THE MOPLAH RISING.
(To THE EDITOR or rae " SPECTATOR.") Sia,—The Moplah rising is extraordinarily instructive, but 1 have little hope that its lessons will be taken to heart. Every- one who knows India is aware that the Moplahs, once excited, act as dangerous fanatics, and, like Ghazis on the frontier, can show complete disregard of death. Upon this highly inflammable material the Ali brothers, who, in accord- ance with a working arrangement with "Mahatma" Gandhi, undertake the duty of promoting agitations among Moslems, suddenly descended and entered upon a crusade against British authority. Some months before the outbreak their action was known to me and of course in far greater detail to the Govern- ments of India and Madras. Nothing was done to check the agita- tion, but the latter Government cannot be blamed because the former has in late years taken such matters out of the hands of the provincial. authorities, a grave mistake which Lord Morley decided to make, but retired from office before it was carried out. Mr. Montagu equally failed to understand that, in a country of the size of India, responsibility for the preser- vation of law and order must rest with the local authorities, who should be supported and never interfered with unless and until they fail in their first duty. The lessons are plain. You cannot permit unchecked agitation in India without grave danger. Nor can you overrule provincial Governments, as Mr. Montagu has done, unless they prove obviously incompetent. There is, however, another lesson which goes to the root of the situation and supplies a warning that it is madness to ignore. It has constantly been impressed upon people who do not know India that Hindus and Moslems are perfectly united in their desire for Swami), and that the weight of the demand is therefore increased. What has happened since this imaginary union of hearts was established? We have seen the most atrocious attacks of Hindus upon Mohammedans, which it was necessary to put down by British forces. When I drew attention to these shocking occurrences in the House of Lords, Lord Sinha explained that they were due to the ignorant and excitable masses, although the official inquiries proved them to have been instigated and led by upper-caste Hindus. Now the Moslem element has been stirred up by representatives of the Mohammedan intelligentsia. The Moplahs were instructed to rise against the "Satanic Government "—Gandhi's phrase— and they have proclaimed the existence of Swaraj in the terri- tory which is on fire. In place of concentrating their mur- derous efforts against Europeans, as was intended, they have killed a larger number of Hindus, looted Hindu property, and even forcibly converted Hindus to Islam. We have therefore the All brothers in close alliance with Gandhi, and the Alt- India Moslem League working with the Brahmin-dominated National Congress, but the dupes of the Mohammedan agita- tors instantly assert their natural instincts and proceed to attack and murder Hindus. This is exactly what occurred during the Mutiny in districts where British authority lapsed, and it is this violent antagonism of races and creeds which will reduce India again to bloodstained anarchy when British authority has passed away.—I am, Sir, &c., STDENHAM.
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