Darling tried always to befriend and understand the native population of India and spoke several of their languages. To that end, he made several long-distance tours of the country on horseback. One, in 1946–1947 began in Peshawar and ended, later, in Jubbulpore where he visited his friend Mahatma Gandhi. Believing in fair play, he found himself at odds with other British people in India when he denounced Dyer's massacre of civilians at Amritsar in 1919.