INDIAN ASSISTANCE.

Taranaki Daily News, 18 August 1916, Page 4

INDIAN ASSISTANCE.

Mr. Winston Churchill, in his recent outburst in the House of Commons about I the war situation and the necessity for recruiting' all the available manhood of the Empire, referred to the possibility or raising ten or twelve fresh Indian divisions. The population of India numbers 31.).000,000, and the question has occurred to other; besides Mr. Churchill that we should raise big armies from these millions. Eminent Indians are satisfied that there is no reluctance in India to enter upon a great recruiting campaign for the special objects of the war, but the London Times has pointed out the difficulties that beset such a task. It says that the mere numbers ostensibly available afford no guide. At the same time, it is by no means clear that this problem lws been carefully considered either by the Government of India or by the Home authorities. There seems to have been a tacit decision that new armies are not to be raised in India, and at that point officialdom has stopped. The Times frankly points out the obstacles. In the first place, it may be notpd that recruiting on a normal basis has been surprisingly good in India since the war began. No figures can be quoted, but it may be said that men have coine forward in large numbers to furnish drafts for the Indian regiments already in the field. On the other hand, no fresh units have been created, partly because India has shown no disposition to add to her military expenditure, hut still more owing to the scarcity of competent officers. That scarcity has been accentuated by the 'careless way in which British officers in the Indian Army, speaking Indian dialects and able to train Indian troops, have been allowed to serve with British units. Many Indian Stall' Corps officers are now at the front in various capacities who ought to he with their regiments. If all those ardent soldiers | were "combed'out," however, we should still find (says the Times) the utmost difficulty in officering new Indian units. The modern Indian regiment is like a large family. The men know their English officers, and will follow them, and most of their Indian officers have first served in the ranks. It is comparatively easy to train officers for the new formation.', in England, but a good Indian Staff Corps officer is not rapidly made. He must know something of India and the Indian peoples, and must understand the psychology and dialects oi his men. Another difficulty is that of climate. The Indian sepoy is not so happy tinder the winter skies of Artois and Flanders as the more adaptable negro troops, and he suffers acutely from nostalgia. In Egypt and Mesopotamia he is in a more familiar atmosphere, but we have yet to learn what our future requirements in these areas may be. It is quite true that there would probably be little difficulty in raising the rank and file of another ten or twelve divisions in India, perhaps more. But there is one plain and simple test by which all these schemes for fresh Indian armies must be judged. Will' it bo worth while? If it can be demonstrated that there is a reasonable prospect of raising efficient new units in India within a moderate time, the experiment may be worth considering; hut we must first make sure (concludes the Times) that we shall not be dissipating our energies in unpractical directions.