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in our lunatic asylums have been charas smokers.
I cannot call to mind any particular instances.
49. Charas is said to cause impotence, and for
this reason is used by some fakirs to conquer their
passions.
51. I do not think that the use of hemp drugs
has any connection with crime. I have not known
any cases in which crime has been caused by such
indulgence.
53. 1 believe the Kukas, who attacked the
butchers at Amritsar and at Raikot in the Ludhiana
district in 1872, were said to have fortified
themselves with bhang; but the habitual use of
bhang takes away courage and renders a man
nervous.
There is a saying—
Bhang jab charti bai kya kya maza diklati hai,
Khat ko zor sc pakarta ki kidhar jati hai.
When the effects of bhang rise (to the head),
What feelings do they produce ?
(The man who has drank bhang) holds on tight
to his bed (and wonders) whither it is going.
55. I have heard of cases in which charas has
been used to cause stupefaction ; but professional
poisoners, if they use it, mix dhatura with it.
56. There is a saying regarding ganja—
Ganja piwe mukh zard hai,
Bibi kahe namard hai,
Bhai kahe kuch dard hai,
Ashak nashae men gard hai.
Whoever smokes ganja his face will be yellow ;
His wife will complain he's but a poor fellow,
His brother will say he's afflicted with pain,
But the smoker will turn to his chillum again.
Oral evidence.
Question 1.—It is twenty-six years since I
joined the Punjab Police. I have officiated as
Deputy Inspector-General in both Circles, and last
year I was officiating for four months as Inspector-
General of Police. I have served as District
Superintendent of Police in most parts of the
province.
Question 14.—I think I was told that charas
comes from the Kangra district. I have had no
opportunity of verifying the information, and
the charas from Yarkand may have been
referred to.
Question 45.—I have never noticed that the
hemp drugs affected the discipline of the Police
Force. In one instance in Amritsar a large part
of a guard of two sergeants and twelve men was
slightly intoxicated with bhang; they had taken it
as a cooling drink in hot weather. That is the only
case in which the drug in any form has come to
my notice in connection with the force.
No punishment can be inflicted without the
District Superintendent of Police hearing of it.
All punishments are reported and entered in a
register kept in his office. The rules are clear
that all pnnishments should be reported, but it is
possible that small punishments of one or two
days' drill inflicted at outstations may escape
notice; but nothing more serious could. The
Assistant Superintendent, the Inspector and
Deputy Inspector are the only officers subject to
the District Superintendent of Police, who can
inflict punishment.
I have heard men described as being addicted
to charas, and such men are generally slack. But
I cannot recall any instances. A "charasi " is
generally dirty and wanting in smartness, I
would certainly not take on a man whom I knew
to be addicted to charas. I should not object to
a man who took bhang in moderation. My
impression is that a charas smoker is lazy and not
capable of carrying on business. His associates
also will be a lazy, dissolute lot.
I believe that among the Purbia menial servants
and Pathans mentioned in answer 20, the majority
are probably moderate consumers; because those
who took charas to excess would certainly join the
rank of the fakirs. I think that even the
moderate habit produces, to a greater or less
degree, the bad effects I have noted above, though
I have no experience of the moderate habit. I call
moderate smoking that which does not render a
man unfit for the ordinary business.
30. Evidence of MR. J. P. "WARBURTON , District Superintendent of Police,
Oral evidence.
1 have nearly thirty years' service, all in the
Punjab. I have served in Karnal, Ludhiana,
Amritsar and Sialkot districts. 1 have not in the
course of my service been led to connect the hemp
drugs with crime in any way. That is, there
is no such connection of hemp drugs with crime as
to attract my attention. It is said that in Eng-
land there is a clear connection between alcohol
and crime. I have not found such a connection
between hemp drugs and crime in this country.
Occasionally I have found cases of desperadoes
taking bhang to fortify themselves for crime.
In the well-known Mian Sawal Singh murder
case (Secretary to the Maharaja of Kashmir) the
approvers told me that before committing the
offence they all took bhang to fortify them-
selves, though not habitual consumers of the
drug. But such cases are rare. On the contrary,
as a rule, criminals avoid this intoxicant, as they
avoid all others, at the time of committing crime,
They indulge at other times, but not then. Of
course men who had an extraordinarily long march
or exceptional fatigue might take bhang to
enable them to endure fatigue. But this is quite
different.
The Kukas who went from Ludhiana to Maler
Ketla in January 1872 and killed a number of
people in the Maland and Maler Kotla State
service were said to have taken bhang. I was
not in the place at the time. I joined two months
after. They were said to have taken bhang.
The Kukas all take bhang, and these were habi-
tual bhang takers; and in all probability they
took a good deal then, as they had met together.
I certainly do not think that but for the bhang
they would not have made their onslaught. The
movement was a political one; and this was their
first open act of rebellion.
I have known of some eases where a man hav-
ing taken charas or bhang to excess went off and
committed motiveless crime, such as running
amuck. I know that there have been such cases
as murders or violent crimes being committed