Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1909-09-14
MULlAH LEADS WAz|RS
Independent People Choose
PoWindah as King. i
RAIDS ON INDIA BORDER
Tribesmen Can Put 10000 Armed
Men in Field.
HEAVY TRAFFIC IN GUNS
Government Troubled by Situation.
Better Rifles Bought by
Natives.
Foreign Correspondence Of The Star.

Foreign Correspondence OF The Star.
CALCUTTA, September 3.-Recent tele-
grams indicate that state of unrest pre-
walls on the frontier of India which Is
causing the authorities some uneasiness.
The attitude of the Wazir tribe. which
includes the Mahsud Khel. is especially
viewed with increased anxiety. The Nah
sud alone are said to be able to put from
fifteen to twenty thousand we'll armed
men in the field, with the further proba-
bility Of being able to command the as
sistance of the Shinwaris and. through
the Shinwaris. of the ameer's khasadars
and of other irregular troops.
A campaign against small tribes like the
Mohmands or the Zakka Khel is a diff
ferent thing from a campaign in Wazi-
tristan. To deal adequately with the NAH
sud Khel it would be necessary to mo-
bilize two, If not three, divisions. and
there would always be the possibility of
other tribes catching fire. together with
the risk, which must be guarded against,
Of such provocation from the Afghans as
would necessitate the crossing of the Du-
rand line to punish them.
There Is, therefore. hanging over the
frontier the possibility of a campaign of
greater magnitude than that of 1897. and
it is no wonder that Simla is feeling I'M
easy.
Mullah Powindah Busy.
The causes of Wazir unrest are easy to
trace. Pathans. of course, are always
ready to fight, and the Wazirs. thanks to
the extensive traffic In warlike weapons.
are better armed than they were in the
year of the Afridi campaign.
But. apart from that fact, it is pointed
k.< lob dol, hos
jealousies kept him idle on that occa-
sion, is extending the remarkable influ-
ence he already wields. and becoming
ominously active The mullah, 1t is said,
has only taken up his abode with the
Wazirs because he thinks they will best
serve his purpose of making trouble with
the British.
He is described as animated by most
fanatical hatred of Europeans" Being a
man of character and a powerful preach
err he can find a following wherever he
goes.
There is story that he once served as
a fireman on board ship, and can, there
fore, speak with authority upon European
own eyes he Is able to inform the path
ans that the British power is a myth.
They eagerly believe his falsehood about
the Sultan of Roum and how the latter
has already dealt with the Feringhis.
To show what influence he has already
gained over the Wazirs, the latest report
about him is that 5000 tribesmen at Ma
kin have proclaimed him Khalifa, and
sworn to obey him as their king.
The Wazlr organization is intensely
Khans. as in Swat. or Maliks. as among
the Afridis. Every Wazir is a law unto
himself.
1t is a most significant thing that the
tribesmen should have been ready to
swear away their Independence depar-
ture they would certainly not have made
had they not felt that SOME serious event
was impending.
View of Gravity of Case.
Statesman says:
Had the International situation in
India been what 1t was decade ago, and
had the finances been as fiourishing as
they were, there is no question of the
course the government of India would
have urged the secretary Of state to sane
tioE. All the troops necessary would
have been modified and the Wazirs
taught sever lesson, Afghanistan or no
Such a course might still be fore d
upon us, but it is evident that the govern
ment cannot undertake the responsibility
of a first-class campaign upon the FROM
tier without serious misgivings. To be-
gin with there is the military risk
LAS the tribesmen obtain arms OF better
precision so grow the difficulties and
dangers of campaigning in the hills. The
army in India may be trusted to carry
out any task set before it, but the ex-
pense in blood and treasure must grow
and the anXieties of the, government be
greater And the present is not a time
when the government can afford to have
more anxieties."
Frontier news just now Is all of raids
and outrages. Less than month ago
600 sheep were carried of close to ,Jel-
lalabad and a few days later two Khasa-
dars employed In the customs were muir
dered on the high roads. The city itself
is strictly guarded. 1t now closes it's
gates each evening, and no person can
enter or leave during the hours of night.
A Lahore correspondent states that the
raids are exciting a good deal of atten-
ton in local Hindu circles. and a pundit
has made specific suggestion. He ad-
vocates the setting up of the feudel sys-
TEN in the disturbed regions and the APP
portioning Of tracts Of land among some