Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1914-12-06

+NDIA, or Hindostan, the most opu-
81 lent and extensive colony of the
British empire. whose soldiers are
~ with the fighting armies of Eu-
rope, despite rumors of revolt. oc-
cupies a triangular portion of land in
the south of Asia. Its northern boun-
Diary is crowned by the lofty Hima-
layas, its eastern coast washed by the
Bay of Bengal. while the Indian ocean
and the Arabian sea lave its southern
and western shores. The vast PENN
sula covers 1900 miles in length. with
its greatest width equal to the dis
lance between the Atlantic and the
Mississippi. the whole area. including
the feudatory states, amounting to l.
So9.60S square miles.
Considered geographically. ethnologlc-
ally, historically and from the romantic
or religious point of view, no country
in the world affords the student deeper
interest. In India the highest noun
tain peak on the earth. Mount Everest.
rears its lofty summit $500 feet: lts
rivers, the Ganges, Indus. etc, are held
sacred. The population of nearly 3.ooe.-
900 souls has no common tongue. speak
ing no less than 200 different dialects
Its sacred books claim chronology ex-
tending over millions of years It's
men and women have been the insplra-
ton of poets, and centuries before the
birth of Christ il Graded two of the
great religions of mankind, Hinduism
and Buddhism.
The country naturally divides itself
into several distinct parts. In the
north are the lowlands formed by the
basins of the Ganges and the Indus
Through the center runs a diamond
shaped tableland, across which the VIM
dhya mountains extend, while the ex-
tremity of the peninsula is marked by
a wedgelike elevation sloping TO the
cape of Camorin. The Aravulli noun
rains are an offshoot of the Nindhya
range. The western Ghauts rise from
5000 to 1000 feet, the eastern Ghauts
reach an altitude scarcely exceeding
5000 feet, the two mountain chains
forming the eastern and western boun-
DIARIES of the central plateau and COM
ing together at the south in the Nell
cherry hills.
Originally Hindostan proper embraced
the plain of the Ganges and the central
part of the country extending south
ward to the Nerbudda river, the rest
of the peninsula being called the Dec
can. Il name now restricted TO the land
lying between the Nerbudda and the
Kistnah- Part of the upper portion of
the Deccan is the territory of the
NiZam. or Ra jah, of HYDRA bad. Mo-
hamm edan prince whose lands bore the
called from a city of the same name
noted for it's trade in diamonds. With
some slight exceptions the remaining
part OF the Deccan is directly under
British rule.
Little is definitely known of the early
history of India The sacred books of
the Hindoos tell of heroes, kings and
dynasties more or less mythical or
feigned. According to the most reli-
able authorities. the Hindoos were not
the earliest inhabitants of the land. In
stead. they were an invading race, sub
jugatinG the aborigineS, who were the
prototypes of such rough tribes as the
Bheels. Kolees, Gonds and the Shanars.
- -
There waS-no distinction of caste at
this early period. nor any sense of re-
Hgion beyond the worship of certain
deities. 1t was left TO the Aryan Hin
docs 10 institute the Brahmanical re-