The Hastings Standard Published Daily THURSDAY, AUGUST 19, 1897. THE OUTLOOK IN INDIA.

Hastings Standard, Issue 403, 19 August 1897, Page 2

The Hastings Standard Published Daily THURSDAY, AUGUST 19, 1897. THE OUTLOOK 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.

With startling rapidity the scene of trouble has shifted from Crete and Greece to India, and from the cable messages of the last few days it is manifest that the outlook in India is serious. During the past few years the Eastern jewel of the British Crown has experienced several national calamities. The currency question, with the decline in the price of silver and the closing of the Indian mints to the coinage of the white metal, caused widespread distress to a very large portion of the civil and military services. This was succeeded a year or so ago by the plague, which in turn was followed by a disastrous famine, and from the effects of these the population of India is still suffering keenly. Now rebellion and mutiny threaten the Indian Empire, and the war spirit recently exhibited seems to be wholly the outgrowth of religious fanaticism. The Mussulmen are obviously the originators of the disturbances of India, and there is not the least doubt that the followers of *lslamism have been incited by the Mollahs into rebellion. From Calcutta comes the news that itinerant Mollahs predict the millenium in Islamism, and to the Turkish successes in Thessaly is to be traced the outgrowth of their religious fervor and fanaticism. When the question of the evacuation of Thessaly was first submitted by the Great Powers, the Grand Vizier addressed the following stirring appeal to his Sovereign : —" My great age, and the confidence shown in me by appointing me the Grand Vizier of so glorious a Caliph, emboldens me to submit to your Majesty my views on the question of the day. The successes of our soldiers over their enemies have so revived the ardour of our nation that an important portion of it, which was previously alienated from you, has now been won back. The whole of Islam is, therefore, one eoul

and one body, and stands round your throne in an invincible phalanx." The victories of the Turks and the impotency of the Great Powers have consolidated the Turkish Empire and revived the fanaticism and fervour of Islam. The Turks have had to yield to pressure and have formally consented to evacuate Thessaly, but have made no effort to carry out the agreement, and it is evident that the evacuation will not come 1 about just yet. A diversion has been created by changing the scene of trouble, and India, tho hotbed of the Moslems, has been fired with the flame of religion. The risings in Bombay, Poonab, and iii Calcutta are all more or less attributable to the revival of Islamism, and the outbreak on the north-west frontier of India is admitted to be the work of religious fanatics. But what increases the gravity of the situation is the assistance accorded the Mahomedans by the Afghans. Abdu Rahman Khan, the Ameer of Afghanistan, was placed upon the throne by the aid of British bayonets, and he is in receipt of a pension from the Indian Government, which of course involves him in certain obligations, and the serious remonstrance, which is practically an ultimatum according to the language of modern diplomacy, addressed to him by the Viceroy of India may bring him round to his senses ; but we doubt it. The action of the military authorities in concentrating a force of 25,000 men at Peshawar and Rawal Pindi ready to take the offensive is proof positive that the position in the north-west frontier is alarmingly critical. Reports are current that the Ameer has recalled his Indian agents and has issued a pamphlet advocating a jehad or holy war. It was a jehad that in 1880 enabled Ayub Khan to commence hostilities against the British, and the lessons of that campaign are indelibly impressed upon the minds of the Indian authorities; hence the concentration of forces on the frontier. In any case, even if the Ameer subsides, the attack upon the British forces at Shabkadar must be avenged, for it is the only way to impress the Oriental.

There is only too much reason to fear that another war with Afghanistan is imminent. The unwarranted and treacherous attacks upon the British indicate an increasing disaffection, for which an outlet must be found, and a holy war against British soldiers is a convenient matter, but disastrous in its results to tho fanatics. The mention of Afghanistan will inevitably rouse suspicions about Russia ? Long- ago the Russians augmented their frontier force,ostensibly to guard against the Indian plague, but it is more than likely the present trouble was foreseen and preparations made accordingly. To some Russophobists it will be convenient to say that Russian intrigue is responsible for this latest Afghan trouble, and that is more than possible. The ugly point in the whole business is the extreme activity of the Indian military authorities and the concentration of so large a force at the garrison towns of the north-west. Fortunately for the British we can still rely upon Lord Roberts, " Bobs" as he is affectionately called by Tommy Atkins, the hero of Candahar. Roberts thoroughly understands the Afghans and the Hill tribes, and if matters get any worse we shall hear of Lord Roberts being ordered to the front.