The Hastings Standard Published Daily MONDAY, AUGUST 2, 1897. THE TROUBLE IN INDIA.

Hastings Standard, Issue 388, 2 August 1897, Page 2

The Hastings Standard Published Daily MONDAY, AUGUST 2, 1897. THE TROUBLE IN INDIA.

For the cause that lacks assistance, For the wrongs that need resistance, For the future in the distance, And the good that we can do.

The disaffection in India is surely more serious than the brief cable messages would imply. The arrest of a member of the Council of the Governor of Bombay indicates that the disaffection permeates all classes of Hindoos. Bal Gangadah Tilak is do doubt a highly educated Brahmin, and the responsibility of his position as a Councillor implies that be is a person of considerable influence. He at any rate can personally have no cause to complain at English rule, for he has apparently enjoyed the fullest confidence of the governing race, and called to the Council of the Governor of the Presidency. The arrest of this influential Brahmin gentleman, together with other leading men of his creed, has naturally caused considerable excitement amongst the native population, and it may be that we are on the eve of another Indian Mutiny with Bombay as its birthplace. For some time past the natives in and around Bombay have evinced disaffection, due in all probability to the horrors of the plague with the accompanying sanitary restrictions and destruction of infected dwellings. The plague was succeeded by famine, and the two calamities together are possibly the chief reasons for the disaffection. However, we may be certain that the Indian authorities have carefully weighed all the risks attending the arrest of influential Brahmins, and have made the necessary preparations. A bold policy in matters of this kind is in the end the best and the determined attitude of the Bombay Government will cow the disaffected and insubordinate. It would be useless for the Hindoos or any other sect in India to think of armed resistance. The Indian Mutiny was too fruitful of lessons, learned unfortunately at an appalling cost of iunocent blood, and a repetition of such an event now is practically impossible. Troops could be poured into India from several points, but the Indian army aided by its excellent volunteer system is, we. think, quite competent to put down any disorder. It is quite possible that this event following so close upon the Mollah episode of a few weeks ago may result in serious bloodshed, for there is sure to be a certain amount of sympathy between Hindoo and Mahommedan, and the one may help the other. It is more than likely that this latest exhibition of Indian disaffection is directly due to the previous Moslem disturbance in and around Poonah and which was settled in a manner that satisfied the Moslems as being a moral victory. Further developments of this latest Indian trouble will be anxiously watched.