The morning call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1878-1895, 1893-08-14
THE RIOTS AT BOMBAY.

Mr.. Rudyard Kiplng has drawn such
general attention 10 British India that the
accounts of the conflict between Moham-
medans and Hindoos at Bombay are being
widely read. The disciples of the rival
faiths have been in contention. with brief
truces, for 500 years, but their strife has
seldom commanded much notice in Chris
tendon until the present time. Kiplin g
bas painted the dweller in Hindostan in
such vivid colors that we begin to take an
interest in him and his fortunes.
The Hindoo is, so far as we know. the
aboriginal native, and still predomin ates.
or the 2S7, 223 600 people who were found
in British India when the census of 1891
was taken. 207, 731. 900 we're Hindoos, and
only 1921, 600 Mohammedans. The two
races are not divided by geographical lines.
Both are found side by side in the popu-
lous divisions of the empire-Bengal, the
northwestern provinces. Bombay, Madras
and the Punjab. In all save the last. the
Hindoos predominant. In the Punjab the
Mohammedans are in majority. In Ben
ga! they are about half as numerous as the
Hindoos. In Bombay, where the recent
riot occurred. they are less than one-third.
But they are a far more vigorous race
than the Hindoos. The latter are timid,
gentle, submissive, easily controlled and
held in subsection until their religious
prejudices are aSsaied. The former are
fierce, fanatical and turbulent-as they
showed in the Punjab. And their race
and religious prejuGices are most intense
where they are most conspicuously In
min ority. The Moslem of Turkey is not a
prosecutor. He toerates other religions,
and protects the heretics with con-
temptuous forbearance. But in Bombay,
where be is one TO three of the HindOGs.
whenever he holds religious festival his
faith impels him to fall back on the policy
of the founder eff his creed. who marched
through the World with the Koran in one
hand and the scmetar in the other.
The tenaclty with which weak but OBJ
stinate and numerous people can resist
conquest is illustrated by the failure of
the Turks to accomplish at the close Of the
fourteenth century that which the English
found it easy to perform at the close of the
eighteenth. Northern India had been
thrice overrun by Moslem armies when
Tamerane sacked Delhi. but the conQueror
was glad to retrace his footsteps by way
of Csbul. Akbar, ald after him Aurung-
zebe, planted the Mogul empire. which
held together for some three hundred
years, and lasted in name till it was over
thrown by the English only the other day;
but the Moguls never fused with >the ma
tives and never held territory except by
the sword. Where their banners few their
authority prevailed, but not beyond. At
one time the hole country from the Indies
10 the BrahmapOotra was more or less I'M
der their sway; but just across their lines
was a population which scowled upon
them as eaters OF fat. When the Hindoo
took the field he was beaten; but he was
not always conquered.
The English rely largely upon the hos
tility prevailing between the two sects to
pressing a Hindoo uprising with Mo-
hammedan troops and vice versa. The CAL
culation will probably answer as long as
both hate each other. But in such cases
it is the unexpected which happens. To
keep the 2S7. 600, COO residents of British
India in subsection England has an army
of 21S. 7S6 men, of whom 144. 755 are natives.
and 74.031 Europeans. Two out Of every
three line officers in the native regiments
are natives, and the third is a European.
II the natives were all united in brotherly
discipline this force would seem small.
Besides it the native Princes, who are
under British protection, have armies of
their own which number in :ie aggregate
1000 men who have been trained by
British officers. In the event of a repe-
ttion of what the English call "mu-
tiny" these native regiments, under a
native chief. would probably constitute
nucleus round which the insurgents would
rally. To an American observer the Eng
lishman in India looks like man who is
smoking cigar on the top of an open
powder barrel. But it is none of our con-
rerp. IL the barrel is touched off Ameri-
cans W i'll not be sent kitng into the air.