, 1894-11-21
INDIAN AFFAIRS.
The Religious Riot.

The Bombay authorities have perhaps
acted wisely in Saying as little as possible
about the religious riot at Poona. The SAN
culinary conflicts Of last year seemed to be
stlmuIated rather than depressed by the local
publicity given 10 their details. But many of
those who pass Judgement on Indian measures
il Great Britain fail to reallzc the always
present clements Of DANGER in the animosIties
between the lIahomedans and Hinduh. IN
the middlr Of last month the summer capital
Of the Bombay Observation-Disclosures
the sceLe Of a fanatical o%utbulst, which,
under a Native ruler, would probably have
cost hundreds of lives A week later prepa.
Iati0us had to be quickly, although secretly,
taken for the safety Of Bombay city itself;
preparations Scarcely less stringent than what
would have been adopted in a state OF siege.
For several nights the Bombay authorities
held the town by a force of Eolice and a re-
serve Of troops ready at q moments warning
to concentrate on an outbreak in any quarter.
The danger. happily, passed off this autumn
in Bombay itself, perhaps IN Il measure
owing to the loss OF some Of the leaders III
last years riots ami to the proceedings against
others who survived. But the fighting at
Poona was sufficiently serious to END in homi-
eide, and to leave behind a'talc Of victims for
the hospitals and the prison.
Our kilograms have a ready summarized
the main features Of Tie outbreak and the
full account is now before us. 1t seems that
tho woishippolS # Gaupati, the elephant
headed god of wisdom. have lately been sub
iect to an access Of enthusiasm. They ac-
cordingIy determined on a magnificent
revival of the PROFESSIONS IN honour Of their
deity at Pooua this year and erected festival
booths along the route. The great ceremony
was to take place on September Is. During
the previous night a singing party of Hindus,
who had been doing homage at one of the
Ganpati shrines, happened to pass a mosque
ON their way home. x midnight service was
going on I'M tIe mosque, and the native
police officer who, with a small numbe OF
constables, was keeping order, directed the
Hindu musicians 10 cease playing as they
came close to tire Mahomedan sacred edlfce.
The minstrel party, some 60 IN number,
obeyed SO far as to stop singing and beating
their drums. but. in a spirit of lnsu t to the
Mussulman worshippers they kept on with
their hagpir es, aHd continued to play a bar
monium which they were wheeling on q
trolly. The Mussulmans. engaged within the
mosque on the recital of the Koran, found
their voices drowned by the noise outside.
Several Of them came out and asked the Hin
dus to desist until they had passed the place.
AS the Htndus refused, the Mahomedans
swarmed out of the mosque shouting Div!
Din and set upon the musicians. The few
police on the spot were speedily over
powered, the Hindu devotees were joined by
CO. religioniSts from all quarters of the city,
and The Mussulmans were driYsn back into
the mosque. which was at the SAME time
carried.by a rush Of the assailants. Inside,
no quarter was given or received. One Mus
sulman was beaten 50 severely that he died a
few hours afterwards. But neither side was
prepared for an afftay, and, not having wea-
pons, the com.batant9s we've unable to intict
fatal wounds.
The Hindus took their revenge on the
sacred building itself. They smashed the
pendant lamps, gu. ted the inner chamber,
tore dow. the veranda posts, and tried to set
fire to the place. The rapidly assembling
police prevented this last outrage, although
still too few to prevent the work of destruc-
ton from going on inside. Next morning,
says the Bombay Gazette the mosque pre-
sented a dreadful appearance. The steps
leading up to it were smeared with blood,
and there was a small pool of blood at the
bottom step. Inside the mating was stained
with blood in several places, the ground