The Guardian And Evening Star, with which is incorporated' the West Coast Times. TUESDAY, AUGUST 19, 1930.

Hokitika Guardian, 19 August 1930, Page 4

The Guardian And Evening Star, with which is incorporated' the West Coast Times. TUESDAY, AUGUST 19, 1930.

FRONTIER.;TROUBLE IN- INDIA.' The reports that have been- received during the past two months*'of the hostile activities- of AiVidi tribesmen on the nortli-west frontier-pf India have disclosed that the position js siifficieuLly serious, The first trouble, recalls an exchange, occurred early in June, when tribesmen to a number various estimated at from 70QO to 14,C00 assembled near Peshawar and threatened to attack the city. They were upahle to persuade tfje people in the surrounding villages to join them, and were dispersed by British and Indian troops and Royal • Air Force machines. .That the tribesmen were not sufficiently discouraged, howevor, later messages have shown, Infiltration across , the border is almost impossible to prevent over the long frontier, and, as the opportunity has offered, the scattered bands of raiders have reassembled for fresh, attacks. At the beginning of this month another determined assault was made, some of the tribesmen actually coming to within'sniping distance of the Peshawar cantonment, and again Air Force squadrons, mi inhering some 50 aeroplanes, were called upon to repel the attack. Despite the optimistic nature of most despatches from Peshawar if, seems clear that the menace from the Afridi is a real one. All troops in the vicinity have been mobilised and martial law established. The Air Force machines are exercising an unceasing vigil, bombing any groups of tribesmen that are discovered. The difficulty of protecting the northern boundaries of India from the lawless frontier tribes was one of the points referred to in t)ie report of the Statutory Commission. India lias always been a natural victim of the invader, and ifnis only since the establishment of British rule that .unwelcome visits by hordes of tribesmen, have been prevented. The security of the country from invasion has been obtained, but only through incessant vigilance and not a little hard fighting. Since 1850, the Report on India stated, it has been necessary to undertake seventy-two expeditions against unruly frontier tribes, and though the danger has been decreased in recent years, the present reports show that it has by no means been removed. The force of 00,000 British and 150,000 Indian troops maintained in India exists to deal with such eventualities, in addition to its duties as a garrison, and it is

kept sufficiently occupied. A cablegram published a week ago stated, indeed, that it will probably be necessary to send a punitive expedition across the border into tribal territory in tile autumn, when an attempt will be made to deal finally with the malcontents. The situation may well prompt reflection upon all that Britain lias done and is still doing for the projection of India —a service of incalculable importance which the people of that- country sometimes scarcely seem to realise or are to prone to forget.