THE SOMBRE SIDE OF INDIAN LIFE.

Marlborough Express, Volume XLI, Issue 177, 29 July 1907, Page 6

THE SOMBRE SIDE OF INDIAN LIFE.

(By T. S. G., in Otago Daily Times.) .Recent cable messages announce that there is increased cause for anxiety in the political situation in India, and that the Hindus are giving expression to their dissatisfaction by threats, and in some cases, deeds, of violence against the ruling race. My memor" is carried back a period of nine or ten -ears, to a crisis as serious as the Government of Bombay had to deal with for a few decades. A short account of it may serve to give colonial readers an idea of the dangers which sometimes confront Britons in the land of "the mild Hindoo." . . The bubonic plague was .ravaging the city at the time of which I write. The local authorities, puzzled by the strange nature of the disease, and harassed by the opposition they received to all relief measures from the native population1, were driven to the vergo of despair.1' General Gatacre, who met with' such disaster at Stromberg, during the. Boer war, was then commanding the Bombay Division, and he was'urged to take control of the plague operations. He was a man of iron will1 and untiring energy, but he found his task not only difficult, but what was worse, extremely delicate. The natives had openly objected to hospitals as institutions designed to'-kill, not cure, the sufferer, and demanded the right to treat patients in their own homes. Superstition and bigotry, allied to intense ignorance, had- inflamed the public mind, but when it was whispered in the bazaars <that such measures as a house-to-house visitation to discover cases, and their compulsory removal to hospital, were intended to strike at the root of thoir religious principles, the position became tense. A few cases of riotous resistance led to Gatacre placing the city under martial law. Then the budmash or native gallant began to murmur and look ominous. There was a lack of that studied courtesy which the black man pays his white superior. ;A, .difference of behaviour more felt than" discerned,;1 land the, European knew. intuitively \ that' • trouble was brewing.' „•'",'• -■; .-\ Rumours would occasionally reach us that the native population was conspiring to resist the law, and that the whole European community might any moment find itself in a sorry plight. But the authorities made no sign, and the press, with true British sang froidj made no mention of fear of any impending trouble. It would leak out through bazaar talk that the Mohammedans were using their mosques to conduct meetings, and that the Hindus were, for once, in strict accord with their designs. We were warned indirectly of violence, perhaps massacre, Bu±,~.stolid and confident, displayed no sign of nervousness. Yet the lessons of the Indian mutiny were not entirely forgotten. It was impossible not to realise that the smouldering might burst into flame at any moment, and that an incensed mob of the most ignorant classes might throw •discretion to the wind, and in wreaking vengeance, try to find the shortest path to redress. Grim necessity demanded that nothing could be relaxed to public opinion. It was a case , of prejudice versus the physical Veal of the inhabitants, and it was incumbent upon Europeans to display courage, and thus morally support the Raj. * How far such reports were true was never properly known. It was said that on a special day the populace had decided on a general uprising. A grim tragedy, however, facilitated matters and brought any such intention to a head before plans were pro.perly .matured. Two British- soldiers off duty took a tram ride as far as Grant road corner, and proceeded to -walk down the street. They were within military bounds, and in a thoroughfare frequently used by Europeans. The spot where they left the car was on the main arterial line where it was crossed by the Grant road car section. It was early in the afternoon, with a normal crowd moving about. There was nothing to cause the slightest apprehension," and armed ■only with their swagger canes, the two Tommies, dressed in white uniform,- ---• slowly:sauntered along, • gazing inter■ostedly at the shops and the groups of natives peacefully strolling by. Then some irrepressible spirit uttered a jeer, several others repeated it; a few , wayfarers stopped and gazed at the nonchalant Britishers, and presently a stone was thrown. It struck its mark, and a howl like that from savage beasts who had scented blood went up. The first blow was struck, why not another? " Death to all Englishmen !" In the twinkle of an eye the crowd closed on their victims, and sticks and bludgeons ,that appeared a3 if by magic, completed the dastardly outrage. The bodies of the poor soldiers, battered into unconsciousness, were dragged into a small refreshment booth where cooling drinks were sold. When they were recovered by the police, some hours later, they had been so maltreated that the men were only identified by the .regimental number stamped on their clothes. The news travelled round the city: with amazing rapidity. Swarms of excited natives poured into and congested the streets/and assaulted every European they met. The car traffic was immediately suspended, and all Europeans were warned and conveyed from the street to places of safety. Some extraordinary scenes were witnessed. Half a dozen Britishers, with two old fowling-pieces between them, and no ammunition, emerged from an engineering works on the side of the main street, close to the scene of the tragedy, and held a crowd of excited natives, numbering several thousand, at bay until the police could stop the traffic and warn Europeans of their danger. As soon as possible volunteer companies were mustered, supplied with ball cartridge, and placed on guard near all armouries, arsenals, and gaols. The native regiments were confined to barracks, and such British troops as could be spared were placed on patrol. Detachments of bluejackets with machine and fields gunds were landed from the warships in the harbour and placed in commanding positions. The/ disturbance was soon quelled, but six whites had been cruel- , ly- murdered before order could be restored . There was only one female yjctiin--~an Armenian woman, who was mistaken for a European. She -was dragged out of the car in one of the main streets, and her brains dashed out on the pavement. The anxiety of those who had friends andrelations away from home can be well imagined. No police could be requisitioned, and . hastily - formed parties visited the schools and escorted the children to their parents. Towards the evening the excitement had died. down. When night fell, how-, tever, the nervous tension increased. Thei .Government of India iias, in my opinion, made one grave «rror. In most—indeed, nearly all—of the big ...towns:; and cities no quarter has been reserved for the exclusive use of Europeans. Where no jcantonments

exist the dwellings of Europeans are scattered all over the city. A house is frequently isolated amongst thousands of native habitations. This is the case in Bombay. On an occasion like this one realised how much was left to mere chance. There was a certain sense of security in knowing that a military or naval outpost was within a mile of one's home; but it can be safely asserted that no white man reposed calmly that night, with the thought that some horror might spring, sudden and merciless, out ot the darkness. . The city was in a state of siege lor three or four days. Cannon loaded with grape-shot gaped menacingly down streets where the population had been most fractious, and the handy man walked his beat with bayonet fixed. - It was an experience to ride in a tram car with a police officer in the rear seat with a loaded revolver. A day after the riot every gun shop in Bombay had sold out,- and there was still an eager demand for revolvers by white men of all classes, Very few ventured out without a loaded weapon, and.-noiwoman was. allowed out unescorted, v Divine service was held in all the churches as usual.the following Sunday. . I attended church in the evening, when every male of the congregation was armed, and the clergyman preached his sermon with a revolver lying on the lectern in the pulpit. Fortunately there was no recrudescence of the trouble. The native leaders came forward and willingly assisted to allay the fears and suspicions of their ignorant co-religionists. Fourteen natives were hanged in connection with the murder of the two soldiers at the commencement of the riot.

To-day the poorest Hindoo in Bombay is willing to justify the measures taken by the authorities for the suppression of the plague. But he is a difficult problem to handle. There is only one man who can understand him and deal with him in times of both peace and stress, and that is not the man who utters passionate inanities in the House of Commons in his behalf 2 but the much-maligned Indian official who, despite adverse criticism, continues to put his heart's blood into his work.