own staff, budget, lines, etc.

Except in a few large towns the ordinary tJtana is in the charge of a Sub- Inspector, whose staff con- sists of 2 Head Constables and 12 Constables. The thana is the reporting station for all crime, it initiates all investigations and enquiries, and is a very important organisation. The pivot of police admin- istration is the Sub-Inspector, and it is on his work more than any other that the reputation of the police is made or marred. It is he who writes the first re- port of a crime on which so much depends, and he is usually the first officer to reach the scene of a crime. His responsibilities and difficulties are very great indeed, I am afraid they are very often forgotten when his shortcomings come up for judg- ment. Often he has nothing but his own authority and influence to assist him in working out a case of first importance, and I hold it of equal importance that nothing should be done by those in authority over him to derogate from that influence without very grave reason. This is <x sine qua non of successful police administration, and is more fully dealt with in the chapter on that subject. There are no doubt many corrupt officers, but unless there is reason to expect success, positive harm is done by ill consid- ered departmental enquiries into any and every com- plaint against the police. Their })restige is lowered

15

in the eyes of the people with no corresponding advantage, and one certain result is an increase in crime and lawlessness.

I hold that police work in India is a duty- presenting many great difficulties, and it is un- fortunate that these are not more fully realised.

In order to get the best work out of the men it is far better to encourage and reward the good and honest workers rather than be ever on the look out to punish the bad. Hit seldom but hit hard, if you wish to improve the morale and efficiency of the force. The department possesses no monopoly of corrupt officers, but the bad name which is given to the police is largely due to the nature of their duties wliich are often antagonistic to whole sections of the community. Thus the cause of the varied accusations made nowadays against the Criminal Investigation Department is not far to seek. In a way they are a distinct tribute to the efficiency of that much maligned body of men. The point to bear in mind is that if the police disappeared to-morrow there would be chaos in India within a month. The department gets through a vast amount of useful work, much of which is not recognised be- cause it is unknown to the general public. Blame is invariably laid on the police when anything what- •ever goes wrong, but praise is not always forth- coming when the opposite is the case. It must be admitted however that lately there has been some recognition of the fact that this hard-worked and under- paid service is not entirely composed of corrupt and tyrannical tiends, biit that there is a good proportion of humane beings in the yjolice, which more often than not tries to do its duty and to grapple honestly with the many difficulties confronting it.

16

The recoi-d of the Punjab Police is a proud one, and it is by no means unique. The courage and resource of the Bengal cadre in dealing with rev^olu- tionary crime will hold its own with the records of any country, while the acts for which the King's Police Medal has been awarded are as varied as they are courageous. Many must remember, for instance^ the Ambala constable who had on three occasions descended a well with poisonous fumes to rescue people who had fallen in after being overcome by the gas. I quote below two remarkable cases within my own experience. In the year 1904 bubonic plague attacked the town of Chunian, Lahore dis- trict, in its most virulent form. It was so terrifying that people ran away, leaving their dead unburied or unburnt. A Sikh constable and a Muhammadan Telisil peon took upon themselves to perform these- last offices for the dead, although be it remembered this was no part of their duty. After a time the peon died — of plague — but in spite of this the Con- stable stuck to the work till the epidemic was overJ I can conceive of nothing braver than this. No reward was demanded, and I only heard of wdiat was going on from other sources. When I visited Chunian and asked to see the mauj he was away superintend- ing the crematioii of a batch of corpses. He eventu- ally received the Medal from the hands of the King- Emperor at the Delhi Durbar.

The second case was almost as fine a performance. Two sepoys had deserted from their regiment with a rifle, a large amount of ammunition and other Gov- ernment property. While attempting to steal a camel in the Ferozepore district, they shot the owner dead when he seized one of them. The case was of great importance and half the country- side was turned out to hunt down these desperate

17

criminals. Among other precautionary measures a- constable was posted at every Railway Station in the neighbourhood, and was given a written descriptive roll of the absconders. Anyone who has passed through knows the size of Bhatinda Station. The solitary constable on duty there was set the seem- ingly impossible task of Avatching the thousands of passengers passing through for two men whom he had never seen ! But he persevered, for was it not a kukm, and some 10 nio-hts later he followed on to the long ovtjrbridge two men who seemed to answer to the description. They had a bundle and a large stick. The constable had a difficult and dangerous task to perform on a very dark night, and he had to be most astute. His first move was to say what he was and accuse the couple of carrying illicit liquor. They offered him a bribe of Re. 1-4 which was all they had, but not before he had handled the sus- piciuos " bottle " bulging a little from the bundle. He accepted the bribe, then pretended that it was all a joke, that he had met the couple before, and would be glad to stand them their dinner and a drink. They were very hungry, having been in hiding for daj^s, and readily followed the constable to a baker's where^ dinner was ordered. Leaving them sitting by the oven watching with relish the cooking of some nice cJiai^- attis our friend said he would go and buy a bottle of liquor to grace the occasion. He strode off into the dark, only to creep up quietly behind the squat- ing couple, snatch away their stick, and eventually tie them back to back with their own pagris He then placed the bundle between their necks so as to have his own hands free, and proceeded to lead them into the police station which was not far off. Inside the bundle was the rifle with stock and barrel separated, and the rest of the property taken front

the regiment. Both men were sentenced to death, but it is worth noting that one of them was acquitted of murder on appeal by the Chief Court on the j,' round tliat it was not proven that he was a consenting party to the firing of the rifle, but he was awarded two years for attempted robbery of the camel. With these instances before me, I feel that the pride in the corps of oflicersand men alike is not unjustified. The traditions of the force have been worthily upheld by tlie recent response for volunteers to the Police Battalions of the Indian Army. " A " battalion, for service overseas, was filled up almost at once, but recruiting for " B " was much slower. Everyone thought that the higher bonus was the attraction, but it was shown later on that keenness to go overseas and fight the enemies of the King was the real desire of the recruits. In more than one district every man on parade volunteered for overseas as soon as the general address and terms of service were read out, but t' e Viceroy was not referring to one province alone when he said " Gallantly has that gallant body of men responded to the call." The batta'ions are a striking example of the spirit of the force, and that readiness to do its duty which has at various times earned praise from the highest in Jie land and from the King- Emperor liimself.

19

IV. DISTRICT POLICE ADMINISTRATION.

The young- officer fresh from home and training • school will feel very much at sea when he first joins a district, and with some reason, for there is a great deal to learn and much that only experience will teach. But a few hints may be helpful in stimulating a search after greater knowledge.

Before I came out I had a real shock at hearing a policeman on leave talk about "going to office." One pictured police life as so very far removed from an office or a report even ! Alas ! for this was illusion indeed.

With a view to efficiency, and the best kind of efficiency at that, I venture to think that the soundest advice one could give to the young policeman is " lay yourself out first and foremost to master the language."

The Punjab boasts of seven languages and the dialects are said to change every ten miles. Punjabi itself is a delightful and most expressive tongue, well worth the trouble of a real effort to master it.

Try and make that a shauq and a matter of pride to yourself, and you will never regret it. Government has of late years begun to realise the vast import- ance of a thorough knowledge of the vernaculars, and sufficient pecuniary inducements are now offered to make even the slow and the slack ones realise that it pays to pass language examinations. When I passed the Higher Standard Punjabi I was Rs. 60 out of pocket ! A rattling good speaking knowledge of the

20

yernacular enhances beyond words the respect in» whicli one is held by the public and one's subordinates. Picture to yourself a murder enquiry for instance,, and the difference between your examination of a wit- ness with the thanadar as interpreter, and yourself taking the witness aside and coaxing his knowledge from him firsthand. Believe me the whole village will look on you from a different standpoint — and will play up accordingly.

Likewise the Recruiting Officer will get more men and better men if he can do the talkmg himself instead of leaving it to his subordinates. An Army officer told me only a little while ago that he over- heard one of his recruiters informing some villagers that the pay of a sepoy was Rs. 50 a month. Had he not known the language well (he had made a speciality of languages generally), this false representation would have been put down to th? sahib for it was said in his hearing. The importance of at any rate speaking the language well camiot be exaggerated.

(And do be forewarned against that awful word ' munkta ' which is used by many on every conceivable occasion. The veib " munkna"does rot exist, and maligna from which it has presumably been perverted means ' to ask for ' and not 'to want.')

Study of the language will introduce you to customs and habits of the people which are of in- estimab'e value to a policeman, who should know everything about everything if he is to be " the in- vestigating " officer of the books on criminology.

The following example will show the value of knowing the language. In a triple mui'der case which had been accompanied with the greatest brutality the Sessions Judge had ac(|uitted all the accused. He

21

had rejected the prosecution theory in toto. The •details of that theory are not necessary to the point under consideration, but I must explain the defence plea somewhat fully. One of the deceased was an old man who had no children, and another was his nephew. The defence story was that the old man had betrothed this nephew, of whom he was very fond, in the Amritsar District but the father of the girl had made it a condition that the boy should inherit the uncle's property. In pursuance of this the pair were at the time of the murder on their way to headquarters to complete the necessar\^ papers, when the remaining relatives set upon tliem and killed both as well as a third person who bad at- tempted to rescue them. It should be stated that the prosecution story was entirely ditierent. After the acquittal the relatives of the deceased came daily in tears to the house of the Superintendent of Police to invoke his aid. Now an appeal against an ac- ■quittal is very rarely sustained, and it requires the strongest grounds before Government will entertain any proposal of the kind, so it seemed that there was nothing to be done. At one of these daily visits however, the Superintendent, while referring to the betrothal mentioned above, happened to overhear one of the relatives say to another in broad Punjabi "and to think he has been dead all this time too." 'The man had never realised the importance of this and it had never come out in Court. A telegram to Amritsar elicited the reply that the father of this girl who was alleged to have enforced the condition which led to the murder had died over two years before the murder occurred ! The result of this in- formation was a rotrial ai.d the conviction of all the accused.

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With your language well in hand, try to get acquainted on friendly terms with leading men, official or otherwise. You will find that they respond more than readily to courtesy and friendliness. Ihe Indian values these beyond Avords, and you will have gained the first step in securing his assistance and co-opera- tion in criminal work. Without that help you will never go very far. It is safe to say that as a rule if a village decides to spoil a case the police are helpless. The successful policeman is the one who " gets into the skins " of the people, and sees that good work is re- warded, a subject which is more fully dealt with in the chapter on " Rewards."

At headquarters make a point of plaAnng games with the men. The most popuhir game is hockey^ and besxles the pleasure of it you will be inti-oduced to and know your men in a different light. It is a great opportunity of teaching them the fine qualities- which gaujes can and should bring out. It will in- terest you to see how they respond. In this connec- tion as in others I have found that a greater measure of success is ensured by praising good rather than abusing bad play. I have seen a hockey team both duriag and after the game subjected to as whole- hearted a "strafing" as one could imagine. The- men of course played up to avoid this, but not with the spirit and keenness of those who waited for their leader's shabash. This team was beautifully trained, but it generally failed in a hard match or tournament. I of course speak in a general way and do not wish to imply that a man is never to be ''dropped on " But if one can get work done with a smile it will be better done. A jest is generally a far better weapon than a stick and if 3'ou can tack on. a proverb to it, so much the better.

2.i

It might not be amiss to mention here that it is a fatal mistake in this country to strike people. No doubt one is sorely tempted at times, but if ever}-- one could realise that it most often does more harm than good, we should hear less of tliese things. One can only ask the young officer to take this for granted, and see if experience does not confirm these words. Moreover, growth of education and other develop- ments have made the people of India more and more resentful of ph3^sical violence, and it may result at any time in very serious consequences. Further, the practice only too easily becomes a habit the injustice of which has only to be considered to be i-ealised. I need hardh^ add that I do not refer to striking one of the men — a crime against which no warning should be necessary.

This leads up to the (juestion of departmental punishments, which is one of the most difficult problems in district administration. Be the causes what they may, the Police more than any department carries on its work chiefly through prestige or influence or a combination of the two. Indiscriminate departmental inquiries are apt to play havoc with these qualities. This can be better understood by an example; A Sub-Inspector is accused of bribery, and the Superin- tendent immediately goes out and holds an enquiry. The offence is very difficult to prove, and the case is either filed as not proven or the punishment is annul- led on appeal. What is the result i The officer may be innocent, and in fact experience shows that where direct accusationsare made the causes are usually something quite difterent and the officer is most often innocent. But a distinct blow has meanwhile been dealt to his prestige, and the next time some suspect is being questioned, we may find the latter openly

24

defiant and ottering- to lodge a similar complaint if he is not immediately released. The result is that the case gets no further. Or again the Sub-Inspector may have been guilty of taking the bribe, but the failure of the enquiry has shown him how difficult it is to prove his guilt, so for the future he takes money with less scruple than ever. These are common enough occurrences, and they represent a problem of no small difficulty to the district officer who is keen to run his district well, and at the same time to put down malpractices among his subordinates. One could not venture to lay down a hard and fast rule for dealing with such a delicate business, but I think it safe to advise that an investigation of the kind should not be started unless preliminary confidential enquiries ^how that there is a fair prospect of proving the accusation. The Police Rule that all serious charges against officers must be immediately reported to Government is an- other handicap in dealing with this difficult question. I fancy that the Superintendent's difficulties are often not fully recognized, and he is more often thought to be shielding useful subordinates when in reality this is anything but the case. But when a severe offence is brought home it is a sound principle to award a really exemplary punishment, which will have a deterrent effect on others also. On the other hand, a host of petty punishments is most inadvisable and for a first offence of a minor nature a warning is sufficient. I always feel great scruple in entering the first Black Mark in a man's Roll. I also close the door of the Quarter Guard on a prisoner witli the greatest reluctance, and if it is possible I avoid this form of punishment. It degrades a man to find himself behind bars witli his comrades looking -on outside. If a man has to be confined his case should C3me up for decision as soon as possible.

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In retvard to promotions it is wise to forbid all recommendations when you have to decide anything of the kind. Apart from being the fairest method the men greatly appreciate the fact that merit brings its reward and that officers at headquarters are not allowed to put their spoke in anybody's wheel. Allow- ing sifarisJi may also lead to various malpractices.

It is a sound plan to have "orderly room" in Lines once a week, when the men can make any verbal request they desire direct to the Superintendent. Here aga'U; even though the requests be manifestly absurd, hear what the man has to say right through before passing orders. Tliis is very highly appreciat- ed and makes the men contented. In Lines and outstations make a point of personally seeing to the comfort of the men, that their barracks are well kept, that the water supply is good, and that thoy can get their food cooked without dela}^ or trouble. The privilege cf sleeping out of Lines is much appreciated by married men at headcjuarters, and should be allowed when it does not interfere with work or regulations. Let 3^our men also see and realise that you are i^ersonally interested in their welfare, and that recognition of good work is of vital concern to you, even more so than the punishment of bad work. The results will surprise j'ou. The personal touch is everything in India.

An insistence on smartness and cleanliness is of great importance to the force. I have heard officers who are keen on this question referred to as the " spit and polish school. " but on the principle that cleanliness is next to godliness I firmly believe that if a test could be applied it would be found that the smartest turned out district force was the cleanest minded and the cleanest handed. Moreover I always

20

insist that men going on duty outside the district should pay special attention to their appearance. Dirtiness or slovenliness on parade is known to only s, few and is a kind of family matter, but it should be explained to the men that outside the Lines they at all times have the good name of the whole district to uphold.

The rules provide for periodical meetings of gazetted and non -gazetted officers at Headquarters. The revolver course is fired — a very dangerous per- formance, at which it is advii^able to stand immedi- ately behind the man who is firing ! — and the opportunity is taken to discuss orders and rules in an informal conference, and to ask for suggestions and objections. I have found these meetings to be of the greatest value. The official who makes rules and gives orders is like the man who makes boots. With the most careful measurements and the most skilled workmanship the finished article, though perfect in appearance, maj'' be found to be quite use- less to the wearer. So it is with orders and rules, especially in India. The man who is going to wear the boot should at least be given the opportunity of saying whether it fits or not. His objection may prove to be without foundation, or the fault may be rectified without making a fresh boot, but in any case exchange of ideas cannot but be helpful to all •concerned. I have tried to apply this principle to district work generally, and have found it most effecti\o. The chief trouble is to get people to realise that genuine criticism will be welcomed. Away from tli(- ])latform or the press it is not easy to coax this on I '>F those with whom one usually has to deal. A wokI vhould be said about the bootmaker too. As aruleli. .s not grown up in the country where he

27

plies his trade : his apprenticeship should therefore he as thorough as possible, and for at least 8 years ^f ter arrival in India he should be kept steadily at district work which brings him into the closest contact with the people until he is saturated with the practi- cal politics of the country. This will overshadow his whole outlook throughout his service and stand him in good stead always. It is the man who has really tried to study the country and the people by coming in close contact with them, who after 25 years of effort will say : " The only thing I know about India is that I know nothing; and I am not quite sure that I know that." That is the spirit in which the thorny problems of this country are best tackled.

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V. DISTRICT GOVERNMENT.

It may not be out of place to give a short account of the ditfei-eut branches of district administration. Perhaps it is because these consist of several water- tight compartments that members of one branch will sometimes know so little about the other. For instance, it is a fairly common idea among young, military officers that the Superintendent of Police sits as a Magistrate and also that he runs the jail. This is hardly to be wondered at, for the working of the various departments are often quite separate and distinct from one another and the elements in the composition of a district stati vary considerably.

Taken generally the Deputy Commissioner is the head of e\^ery branch, though in manj' branches he does not touch the internal working and is only concerned with the general administration. It might surprise some people to hear that " Deputy Commis- sioner, " " Collector " " District Magistrate, " " Chair- man of the District Board," " President of the Municipal Committee " all apply to the same official in a Punjab district. The Deputy Commissioner is r)rimarily an administrative officer, but he is very rightly invested with magisterial and appellate powers. He has usually what are called " section 30' powers," i. e , powers under section 30 of the Criminal Procedure Code to try all cases not punishable with death. In practice this means any case in which a .sentence not exceeding seven years will be sufficient, By tr3dng cases the District. Magistrate gains first- haad knowledge of the working of the police, the-

29

prosecuting agency and the viilage officials wlio are ■supposed to help the criminal administration. Then the Deputy Commissioner is, on the revenue side, the Collector of the district. To assist him in this highly technical and most important work he has a specialist called the Revenue Assistant, who is generally a 1st Class Magistrate of the Provincial Service.

The appeals from 2nd and 3rd Class Magistrates ■go to the Deputy Commissioner, as also appeals from 1st Class Magistrates in security cases.

The Sessions Judge is the highest purely judicial officer and he deals with the most serious criminal •cases and the hearing of appeals from subordinate Courts, both criminal and civil. The Sessions Judge is directly under the control of the Chief or High Court, and is quite independent of district authority.

The remaining Magisterial stafi need not be pre- cisely detailed. There is one senior Magistrate, the Subordinate Judge, who deal -' mostly with civil work, and another who has charge of the Treasury.

Next to the District Magistrate the most impor- tant administrative official is the Superintendent of Police. The internal economy of the force is entirely under departmental control, but the District Magis- trate, as reponsible for the criminal administration, is answerable for the working of the police. This control he naturally exercises through the local head of 'the department.

Likewise, the Civil Surgeon is responsible to the Deputy Commissioner for the running of his depart- ment, the chief item of which, apart from his medical work, is the administration of the jail, of which he is

80

Superintendent. The internal economy of the Jaill and its discipline are in his hands.

In most districts there is a branch of the mar- vellous network of canals which the British have built in India. What was wild desert 50 years ago is now smilino- crops, the output of which forms an important contribution to the world's grain supply. I gather that India easily leads the world in canal engineering and the Punjab certainly leads India. For sheer audacity in conception and skill in execu- tion the Canal Engineer in this countrj^ is unsurpass- ed. The canals themselves are in manj'- places the life blood of the people and have almost reduced famine to a bogie of the past. The}' also bring in an enormous revenue to Government. By what at first sight seems a curious arrangement the Canal Engineer assesses the water-rate and revenue for his division. He is in every wa}^ a most important member of the district administration. It will give some idea of his importance when I mention that in 1916 the canals irriga'ed over 9 million acres of land, the gross receipts on which amounted to Rs. 4,44,87,984.

We might now mention the District Board, of Avhich the Deputy Commissioner is Chairman. This is a local body whose members are chosen from all over the district. Membership is greatly prized as it gives position and iszat. The Board controls the district schools, hospitals, roads, the planting of trees, the maintenance of various buildings, rest-houses, etc.. The income is mostly derived from a percentage on the revenue.

The chief source of the Indian Government's revenue is the land, so the collection, etc., of that

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revenue is a great item in the work of a district. Tha unit of division for land revenue purposes is called, a Tehsil, and most districts are divided into three or four of them. The TeJtsil is in charo-e of a Tehs'ldar\ and his assistant or " Naih " who are generally invested with 2nd or 3rd class magisterial powers. These are followed by a host of underlings, chief place among whom must be given to the " pativari " or village accountant. As the proverb has it :

Asnvin par zat bari. Zamin iiar 'patwari.

i.e. In heaven there is Gcd. On earth the pativari.

Though the .salary of this otficial is only some Rs. 10-15 a month the above will show what a power he wields in the land. His duties are varied enough. He has maps of tlie village areas showing every field and its most minute boundaries, and he could tell you what crops it has produced for many gener- ations. It is said to be the most complete land re- venue .sj'stem in the world.

Subject to check and supervision the _/:)aho iri records exactly what tields are cultivated for each harvest, what crop was planted, and what revenue should be paid after allowance has been made for bad seasons, lack of rain, etc. One can easily see there- fore why this Rs. 10 underling wields such power and why some of them can afford to send their sous to England to be educated. And some have risen to high positions in the Pi-ovincial Civil Service. The man who actualh' collects tbe cash and deposits it in the Tehsil Treasury is the lambardar

32

or village headman. This ])ost is mostly hereditary and is naturallj^ very much sought after. The larger villages have several lambardars, the number being based on the revenue, 5 per cent, of which is kept by the lambardars as salary. This is known as the •padtotra. A cess is also levied on the village for salary of its cJiauJcidar, who gets the large sum of Rs. 4 per mensem. If ever anyone earned his pay it is the chaitkidar, and the Superintendent of Police on tour can do much by local enquiry to see that he gets it. The Tehsiidar is not supposed to give a receipt for the revenue till he sees the cJtaukidars receipt for his pay, but I fear this is often omitted. The chaukidar can do a great deal to assist the criminal administration, and every Superintendent of Police should make a special point of befriending him and rewai'ding him liberally for good work. He is nominally the servant of the village, but is at the beck and call of every official high and low. Among other duties he keeps the birth and death registers, which he gets written up by some literate villager under the supervision of the lainhardar, and every fortnight he tramps to the tJiana, where the entries are copied into a large register (Book XV), and eventually find their way to the Civil Surgeon's office for permanent record. Chaukidars are supposed to be supplied with a rough uniform at the expense of the village. This is a question too in which the Superintendent of Police can interest himself and assist the Deputy Commissioner in seeing that uni- form is provided at suitable intervals.

Another very important official is the zaildar as he is generally called. He is given a circle of villages or Z'lil, and is expected to assist generally in all branches of the district administration. His

33

importance can be o^auged from his duties which are /given below : —

"(1) To report heinous crimes to the Police and Magistrate, to bring to their notice the presence in his zail of any persons of notoriously bad livelihood, and to assist in the investigation and prevention of offences and in arresting criminals.

(2) To see that the headmen, chief headmen and patwaris of the zail perform their duties properly ; provided that the zaildar must not interfere in the performance of their duties by these officials except under directions from a competent officer.

(3) To render sucli assistance in the work of survey, crop inspection, preparation of records and assessments, or other branches of revenue administra- tion within the zail as the Collector may require.

(4) To report any repairs necessary to Govern- ment buildings, roads or boundary marks within the zail.

(5) To notif}^ in the estates of the zail all orders of Government communicated to him for that purpose

. and to obey all orders which require obedience from himself.

(6) To exert his influence to secure within the zail prompt obedience to all orders of Government,

■ and to abstain from interference with cases pending in the law courts except under order from the proper . authority.

(7) To assist Government officei-s in the execu- tion of their duties, and to supply them to the best of his ability with any information they may require

; and to attend on them when they visit the zail."

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The position is very eagerly sought after and is the cause of keen competition. This rivalry is of considerable value because of the inducements it ofters to prospective candidates to assist all depart- ments and to acquire a show of certiticates against the time when the}- will be needed. The zaddar gets a nominal stipend or inam var3'iug usually from Rs. 75 to perhaps Rs. 350 a year. These are fixed at the time of settlement. In some districts a species of suh-zaildar is appointed in the larger zails on a small inam. They ar^ usually stjded siifaidposh, literally " the man with white clothes," geueralh^ used to denote the man of position above the ordinary.

The word " settlement " requires a brief explana- tion. In most provinces of India the whole district revenue is revised and re-assessed every 20 or 30 years, and this is called " settlement.'" It is a most complete performance, and takes several years, for it includes a great deal. The work is most strenuous, and requires much labour, skill and tact, especially as it generally entails- a considerable enhancement of revenue in the Punjab Avhich is growing yearly in prosperity and general advancement. Village lands are remeasured, outstanding disputes are settled, the produce of each field for the previous 20 years is totalled up, and the future revenue calculated accord- ing! v. It is a big business, and a sound settlement must compel universal admiration. The settlement officer also writes up the District Gazetteer, namely, the complete history of the district. When you take ovtr charge of a district invariably get hold of the Gazetteer. You will find it of the greatest assistance in getting an idea of what the district is like.

The question of dealing adequately with corrup- tion in the lower ranks of every service is as difficult

as it is common. It is rao>cover probable that nothing has created more dissatisfaction with Britisb rule amoncr the rural population than this unchecked growth of" bribery. The ordinary villager sees corruption going on all round him, he feels that complaint is useless and that he has no remedy. It affects everyone in the village in more or leas degree- He cannot understand why Government should be precluded by its own rules and regulations from getting rid of this thorn in the flesh, and his conclu- sions are not to the credit of his rulers. If there Ls any real desire for political power among the masses it is the desire for power to free themselves from the exactions of coiTupt underlings. The Punjab Govern- ment has taken the lead in the effort to stamp out corruption, and is already doing much good, but I venture to think that it should be brought home to the ordinary villager that Government iirishefi to help him, and has provided a remedy. The remedy suggested is not recourse to the Courts, but the formation of local Commissions or panchafjats for enquiry into cases of this nature. It should thus be possible for a village to free itself from the burden of a corrupt pahvari by invoking Government aid On the report of a carefully selected Commission expressing conviction that the charge was true, the 'patwftri would be punished, and the satisfaction to the whole country -side would be immense. It would prove to the people that they had a real voice in the direction of their own affairs, and it would in time create a valuable sense of responsibility — a reol germ of self-government.

So far in this chapter I have attempted to give a rough idea of the conditions obtaining in a modem Punjab district. It will not be arniss therefore to

36

recall to mind sonietliin<^ of the old days, just before -and after the annexation of the Punjab. The ex- tracts below are taken from Ibbetson's Census Report -of 1881, one ot" the most authoritative publications •on record.

" The first half of the ISth century was one of unusual turmoil even for India ; and as has ever been the case when flighting wa^ on the Punjab was in the very heart of

the fray. As the century opened, the -Sikhs

I'avaged the whole eastern portion of the Province from the Jamna to tne Sutlej, and laid the northern and central 'tracts under contribution. The invasion of the great Persian freebooter Nadir Shah followed close upon their ipunishment, and swept like a wave of death through the Punjab ravaging and destroying all that lay in its course. And the first half of the century was fitly closed by the famines of 1753 and 1759.

The latter half of the century witnessed one contiu-

tious struggle eight times within as many

years did Ahuiad Shah invade the Punjab ; eight times was his departure from the Province the signal for the Sikhs and Mahrattas to tly at each other's throats. The desolation which Ahmad Shah's army carried in its route is expressed by the saying still current among the wild tribes •of Montgomery : " what one eats and drinks is one's own ; the rest is Ahmad Shah's " Might was the only test of right, and in the absence of any general controlling author- ity the country became a prey to the ambition of rival chiefs struggling for supremacy. Jn the midst all this misery <ame "the great famine" as the people call it of 1783."

Sir Lepel (iriffin writes of this famine : —

" In the east of the Punjab the country was depopulated, the peasants abandoning their villages and dying in thous- sands of disease and want ; the country swarmed with bands -of thieves and highway robbers, and the state of anarchy was almost inconceivable."

87

Another report says : —

In the fertile and populous central districts wheat sold at from li to 2i seers for the rupee, the seeds of the acacia < kikar) and cotton plant were greedily devoured : so many died of star^"ation that bodies ■were thrown into wells unburied, mothers cast their children into the rivers and even cannibalism is said to ha\e been resorted to. The cattle nearly all died,

or were eaten up by the starving Mohammadaus

The famine was followed by great mortality from fever and a^ue, and a large proportion of those who escaped starvation fell victims to the disease. "

During the first 40 years of the 19th century there were 6 more famines, that of 1833 being almost as severe as that of 1783. In 1841 an epidemic of fever swept over the province so virulent that '' the crops died standing for want of people to eat them."

Nowadays it is a common form of platform ora- tory to accuse the British of brinoing famine and plague, etc. to India, or at least of paving the way for their advent I India was Utopia before the British came and spoilt everything.

The following will give an idea of the country at the time of annexation : —

The village communities while they held the property of their own society sacred, habitually committed depre- dations and aggressions on other villages or on travellers and generally shared the plunder they obtained ivith the ruling poicer or principal local authority. Revenue ad- ministration there was none ; the cultivator followed the plough with a sword in his hand, the collector came at the head of a regiment, and if he fared well another soon followed him to pick up the crumbs."

One can understand after reading the above w^hat a villager in Ferozepore means when he refers to some outrage as "Sikha Shahi" (Sikh rule). He usually

38

■cannot think of a worse epithet. Sir Henry Lawrence wrote about Kaithal in Karnal district ceded to us in 1843 and the change brought about by owe year • of British rule.

ft'uch was the desolation of parts of the district that looking fioni the tops of village towers, I could often see miles and miles of good land without a single acre of culti- vation The people were accustomed to pay no revenue

except upon absol ute compulsion Kaithal was one

year ago as lawless a tract of country as any in India ; but something I hope has been effected for its improvement. I may instance the J at village of Chatar, which was formerly the very headquarters of opposition to authority, and is said never to have admitted a Sikh within its quick- set hedge. Tt was reckoned able to turn out a thousand matchlocks, and the four wards of the village were barri- caded against one another. So bad a name hhd the place that when I visited it in April I was attended by a hundred troopers and a company of infantry ; when I went there in August I was accompanied by a single horseman,

and found the village one sheet of cultivation ,

As I was riding along the border with Raja Sarup Singh we heard and saw the husbandmen singing as they drove their cattle through the satui-ated fields. The Raja smiled and called my attention to their air of security, observing that if they had been so employed last year the chances were that their cattle would have been carried off by some foraging party."

It would be difficult to find a more glowing tribute to British power, prestige and efficiency than the above. Here is an extract from a settlement report on a portion of the present Ambala Division when under iSikh rule.

"The powerful villages onlv paid so much revenue as they found it convenient to do. Few crimes were acknowledged and such as were were punished by fine Avitli imprisonment until payment. Open evidence was

39

unnecessary to conviction, the recent information of an informer was ample, and the fact of possession of the wherewithal more than conclusive. Murder was punish- ed by fine ; and cheating, for^^ery and unnatural offences were considered good jokes."

I hope these lines will catch the eye of some of those politicians who inveigh against the injustice of British rule in reference to the action taken in Benoal and elsewhere under the Defence of India Act.

The following will give an idea of the Thai tract of the Raw^alpindi Division : —

" The men stout, fierce and fearless of man or beast clad in shaggy cloaks of brown camel's hair, drive out the herds to feed, and with long matchlock in hand and burn- ing match lie full length along the ground and listen for strange footfalls on the horizon. Should an enemy approach, the discharge of a single matchlock would be heard over the whole plain and summon thousands of the tribe to the point where danger threatened or plunder allured.''

In the Salt-range tract —

Anarchy had reigned for centuries, and from the oldest times the district had been overrun by hordes of

invaders from Greeks to Afghans But it was

the rule of the 8ikh Kai'dars, too far off from Lahore to be under any check, that reduced the Rajputs and Gakkars alike to their present state of poverty. Their rule v/as a military despotism, and their aim to extermin- ate all classes and families with any pretension to ruling power, and their strongest measures were therefore levelled against the Gakkars and all the gentry who shared with them in the management of the countrj'. Accordingly, we find them mere exiles, or reduced to abject poverty inso- much that thej' are now often compelled to become tenants under their former ploughmen. In the yeai-s preceding annexation the high roads were universally unsafe. Pass- ing through the limits of different tribes traAellers and

40

caravans had to satisfy the rapacity of each by paying- blackmail, or they had to submit to be plundered, outraged^ and ill-treated, happy sometimes to escape with life."

The system of revenue collection with the Sikhs- was to farm out the whole countr}^ to Kardars or agents. The Kardar was responsible to the State for a fixed amount, anything he could extract from the people beyond that amount was his own property.

The Sikhs often actually took as much as one-half the gross produce of an estate, besides a multitude of cesses : our demand never exceeds one sixth, is frequently not more than an eighth, a tenth or a twelfth, and in some- cases not moi'e than a fifteenth of the average gross pro- duce, valued at average prices for a period of 20 to 30 years.""

(Administration Report for 1872-73). A reliable guide to the immediate change for the better brought about by British rule is to be found in the prices of food grains before and after the annexation of the Punjab, the date of which was 1849. The figures below are quoted in five-yearl}^ averages, showing prices of wheab and gram in seers to the rupee.

	Wheat.	Gram,
1841—45	... 29	35
1846—50	... 27	30
1851—55	... 37	48
1856—60	... 36	46
1861—65	... 25	29

Since those days prices have steadily risen owing to the opening to India of the markets of the world by which the pocket of the cultivator is directly benefited. In Sikh times low prices were due to the discouragement and oppression which were placed in the way of production.

41

The Punjab has made steady jjrogress since- annexation and has never looked back. The popula- tion is world famed for its loyalty and attachment to the Crown, and in the Great War " the sword arm of India" has supplied more than a half of the Indian Expeditionary Forces. Under German tuition and aided by German tjold several thousand Sikh emitrrants in America returned to India after war broke out to raise the standard of rebellion. There were a certain number of outbreaks, but the conspiracy was speedily (juelled. The chief point to be borne in mind is that the rural population in the affected tracts was chiefly instrumental in giving th^ deith blow to these plots. Government has always made the Punjabi zamindar the forward plank of its policy, and .seemingly the latter has thoroughly realised the fact. A strong agrarian policy is the keystone to the arch of British rule in the Punjab, and it is unlikely that there wall be any change from this well-defined and altogether logical scheme of governing the Province.

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VI. RELATIONS WITH THE MAGISTRACY,

The question of relationship between the police and magistracy is one of the greatest importance. Here the connection with the Deputy Commissioner, or District Magistrate as he is more commonly called in his police capacity, is our primary con- sideration. It cannot be too clearly impressed upon the young police officer that the District Magistrate is head of the district in every branch of its admin- istration. Apart from the internal economy of the force which is purely a police matter, the District Mao-istrate is responsible for the direction and control of criminal matters, so it is clear that the ■police must be subordinate to the District Magistrate in this capacity, a fact which should never be foro-otten. Take it as your golden rule never to ■quarrel with the District Magistrate. On the cordial relations existing between you two hangs the success oi: the whole criminal administration. This does not of course mean that there should never be diflerences of opinion, nor that the Superintendent of Police should not press his point of view until he is convinced to the contrary. The important point is that unless the public see the two officers working in complete harmony, serious harm is sure to be the result. As a matter of fact a good District Magistrate is the best friend the police have, and it may be the fault of the police i£ he is anything else. He can do an immense amount to help and advance the good name of the police, and the two must never be at logger-heads. This is a sine qua non of sound police administra- tion, and it is for this reason that Government

4S

insists oa constant personal meetings and co-operation between the two officers. It is hardly necessary to -add that no criticism of the District Magistrate should ever go on in the presence ofc' subordinates. To -avoid waste of time and energy it is a wise plan to discuss any proposals verbally with the District Magistrate first, and then to put in writing what you have both agreed upon as the best course to pursue. If tliis is not possible at any time, demi- 'official or U. O. correspondence is the best substitute.

In regard to the magistracy generally it is •.safe to say that the more cordial the relations between the two departments the higher the standard of all criminal work. Every effort that may result in the i\lagistrates raising their respect for the police is well worth a trial. It is a matter of com- mon knowledge, for instance, that when the Mao-is- trate of the ilaqa holds a high opinion of the Sub-Inspector in charge and treats him with courtesy and puts trust in his word, that Sub-Inspector will fight very shy of putting up doubtful or fishy evidence before the Court, as he is loath to forego the good opinion he has gained. In England the police owe much of their success to the trust and confidence reposed in them, and in regard to the magistracy the same holds good in this country. Under a Chief Court rule Magistrates are forbidden to criticise the police in their judgments, but it is an excellent plan to ask the Magistrates to refer any bad police working by demi-official letter, after which the files can be scrutinised and suitable action taken.

It would be difficult to exagg3rate the impor- tance of prompt disposal of criminal cases when they eome up for trial Dilay is often fitil ; witnesses

44

forcjet the evidence, they are open to threats and! temptation, the frequent absence from home entails pecuniary loss while the trouble caused all round renders the givinw- of evidence unpopular, prevents tlie people from helping the police or telling wliat they know. In short, the greater the delay the leas the chance of conviction. Quite recently the Sessions Judoe, Coimbatore, made the followino- i-emarks when acquitting six persons of murder and kindi-ed offences : — " It is of the first importance that cases, of this nature should be committed (to Sessions)' without any avoidable delay of any kind. Delay either leads to the unnecessary detention of innocent persons in jail or assists the guilty to escape the ])enalty of their crimes. From either point of \ icw' it is in the highest degree undesirable."

These ar-e some of the evils attendant on delay- but there are many others. To enumerate a few, one might point out the w^aste of time to police and witnesses in constantly attending Court and being kept from other work, the labour of serving summonses, and the expense to Government. To promote efficiency and friendly relations with the magistracy it has been found useful to have periodical meetings^ of the Magistrates and leading Police Officers with' the District Magistrate presiding. Each department can then point out its difficulties and troubles, and a general discussion is usually productive of much good.

Now and then I have met Magistrates who' boasted that they never let a witness go home before- his statement had been recorded, and that they found in the end this saved much time. Sometimes, on the other hand, one finds Magistrates who seem to find a "doubt" inmost cases, the benefit of which must, of course, be given to the accused. These

45

.are the Courts which break the policeinanVs heart they destroy the result of so much labour.

If the definition of " proved " in the Evidence Act were fully realised 1 venture to think that we should hear fewer complaints that the codes of law are unsuited to India. The definition is so clear and so

■complete that I make no excuse for reproducing it : —

" A fact is said to be proved when, after con- sidering the matters before it, the Court either believes it to exist, or considers its existence so pro- bable that a prudent man ought nitdt'v the circum- stances of the particidar case (the italics are niine) to act upon the supposition that it exists."

Is it too much to ask that tliis .splendid defini- tion be framed in letters of gold and hung in the immediate view of every Court to serve as an ever present reminder, a torch to outline the guiding prin- ciple in tlie decision of every case ?

The unsuitability to India of any code seems to be neutralised by this guiding light. Acquittals are the cause of many crimes, and especially of murder. It is essential to remember that the •entire village and even the neighbourhood is often well aware of the true facts of a murder. They see what seems to them a strong case fail in Court, and witness the triumphal return of the accused to his home. The deceased's relatives in disgust and shame have been known to take the lav/ into their own hands and mete out the punishment they consider the law should have provided. In this way a real blood feud has been started. Others see how easy it is to kill an enemy and escape the law, so self-restraint is relaxed, more especially in the slack season of the hot weather, and a rush of murders is the result. In time that single original

46

failure iiui}^ liavr- ended in nothing sliort of havoc^ over a large tract of country. The effect of acquittals, on the murder-thermometer is a ]noblem of great interest, and forms the subject of further discussion in Chapter XL The Government Review on the annual report of the Administration of Criminal Justice in the Punjab for 1917 contains the following remarkable passage in support of the theory advanced above : — " The figures of recent 3'ears raise a doubt whether there is not some connection between the smaller percentages of convictions and death sentences^ and the increase in murders. This is not a point in- which it is possible to form a definite conclusion without a r-areful analj'sis of the figures for particular districts. But it is not without significance that in a certain district wliere in 1916 Government had to- appeal against more than one order of acquittal and to apply for enhancement to the extreme penalty in' other cases, the number of murders in 1917 showed an increase of no less than 58 per cent."

It was suggested once by one of the most famous-. Punjab Commissioners that during the first few years of their training every Assistant Commissioner and Assistant Superintendent of Police should ex- change roles for a certain period in order that they might both obtain practical and first hand knowledge of tlie difficulties which had to be faced in tlie course of their respective duties. The proposal would appear to be full of promise, but presumably some practical diflRculties have prevented it from being put into execution. Speaking for one side only^ I know the policeman often wishes the Judge or Magistrate could come and see for himself the numerous pitfalls and obstacles with which the- investigating officer luis to contend, and gain)

47

practical experience of the way in which evidence is collected and the general procedure which i» followed. For instance, I myself had to be summoned as a special witness in a big murder case for the trial in Sessions merely to testify that case diaries had to be copied at the thana before submission to head- quarters. The fact was of supreme importance as it explained what appeared to be an inexcusable delay in the arrival of the fir.st diary in this case. Success as it happened depended largely on this point, and counsel for the Crown told me neither he nor the Judge was aware that copies had to be made. On the other hand it cannot be questioned that the police officer would gain immeasurably by a practical knowledge of magisterial work. It may be remarked that in some countries he is actually invested w^ith certain magisterial powers. Any course of training is worth consideration which will conduce to fuller understanding of mutual difficulties and consequently lead to more whole-hearted cooperation between these two departments of Government.

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VII. RELATIONS WITH THE PEOPLE.

It is small wonder that the new arrival in the East is somewhat overwhelmed by the wealth of new emotions, sights and sounds which meet him at every turn. In time he ceases to marvel or even to notice, until some newcomer brings to mind the novelty of the unchanging East A famous journalist who was touring India wrote an account of the scenery from the verandah of a certain house. The cwner of the house told me it gave him quite a shock, when he read the book and compared the account with the original, to realise all that he had missed. And so it is with the people, they rouse one's curiosity at first, and it is well to follow this up at once while interest is keen, and to acquire some knowledge of their customs, superstitions and habits. The knowledge acquired will stand you in good stead throughout your service, and I will therefore try to put down a few elementary facts in the hope they may stimulate interest and persuade the reader to take up research on his own account.

It is staggering at first to be told that your Indian companion as he goes along- a crowded street or road can tell fairly accurately the caste and occupation of nearly every person you meet ! It is a fact nevertheless. Let me give an example or two. Riding along once in the Jhang district I passed four or five men wrapped in blankets, carry^ ing long bamboo sticks, and being suspicious of the sticks I asked who they were. One of those riding behind almost immediately told me they were

49

Hindus of a certain caste from the neighbourhood or "town of Hyderabad in MianwaJi, that they had lost a parent and were returning from Hardwar -after cousignino the ashes of the departed to the Ganoes. Now that was a good deal of information gleaned from a mere glance, but it was accurate enough. Hyderabad was a good 80 miles away, but when I questioned the party I found every detail was correct. They belonged to the town and had been to the Ganges for the reason given. The signs were there for him who runs to read. To shave head, face and eyebrows is a regular act of mourning among Hindus when a parent dies. The long "male" bamboos are purchased by pilgrims to Hardwar, and the blankets are very necessary, for the pious Hindu on such a mission is forbidden to lie on a bed till he has returned home and fed his famil}' Brahman priest. The villager riding with me recognised the neighbourhood where they lived from the cut of their jib. This will appear the most ■extraordinary deduction of the lot, but it is true iinough, as another instance will show. In an import- «,nt dacoity case in Jhelum a few years ago the investigating Inspector received information that three of the gang who were armed with revolvers had gone to the Atharan Hazari Fair in Jhang -district intending to commit an offence on any likely visitors. With two Jhelum zamindars he started off at once as time was short. None of the party knew the dacoits by sight, and there was no time to fetch others who did, but they relied on being able to spot Salt Range men in a Jhang crowd. Thous- ands of people attend this fair but the pursuers were «,ble to pick out the trio and arrest them with the assistance of the local police. Each man had a revolver in his possession !

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The European can never hope to attain perfec- tion of this kind, but much can be learnt if he is keen. First of all, one mijjjht start by learnintj to differentiate between a Hindu and a Mahomniedan by his name. A considerable advance on this would be to differentiate merely from the appearance of the man. The first method will be loarnt fairly soon by practice, as Hindu and Mahommedan names are very distinct. I ^ive some of the more common names below ; whether they come as prefix or suffix in a name they should show at once whether the bearer is a Hindu or a Mahommedan.

Hindu. — Amar, Bisben, Chaud, Das, Gopal, Kirpa, Kishore, Lai, Mai, Nand, Narain, Nath, Ram, Rai, Rattan, Shiv, Sewa, Sarup, Sant, Sita. The commonest Hindu titles are Lala (derived from Lara or lord) Rai, Seth, etc.

Mahommedan — Abdul, Ali, Allah, Bakhsh, Din, Ellahi, Fazal, Ghulam, Hassan, Hussain, Haidei-, Haq, Imam, Inait, Khan, Karim, Khuda, Mahomed, Rahira, Shah, Ullah. Mahommedan titles are Sheikh, Khan, Mian, etc.

There are a few general names connnon to both religions such as Amir, Bahadur, Buta, Barkat, Daulat, Hakim, Jewan, Kahi, Karam, Mehr, but the combina- tion will invariably be distinctive. In recent years a practice has grown up among the educated classes of employing the name of the caste or sub-caste {got) as a surname. The system has much to recommend it, and is becoming universal. Thus to distinguish him- self from the hundreds of others who bear the same name, Mr. Jai Lai, Barrister, will add Chona (a branch of the Khatris) to his name, and when reading for the bar he was probably known as J. L. Chona, Esq. In the same way Mr. A. R. Lodi is the name of Mr. Abdur Rahman, a rising star of the Lodi Pathans. Sikhs

51

also adopt the practice which as I said before, is as- popular as it is useful.

No definite rule can be given which would be brief enough to help the beginner materially to distinguish Hindu from Mahommedan names - but this comes easily enough with practice. Detec- tion by appearance is far more difficult, and requires both study and practice. I can give a few hints as regards Punjabis, but they are- bound to be very incomplete, and it must be remembered that few rules in India are of universal application, while education and progress bring about many changes.

Mahommedans have what appear to me harder and more rugged faces than Hindus, they are more- biblical in appearance. The sign manual however is the clipped moustache round the mouth, the ends being uncut. The idea is to prevent food from touching any hair as it passes into the mouth, hair being regarded as unclean. The true follower of the Prophet should not shave his beard, but modern ideas and education have changed many prejudices and it is not uncommon nowada3^s- to find Mahommedans with shaved chins and undipped moustaches. The hair of the head is- variously treated : manj' tribes shave the head, a rectangular patch on the toj) of the head being^ kept entirely free of hair. In the Western Punjab- especially it is a sure sign of the Mahommedan when we find the hair cut S(]uare at tlie nape of the neck, on the pudding basin principle. Among: old men it is not unconnnon to find the beard dyed with henna to a bright brick red. Hindus do use this dye, but it is mo.stly confined to- Mahommedans. The women generally wear trouser«

52

while Hindus wear skirts : the ditoti or loin-cloth is a purely Hindu garment. Mahominedans button the coat or shirt on the left, Hindus and Sikhs on the rigid . This difference is easily detected amono- villagers, who wear a shirt with only one fastening at the neck, nainel}' a small cloth button fitting into a loop. Most Indians wear rings and the illiterate generally wear a signet with the ownei'S name carved on it to serve as a signature. A Hindu wears this on the left hand and a Mahom- medan on the rif/ht. The piujri is a great help in determining race and caste : that there are great differ- ences is very soon apparent but a lengthy disquisition would not be very helpful, only practice will really teach. There are a few definite signs neverthless. A green pugri should only be worn by a Haji, i.e., a Muslim who has performed the Haj or pilgrimage to Mecca. As to other colours the Mahommedan prefers indigo blue which the Hindu and Sikli dislike ; on the other hand he will avoid red. It will also be noticed that the Mahommedan leaves the end of his pugri (palla or shamla) hanging down liis back while the Hindu more often tucks it in. Among household .servants it is not considered respectful to have the shainla loose, wiiile labourers and poor people use a minimum of cloth and there is usually none left over to han<£ down.

Other characteristics of the Mahommedan are that he prays, sleeps and is buried with the face towards the Kaaba at Mecca. A grave is dug in the shape of the letter L, and the corpse is laid in the ledge thus made and not at the bottom of the grave which is directly below the •opening. The ledge is fairly high, and after the

corpse has been laid in the grave the bandages are untied so that the body can assume a sitting position the lirst night after burial to render an account of the life on earth to the two angel messengers of God. The Mahoramedan worships in a mosque {masj id) the Hindu in a temple {niatidir). The former believes in the Qoran, the latter in the A'edas and Shastras, the Sikh in the Granth. The Mahommedan abominates the pig but eats the cow : a meat eating Hindu will eat pork, but to him the cow is sacred and special precautions have to be taken everywhere so that he should never set eyes on beef. According to their scriptures every inch of the cow represents some deity or spiritual force in the Hindu my- thology. The impurity of the pig is said to be based on the legend that this animal was created to scavenge Noah's Ark. It will be remembered tliat Mahomraedans believe in a great deal of the Bible, and regard the patriarchs and Jesus Ciirist as true and great Prophets. The great Prophet Mahomed himself was partly influenced in his doctrines by the early Christians in Arabia. The strict Mahommedan should never touch liquor, but it is noticeable that when he does take to drink he is extremely intemperate. The Hindu is fettered by no prohibitions of this nature, but tobacco is. forbidden to Sikhs. When a Jat village in Feroze- pur has just concluded one of those riots for which the district is notorious and there are a number of broken heads going off to hospital, the policeman often wishes that Guru Gobind Singh had not banned the peacemaking hugqa to his followers. The Sikh makes up for the loss of tobacco by an unfortunate liking for spirits with which he often primes himself before committing crimes of violence. Recently however there has.

.5t

been an improvement, and tlie Sikh Temperance . Societies are doing good work in this respect.

A Mahommedan will usually eat food cooked by a Hindu — it will be noticed that most of the sweetmeat shops are kept by Hindus — but he will not smoke from the same huqqa. Tuesday is looked upon as unlucky ; no Mahommedan will start a journey -or anew project - on that day if he can avoid it. Amongst Punjabis generally it is considered im- modest for a husband and wife to take any notice of or speak to one another in the presence of their parents, and a woman will never tell you the name of her husband, while the latter will not readily repeat the name of his wife. All classes have a great fear of the evil eye (nazar- i-bad) : Europeans are believed to possess this unenviable distinction so it is unwise to express your admiration for a pretty child or a handsome horse or bullock, etc. It will be noticed that ■ every piece of craftsmanship, be it a woman's fancy- work, or a fine piece of carving, will have an intentional flaw in it : this is due to the same cause — to avert the evil eye. Many wear charms to guard against it : a favourite form is a silver locket (taiviz) round the neck or arm containing a couplet, or among Mahommedans a verse from the Qoran : this is the phylactery we read of in the Bible. " He who is bitten by a snake may escape but not he on whom the evil eye has fallen."

It is well to remember that all classes are • extremely superstitious, and that an evil omen has its full signiticance. The superstitions and methods «of avoiding evil omens are so varied that it 'would be impossible to detail even the most

55

important. It is hardly surprising therefore that the people are most prone to believe in rumours, and it would appear that the more absurd a rumour ma}' be the more credence it will receive among the ignorant. There is also a mysterious means by which news gets abroad in an apparently im- possible manner. Most of us have most probably had experience of that, but I must record one war rumour, wliich was both neat and clever. A man in some Frontier district was said to have had a dream in which he saw a Crown on a block of ice : the ice melted and the Crown came to the earth below. The vernacular for crown is taj, and the word for ice is written hrf : the first word consists of the initials of Turkey, Austria and Germany, and the second word gives those of Britain, Russia and France. Wliat could be clearer from the dream than that the Allies would be beaten and the sooner everyone realised it the better ? ! Subse- quent events however have probably demolished the reputation of this dreamer prophet.

A good deal of confusion exists in the minds of many Europeans regarding the various branches of the Maliommedan priesthood. The foUowinor terms are often heard, namely, UJama, Moulvi, Imam, Muazzan, Pir, and it might be as well to distinguish them clearly. Let us take the Moulvi first : he is a man of high education, and is learned in the law of his religion, which he is expected to expound. A body of Moulvis is called Ulama and bears a weight of great responsibility: it may issue a fatwa, a sort of Muslim equivalent of a papal bull, which would be binding on all. A Mullah is not usually a learned man, he is more of a pj-eachcr, itinerant or not, but ever}' village mosque

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will have its Mullah. On the Frontier he carries much weigiit, and is largely used to rouse religious en- thusiasm ; that is his chief function e\ erywhere. The Imam of a mosque is the man who leads the prayers.- facing towards the Kaaba. The Muazzan intones th& call to prayer (azan). The duties of Iiunni and Muazzan are often combined, and a Mullah will often act as Imam, but he can never hope to be a Moulvi^ who is the Muslim equivalent of the Hindu Swauii or Rishi, and the Sikh Guru. Though the ten Gurus are gone the term is used nowadays^ as against the Granthi or reader of the Granth Sahib, who roughly corresponds to the Imam.

A Pir is one of a class quite apart from tiie above. He is a kind of spiritual guide, and his disciples (jnjtrifZs) maj^ come from hundreds of miles away. Pirl-inuridi is a great feature of social life in the Punjab, and especially in the Western districts. The headquarters of every Pir are at a shrine {khangah) and he is often the descendant of the holy man who lies buried there. There are thousands of these shrines, constantly \isited by their followers for one purpose or other^ The most famous Punjab shrines are at Sakhi Sarwar in Dera Ghazi Khan and Pakpattan in Montgomery. Fairs are held annually, attended b}^ many thousands of pilgrims from far and near. The former fair is also visited by a certain num- ber of Hindus. Some shrines are believed to possess special properties such as a cure for leprosy or the bite of a mad dog, and others are believed to give sons, or cure sick children. The dog-bite shrine is at Muftian near Jhelum. The only con- dition for a cure is that all bandages should be removed from the wound before and after the visit.

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'the idea is probably that the flow of blood will wash out the poison. The shrine is very popular, •my own orderly preferred it to Kasauli, and the villagers have it that there has never been a failure where the conditions were duly observed. Some of these places contain the most beautiful little sanctuaries, well worth a visit, but the visitor should remember before starting that he Avill be required to remove his shoes before entering the shrine. The power of a Pir over his followers is enormous : often the criminal will make straight for his Pir, confess to him, and act with entire faith in his advice. The latter is usually of a spiritual nature, but it seems to give crveat comfort. The leading Pirs of Jhelum district have also done much to encourage recruiting during the war. I remember getting into conversation with a man along a Salt Range road some years ago. He told me his three sons were in the Army, and when I complimented him, he said simply, " The Pir of Bharpur said I should give them to the Sarkar, and he is a good man." Not long after I saw «,nother example of the faith in a visit to a shrine. My wiie and I were sitting at dark one scorching ■evening on the crest of a hill in the Salt Range, and watched an oldish man toiling up the steep path and we exchanged greetings as he stopped to get his breath. He had been out since before dawn to visit a shrine nearly 20 miles away. He went fairly often for his only son was fighting for the Sarkar : the journey was long and trying, but well worth it for the lad had come through service in France safely as also his " Lewis machine gun " course. We were most impressed by the faith of this simple old fellow, who had given his only son to fight in the Empire's battles.

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A ]\I:ilioniinedan is allowed by his religion to-- have up (o four wives, but on the other hand divorce is a very simple affair. " I divorce thee " repeated thrice in the presence of two witnesses is sufficient to dissolve the matrimonial bond. When said' twice only the wife may return to her husband after reconciliation, but a third repetition of the three fateful words is irrevocable. It is curious that while divorce is so simple the oath of divorce is the most bindinc^. In the Western districts a,nd the Pindi division, your villager will swear by the Qoran where he will not swear by the- divorce oatli. '" May my wife hb divorced from me, etc., etc., if I do not tell the truth " is the- formula, and it is well to remember the real fear of perjury under this oath. Divorce is confined to Mahonnnedans, Hindus and Sikhs do not as a rule recognise it.

I have discussed many Hindu characteristics in dealing \\\i\\ those of Mahommedans but a few more may be mentioned. The Hindu crops the hair close to- the head, but usually leaves a scalplock {hodi or clioti) by which Vishnu will be able to draw him up to heaven. Among the gentry and welli educated, however, the scalplock is often di.scardedi nowadays. 'I he chin is generally shaved or the beard cut short, but some of the educated classes shave the upper lip also ; this is populai-ly known as " karzan fashun," an interesting reminder of the lasting impression made on the Indian mind by the strong personality of Lord Curzon. The small cap of felt, cloth, or muslin is a sure sign- of the Hindu, while the new-fashioned cap of fur or astracan is Mahommedan. When the Hindu wears a jnujri he prefers red or saffron in addi- tion to white. His cooking pots are made of brass.

59

while a M.-iliuiimiytliiii uses copper or earthenware, Brahmniis and other Hindus, notably the members of the Ai-ya Saujcij, wear the sacred thread or jaiieo. Tliis usually consists of three strands of cotton twistfd totjether, worn next the skin and hanginii aci-oss the chest like a cross-belt long enough ti> itacii tli*- waist. ]t is a sign of puri- fication ami is worn by boys after the age of seven ytais. I'.i.ys l)elow that age are regarded as unclean in tluit they are incapable of breaking caste rules, etc. At'tt-r that age a boy has to abide by chilli I. I in- >y>-trin which forbids a Hindu to eat or ihink anything which has been touched by a non-Hindu. When you see a caste mark on the forehead of a man you can be certain that he is a Hindu. When you hear bells ringing or conches it liorns lieing blown in a temple 3'ou can be sure that it is a Hindu place of worship. Beyond the call to prayer Mahommedans conduct their worship with no noise or ostentation : with Sikhs there is a good deal of singing and chanting.

The Sikhs have various peculiar characteristics. Every strict folknver of the ten Gurus should invariably wear the live kakkus or articles beginning with the letter K of the Gurmukhi alphabet ; these are the ke-^ or long hair done up in a knot on the top of the head ; the kavghi or wooden comb stuck into the Ar-s' ; the hicJJi or short drawers ; the kirpatb or dagger, and the kara or steel bangle. The hirpaii is especially exempted under the Arms •Act, but a large number of Sikhs will be seen nowadays who wear only a few of the above. The Sikh regiments of the Indian Army, however, have done a great deal to foster and maintain these and similar traditions of the race. The Sikh

60

always has his head covered, and invariably wears a pugri. Even for games such as iiockey he will often wear a small wrapping ipug) round the kes. No one is born a Sikh, he is only admitted to full membership of the faith when he takes the pahul or Sikh baptism, for preference at the Golden Temple, Amritsar. Anyone can thus become a true Sikh, and proselytism is very flourishing just at present. There are many clans or gots of Sikhs, nearly sixty altogether and possibly more. The true Sikh never cuts the hair on head or face, and this is the easiest method of telling any member •of the fraternit}-. They are famous as soldiers, excellent cultivators, and are mostly to be found in the central districts of the Punjab such as Amrit- sar, Ferozepore, Lahore and Ludhiana. The three Phulkian States, called after Phul, the common an- cestor of the family of the founder, tkeJia£a£[«A£^th^ f&ondef Ala Singh, are also Sikh, and bear a very proud record. The Sikh worships one God, following the teachings of the Granth Sahib or sacred book. He venerates the cow, eats meat, but only that which has been killed by jhatka or decapitation. His place of worship is known as a gurdwara but his religion contemplates worship in itself rather than the minutiae of time and place. The Sikh form of salutation should be noted, " wah Ourii ji ha, khalsa siri wah Guru ji ki fateh, " which may be roughly translated as " victory to our Guru and the purity of our religion."

The Kukas are an offshoot of Sikhism. Their founder was an Arora of Rawalpindi, but his name is little known. The sect was revived b^ the well known Ram Singh, a carpenter of Bhainiala in Ludhiana, who gave himself out to be a.

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reincarnation of Guru Gobind Singh, the tenth or last Guru. His teachings were largely intended to promote a renaissance of the Sikh religion and power. This ultimately culminated in a Kuka rising at Malerkotla near Ludhiana in 1872. The prompti- tude of the authorities in executing 80 of the ring- leaders quickly suppressed the rising and undoubtely prevented much loss of life. Kam Singh was deported to Burma, but the dera at Bhainiala still exists, and the sect claims a large number of followers. Kukas tie the inigt^ in a peculiar fashion, and wear a necklace or mala of woollen beads.

Another important sect are the Mazhabis or Sikhs by religion. When Teg Bahadur, the 9th Guru, was executed by the Moghul Emperor at Delhi a body of sweepers (Chuhras) rescued the head of the corpse and brought it to Anandpur in Hoshiarpur. As a recognition of this devoted act they and their descendants were allowed to embrace Sikhism which they still follow fairly strictly. They are enlisted in the Army, but as they are not admitted as social equals by other Sikhs they are taken only in selected regiments, such as the Pioneers. Orthodox Mahommedans are roughly divided into Sunnis and Shiahs, the former being in the great majority of over 97 per cent, in the Punjab. I do not propose to detail the differences between these two sects. There is a sub-sect, however, of which more information might be given. The followers of the sect are variously known as Mirzais, Ahmadis, Qadianis, after their founder Mirza Ghulara Ahmed of Qadian in Gur- daspur. The Mirza was born in 1839 and claimed to be the promised Mahdi or Messiah of the

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Maliornmedans. His voluminous w ritiuus .ind teach- ings are not accepted by orthodox Mush' ins, but the sect which came into existence aViont 1889 is said to be growing in numbers. At'tei' the Mirza's death in 190(S, his followers split up into two par- ties one remaining at Qadian, and tin- otlu^i- transfer- ring its headquarters to Lahore.

Among Hindus the orthodox styl<' themselves as followers of the Sanatan Dharni, and the large majority of Punjab Hindus may bf held to belong to this society or sahha. There are of course many other Hindu sects, too numerous to recount here, but mention should be made of one, namely the Arya Samaj. The founder was Swami Dayanand and the sect came into for-mal existence in 1877 ; the Swami died in 1883. The numbers increased rapidly up to the time of his death, and Aryas are to be found in every district and Native State. The motto of the founder was •' Back to the Vedas and original Shastras," and his doctrines were set forth in his book the " Satyarth Parkash." The headquarters of the sect are at Lahore, but it has now split up into two antagonistic sections, the meat-eating as against the vegetarian party. There are man}^ (jther sects in the Punjab, but the above are the most important.

At all times it is one of ths most important items of a Police Officer's daily work to be easily accessible to all who wish to interview him. The doings of orderlies and chaprasis at our very doors are often disgraceful : if a tip is not forthcoming respectable men are not offered a chair, lliey are kept waiting for hours, and a thousand petty iiisults and annoyances are their portion. Something has been

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'done of late years to improve matters by the provi- sion of mulaqati rooms, but even so there is still many a chance of oppression. One may never be -able to stop all this entirely, but things can be made more difficult for the hungry orderly at the door. I see no grave crime in the acceptance of a small tip given by the departing visitor ; it is common ■enough in England, where it is a voluntary affair. But in India the tip is often demanded, and insults .are offered at the next visit if it is not given, the result being that visitors keep away and much in- formation of value is lost to the District Officer. I hold that these visits at one's private house are of great value Many persons will only give informa- tion to a Police Officer in private, and moreover his subordinates never know how much he hears of their inner doings, so mulaqati work provides a distinct check on malpractices and a fruitful source of informa- tion. Everything should therefore be made as easy and pleasant for visitors as possible. With this end in view choose your office room in your house with great care. If possible select and arrange it so that you command a clear view from your table of the spot where your visitors will be asked to wait. A clear open space under a shady tree, with a cZurri half a dozen chairs and a bench, provide the initial requirements. A shuldari from your lines can be rigged up as an awning, but better still is a shainiana without the side pieces. They cost little, and are far more suitable in the Punjab than mulaqati rooms, which are either stuffy or cold according to the time of year, and are not much liked by those who are to be supposed to use them and who are generally to be found sitting outside. With your shamiana and a table with a few newspapers .arranged as given above, visitors can come and go as

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they like, and no orderly or cliaprasi should be- allowed to approach the place. Most officials have a more or less hxed time for meeting visitors, and by going to the door and calling up the first man your- self, you can dispense entirely with your orderly's presence, and you will find the result more than worth the little trouble taken. These doorkeepers- moreover often have their ears to the keyhole, and are a fruitful source of information leaking out. Keep chem out of the wa}^ and have your office room strictly private. I have dwelt on this question at some length, but its importance is ample justi- fication.

Having now got your visitor safely into the room you will often find it a task of no small skill and patience to do your personal part of the interview. He is by nature shy, generally reticent, and often reluctant to make a complaint unless he has come- specially to do so. Sometimes he is an artist at making his complaint against an official without directly saying anything. An example will explain : —

A local notable was anxious to get the Sub- Inspector transferred as this officer kept rather too watchful an eye on certain transactions in which oui7 friejid was concerned. Instead of making up some complaint he came to me full of the Sub-Inspector's- praises, and after a lengthy recitation he, with apparent inadvertance, let slip a hint regarding im- moral relations which the Sub-Inspector had estab- lished, and then with an appearance of reluctance admitted that this might be the cause of consider- able local trouble. A week later a friend was sent to corroborate this story which was in reality false.. But for a luck}^ chance the Sub-Inspector might

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have been wrongfully judged and transferred. Thus one has always to be on guard, and it is safest to weigh all information from every point of view, and never to take action without carefully verifying it first. "Believe nothing you hear and only half what you see" is said to be a wise maxim. I have known great injustice done through blind reliance on information which seemed sound and disinterested.

Again, much patience is required during the Tnulaqati hours of the day's work. You feel hurried with a heavy day ahead, while you have to sit and listen to someone discussing every subject but the one he has really come about. At last come the words "^ineri arz hid hai (1 also ha v^e a request to- make). It is trying, but it pays to be patient : the Indian dislikes being cut short, and dubs you a man oitez tabiat (sharp temper). He is afraid of that, he will withhold information, and remember he will tell his friends. It is far better to let everyone have his say, then form your opinion, give your answer and stick to it. You will leave him more satisfied and he will moreover respect you.

When a rupee or a sovereign is presented to you by a visitor or by anj^ one you meet on the road, don't imagine (1) that it is a form of begging and that you are asked to add another coin to it, or (2) that it is offered as a present to you. Either alternative is apt to make 3'^ou very angry, and the result may be disastrous. The custom is meant to denote loyalty, it is the offer of tribute to the representative of Government, and you are expected just to touch the coin which the owner will then return to his pocket. The word for an offering of this kind is nazar ; it has no semblance to a bribe and is merely offered out of politeness. Until quite recently it was the

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custom for many visitors to bring a small present or dali of fruit or flowers when visiting officials. The whole thing was an intolerable nuisance for one often had to accept such things for fear of hurting the feelings of the donor by a refusal. The Punjab •Government has earned the gratitude of all by the recent fiat that the acceptance of any dali is abso- lutely banned. Contractors were a special nuisance in this respect, and they had most subtle methods •of forcing unwelcome attentions upon officials. The inexperienced cannot be too wary of the genii s con- tractor : fortunately the Police Officer has not very many or very big contracts in his gift, so he is spared the trial of many dealings with the species. It is very unusual for bribes to be offered outright to British Officers — their reputation is too well-known for that — but I cannot help mentioning the following • case. The European Sessions Judge sent to me for enquiry a letter in which he had been offered a bribe. It concerned a case which he was trying, and par- ported to be from party A offering him Rs, 500 if he would decide the case against part}^ B. The enquiry showed quite clearly that B had written the letter in the name of A, hoping that the British judge would be so disgusted and insulted at the offer that he would promptly decide the cose in fav^our of B !!

The Indian is naturally polite. Too much stress cannot be laid on our being strictly polite in return. Politeness from officials is more than appreciated, it is positively treasured, and i : is one of the most valuable commodities ia the outfit of the successful admin- istrator. It may and should be combined with the greatest firmness, but it comes into play first. An Indian official of great experience told me that the "unrest" in this country was entirely due to the

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treatment, accorded to his countrymen by Europeans. I do not agree that this is the entire or main cause, but it shows the importance which is attached to the subject.

Further, make a serious study of your visitors, and try to remember their names and connections from the very first, so that you may know them next time, for this is much appreciated. In your morning ride round the Irazaar a friendly nod a)id an enquiry after his health will be the source of immense gratification to any aquaintance you may meet, for he will con- sider lie has been publicly honoured. Very possibly you will find him actively assisting in the next case which occurs iu his neighbourhood. The Indian values izzat above all things, and the official who bears that in mind and acts accordingly will seldom go wrong. Thus it is wise, and moreover good manners, to take notice of every salaam which is made as you pass along. I remember well the delighted smile of a solitary bhishti along the Mian Mir road when the present Queen, then Princess of Wales, graciously ackowledged his humble salaam as her carriage swept past. It seems almost superfluous to mention this were it not for the fact that so many of us from one reason or another often omit to acknowledge the Oriental salutation.

Let me add that a salaam should always be given with the right hand.

The Indian is more sensitive about his izzat than the Westerner can realise. Even the lowest menial has his izzat among his brethren, and any blow to this feeling is a matter of serious moment to him. Government studies the question with most scrupulous care, especially in its dealings with the rulers of Native States, and the same idea should

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be constantly kept in mind in the everyday work of the district. The kursi-oiashini system is a part of the scheme and deserves special mention. Various people are entitled by virtue of their po.sition to sit on a chair when visiting officials, but Government recognises individual merit by the courtesy grant of the distinction to respectable people who would not otherwise be entitled to it. A man who enjoys this privilege is known as a kursi-nasJdn. There is a maximum for each district which may not be exceeded. Graded above this comes the Divisional, and Provincial and Viceregel Darbari system. This entails still higher honours, conferring on the holdei the privilege • of an invitation to a seat in Durbar presided over respectively by the Commissioner, the Head of the Province, and lastly the Viceroy himself. Wheu addressing a kursi-nashin the courtesy pronoun ap for " you" should be used, coupled as a rule with a polite enquiry after the visitor's health.

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VIII. EXAMPLE AND PRECEPT.

" Nothing is so persuasive as a character which is felt to be upright." So said Isocrates the Athenian, -and what was true for his audience we may hold to be doubly so for India. Another form of the same thing is contained in the two words "personal factor" the importance of which is so often upper- .most in the administration of a district. The British •officer, howev^er, viens conscia recti, is sometimes apt to lose sight of the fact that his every action is •carefully watched and studied by thousands, and that he should be very careful in all he does and says. I can only compare his position to that of a master -at an English Public School, and I mean by "master" ithe real thing, the man who loves his work, is loved and respected by his boys, and is an example to them throughout life, a model which seems to be ever present long years after school days are past. The " boys " in India are the entire population of the ■district or whatever division you choose to call it. .Many of us forget or never realise the close " vetting " >to which we are subjected on taking over a new

• charge. First and foremost is the question, hare

• ghar ka ya chote ghar ka ? which might be inter- preted "does he come of good stock or not ? " Then

■one's peculiarities, foibles, temper, habits, etc., are ^carefully studied. On the very announcement of a transfer those who are concerned will write to their friends asking for this information regarding the new incumbent of any and every office. As far as Indian

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officials are coucerned family and caste carry enor- mous weight with the people, and I would place these qualifications far above any other when considering the claims for appointment.

All classes pay great attention to the family status and breeding of Indian officials as well as British. The first concern is to discover the caste of the new arrival, the rest is a secondary consideration. Thus you will often find that your lambardar, or zaildar knows ]ns taJimldar or thanadar by his caste,, and has no idea whatever of his actual name. He may be called Shah Ji (Syad) or Pundit Ji (Brahman), and that is iiuite sufficient for the village community.

Now connect this up with the quotation at the beginning of the chapter, and the supreme importance of example is at once apparent. If this fact were more often borne in mind the European official would sometimes shape his actions more carefully, and with correspondingly satisfactory results. J\Jr. Ramsay Macdonald says in his book on India, that when he mentioned the Sahib's Travelling Allowance to the local babu a broad smile was the immediate result. I believe that most Europeans are scrupulously honest about " T.A., " but all are not. It is clearly laid down> that T.A. is not supposed to be a source of income, a fact which is sometimes forgotten, Caesar's wife must be above suspicion, and it is a certainty that the man who never makes a doubtful claim for T.A., who is punctilious about attending office , and parade, who returns prompth^ from casual leave, who uses no Government property in his own house, etc., etc., will find it easier to check such malpractices amon^ subordinates, and will find the task of ensuring com- pliance very much facilitated. I have sometimes beea

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amazed by some chance discov^ery at the minute knowledge of my doings in out of the way parts of the district. Tlie Punjabi is an exceedingly capable " vet " and he knows his officers inside out. Therefore, even at the expense of a little priggishness, keep up a careful standard of rectitude. Try to realise that your every action is known, commented upon, and acted upon.

I have noticed officials sometimes who are very careless of their personal appearance, and do not live with sufficient slioiv especially in camp. For instance, an office-, who in order to save money, lives on chcipattie-s instead of bread, and goes on tour with one servant only, is forgetting that he has a position lo maintain, and is losing caste all round. It is a case of noblesse ohlifje. We are supposed to be raising the standards of the Indian people, so bring your example to bear first, and then you will find striking results from your precepts.

In the course of your career you will constantly come across cases of Indian officials who have been bribe takers in one district but not in another. Study the question and you will often find that the change has been due to the District Officer at the head of affairs. I refer entirely to the example of rectitude in what are called small matters set by different officers, with the consequent toning up or the opposite re-acting on subordinates. On the whole it is un- questioned that the British record in India is one in which our nation can take the greatest pride, and I only draw attention to certain things which seem ta be forgotten at times. My notes are by waj^ of caution and not of accusation. My experience is that a very great deal can be done to improve hy

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precept those with whom we have to work, but the precept is immeasurably strengthened by the force of an example which Is set with meticulous jcare.

INVESTIGATION

The regulations provide that in certain serious types of crime a gazetted officer should supervise the tJiKjuiry on the spot. Not infrequently one hears discussions as to the uselessness of the j)ractice. Some hold that it is a pure waste of time and Gov- ernment money, that a European cannot really in- \'estio,'ate, and that as a rule he finds nothinc,^ to do when he does get to the spot beyond hearing a few statements, and that in any case he almost invari- ably arrives too late. If evidence is to be faked, it is all complete long before he arrives, or perhaps the case was so clear that there was nothing to be done. Though I am not prepared to deny that there is much to be said from this point of view, never- theless there is a great deal that a British officer can do, and I offer the following notes accordingly. They are founded on actual experience, and so may be useful.

In the Punjab murder is by far the commonest crime that finds tlie gazetted officer taking a share in the enquiry. Ciu'iously enough, it is the mur- derer more than any other offender who confesses his crime. When he has had time to cool down however, and realise the penalty incurred he almost invariably retracts the confession and accuses the police of torture, or at any rate of jiressure. It is of considerable assistance to the Court to know that a gazetted officer was on the spot, that he questioned the accused in private and that no ac- cusation was then made, and no signs of torture, etc., were noticed.

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Again, it is not questioned that the presence of a superior officer incites local notables to exert themselves and to give firsthand proof of their energy and ability. This may be of great value especi- ally in dacoity cases. The presence of an officer is also a check on bribery and malpractices generally. He is also able to steer the investigation on broad lines, and avoid the common and fatal mistake of following one theory alone to the exclusion of others, and then trying to fit others in with it later on. It is most difficult to persuade the ordinary fhanadar that no harm will be done to the case if he writes down ii dozen theories of how a crime might have occur- red, and moreover proceeds to follow up every one of them. The fatal error is to adopt a fixed theory from the start : it may very likely turn out to be wrong, and any attempt to dovetail the old with the new and correct story is bound to end in disaster. The investigating officer has to su limit a daily report of his enquiry, which is called the zimni, and it is almost impossible to convince him that no harm will be done to the case hy his writing down more than one theory so long as he does not definitely commit himself.

It is noticeable that convictions for murder have increased considerably of late years. One of the greatest contributory causes to this has undoubtedly been what is known as the naiiviihammal, or in- complete, cluilan. The title is a misnomer, for the procedure is really to send the accused for trial at once with all available evidence. Subsequent evidence is put up before the Court by subsidiary chalan. This means in practice that an accused may be and often is pr(;duced in Court within a few hours of arrest, when all available evidence is recorded includ-

;ing the statement of the accused. This latter very • often includes a full admission of guilt. The system is in strict accordance with the practice in England, and has many advantages. It is a decided preven- tive of malpractices, it ensures the evidence being fresh and as far as possible untainted, and it achieves the o-reat end of savintr time and trouble to witnesses and Court alike, for it avoids the recording of con- fessions as well as statements of witnesses under sec- tion 16-i, Criminal Procedure Code. Provided the accused has been arrested, the system is of special value .in murder cases, and it is in strict accordance with the law of Criminal Procedure.

" Section 173, C. P. C, provides in regard to inves- itigation that the accused must be sent for trial " as soon it is completed." It has been held that the meaning of these words is " to prohibit delay" and it is not intended to prescribe that no report shall ireach the Magistrate until it is in an absolutely complete state." The words do not mean that a police officer must not send up an incomplete chalan, •and I think that in many cases he sliould do so. The rulings under 164, (e.g., 6 Madras 63; 27 Cal- cutta 295) support this view. I also agree that it is most strongly supported by the explanation to section 344, C. P. C. " (Legal Remembranser's opinion •dated 28th February 1910). I have known a murder case actually committed to Sessions within 48 hours ■of the occurrence. In another case the murderer had been sent for trial and the greater part of the evi- <ience recorded several days before the we ipon used to commit the crime had been discovered. On appeal to the Chief Court counsel for the defence tried to make capital out of this but the Court held that the procedure was in order in the folbwing autaorit.itive

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pronouucemeut. Referring to two points i-aised by counsel for the defence the Court .said, " The first is that his client has been prejudiced by tlie naniukam- 'filial chalaii system adopted in this case. It seems the police sent up the two accused witli certain evidence, continued investigation and then produced further evidence later. We see nothing suspicious i'l this ; it is the usual practice in England, and we cannot see that it <)})ens the door to any sort of dishonest proceedings on the part of the police " ( Crown V. Fazal, Case No. 589 of 1 9 1 4 ). There is thus • 110 question as regards the legality of the system.- '.vhich also results in a general speeling up of ti-iminal trials, with the consequent increased deterrent on the potential law-breaker; this alone would fully justif_y the procedure, but as I have already explained there are many other points of supreme importance. Quite recently a Chief Court Judge remarked tliat the namukammal chalan was the most important innovation of recent times for dealing successfully with the criminal.

So we find our officer on the spot getting through a good deal of work. He may also discover valu- able clues which have been overlooked by the Sub-Inspector.

The primary point to be noted about most in- vestigations is that both complainants and local police usually lay themselves out to secure oral evidence, and do not exercise sufficient intelligence aud thought in the search for documentary evidence although this latter is far more convincing and valuable in Court and will often decide a judge to believe the oral evidence. First of all it is of su- preme importance to examine the scene of the crime with minute care. A magnifying glass, a tape

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measure, with pencil and paper are the only outfit required. It is said that every criminal leaves some damning clue behind: it is for the detective to dis- cover it. For this purpose the scene as noticed at first should be minutol}' described, and anything- and everything reduced to writing- even though it may seem to have no bearing on the case. A great deal can be deduced from a careful examination of the scene of an offence, and the Investigating Officer should try and picture to himself the whole story of the crime as it occurred. To fix the time of the occurrence is of first importance, but this is often for- gotten. Pertinent questions in this behalf are : — Was the body still warm when found ? What was the state of preservation ■ Had rigor i)icrti-< set in ? Did blood stains or footpiints seem fresh, etc., etc., :' There are n)any indications which varv with each ease.

Bodies of murdered persons cannot be too care- fully examined. I remember a case where valuable time was lost and a faulty theory of murder set up through failure to examine completely the body of a murdered woman. An important injury escaped notice and the police were afterwards censured. The hands and fingernails of the deceased should also be carefully examined, the deceased may have .scratched the murderer in the death struggle, and bits of skin might be undei- the fingernails. Cor- responding scratches on a suspect would go badly against him. Again, the murderer's hair or clothes may have been torn and portions retained in the ■ deceased's hands. These signs would also show whether death was instantaneous or not.

In the same way a murderer's hands, hair, beard, toe-nails and feet should be examined, and where

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much blood has been shed the finger and toe-nails- bhould be carefully scraped or washed out into a small vessel, and the contents sent for chemical analysis. There was a case in the Ferozepore district where this was done more than a week after the murder and yet the blood was definitely found on analysis. It was a considerable factor in the conviction -of the accused on purely circumstantial evidence. It is also interesting to note that this man confessed: before he was executed.

It should not be forgotten that a murderer's shoes may bear traces of blood which he has not thought of removing. He may have walked in the blood or it may have dropped on the " uppers." Again, , where a murderer has cleaned his weapon he has forgotten that blOod might lie in a crack of the handle or where the handle joins the blade. It is therefore wise to ask that blade and handle I>e separated' before analysis

As regards blood stains it should be remembered that they may be of various colours, due to the action of the sun, washing, etc. Even after washing, analysis can detect blood or the colouring matter of blood. It is therefore advisable to send any suspicious - stains for analj-sis, especial I}" now that India has an Imperial serologist who can pronounce on the ques- tion of human blood. Where blood has been shed, careful search sh(nild be made in every conceivable place for bloody finger impressions. It is useful to remember that a niurderer would naturaily wipe his fingers on the under side of any article such as a table or chair. The remarkable I'esults of dusting a fine powder over any likely places for finger marks does not seem to be known though the finger print manuals describe it, and all flianas are supplied with.

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the powder. This is of two coloui's, black and ^vey^ for use according to the colour of the article to be tested. The fine powder sticks to the greasy ridore» left on contact by hand or foot, the impression is made clear to the naked eye and can be easily photographed for comparison with that of the suspected person. No investigating officer should proceed to the scene of a crime without a supply of these two powders. Broken boxes or padlocks, etc., should invariably be tested for finger impressions by this means, and any articles which give results should be most ctirefully packed so as not to be exposed to any friction and sent oflf to the Bureau without delay. Some remarkable results have been obtained by the proce.ss. It is worth remembering that an}^ part of the sole of the foot or palm of the hand can be compared and identified by the experts at the Phillaur Bureau, which is believed to be the largest in the world containing as it does the finger impressions of 2,51,000 persons. These are so carefully and methodically classified that when a " search slip " is received the Bureau can usually state within an average of not more than thiry minutes whether that person's finger impressions are already on record or not.

Whenever a body has not been identified the finger impressions should be taken whether foul play is suspected or not, for this is the safest and most certain form of identification which is known to detective science. There are now countless ex- amples to prove the value of the fingei-print system. I will quote one recent case within my own experience as it is interesting in other ways also. The naked body of a man was found floating in a pond about a quarter of a mile from Police Station Choa Saidan Shah in theJhelum distiict. A most

so

careful secirch gave no clue whatever to his iden- tity, so when the body was sent for post mortem examination a request was made that the tips of the fingers should be amputated and sent to the Bureau, where a careful set of impressions was made. It happened that late on the night of the murder a constable called at the thana for a drink of water. He was invited to stay the night but refused saying he was going on shoi't leave and as he had fallen in with a party wliich was travelling to his own village (Dab, the home of the first Indian V. C.) he did not wish to waste time. This constable was accordingly summoned, and asked to say what he knew. His friends were then discovered and they were a}>le to throw a good deal of light on the case. They had been coming home from their land in the Jhehnr. Colony, and described how on arrival at Bhalwal Railway Station they had seen a man and A woman having a violent (|uarrel. The man described the woman as his wife who had run away from his home in Chakwal Tehsil with another man (who was also present), and remarked that she refused to return to him. However the party travelled along together and the husband quietly informed one of his companions later on that he had soothed his wife down by allowing her lover to come along too, and explained that he had already tiled a case, and would run the gentleman in as soon as he had got his wife safely home. They all got out at the same station, and the trio started ahead, but were overtaken loitering near the pond ; the woman said she was very tired and the other party pas.sed on. This information coupled with other results of the enquiry soon located the erring couple, who were so surprised that they both confessed their crime immediately.

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The wife admitted that she and her lov^er had seized the opportunity to strangle her husband and throw his body into the pond. However, as the body had not been definitely identified at the time there would have been a serious hiatus in the cliain ol: evidence. It was here that t)ie fingerprints came in as invaluable. The complaint filed by the husband bore the impression of his left thumb, and the Bureau experts declared that this was identical wntli that of the murdered man. This sealed the doom of the accused both of whom were eventually hanged.

In i^oisouing cases it is a wise plan to test the ac- • cuseds clothes, w^hen a poison like arsenic is suspected. This poison is generally sold in a form which renders pounding and sifting necessary before it can be administered. The end of a muslin xafa is an excellent sieve, and the remains of the arsenic might naturally be put in a pocket or tied up in the end of a chadr or turban. It is therefore advisable to have such garments tested by chemical anal3^sis as the following- case will show. The deceased, a man of some local importance, was entangled in a feud of long standing. He was £ confirmed drunkard, and that was his ultimate undoing. One of his enemies, passing the village liquor shop one morning, saw our friend half «eas over. He ran home and hurriedly pounded up some arsenic which he had previously procured for the purpose, and coming back to the liquor shop he got his opportunity of giving the fatal dose. It would seem that the murderer must have sifted the poison through one end of his turban and temporarily put the balance in a waistcoat pocket, for chemical analys's of these two garments revealed the presence of white arsenic in these two places. It was largely

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■on this evidence that the jicciisod was hanged : he confessed before execution.

Burglary, while it is the cumuionest (jf crimes, is the one which most often remains undetected. The difficulties are no doubt great, but there is one common omission which is fatal tc success. A burglary is usually planned with some care, and there is generally a local ajjent who sliows the way. As the proverb puts it chori yari chakri hajh ivasila im ho, . wliich might be freely translated, " one cannot steal, make love, or get a good job without an introduction." If the police would try and hiy hands on this go- between who is so familiar with the complainant's house, we might see gi-cater success in the working of burglaries.

Detection is undoubtedly most difficult never- theless, and it is safer to rely upon prevention rather than detection iip handling the question oi burglary. Section 109 (Vagrancy) of the Criminal Procedure Code is the highway to success. Whether it be town or village, suspicious strangers who cannot satisfactorily account for their presence should be ruthlessly prosecuted. If every headman did his duty in this respect the decrease in burglarv would be astounding. Likewise strangers should be stopped and questioned who are seen passing by villages in the early hours of the morning with bundles on their heads. I always give double rewards to those who achieve success in cases of this nature. Preven- tion should be regarded as better than detection. The thikri pahra system is of great assistance in this connection. It is indigenous to the country and can be worked with great effect. Tliikri means a " potsherd," and pahra means " watch." The idea is that the name of every male member of the village

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should be written on potsherds, all of which are- placed in a large earthen vessel. These are drawn out by lot, and each man goes on watch for one night in rotation as his name is drawn. In this way the entire village shares the burden of w^atch and ward under the direction of the lamhardars. The system had been in abeyance for j^ears, but has been revived of late with such great success that a Bill has been passed legalising the procedure. The work of the police in this connection is chiefly to send out night patrols in order to see that each village- is doing its duty. Many criminals are captured by this means, while the deten-ent effect on the burglar- is simply enormous.

I must nob omit here a good .story which hap- pened in Jhelum before the .system had properly got under weigh. When the two sentries for a certain village had been posted for duty one night one of them decided to go home to bed, and arranged that his companion should warn him if thei-e was any danger of being found out. As luck would have it a patrolling constable turned up later on in the night, and asked to sec sent}' number two. The man on duty said he had gone to patrol the other side of the village, and was told to fetch him and call the lam- bardar also. The defaulter was called by his friend and appeared loudly protesting his zeal in patrolling the village. He might have imposed on the credulity of his hearers had not the lambardar's lantern, revealed the fact that our brave was wearing his wife's pantaloons ' His hasty toilet in the dark gave him away entirely, but the story went the round of the country-side and was incidentally of great assistance in stimulating genuine compliance with the thihri pa/ira regulations.

^'4

One of the greatest Punjab policemen broke up ^11 his gangs on the approver system, and, as Indian conditions are at present constituted, there seems to be no more effective method. This system is worked where one of a gang is caught, and on a promise of pardon gixes away the whole organisation. The start of such cases is apt to be tickhsh, and merits a word of caution. We will suppose that one of your Sub-Inspectors produces a man in handcuffs before you, and the man states that he is willing to give valu- able information of his gang if he is granted a pardon. What should you do ? It is a question of buying and sidling, and how are you to offer a pardon and let off an admitted criminal unless you know Avhat advantage you are reaping ? On the other hand, if the man gives his statement first, and you decide it is not good enough, what then ? It is obviously not "cricket" to use it. In view of the difficulty the following may therefore be instructive. Our burglar was an old hand, but had been very neatly caught out : he decided to purchase his release by splitting on his pals, and was produced before me with the somewhat vague promise that he would work out a large number of cases and recover the property, etc., if he were granted a pardon. We at length agreed that he should record his statement, one copy only, and if I thought it good enough, I would apply to the Local Government for a promise not to prose- cute him, othei-wise I would tear up the statement in his presence. The statement was recorded and I decided that it was not good enough, and was about to tear it up wlien our friend's memory started to improve ! The fact is that criminals who confess to offences long past are naturally reluctant at first to give themselves away, for they have not acquired confidence at this stage that promises will be

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fiiltilled. lu the present case both this man, and subsequently another of the gang^, were e\entually pardoned, over 100 burghiries and kindred offencea were worked out, and three te/isils were practically freed of burglary for a long period. The statements of this kind of approver make \ ery interesting read- ing, and provide at times most amazing side-lights on what really goes on. The stories told by the approver in the above case were often niost amusing. He related how on one occasion the village cliauki- dar acted as guide to the gang, the sntferer being the chaitkidars aunt, an old lady of some substance. The morning after the burglary the chankichir was most prominent in the interests of the complainant and was very full of sympathy. Tlie old lady through her tears re-assured him in an aside that her best gold ornaments had fortunately escaped the attention of the burglars. Presumably she did not notice his actual disgust at the news, but one can picture her feelings if she could have heard her dutiful nephew roundly abusing the burglars as stuj)id fools when he went to the rendezvous to receive his share of the loot ! There was another member of the gang, most of whose takings went to a lady of doubtful virtue. Later on the couple quarrelled, and when the man demanded back the jeweller}'^ the lady put him into Court, and got a decree on the question, well knowing the source of the goods, and that her burglar lover would never dare to oflfer any evidence, true or talse!

Many amusing cases come one's way from time to time. For instance, the incident of the bur- glar who was just crawling through the hole in the wall with his loot, when the wall fell in and one beam pinned him safely down till the villagers.

' collected and tied Jiiin hand and foot as he lay there while they fetched the police, is worth remembering on a dull liot day. Then the zaildar, who collected various sums from shopkeepers in his circle on a threat of raising- their income tax, took half himself and paid the rest in as his contribution to the Imperial Indian Relief Fund, showed the true oriental touch in •converting to his own use a novel situation created by the Great War. Needless to say he realised long before he did it tliat the income tax bogie •sealed the lips of the defrauded and disgusted banias in very effectual fashion.

Again, here is a tale with a moral which no one would believe for a moment if they read it in a novel. The hero was a shopkeeper of the Arora caste. He murdered his young brother in order to become sole inheritor of his father's property. He was acquitted in Sessions. Later, his own father prosecuted him tearing an attempt on his own life, and on liis death left all his property to his wife. The latter intended bequeathing the property to her daughters, but our hero was too quick. He undoubtedly got his own mother murdered, but it could not be proved judicially. He then seems to have thought it best to move from that vil- lage. Having now amassed a good deal of money he was about half way through with the erection •of a huge house when he suddenly committed suicide ! The cause was discovered later. It was Nemesis in the form of his own young sons turning out to be thieves like himself, robbing the till, and then in their turn reporting him to the police for trying to murder one of them. It is a striking story, and the dramatic end created some stir in the neigh- bourhood. Even this however was eclipsed for within

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another year the elder of the two boys died from drink at the age of twelve ' I shall follow the career of the other boy with interest. At present he is under the guardianship of his most evil relations, and ■one wonders if he will live long in the inheritance of his father's ill-gotten gains.

Turning to another branch of investigation we come to the amazing work done by trackers. Most Punjab policemen can spin well-nigh incredible yarns of ^\ hat thej^ have seen trackers accomplish. A really good tracker will remember the footprints of man or animal long after he has first seen them, but, in order to make his evidence of real value in Court, the following procedure is advisable when the point at issue is the mere identification of tracks. Suppose we have to compare the footprints found on the spot with those of the suspects in a murder case. Special precautions must be taken, and noted do vpn fully in the diary, to prevent all possibility of the tracker seeing the suspect's foot- prints beforehand. He should first be allowed to exam hie the footprints on the spot, and should then be removed out of sight and hearing, preferably to a house in the village. A suitable piece of ground should then be swept clean by dragging a wide cloth over it weighted with earth. Over this clear space the suspect should be asked to walk, seven or eight others being made to walk in parallel lines with him. The tracker should then be summoned, and if he is able to point out the suspect's foot- prints as being identical with those at the scene •of the crime, evidence of real value will have been secured to place before the Comrt. I have seen evidence of this nature lost by simply showing the -tracker the footprints on the spot and then tliose

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-of tlio suspect and putting him into Court to certify that they corresponded. It can be readily seen that 110 Court can accept such testimony.

One could relate many interestint; tracking- stories, but they are too lengthy and Uiight also be classed as fairy-tales. I will (juote one simple case however, just to show the value of tracking. A burglar}' had oceurr-ed in tin- centre of a fairly large \ illage in the Jhang District, and naturally the ground was too hard for any tracks to be seen. The two trackers were however undaunted. Tliey work- ed away from the village in larger and larger con- centric circles till they came on a spot where we saw ;> few dead matches, some bits of cotton thread and grains of wheat, etc. It was the place wliere the burglars had divided up the " s.vag, "and being in soft ground the footprints were clear. From this point three burglars were followed to their village. It was entirely due to the sagacity and skill of thfr two trackers that the case was worked to success.

The calling seems to sharpen the faculty of deduction as the following instance will show. The case was one of burglary in which the owner of the house had been killed. An expert tracker, who had been called in, staggered the investigating officer by the remarkable statement that three men had committed the crime, one of whom was a very big man and a coward ! When asked to explain he pointed out the three sets of foot-prints leading from the scene of the offence, and showed that one man from the size and depth of the impressions was undoubtedly tall and heavy. But why was he a coward ? The explanation was quite convincing. It was clearly shown by the foot-prints that h&

2r9

kept a little distance away from his companions all the time, and away fiom the point of dauger namely, the villat^e. The position of the tracks also proved to the tracker that this man kept turu- ino- half round on his toes to see if the}' were being- pmsued, while his companions were not similarly affected. The offenders were uevei traced, hut 1 have little doubt that if they had been the above description would have turned out to be accurate. Tlie value of such evidence in a court of law can be readily imagined. T remember another famous tracker telling me that two of twelve tracks in a big burglary were those of brothers. The case was worked to a successful conclusion many weeks afterwards, and true enough two of the accused were brothers, tut the man never told me how he knew it. He used to say that he recog- nised or remembered footprints by the lines of the feet made in the dust. This man could readily recognize footprints : when called in to a case he would sometimes declare that the tracks corresponded to those in another case, which might have occurred many months previously.

The best trackers I have met are the Bawriahs of the Central Punjab, a criminal tribe which how- ever lives large y by huntnig. The game, be it bird, hare, or deer, is mostly found b}' following up its footprints, and this is what provides the training. Bawriahs also make excellent beaters and it is worth your while to watch them tracking down a wounded partridge by its footprints!

Other fine trackers are found among the aborigines where the splendid Canal Colonies now exist. The art is probably dj'ing out, but in the old davs the village boys grazed the herds over these

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hutre expanses of desert px^ and wlieu an animal strayed it was found by followin*; up the tracks. Needless to say every herdsman knew liis animals botli by appearance and by footprint.

The term " Criminal Tribe " deserves some ex- planation. It refers to various tribes found all over India, who are criminal by heredity and instinct, And whose means of subsistence is largely crime. Some tribes are gypsies, but the majority are not jiomadic. Under Act III of 1911, the male adult mem- bers are carefully registered, and it is made a pena •oftence for a registered member to leave the bound- aries of his village without leave except under certain •conditions. Wandering tribes have also been recently registered in the Punjab, and contined to the bound- aries of the police thana in which they are regis- tered. A splendid work is being done by the Salva- tion Army in the reformation of Criminal Tribes.

No note on crime in the Punjab would be complete without a reference to cattle-theft. The subject is so vast that a large tome would be required to deal with it in adequate fashion : and the whole question has recently been tackled by far abler hands than mine, so I will confine myself to a few general remarks. The ra-mitications of what -one might call the national sport of the Punjabi a.re simply amazing, and it is to be hoped that some day Government will allow a selected officer to spend a number of years specialising on the treatment of cattle-theft. The chief difficultv is that the people do not look upon it as crime. There are moreover Ttiany tribes who do not regard a youth as grown up till he has successfully stolen his lii-st head : and he is not permitted to wear a pufjri till he has so to speak proved himself a worthy member of the

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community. The nett result o£ it all is that thousands of buffaloes, bullocks, cows, camels and even horses are stolen exer}' year, and only a small fraction are recovered. Very few thefts are even reported to the police : the owners prefer to track down the thieves by their own methods, and to recover their property on payment of blackmail (bhunga), if the\' are fortunate enouojh to be successful in tracing" the missing animals. The actual thief is generally a poor man working under the big trader or rassagir. The latter i.-. well known thi-oughout the country- side, and it is often easy enough to come to terms with him. A report to the police generally means dead loss, for no thief will then dare to restore the animals, whereas payment ot sa\' one-third of the value of the beast results in its immediate return. If it is not claimed, the rassmjir may pass it on from agent to agent for several imndred miles, and receive an animal of equal value passed back to Inm in return. Thus a camel may pass from Hissar to Peshawar and a milch buffalo be sent in exchange. The animals pass on from agent to agent and the police are powerless. The recognised routes by which the animals pass are known as r<issa<^, and one of our officers prepared a map of the province showing the principal highways. The trade is so prosperous that it is at present impossible to stop it : in Karnal a few years ago, a series of brilliant opera- tions of an enthusiastic Superintendent practically closed down the business for a time, but it is .said now to be as persistent as ever.

Various remedies, such as branding all cattle, special patrolling, etc., have been suggested, and they undoubtedly have much preventive effect, but aintil tfie ideas of the people undergo drastic chance

9^

no permanent cure can be effected. In the .summer the great rivers are largely u.sed for conveying the cattle away. Gang.s of cattle thieves come up stream, perhaps 50 to 100 miles or more, mark down the grazing grounds and cattle .sheds, and when the booty is secured it is floated down the flooded river, the thief hanging on to the tail and floating on an inflated goat-skiu or sarnai. As the river flows at an average of 7 or 8 miles an hour the means of escape is swift and sure, while it leaves no trace whatever. Often it is some days before the owner is certain of his lo.ss, for the cattle in riverain tiacts are turned out to graze for days on end over large aieas of swampy country where it is too much labour to collect them every day. A system of boat patrols ha.s been tried in some districts with marked success, and the preventive effect is enormou>, while many thousands of rupees' worth of property have been recovered. The .system should be widely extended with motor boats carry- ing searchlights : they would save much more than their cost and the peasantry could be readily in- duced to subscribe to their maintenance if necessary. As .soon as an animal is stolen the owner makes for the nearest tracker, his best friend on such occasions. If the thief is a local man the tracker can often recogni.se the footprints at sight, but in any case he is able to follow up the tracks at great .speed. He sometimes overtakes the thief, and in any case the owner knows in which direction to make his search. Travellers or villagers are met, who have passed the thief, and thus the exciting chase continues. I have known a bullock to be recovered in this way after a journey of over 50 miles, and this is no record. Your good tracker will lead you to a river, and after fording it he will pick up the

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tracks in the sand on the other side and soon be hot on the trail attain. But his work must be seen to be believed, so I will say no more.

The ideal preventive of cattle theft is to be found in the co-operation of the people. Imagine a district where every villager was keen to stop and question the stranger whom he saw passing by, driving cattle or riding a horse without a saddle : the villager is an expert in cross-examination of this nature, and would soon discover if the animals were stolen. A journey to the nearest thana would establish so strong a case that acquittal would be out of the (juestion. This is the unattaiued ideal, but an approach can be made by persistent effort in preaching the doctrine and liberally rewarding the few who act up to it. I recommend the sj'stem as a practical method of

• catching cattle thieves and other criminals. The last example I had of its value was the arrest of a thief with 6 donkeys within 10 days of the delivery of the sermon. The captor had been one of the audience, and the captured man was found to have three previous convictions for theft. I only wish the meagreness of the reward fund had cot pre- vented me from rewarding this man as fully as he deserved. In the absence of public opinion and the civic spirit. Government must pay for work of this kind, and pay very liberally, if others are to be

• encouraged to follow the good example. To be successful the preaching of this doctrine must be personally done by the Superintendent ; the best time is during cold weather tours at the daily

• durbars described in Chapter XII.

A brief note must be made on one point connect-

• ed with the question of confessions. It not infrequ- ently happens that two or more co-accused confess'

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to a crime, mikI ofler to point out stolen property,, the murdered boily, blood-stained clothes, weapons,, etc. A common fault is to allow both accused to go together and point out the spot in (question. This course is destructive to the evidence which is nulli- fied as regards both accused. First one suspect should be allowed to point out the place in the presence of witnesses, while tlie other is safely shut away from sight and sound. After he and the rest of the party have been entirely withdrawn, suspect number two should be paraded in similar fashion. Evidence would then be available which should convince any Court that both accused were guilty.

Another hint about investigation : wlien you go to the scene of a crime, sit alone in a secluded place, call up each witness separately and hear what he has to tell you yourself. By this method you are more likely to spot faked evidence, and your enquiry will afford more satisfaction in every way.

And remember that the ordinary villager is a very shy individual when suddenly confronted b}^ a European officer. His natural bent is to deny all knowledge of the case, for he has often heard of the trouble and inconvenience to which witnesses are put. It is therefore necessary to win his confidence, so it is as well not to start oft' with blunt questions regarding tlie case. For one thing he is ver}' liable to imagine that the European cannot speak liis lingo, and he will often reply to the first question by saying, he doesn't understand English '. Tliis is a blow to one's vanity and is apt to make mo.st people angry at a time when infinite tact and patience are necessary if evidence is to be coaxed out of the Punjabi villager. If he is too glib and ready ; lie is probably

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a false witness ! In any case it is as well to begin with a few o-eneral questions on matters unconnected with the enquiry in hand, and then lead up to the real business of the day. One wonders whether the Courts realise the difficulties of collecting- evidence : it all looks so simple and easy when written down and i educed to order. The art of investicration is one of infinite labour : the lajanan with Sherlock Holmes at his elbow often imagines it to be a kind of magic, but, as one of our finest and most successful investigating officers once told me, it is nothing more than hard work, and an infinite capacity for taking pains and going into every minute detail. Here and there a stroke of luck or a leap in the dark will bring success, but in the vast majority of big cases success is only to be achieved by hard work followed out on methodical and practical lines.

Sometimes a doubt arises as to the section of the Code under which an accused should be sen for trial. In that event it is safer to charge him with the more serious offence and leave the Court to decide. Similarly, when in doubt as to whether a case is strong enough to send for trial, leave it to the Courts. The real duty of the police is to collect evidence, it is for the Courts to weigh it.

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REW\RDS

Encouragement of the public to help in police work and suitably rewarding such work when given •are among the most important duties of the Super- intendent: I am not sure that they are not the most important. It is certainly the most interesting work. Your local Sub-Inspector complains that the people do not help, and judging by results alone you see that this is true enough. The cause is almost certainly that good work in the past has not been suitably recognised, and that the police have been claiming the credit for e\erything of value that has been done. The following method has never yet failed to reverse the above state of things. It starts with a harangue of the local notables, who are urged to help and promised liberal rewards for so doing. As soon as a good piece of work is reported an order is issued from Headquarters that this man is to be in- formed that his action has been brought to notice, and that it will be rewarded at the conclusion of the case. When the case is decided as liberal a reward as possible is granted, and the copy of the Order Book on the prescribed printed form is sent to the local Sub-Inspector who makes it over at once to the recipient. The actual reward is as a rule held up if possible till near the close of the financial year, when it is presented with the rest at a durbar held in connection with the most popular and central fair in the district. Unless the recipient is a menial the reward hardly ever takes the form of cash. A gun, revolver, saddle, watch, shawl, lungi, etc., is a far more precious possession than its equivalent in cash

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and the aljove method ot" presentation is known to enhance its value still further while it encouraj^es others to follow a good example. It is fascinating to work up a district in this wa\- and to see crime 'de(-reas:injj' as the rewards and the assistance increase. One can always be on the lookout for novel forms ot reward. These should invariably be accompanied by one of the certificates prescribed by the Police Rules, which are themselves highly prized. The cash rewards and ■sa7i«r/.'^ earned by the police are also best presented at this annual durbar, and it is eas}' to arrange that those who have earned rewards should be the men primarily selected for duty at the fair.

It is argued that Government should be more liberal in providing funds for rewards. The scale is far too low, and seems to have been fixed too long ago. Events of late years have proved very conclusively how much the peace of the country depends ou successful police administration, and that detection (jf crime has a great eftect politically as M'ell. In connection with decrease in crime there seems to be no recognition of the fact that decrease means a great saving of Government money. The or- dinary murdei", for instance, costs several hundred rupees in actual out of pocket expenses. With the reduction of murders there is a corresponding saving, and it seems onh' fair that a proportion of this should be spent on rewards to those who assist in producing that i-esult. But the rewaids are infinitesimal in comparison with the money saved by reduction in crime. Latterly however the signs have been more hopeful, and there seems to be some prospect that the importance of the question will be increasingly recognised. A sound system of reward is a first

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step to enlisting- the ooodwill und co-operation of the community. This in turn helps to create that sound public opinion which is so ardently desired in India, and which alone can stamp out the corruption amonost subordinates which is at present a blot on British administration.

To determine what rewards should be ^Jiunted should invariably be the personal dut}^ of the Super- intendent, who must insist that the work of all who help is brought to notice. It is by no means uncom- mon for a village menial to lay the train leading to the discovery of the most important case. Sometimes he passes on the information to his master, who tells the la^nhardar, the latter eventually com- municating it to the investigating officer, and thus success is finally achieved. It is only fair that the claims of all these people should be considered and recognised. The names of informers are often best kept out of files, but they should be rewarded just the same.

The above is an outline of a reward system which has been proved to paj' a handsome return. It is no doubt capable of many additions and improvements to .suit local conditions.

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XI NOTE ON MURDER.

In the Punjab the question of dealing adequately with murder is very serious. There is a shortage of women in the population, 817 to every 1000 males, and this in the main cause of the very large number of cases which occur each year. Until the proportion between the sexes equalises itself murders will con- tinue amongst the virile and manly Punjabis, but in the meantime there is one great preventive and that is conviction of the eases which do occur. The seriousness of the situation may be gauged from the following figures giving the total of admitted cases during the quinquennium 1912-1916 and the number of convictions : —

	Cases Admitted.	Cases Convicted.	Per	centage.
1912		516	189		;u;
1913 ..		625	28S		46
19U ..		538	242		45
1915 ..		512	201		.]{)
1916 ..	...	524	238		45
	Total	2,715	1,158		42

No one could view the above state of affairs- without serious reflection and some alarm. Much has been written on the subject in annual reports, reviews and the like, and many remedies have been

io

suo^gested, but so far llic problem has not been satisfactorily solved. If convictions were higher murders would decrease, in fact the one is in inverse ratio to the other.

I must add that this axiom is not admitted by many officers, who hold that murder, is a kind of disease, which breaks out on no system and from no assignable cause. I admit that in certain crimef^ passionellcs, where a man feels that his izzat is disgraced or deep jealousy is aroused, there is probably no preventive of murder but I trust that the figures below will induce a belief in the general truth of my assertion. If it is not admitted that convictions are a preventive, I think most people will agree that acquittals directly conduce to an increase in murders especially in cases where there is a vendetta, or a dispute of long standing.

So anything which will conduce to punishment of the guilty is worthy of earnest consideration. It will be necessary, therefore, to go into the murder question in some detail. The subject is so vast that it is difficult to know where to begin. The motives for murder are endless, the reasons arc equally complex, but there is one general bedrock foundation to a great majority of cases, namely, relationship between the sexes. It is safe, therefore, to start every nnu'der enquiry with cher- chez la femtne. As most murders occur in villages where every man has the most intimate knowledge of his neighbours' business, this should not be difficult. But this note need not concern itself further with the large question of causes for murder, but rather with successful detection. The motive for every case <;an, as a rule, be discovered easily enough. Why is it, then, that so many cases fail, and that at least

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1,557 murderers, and most probably quite double that number, have in the five years under consideration escaped the consequences of their criu)es i The causes could not be otherwise than manifold, and I will attempt to give a few of the more important together with some suggestions for their ameliora- tion.

At the risk of being accused of partiality 1 will start with a defence of the Police. Suppose we take for example a thoroughly corrupt Sub-Inspector who has been summoned to the scene of a murder. He knows that a Gazetted Officer as well as others of his seniors, quite possibly including a Magistrate, will soon arrive in his wake : he knows that his every action and ever}' word that he writes will be the subject of the very closest scrutin\-, it mav \k' rioht up to the highest Court in the Proviucf. A weak or badly-prepared case is almost certain to redect on him adversely, and there is very real danger that the taking of a bribe may end his career. He wdll also reflect that there are many other safer ways of making money. Is it worth wdiile running the risk ? In the majority of cases nowadays the Sub-Inspector wijl decide that it is more prudent to keep straight in this case and moreover earn a reputation for honesty and capability which will stand him in good stead later on. The point of this example is to show that the police do not usually spoil murder cases for money, so we may look further in searching out the causes for failure. I venture to think that the main cause of breakdown is to be found before the police arrive at the spot, and even before the reporting party stai-t for the thana, and that a large majority of murder enquiries are made good or marred within the first few hours after commission of the crime.

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If the heirs of the deceased were content with the • lex falionis all would be well enough, but there is an ahnost universal desire on the part of the Punjabi complainant to accuse anyone and everyone against whom he has a grudge. The evil of this is very soon apparent. A has been murdered by B and C : his relatives have possibly seen the act committed, or perhaps someone else was passing and has reliable ■evidence to give. But this will not suit the relations: they desire to bring two or three more of the murderer's family to the gallows, so we find that the names of D and E are also given in the first report at the thana. Either or both are able to prove their innocence in Court with the result that the entire evidence is vitiated, and all the accused are eventually acquitted. If the above premises ai'e correct, it is clear that the case from the start had no chance of success. This brings us to what I conceive to be the most important element in achieving success, namely honest co-operation on the part of the com- plainant, and more especially just after the occurrence of the crime. When the police find that cases fail through false accusations it is time to get down to the realities of things. The Chakwal tehsil of the Jhelum district is one of the most notorious mutder centres in the Punjab as the following table will show : —

	Cases	Cases
	admitted.	convicted.	Per centge.
1912	;?2	5	15 6
1913	23	12	^'2-2
1914	22	16	7.-7
191.5	6	3	500
.1916 i	13	7	53-3

10;]

The failure to secure convictions was "'ery largely due to the inveterate habit of false accusations, complete evidence being not infrequently already faked bsfore the case was reported at the thaaa. There were long-standing feuds in many villages, and lives were lost by each side in turn year after year. In the year 1912 no less than 58 persons were ■chall'ined for murder while only 7 were convicted. During 1913 three months were spent by the Super- intendent of Police on tour in the ^cVts/Z, in the course •of which practically every zaildar, lambardar, and leading man was liarangued. The failure of the indigenous sj^stem in securing convi'jitions was care- fully explained, and its results were so glaring as to ■be really convincing. The following instructions were then given. On the occurrence of a murder the ■ I'jbmhfirdars were immediately to make for the ■deceased's heirs and beg or persuade them to tell the real facts. The houses of those who were accused were to be closed and sealed without delay. If the inmates were present they were to be detained and se(fre;)ated from one another at once. If they were not to be tound in their houses the latter were to be locked and the facts noted in the first report. Another point was that the report at the thana should be made with the least possible delaj'-, but the initial factor to success was persuasion ot the complainant to tell the itruth and avoid padding of the case. Liberal rewards were promised for compliance with the instructions. The etiect of this was most encouraging, and con- "tributed in no small measure to the improvement which came about in the following 3'ears.

The Courts attach mucli importance to the first a'eport at the thxna, and it is obvious that a report made on the lines given above must be tf the m-eatest

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value ill deciding oa the truth oF a case. On the advice of the Sessions Judge, orders were also issued that tlie first words used by tiie complainant in mak- ing his report should be written down verlxitiin, after which his statement would follow explaining points- on which he was (questioned in order to make his story clear. I wonder if tlu' difficulties of writing up this initial report are fully realised by the Judges. The complainant is excited and roused beyond measure at the outrage and loss of his relative, he 7nay be incoherent from passion, and he is burning for revenge. The police are aware that delay is fatal, and the oflBcer in charge may well ti'enibJe at the responsibility suddenly thrust upon him, and yet he has to sit patiently to consider the report, to get hold of the essential jwints and to omit nothing- of importance. Failure to include everything will be seized upon by the defence, and will carry the greatest weight in Court. (One wonders how much^ the Judges who criticise would omit if they were in the shoes of the police). The report has to be written out in quadruplicate, after which follows the journey to the spot, possibly a ride of 20 miles. Then for perhaps 24 hours the investigating officer has no rest whatever. The scene of the offend- has to be examined with minute care, the inquest report prepared, the body despatched for 2hM mortem ex- amination sometimes 10 or 50 miles awa}-, and unwill- ing coolies procured to carry it. Then follows the preparation of the first case-diary or zinmi, a very lengthy document, which should contain as much of the evidence as possible. If evidence appears; in the next diary which might have appeared in the first, the Court can be trusted to view it with dis- favour. And all this is expected to be done on the day when the murder occurred. Truly an honest

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policeman's lot is never less happy than on the first day of a murder !

Once I happened to be present in a tJtana when the complainant in a murder case appeared. His conception of a report consisted of the words " The Labanas have, murdered my uncle." Now Labana is a tribe, and the actual offenders might be anyone in that tribe. The police report had necessarily to be a much more complete account of the affair, and yet I have read judicial criticisms of these reports to the effect that parts of them could not possibly have emanated from the complainants. Of course not. The story has to be collected piecemeal, jotted down roughly, and then faired out in logical order before it is finally written on the official form. It would be impossible to write it out straight away, and every- one knows the view that would be held of erasures and the like in a first informatioo report. Con.sider- ing the difficulties the standard of these reports is extraordinarily high. It is worth mentioning tliat the officer in charge is very often away on duty when a report is made, an<l it has then to be pre- pared by the thana c\er\\. It is not to be wondered at, tlierefore, if the reports are not all as perfect as they might be. The more cognisant the Coui-ts are of the difficulties, the more sympathetic they will be in their attitude towards the writers.

I have already remarked that the greatest preventive of murder is conviction of the cases that do occur. It is equally true that a great incentive to the actual commission of a murder would be the knowledge that there was a fair chance of escape from tl)e consequences of the crime. It would, there- fore be difficult to exaggerate the very important tearing which acfiuittab- exercise on the murder

lOo

therinometei'. We have seen at page 4G wliat the Punjab Government says on the subject, and the Hgures in this note testify to the fact very clearly. We saw in Chakwal a steady decrease piri 'passu with an increase in convictions, culminating in the remarkable figures for 1915. Of the three thanas composing the tehsil one had a clean sheet, one report- ed five cases and the third only one case. This last case was convicted in Sessions and it was the second time the accused had been tried for murder. He was however accjuitted on appeal tov»'ards the end of the year. Within five weeks of his acquittal no less than three murders occurred in that tract and the total for 1916 amounted to eight cases. The following year witnessed no improvement ; an old vendetta was moreover revived which had been quiescent for some years, and resulted in two more violent deaths, in neither of which was success achiev- ed. It would appear that acquittals have an evil effect on the people in another way also. They may be ready to help the police, but when those persons whom they have brought to book escape conviction and return to burn their ricks, maim their cattle and so on, the people are prone to wash their hands off" the police. The mere giving of evidence, be it remem- bered, creates enmity, not only between individuals, but between whole families. It is not, therefore, a matter for surprise that your independent witness may hesitate to plunge into the vortex of possible trouble entailed by the giving of one true statement. All one can say is that he is more ready to come forward if he believes that the accused will not escape conviction.

In the western districts of the province and probably elsewhere the profes.sional murderer {ujrati- ildlnl) is not uncommon. Often he is a man who

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has escaped the penalty of his first crime and in the process has learnt the tricks of the trade and the best ways of evading the law. He follows certain definite lines which will lead to acquittal. I know of one such in the Salt Range who is said to be regularly consulted by intending murderers. He is known as the " ustdd " (the master or professor • and is, I understand, paid for his advice. There is another of the same kidney living about 12 miles away. I was told he was acquitted on appeal in his first murder, he escaped again in my time, the case being too weak to go even to Sessions. The crime was committed with the greatest skill, and the headman assured me it was the eleventh murder standing to his account ! The truth of a murder is generally known in a village and I have no doubt that this account was correct. Tliis accurate knowledge of real facts is a double-edged weapoii as I have explained above ; it leads to conviction no doubt but it also leads to perdition when a guilty man escapes. The fact remains, a problem which faces the administration at every turn, that murder is one of the easiest crimes to trace and yet not one-half of those which occur in the Punjab end in the conviction of the accused.

The following particulars of a remarkable case were supplied to me by a brother otficer. They are so typical of the difficulties encountered by the police in combating the crime of murder and illustrate so many features of rural life in the Punjab that I cannot do better than recount them briefly as a conclusion to this chapter. The actual names of persons and places have been disguised, but the tacts are stated just as tliey occurred.

On the 17th of August 19 — , the murdered body of a man in the prime of life was discovered in a

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lonely place. As the deceased was not identified no relatives were forthcoming to move in the matter, and the villagers were as usual unwilling to incur the trouble and inconvenience of a murder case. It was not till some 8 or 4 days after death therefore that the police came to know of the murder, and when everything possible had been done it appeared that they were faced with yet another hopeless case. TXie body was photographed and the finger impres- sions were taken : fortunately the doctor was able to define the cause of death which was due to strangu- lation. It was also found that the Adam's apple was fractured. The facts were circulated in the neigh- bourhood, but the enquiries bore little fruit.

On the 28rd September one Sultan of village Nur- pur reported at a neighbouring thana that he suspect- ed the deceased wa.« his brother Chughatta. Further questioned he related the following story. A few years before Chughatta with one Jumma, caste Kashmiri, of Nurpur, and Kalu of Khand had emigrated to Sind where they worked as cartmen. Chughatta fell in love with his employer's wife and persuaded her to poison her husband with arsenic, which he provided. The woman subsequently confessed to the murder, but while the guilty pair were under trial she conmiitted suicide and the case consequently broke down, so Chughatta escaped conviction. He re- turned to Nurpur, but later on he abducted Gulabo,. the wife of one Kai-m and took her off" to Sind. The injured husband hied a case in Court and the guilty couple were brought back, upon which he gladly took liis wife to his bosom once more, having made a compromise with Chughatta who paid him Rs. 300 as compensation. Jumma, the Kashmiri, who was a. great friend of Chughatta came back from Sind to help

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in the case. It seems that Chuo^hatta could not •control his passion, for he sold off all his land for Rs. 1,250, and again bolted with the lady about ten days after the compromise. On this occasion also Jumma had given able assistance to his friend and had escorted the couple to some safe hiding-pUice up country which was not divulged even to Chughatta's own family. However some sepoj^s who had come on recruiting duty some weeks before had told Sultan that they had seen his erring brother at a railway junction not far away from his home in company with Jumma and Kalu. Chughatta introduced his companions to the sepoys, but specially asked them not to mention the meeting to an}- of his people. On hearing tliis Sultan promptly tackled Jumma who flatly denied the whole episode, but stated that he knew Chughatta's hiding-place and would take Sultan to him there after the Id festival. The very da}^ after the Id Sultan asked Jumma to fulfil his promise but found him very evasive. He however gave particulars of an individual in a certain large Cantonment who was Chughatta's employer and could give the reouired information. Sultan went off at once, but wivS dis- appointed to hear from the employer that Chughatta had been fetched away by two men about a month previously and although he had promised to return in a few days he had not been seen since. Sultan then went to see one Karima, a relative of Jumma, who he knew was a cook in one of the regiments. He was aston- ished to find that Karima had also disappeared, and he was also unable to find any trace of the woman Gulabo either. Remembering the iprovevh"yaJMrii Afghan doem Kamhoh, soem bachat Kashmir " (first the Afghan, second the Kamboh and third the low-born Kashmiri), his suspicions were now fully aroused in regard to Jumma, so he came to report to the police. Sultan

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was promptly sent on to the proper police station with a copy of his statement. He had not seen his brother for nearly two years and was unable to identify the photograph of the semi-decomposed remains. The police however lost no time in hnang Jumma and Kalu by the heels. The former denied everything, but Kalu made a lengthy and detailed statement the day after he was seized, and as a result of that state- ment other arrests were made and the following amaz- ing chronicle of events was brought to light. For the .sake of brevity I must merely give the story without detailing how each ramification was discovered.

Jumma was Ghughatta's trusted friend who had rendered him loyal help in all his quandaries. He had gone bail for Chughatta in the first abduction case of Gulabo, and on the second occasion he had escorted the couple personally to the large Canton- ment where he arranged for them to live safely con- cealed in the house of his relatives Sardara and Karima^ the regimental cook. Gulabo gave birth to a child soon after, and her abductor being the father, he now longed to keep her as his own and prevail upon her husband to divorce her. When Jumma left him to return home he therefore entrusted him with Rs. 800 to be paid to Kami if the latter agreed to divorce Gulabo. This large sum was too much for Jumma's morals. He misappropriated the money believino; that Chugatta would never return home to face the warrant which was out foi- his arrest. But Chugatta, who was anxiously awaiting news of the divorce, paid a stealthy visit to his home after some months to find out what Jumma was doing. The latter was away from home, but his wife was instructed to warn him and Jumma knew well enough that his old friend was not a man to be trifled

Ill

with. He had spent the money, and now set about devising some means of eseapino- the consequences. Just then he was paid a visit by our friend Kalu, Rs. 200 of whose money he had also converted to his own use. He was induced, with considerable difficulty, to refund Rs. 80, and during the negotia- tions he brought up the subject of Chughatta. He had decided that his own safety demanded the death of his friend, and knowing that Kalu had been guilty of murder on more than one occasion he invited his assistance in putting Chughatta out of the way, hinting- that the debt would be fully repaid into the bar- gain. Kalu promised to consider the matter and at a subsequent meeting Rs. 140 was agreed upon as a reward for the service to be rendered. At the .same time Kalu suggested the inclusion of a second assistant, as the intended victim was a man of power- ful build. Jumma being agreeable they then and there approached one Habib, a professional murderer, who readily declared his willingness to assist, his fee being Rs. 80, to be paid without fail the day after the murder. After arranging details as to the meet- ing place Jumma and Kalu went off by train next day to the Cantonment. On arrival they proceeded to Chughatta's quarters, where Jumma explained that Kami was obdurate and refused to divorce his vvife so the only thing to do was to murder him. They had therefore come to fetch Chughatta who expressed com- plete readiness for the enterprise. Before departing, Jumma had a priv^ate interview with Karima, told him what they intended to do and suggested that Gulabo should be sold to someone over the border. The trio then departed. When changing trains at the junction Chughatta met his old friends the sepoys on recruiting duty. Eventually Habib joined them at the appointed rendezvous, and was duly

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introduced as an ally. Yet another confederate was however produced by Kalu in the per- son of Shahbaz, a young nephew of his who was anxious to take up murder as a profession, this beino- recrarded by his uncle as a suitable opportunity for his initiation. The party set out on foot after dark and at a lonely spot between two villages the unsuspecting Chughatta was felled by the master hand of Habib, and was then throttled by his erstwhile friend. To make quite sure however, Kalu gave him a parting blow on the throat with his stick before these precious rufhans left their victim, a former comrade and friend who had never done one of them personally any harm, whatever his general character might liave been.

We must now return to Gulabo. At the time of his departure (^hughatta told her he would return in a few days, and his prolonged absence made her uneasy. Xarima had failed to get rid of her in the manner suggested by Jumma, and as she became more and niore impatient to know what was delaying her lover, he deemed it advisable to acquaint Jumma with her dangerous frame of mind. He accordingly came down to Nurpur and had a consultation with Jumma, avS a result o£ which the latter instructed him to bring her down by train to the station of G. on the day of the Id. on the excuse that her lover had sent for her. Jumma then paid a visit to Kalu and enlisted his assistance in doing away with Gulabo for a fee of Rs. 60. The pair set out for G. and arrived in time to meet the appointed train, which makes a fairly lengthy halt at this station, a,nd gave plenty of time to find the travellers they

were lookino- for. But instead of alighting Karima and Gulabo, (who had fallen into the trap) were bidden to keep their seats, and were joined by Jumma and Kalu, who had however failed to purchase tickets, 'i'lie party travelled together for some 40 miles or so and alighted at a small station well after ni oh t fall. The intention of the conspirators was to slip otl" the train on the wrong side and escape without paying the excess fares. But the fates were agninst them, for it so happened that they ran into the arms of an old railway watchman who was standing at the end of the platform having just returned from leave by this very train. The fact that two had no tickets and the two others had travelled past their proper station was duly noted in the railway bcoks, and excess fares were demanded and paid in full. (This remarkable corroboration of the confession was of the greatest value). The party then set otf in the dark along a track skirting some low hills, Karima who knew the country leading the way, Gulabo following him carrying her infant. About 3 miles from the station Karima led the part}' into a narrow torrent bed, where on a signal from Jumma, Kalu felled Gulabo with an axe, Karima finally crushing her skull by dropping two large stones on her head. The baby was killed by Jumma himself with one blow. The murderers then hurried away over the hills to their homes, and Jumma, under the belief that he was now absolutely secure, wa.'? just a little truculent when Sultan came to see him the next day. It was only the extraordinary sequence of events narrated above which led to the exposure of these dastardly crimes. Kalu led the police to the scene •of this last crime on the 29th September, and after careful search a number of bones, a woman's ring,

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an infant's glass bangle, etc. etc., M-eie fouiid, and' Kalu's long statement was corroborated in minute detail with the result that Habib and Sliahbaz were also brought to book for their share in the first crime. The identity of Chughatta was established by comparing the finger impressions in the sale- deed of his land with those taken from the corpse found on the l7th of August. The case incidentally illustrates the value aiid necessity for confessions under present conditions in dealing with certain crimes if justice is to gain the upper hand in this country. The cry is sometimes raised that all confessions without distinction should be made illegal. The result would be a woeful increase in every form of crime followed before long b}^ some- thing approaching very nearly to a breakdown of the administration. It may seem astounding that a hardened and callous murderer like Kalu should confess to his crimes so readily, but the fact- remains.

I will conclude this lengthy but I hope not uninteresting chapter with a note on the attitude of Karm, the injured husband of the unfortunate Gulabo. He had never ceased searching for her and was actually away from home so engaged when the clue to the nnn-ders was first obtained. Her person he considered to be his property however much he might hate her, and he combined his search with frequent visits to the tomb of a certain Pir and prayed there for vengeance on his faithless wife and her abductor. He was however present with the police when her remains were discovered and our stor}' leaves him quite overcome at the remarkable manner in which, through the intercession of the Pir, Allah had granted his request.

Jl.=

XII. IN CAMP.

The district officer is supposed to spend half the year " in camp, " so his duties away from Headquar- ters must be of considerable importance. These are laid down in the regulations, so I do not propose to tabulate them but onl}- to give a few odd hints on various questions.

The British officer, even in a more or less hum- ble position, will find that he has a considerable following in camp, and in order to prevent all these people living on the villagers, he should keep his eyes open and at any rate make it as difficult as possible for his servants and others to take sup- plies without paying for them. Very often the local magnates try and force one to accept such supplies gratis, but it is best to refuse. It is contrary to orders to accept supplies from anyone. Thougli not infalli- ble, a simple method is to order that all supplies should be paid for by cash in your presence ; no servant to be otherwise reimbursed for any money spent on your account. It is no trouble to see this done just be- fore the next march is begun, and to enquire whether everyone has paid their bills. Some officials omit all precautions on the ground that one will be defeated anyway, but I hold that precautions render extortion at any rate more difficult. In the case of high offi- cials it is almost impossible to prevent a good deal of extortion, and one can see no practical remedy. Take the case of a Lieutenant-Governor who was on tour

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some years at^o, which was related to me as a positive fact. The tour of one district was nearing its close and most of the native staff had done well, except His Honour's dhohi. This t^entleman as a last resort approached the local zaildar, and complained that two of His Honour's dress shirts had been stolen from off the line. A report of this meant badnami with trouble and expense all round, whereas ten rupees to the dhohi squared everything. Nominally of course this was to buy two more shirts, but zaildar as well as dhohi knew equally well that His Honour's wardrobe had suffered no casualty. Solomon would have been utterl^^ helpless in the hands of such people.

The policeman's duties in camp are fairly varied but he is practically his own master as to dates and places, and cold weather touring is one of the greatest joys of the life. It is the happiest combination of duty and pleasure, and one can easily save up the best sJiikar spots for the most suitable season of the year, Shikar and the sJtikari provide useful information of a varied character, and are a pleasant means of getting to know the people in as unofficial a way as possible.

It often happens that part of a tour is across difficult marching country especially for the baggage which goes on ahead b}^ night. You will naturally desire to give the servants the benefit of moonlight for those journeys and will arrange accordingly, and I therefore give the following ready method of telling the age of the moon tor any night of the year. In any almanac you will find what is called the " Epact Number." I understand that this means the age of the moon for that year on the 1st January. To calculate the age of the moon on any day add to the epact number the date in question

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plus the number of the month, January being Ist^ February 2nd, June 6th, and so on, Jf the total is less than 32 subtract 2 ; if it is greater than 32 then subtract that number and the result will give you the age of the moon on the day or night in question. Thus, suppose the epact number for the year is 12, and you want to know what the moon will be like on the night of the 15th July, the seventh month of the year : — -Applying the process given above we get 12 + 15 + 7 = 34: from this we subtract 32 and iind the night will be pitch dark with a moon only 2 days old. If the total had come to, say, 27 we should have subtracted 2 instead of 32. When your reader is repeating a murder report and you hear that witness afer witness identified the accused as they ran away on the night of the 15th July, you can readily appreci- ate the value of such evidence by the above method.

An important cold weather dut}^ is the revision of bad character lists, the visiting of villages, encjuir- ing into old cases which have failed, accidental deaths, etc. Some officers make a practice of riding round a large number of villages and making general en- quiries in that way. 1 have found that one gets very little information by this method, and it wastes a tremendous amount of time. My practice is to call into camp all headmen and local notables within five miles or so of where I am halting. We sit in a kind of informal durbar, bad characters are seen by the^ neighbourhood generally which acts as a deterrent, and after the revision of lists one can give an impromptu lecture, followed by a general discussion which is often of great value. The people are shy enough as a rule, but as soon as one man has been induced to speak out the others soon follow. All this.

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is impossible at village-to-village inspection, which is moreover wearisome in the extreme. One gets so tired of asking the same questions and saying the same thing over and over again. After my informal durbars men often stay beliind to give me any further information in private so it suits all purposes.

For hot weather touring there are rest-houses dotted over the district. The villages where these rest-houses exist are unavoidably put to a great deal of expense, so in the cold weather it is to my mind " cricket " to use tents as far as possible, see new country and avoid the bungalows.

I will try to describe some tjqDical scenes in a Punjab village, bringing in as many different charac- ters as possible. Let us suppose that there are three wards {pattis) in the village, and for convenience give them separate names. Talwandi will do for the Mahommedan portion, Patti-ala the {pitti of Ala Singh) for the Sikhs, and Lopon for the Hindus. The month might be November but I must include matters which occur at other seasons of the year.

Probably the first sound of approaching dawn is the call to prayer (azan) by the Imani of the mosque. Before daybreak numbers of muffled figures will l)e seen making their way to morning prayer. A fire has been burning under a water heater, so that •every worshipper can wash his face, hands and feet before entering the small enclosure which is held .sacred. '\ here are mats of date palm to stand upon, and inside there is a liberal allowance of straw or dry j^rass. Two travellers have spent the night there and a nice warm bed they have had with a dinner and ■smoke the evening before, paid for from the common

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village fund {malha) under the orders of thela'inbardar. The women stay at home, and when the men return there is a drink of skimmed milk and water (lassi) waiting for them. The other wards are probably beginning the day with a drink of the same kind.

A little later, the cattle not required for well or plough will collect in the main street from the various houses, and three or four small boys will take entire charge and drive them out to graze for the day. The milch cows and butlaloes will stay at home to be stall fed. If it is a cold morning and work is slack groups of villagers will be noticed when the sun is up, squatting against the eastern walls of their houses. Those who have been awake half the night huddled up in a ilittle seat behind the bullocks as they worked the Persian- wheel to irrigate the wheat, are badly in need of the rest and warmth. They lazily watch the Chamais tanning a buffalo hide on the hillock outside the village. Not long ago it was the proud possession of the old widow at the end of the lane, before it was craftily poisoned with arsenic. After all Chamars must make a living, and the old lady has few relations of any influence, so it was safe enough. A sweeper servant did the actual deed, and sold the skin when the carcase fell to his lot.

In Lopon the village hania is doing a thriving lousiness. Someone wants a loan of sixty rupees to buy seed. He can have it in cash or kind, for a very hii-ge proportion of the last harvest has found its wa}^ to old Shylock in repayment of loans. •Cash or grain, the customer will only get Rs. 50, in amount, the other ten rupees goes to the fir.st year's interest then and there, but the amount is

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entered in the hahi as Rs. 60, and a few years hence it will read very much like Rs. 100. But Beli Ram lends without security and he will not press for payment for years, not until he has nearly recovered the principal in interest alone, and can show a debt of four or five liundred rupees in addition. A simpler, and much m.re profitable method is to take the wretched borrower's thumb impression on the blank space in the book, or on a regulation bond which can be filled in later on. True enough only Rs. 50 was actually lent, but it is easy enough to make it a hundred more for who is going to prove the contrary five years hence. At any rate, with interest at 25, 50, or even 100 per cent, it matters little which is principal and which the interest. The next customer wishes to pawn his wife's gold nose-ornament in rrder to help his brother who is being prosecuted for theft. It won't go very far, for pleaders, subordinate police and court officials swallow up a mighty amount of money, but still he must do- what he can. After him comes a 3'oung fellow who M-ants to raise mone}^ on six acres of his land. He can mortgage it, but he cannot sell it to Shylock who is not of an agriculturalist chiss ; the Land Alienation Act has seen to that, but only just in time, for land was rapidly passing into the hands of money-lenders. The Act has saved the zamindar from extinction. Even so the village capital is nearly all in the hands of Beli Ram and Co. It is no wonder that he i.-s jiow able to- marry a second wife, but even here he has an eye to business. His own daughter has a ea-^t ii\ her eye and is unlovely altogether, but she will bring in a bride-price of Rs. 1,000 when she marries. Beli Ram is marrying again and will have tu pay

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a good sum for his bride. His first wife was bought cheap, only Rs. 300, from that gang which was selling lowcaste Jammu hill girls at convenient prices. The gang was broken up by the police, but Beli Ram's wife was left in peace for she was happy enough in a comfortable home, and bore her husband two children. After all the chief thing in his eyes was not to be found out ' But now he is going to marry again in open fashion and ■ there will be a good feast, much feeding of Brahmans, and walking rounl the sacred tire {j^kera), etc. Hearing that Beli Ram intended to marry again an offer was made from another vil- lage through the family barber {nai) who is the special messenger on such occasions. He came to spy out the land, arrange terms, etc., and. now Beli Ram has sent his barber to settle the bargain finally. He is as happy as a hania can be, for the iron chest in iiis house has a whole partition packed with mortgage bonds, his grain bins are full to overriowing, and the biggest fodder stack in the whole village is his. He is worth quite Rs. 90,000. The local (Committee said he should subscribe to the War Loan, but what chances did that ofier against the opportunities ready to hand of soon bringing up his capital to a lakh I Helpino- the 8arhar to defeat Germans was none of his affair, provided he was left in peace to contiime his trade of devouring his neighbours. He had even evaded the Alienation Act more than once by getting the mortgaged land mutated in the name of a zamirtd'ir who was heavily indebted to him and utterly under his thumb, and who simply worked the land as his agent. His only relaxation is an occasional pilgrimage, more often than not to Hard- war with the ashes of some deceased relation.

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But it is an expensive affair, and Beli Ram does not like spending money. His real joy in life is writing up his accounts from the daily memo or roznamcha into the cash account (rokar), and from there to the ledger [khata). And yet there is a limit to the patience of the villagers, and our friend recollects now and then with a shudder how Des Raj, the oppressor of the next village, was murdered two years ago. His doings finally became more than flesh and blood could stand, and the more desperate of his dupes joined hands in slitting his throat one night and burning every account book and bond which he possessed. That is why our hero paid good hard money right and left to procure a license for the revolver which he has learnt to load but is far too afraid to fire. However, everyone knows that he possesses it. For some time he did not •even buy a weapon though he renewed the license at the end of the year. It served its purpose very well, and saved money, but the murder of Des Raj had scared him badly for his own conscience was none too clear, and his coup five years ago had not made him popular. He had, at the time, a large amount of jewellery in pawn ^nd had made a great haul by breaking the lock of the door one night and then reporting that burglars had stolen the lot. The plan had succeeded but there had been strong suspicions of the truth. Life on the whole was good ; bad seasons made no difference for he exacted the pound of flesh just the same, while he could generally raise the price of the grain when he resold it on the excuse that the monsooa might fail. But Beli Ram lends money without security and he often has great difficulties in getting repayment of loans even after he lias got a

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decree from the Court. The remedy for usury- would seem to be in making it more difficult for the thriftless to borrow money, and also in a furthei growth of the co-operative banking system. There are signs that the knell of the present system haa sounded, but many years must pass before new ideas^ take real root in this country.

But enough of Beli Ram, let us see what others in Lopou are doing. A sleek bull wandera down the main bazaar, shoving his nose into any article that takes his fancy. He is sacred and can roam at will in the young wheat or anywhere else with no one to say him nay — surely the most ideal life led by any animal. The bazaar and cloth shops of Lopon are rather better than the average, and visitors, especially women from the villages round, may be seen doing their shopping, Like their European sisters it will be noticed that nearly every bale of cloth in the shop is examined and well tested as to strength and texture before the final choice is made. There is a good selection to choose from, for the introduction of Indian products to the markets of the world has increased the spending power of all, and articles of luxury such as gramaphones, harmoniums, armchairs, overcoats of good English tweed, etc., are to be found in villages nowadays. I have even come across a mincing machine ! The finery and jewellery worn at weddings are a good index of the growing prosperity of the people.

On the outskirts of Lopon is the village school, where a boy may study up to the middle standard. The visitor as he approaches is apt to imagine that it is a lunatic asylum. for every inmate is speaking at once. There may be a class.

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■of thirty small buys all .squatting on a loDcr mat, €veiy single one of whom is reading to himself at the top of his voice. The " master " often looks much the same age as the pupils : he draws some ten rupees a month, but adds to his ircome by the presents of ghee, farm produce, and odd annas which the parents send him by hand cf the boys from time to time. His authoiity is nil, and the pupil starts with no respect whatever for the teacher. In the old days the Maulvi was the only pedagogue : he was reverenced beyond words by his pupils, all of whom were proud and more than ready to do even a menial service for him. The boy therefore started witli a respect for authority and learning, which influenced his whole life. He learnt to obey without question, the only true road to the art of governing and giving orders to others. In the English public school the most experienced masters teach the youngest boys, and it is the latest arrival from the 'Varsity who takes the highest classes ; in India the opposite seems to be the rule, and the result is deplorable. It is not only that there is no respect for authorit\ , there is none for parents either. I have heard a young graduate speak to his own father in a manner which would probably have been impossible even twenty years ago. The well-to-do zamindar gives his son the best education he can afford, hoping that the boy will get into Government service. There are not nearly enough appointments available, and the boy lives on at home, discontented and idle. He has for- saken the plough for the pen, and cannot return to one while he finds no material benefit in the other. This is the egg which hatches into unrest and political trouble. The headmaster-, of the Lopon school is also local po.stmaster, and adds perhaps five rupees a

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month to liis income by this means. There are 90 boys in the school of whom more than half are hanias sons, while perhaps 80 are Sikhs, and 10 or 15 are Mahommedans. The bania as usual gets most out of the Government which he does the least of •anyone to support. Tlie school supplies the needs of villages for a radius of perhaps five miles or -more.

As we ride round to Patti-ala we notice that the village is modelled for purposes of defence from outside aggression. Very few houses have openings or doors which face outwards : there are only three main entrances to the village, which is more or less a walled enclosure. The model has been handed down from generation to genera- tion, and is a reminder of the days before British rule, when nothing, man, beast or property, was safe, and at any time the village might be suddenly called upon to resist to the death a raiding party, or even the Government agent who came with a small army to wring the uttermo.st farthing out of the wretched inhabitants. Roving bauds of dacoits were never far off, no one knew when lie might not find himself with a bag of red pepper over his head or a knife at his throat until he disclosed the hiding place of his few valuables.

In Patti-ala it is not easy to tell if the children playiuij about are boys or girls, for both have long hair which has never been cut. It is plaited behind and tied to a kind of pad, ending off with a dome shaped ornament of gold or silver [clianiilc). A closer examination will show that the front hair of the girls is done in one or a number of fine plaits down each side from the imiddle parting and fastening behind the ears. This

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will be clone until marriage when no plait will! be left. This custom applies equally to Hindus and Mahommedans : it is an easy method of telling whether a woman is married or not. Another sign of marriage is the nose ring (nath), the nostril or central cartilaoe being bored for the purpose when the child is young. The girls will not however be called upon to take the pahul or Sikh baptism like their fathers and brothers. The inirdah system is probably responsible for the fact that Indian women take little or no part in religious worship but education is bringing a change, and' it may be noted that some Sikh women now take the ijaJiiil. Indeed I see it is now proposed by advanced politicians to give Indian women the vote !

There is little doubt that women are largely responsible for the backwardness and superstition of the Indian household. Their conservatism is notorious. The men who see much of the world would gladly make an advance in the abolition of insanitary and unhealthy customs, but often they dare not make a move. The mother-in- law who bears the same reputation in India as in other countries would soon put a stop to that !' I remember one of our Indian officers telling me- some years ago that he had never married because he could not face a mother-in-law. How- ever, be the causes what they may, household reform is to my mind one of the greatest needs of modern India. It is in this direction that the zenana missions, especially the medical missions, are doing such splendid work. Let the reader make some enquiries for himself concerning the antiquated customs of dealing with the new- born baby, and he will not be surprised at the appalling rate of infant mortality. The situation-

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leads to some quaint anachronisms. Take the case of Kehr Sinorh, the brilliant young Assistant Surgeon of Patti-ala. His wife's mother and the usual string of females of varied relationship batten on his earnings. Every Government servant seems to have the same huge " family " to feed, and it must •drive many a man to dishonesty. But I am straying from the point. What were Kehr Singh's feelings when his first-born came into the world, ■and he was forced to stand aside while the cus- toms and superstitions of his fathers ended in the death of the infant, leaving his wife weakened and broken in health? I would dearly like to know what he thinks of it all. He has learnt to ap- preciate modern surgery and hygiene, but from the cradle he has been nurtured on superstition and the unchangeable customs of his people. There is a Government dispensary in Patti-ala under a •qualified Sub-Assistant Surgeon, but his indoor cases are mostly medico-legal, and the outdoor attend- 4ince does not represent a fraction of the cases that require attention. The Punjabi has always distrusted our medical lore : it took about 50 years before he learnt to appreciate vaccination, and he has made every excuse to avoid plague inoculation and the like. It may be of interest to record the belief so widespread among Mohammedans when plague inoculation first started. It was to the ■effect that the Imam Mehdi had been born, the Messiah wlio would restore Moslem supremacy throughout the world. His veins contained milk instead of blood and this puncturing business 'was really to discover him before it was too late !

Meanwhile the hours are passing in our village. Most of the able bodied men will spend the day in their fields, ploughing, sowing or

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watering the crops according to the time oE year.. Between 8 and 11 a.m. the wives or children will take out the first meal to the fields, usually chapatties with a curry of dal or vegetable and a good drink of lassi in an earthen pot. The real busy time of the year is the wheat harvest, when every available hand is turned out to get the crop and the chaff (bhusa) in before the rains come. Outside labour is often called in to assist, and high wages are given. Sometimes the daily wage consists of as heavy a bundle of cut wheat as the bearer can carry home, but nowadays wages are mostly paid in cash. The village drums are in great request to encourage the workers, and they probably double the output. The drums are a great feature of village life, whether the occasion be a wedding, a game, crop cutting, or a good old riot with the next village over grazing riglits, or the next turn for canal water. With the drums behind and a war cry such as " Dam Ba/iawobl Haq," many broken heads will find their way to the dispensary.

EveT-y village is a complete unit with its fixed boundaries, its headmm, menials, place of worship, etc. The menials play an important part and are of course indispensable. They work for various masters, and are paid in kind at harvest time, besides which they are entitled to certain per- quisites such as free grazing for animals, free supply of earth and so on for repair of their houses. The women of the household spin the cotton on to bobbins, and the family weaver returns it as cloth : the potter is most necessary in providing pots {tL7ids) for the Persian whee's and a host of other household requirements : the blacksmith

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and carpenter are in constant requisition for all agricultural implements, while the moclii and chamar between them supply footgear and saddlery. Sanitation seems to be the last and least essential of village life. The entrance to the village is generally garlanded with heaps of manure and refuse, and that smell like a thousand pigsties which smote you as you rode up is the last crop of flax soaking in the village pond to rot the fibre off the stem. Don't be surprised if j'ou see buffaloes wallowing in the same pond where other people are bathing, someone is cleaning his teeth and a traveller is slaking his thirst.

Towards evening the toilers return from the fields, and the cloud of dust in the distance tells of the herds doing likewise. As they approach the village each animal will have a drink at the pond and then slowly betake itself to its master's house. In cases of cattle theft the ownei- will often ask that the animal which he claims as his own, perhaps years after the actual theft, may be taken to his village and released on the outskirts in the presence of witnesses. If it is his property it will make straight for his house. Just at dark, and almost simultaneously, fires and smoke will be seen rising from all parts of the village and its outlying hamlets. This is the evening meal under preparation. In the meantime the men foregather in groups, and discuss current afiairs in the village square. The one topic of which you will hear nothing is politics, and the one of which you will hear most is agriculture. A soldier back on leave or pension may tell strange and unbelievable tales of bis experiences, but as a rule the stale of the crops, the condition of the cattle, and the latest

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scandal are the real issues which concern the normal Punjabi. He will hear the truth about the murder in the next village, and he will hear and note what the Courts make of it. The enor- mous number of love intrigues and elopements are also an unending topic of conversation, not to mention the latest case in Court and the collection of evidence in support of it. The last tyranny or exaction of the local forest, canal or police officials get their full share of attention, and be it noted that I quote them in a certain order of precedence.

And so the long day draws to its close : as the light fails the evening meal is eaten, the muazan sounds the call to the fifth and last prayer, and as the pariah dogs begin their nightly concert the village retires to rest. A good many will have their beds in the fields beside their crops, and at any hour of the night that you may select to visit a village you will find someone about, but the vast majority sleep like the dead after another day of heavy labour in the struggle for the necessities of life. The Punjabi peasant with all his faults is a fine fellow, and above all things he is a man. The yeomen are a splendid class, and the large landowners are often real gentlemen whose affection and friendship for British officers has been genuinely mutual. The relations between the British and Indian officers of the Indian Army are one of the finest traditions of that splendid corps. The civil official has a far wider field to work, but his Indian friends would probably be the first to proclaim that his term of exile in this country has not been unfruitful of benefit to themselves. He, for his part, is and always will be intensely proud of his Province, and will ever look back with pride upon his association with its people.

PRINTED AT "THE CIVIL AND MILITARY (JAZETTE " PRESS, LAHORE, BY EDWIN HAWARD, MANAGER.

HV Iver, George Grosvenor Bruce 7809 In an Indian district P8I9 1919

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