ALL THROUGH A DONKEY

Dominion, Volume 28, Issue 104, 26 January 1935, Page 18

ALL THROUGH A DONKEY

The Indian Mutiny was brought about by soldiers being required to grease their rifles with the fat of a sacred animal. Recently, in the Punjab, a misunderstanding about a supposed sacred name conferred on a donkey led to a threat of assassination. This is how it happened. The Punjab Government recently bought a stud donkey to improve the breed of the donkey population in its territory. The donkey was placed in the charge of a Sikh officer of the Indian Veterinary Department. But rumours spread about among the devout Mahonnuedans that the donkey had been given the name of Ahmed, a very sacred name among them, meaning “The Most Praised." Questions were asked in Parliament about this supposed slight to au honoured Mahommedan figure, and al-

i though the Ministers explained that I the donkey's name was Ahnuik. meaning "fool.” and not Ahmed, the agitation went on. Public meetings were held in the bazaars, sermons were preached in the mosques, and at last an armed youth was arrested, who confessed that he intended to shoot both the donkey and the officer who had charge of it. Seeing that it was no use trying to persuade the population that their religion had not been slighted, the Punjab Government at last issued an official order announcing that the donkey’s name had been changed to Bahadur. This means “brave or gallant.” Postscript: -The donkey and the Mahommedan population of the Punjab are now happy. Assassination and a political uprifling have been averted.