existence of the great Indian Desert of Rajputana. The ocean to the
southeast and the southwest of the Peninsula was an ample protection
against overseas invasion until the Europeans rounded the Cape of Good
Hope. The vast length of the Himalaya, backed by the desert plateau of
Tibet, was an equal defence on a third side. Only to the northwest does
India lie relatively open to the incursions of the warlike peoples of
Western and Central Asia. It is precisely in that direction, as a great
barrier extending northeastward from the Rann of Cutch, that we find the
Indian Desert, and in rear of the Desert the minor bulwark constituted
by the Aravalli range. Only between the northeastern extremity of the
desert and the foot of the Himalayas below Simla is there an easy
gateway into India. No river traverses this gateway, which is on the
divide between the systems of the Indus and the Jumna-Ganges. Delhi
stands on the west bank of the Jumna at the northern extremity of the
Aravallis, just where the invading forces from the northwest came
through to the navigable waters of the Jumna, which flow southeastward
through Hindustan to Bengal.
Aided by such powerful natural conditions, the Rajputs have ever been
the defenders of India. Unable to prevent the entry of invaders by the
direct way to Delhi, they have maintained themselves on the southern
flank of the advance, and to-day their princely families proudly trace
their lineage back in unbroken descent from ancestors before the
Christian era. In the gateway itself, between the desert and the
Himalayas, beyond the limits of Rajputana, dwell another people of
warlike disposition, the famous Sikhs. Here are still preserved as
Feudatory States the Sikh Principalities of Patiala, Nabha, and Jhind.
[Sidenote: 3.
Jama Masjid, Ahmadabad.] [Sidenote: 4.
Rani Sipri’s Tomb, Ahmadabad.] [Sidenote: 5.
Mohafiz Khan’s Mosque, Ahmadabad.] [Sidenote: 6.
Hathi Singh’s Temple, Ahmadabad.] Let us first visit Ahmadabad, in the
midst of the fertile lowland at the head of the Gulf of Cambay. The
territories of this part of the Bombay Presidency are much mixed with
those of the Gaikwar of Baroda, so that the map of the plains round the
two cities of Ahmadabad and Baroda almost resembles that part of
Scotland which is labelled Ross and Cromarty. Ahmadabad was once the
most important Mohammedan city of Western India, and contains many fine
architectural monuments, surpassed only by those of the great Mogul
capitals, Delhi and Agra. It is reached from Bombay by the Bombay and
Baroda Railway along the coast northward. We have here the Jama Masjid
or Great Mosque of the city, still one of the most beautiful in India,
though it was damaged by an earthquake about a century ago. Then we have
another fine building, Rani Sipri’s Tomb. There follows a view of
Mohafiz Khan’s Mosque, whose fine minarets remind one of the Citadel at
Cairo. Finally, just outside Ahmadabad, is the comparatively modern
Temple of Hathi Singh, built of white marble in the Jain style, with
many domes.
[Sidenote: 7.
The Lake, Mount Abu.] From Ahmadabad the Baroda Railway is continued
northward and westward across the southern end of the Rajput Desert to
Hyderabad, in Sind, but we will go on our journey by the narrow gauge
railway through Rajputana to Mount Abu, which rises like an island of
granite from amid the sandy desert. Here is the Gem Lake on the summit
of the mountain, a most beautiful sheet of water, set with rocky islets
and overhung with great masses of rock, with the Residency or house of
the representative of the British Government on its shore, for Mount Abu
is the centre from which Rajputana is controlled, as far as is
necessary, by the advice of the Viceroy. It is, as we have already said,
about 5,000 feet or a mile above the sea level, and the climate is
therefore suitable for a hill station. It is used as a sanatorium for
British troops and as a hot season resort.
[Sidenote: 8.
The Dilwarra Temples, Mount Abu.] [Sidenote: 9.
The Same, nearer view.] [Sidenote: 10.
Door of the Adinat, Mount Abu.] [Sidenote: 11.
Sava Munda, Mount Abu.] [Sidenote: 12.
The Same, another view.] [Sidenote: 13.
Paras Wanath Temple, Mount Abu.] Mount Abu is famous for its Dilwarra
temples, probably the most ancient of the Jain temples of India. We
heard of the Jains at the close of the last lecture. This is a distant
view of the Dilwarra temples among the palm trees. We see that the
surface of the plateau is very rugged. Here is a nearer view of the
temples, and here a doorway of the most ancient of them, built probably
about the time of the Norman Conquest of England. Next we have two views
of another temple, erected some two hundred years later. The carving of
the small domes and vaults is most delicate, and stands almost
unrivalled even in India, a land essentially of painstaking labour in
small details. Finally, we have a view of yet another temple, said to
have been built by the workmen in their spare time during the erection
of the greater temples we have just seen. In spite of the dilapidation
of many centuries, and of unskilled restoration in places, these ruins
are still extremely beautiful amid the rugged scenery of the Mount. The
British Station on Mount Abu was attacked during the Mutiny, but the
attack was beaten off.
[Sidenote: 14.
Sir Pratab Singh.] [Sidenote: 15.
Dolat Singh.] [Sidenote: 16.
Himat Singh.] One of the most progressive of the Rajput States, and the
oldest, is Jodhpur, whose Prime Minister was, until lately, the
distinguished officer Sir Pratab Singh, now Maharaja of his own little
State of Idar, in the plain at the foot of Mount Abu. We have his
portrait here, and those of his son and grandson.
[Sidenote: 17.
H.H. The Maharana of Udaipur.] [Sidenote: 18.
The Palace, Udaipur.] [Sidenote: 19.
The Same.] [Sidenote: 20.
Udaipur, from the Jag Mandar.] [Sidenote: 21.
Jag Mandar, Udaipur.] [Sidenote: 22.
Jag Newas, Udaipur.] Udaipur is the capital of another of the greater
Rajput States, Mewar, which was founded in the Roman times of European
chronology. This is a portrait of the Maharana of Udaipur, who is the
highest in esteem of all the Rajput princes. Udaipur is one of the most
beautiful cities in India, with its palaces and ghats reflected in the
clear waters of a lake. Here are two views of the palace of the
Maharana, built of granite and marble, rising to a hundred feet above
the surface of the lake. Here we have the city seen across the lake, and
then there follow two views showing the temples and terraces by the
water’s edge.
[Sidenote: 23.
The Ganesh Gate, Chitor.] [Sidenote: 24.
The Tower of Victory, Chitor.] East of Udaipur city, but in the same
State, is the rock fortress of Chitor, anciently the capital, a most
conspicuous object, standing high and isolated above the surrounding
country. The slopes of the hill are covered with a thick jungle, and the
summit is crowned with ruins of palaces and temples. The road which
leads up to the top is about a mile in length, and on it at intervals
are seven gateways. We have here a view of one of them, the Ganesh Gate.
This roadway was the scene of a terrible struggle in the middle of the
16th century, when the invading Musulmans under Akbar attacked the
Rajput stronghold. The citadel was at length taken, but the Rajputs sold
their freedom dearly, nearly ten thousand of them falling in the battle.
The old city of Chitor is now decayed and reduced to a mere village, but
it still contains interesting ruins, notably the two Jain Towers of
Victory and Fame. The Tower of Fame is the older, built in the time of
our King Alfred. This is a view of the Tower of Victory, built in the
early 15th century. It has nine stories. A stairway in the centre leads
to the top. The dome has recently been restored, having been wrecked by
lightning.
[Sidenote: 25.
The Durga, Ajmer.] [Sidenote: 26.
The Same, The Tomb of Chisti.] [Sidenote: 27.
The Arhai-Din-Ka-Jhompra, Ajmer.] [Sidenote: 28.
The Lake, Ajmer.] [Sidenote: 29.
The Durga Bazaar, Ajmer.] [Sidenote: 30.
Mayo College, Ajmer.] Ajmer, now under direct British rule, is another
ancient and beautiful spot, set in a hollow among low hills, and
surrounded by a wall. It was the scene of many struggles between the
Musulmans and the Rajputs, and was finally taken by Akbar in the middle
of the 16th century. One of the principal buildings is the Durga,
venerated both by Hindus and by Musulmans. We have here a view of the
courtyard of the Durga. Notice to the right hand the huge metal cauldron
set in stone. It is used for the cooking of rice given in charity, which
is divided between poor pilgrims and the attendants at the shrine. Here
is the Tomb of Chisti in the Durga. Next is a Muhammadan Mosque, called
the Arhai-Din-Ka-Jhompra, which, tradition says, was built with divine
assistance in two and a half days. Then we have a view of the lake at
Ajmer. On the bank are a number of marble pavilions. This is one of
them. Close by, on a small hill overlooking the lake, is the house of
the Chief Commissioner of Ajmer, and Agent to the Governor-General for
Rajputana. Here we have a street in Ajmer. And here is the Mayo College,
for the education of the sons of the Rajput chiefs, an institution of
the greatest importance, as it were the loyal Eton of India, for the
Rajput Maharajas have the deepest instinct of personal loyalty to the
Suzerain Lord, a result at once of their feudal pride, their religion,
and their intelligence as rulers. The College was opened in 1875, and
contains about a hundred students. The main building, seen in this view,
is of white marble.
[Sidenote: 31.
Chand Pol Gate, Jaipur.] [Sidenote: 32.
A Street in Jaipur.] [Sidenote: 33.
Chand Pol Bazaar, Jaipur.] [Sidenote: 34.
A Wool Cart, Jaipur.] Next we visit Jaipur, a walled city surrounded by
rocky hills crowned with forts, the capital and residence of the
Maharaja of Jaipur State, the best governed of all the Rajput States.
This is one of the entrance gates, and through the archway may be seen
the crenellated wall of the city, with thatched huts built against it.
Here is a street within the city, with a fort-crowned rock visible at
the end of it, and here is the Bazaar. Jaipur has a modern aspect, for
it is a busy and prosperous commercial centre. Here is a wool cart in
the city. The streets are broad—perhaps the broadest in the world—and
cross one another at right angles, and at night are well lighted with
gas.
[Sidenote: 35.
The Samrat Yantra, Jaipur Observatory.] One of the most interesting of
the old Indian observatories, with great stone instruments, even larger
than those of Benares, is in this city. It was constructed at the
beginning of the 18th century, and has recently been restored by the
progressive Maharaja. This is the great Samrat Yantra, or sundial, the
largest in the world. The gnomon is 75 feet in height. Notice how small
in comparison is the keeper of the observatory, who may be seen standing
just outside the line of the shadow on the circumference of the dial. In
the distance, above some dwelling houses, is visible the clock-tower of
the Maharaja’s palace, the time of which is regulated by this sundial.
[Sidenote: 36.
The Palace Gardens, Jaipur—Crocodiles.] [Sidenote: 37.
The Same, Tomb of a pet dog.] [Sidenote: 38.
Flamingoes at Jaipur.] [Sidenote: 39.
Sita Ranji Temple, Jaipur.] The palace stands amid beautiful gardens. We
have here a tank in these gardens showing the Maharaja’s crocodiles, and
here is the tomb among the trees of one of the late Maharaja’s pet dogs.
Outside the city walls are fine public gardens, covering some forty
acres, containing an aviary and menagerie. Here is a group of
flamingoes, caught in the neighbourhood. Finally, we have one of the
temples in the city, built of red sandstone and finely carved.
[Sidenote: 40.
The Lake and Palace, Amber.] [Sidenote: 41.
Shish Mahal, Amber.] [Sidenote: 42.
The Palace, Alwar.] [Sidenote: 43.
The Same from above.] A few miles from Jaipur is Amber, the ancient
capital of Jaipur State, but now abandoned and in ruins. Here we have a
view of the old Palace and the Lake, and here one of the many fine
buildings, the Shish Mahal. Next we see the Palace at Alwar, a
comparatively modern city, the present capital of the State of Alwar,
and then we have a view over the palace looking down from the hill
above.
[Sidenote: 44.
City Gate, Bikaner.] [Sidenote: 45.
Jain Temple, Bhandashar, Bikaner.] [Sidenote: 46.
Bikaner from the Jain Temple.] [Sidenote: 47.
Street in Bikaner.] [Sidenote: 48.
Grain Sellers, Bikaner.] [Sidenote: 49.
Bikaner Fort.] Now we visit Bikaner, in an oasis of the northwestern
desert. This is the city gate, with a level railway crossing in front.
Notice the camel waiting for the passing of the train, and the
water-carriers. Here of course water is a valuable commodity. The
district of which Bikaner is the centre suffers frequently from famine
owing to drought. Then we have a Jain temple crowning a rocky mound, and
from the terrace of this temple we obtain a view over the city, with its
flat roofs and desert spaces. There follows a view in one of the narrow
streets, showing the carved front of a house belonging to one of the
richer Jains of the city. Finally we have a typical group of grain
sellers in front of the Customs House, and a view of the Fort.
[Sidenote: 50.
H.H. The Raja of Nabha and his ministers.] [Sidenote: 51.
H.H. The Raja of Nabha.] [Sidenote: 52.
The Palace of the Crown Prince of Nabha.] [Sidenote: 53.
Sirdar Fateh Singh.] [Sidenote: 54.
Sikhs at Nabha.] [Sidenote: 55.
An Akali at Nabha.] [Sidenote: 56.
The Chief Justice of Nabha.] [Sidenote: 57.
Sirdar Bisham Singh.] On our way northeastward we will next visit the
city of Nabha, though it is the centre of a Sikh and not of a Rajput
State. Here is the Raja of Nabha surrounded by his Council of Ministers,
and here his portrait. Then we have in the distance the palace of the
Crown Prince of Nabha, seen from the roof of Elgin House, the home of
the British Resident. Next there follow a series of portraits. The first
is of a young princeling. The second is of a group of Sikhs; in front is
a priest, and to the right, in black, an Akali, or warrior-monk. There
follows another slide showing one of these Akalis in ancient fighting
costume. Then we have, by way of contrast, the very up to date Chief
Justice of Nabha, but notice in the background sentry duty economically
performed by a pasteboard soldier! Here is a typical Sikh face, that of
the Vakil to the Political Agent at the British Residency.
[Sidenote: Repeat Map No. 2.] Finally, we will cross the Chambal river
and, leaving Rajputana, will enter Central India, and visit the two
cities of Gwalior and Indore, the capitals of the Maratha Princes
Sindhia and Holkar. Gwalior lies a little south of Delhi and Agra. The
city is dominated by an isolated rock fort, flat-topped and steep-sided,
more than three hundred feet in height. There is but a single road up,
and along this road are six successive gates, arranged as at the fort of
Chitor in Rajputana. Sindhia captured Gwalior rather more than a hundred
years ago. When the Indian Mutiny broke out his people, being of Hindi
race, of the same kin therefore as the people of Agra and Oudh, revolted
and joined the mutineers, but Sindhia and his Maratha officers remained
loyal and escaped to British protection.
[Sidenote: 58.
The Fort, Gwalior.] Gwalior was the scene of the last episodes in the
Indian Mutiny. Driven from Delhi and from around Cawnpore and Lucknow,
the mutineers marched in 1858 against Sindhia, who met them in battle,
but was defeated. Then General Sir Hugh Rose followed them up in what is
known as the Central Indian campaign, and defeated them at Gwalior. The
fort of Gwalior itself was taken by a remarkable feat of daring. Two
British subalterns with a blacksmith and an outpost force picked the
locks of the first five gateways up the road entry before they were
discovered. They stormed the last gate, one of them being killed. So
Gwalior Fort was taken, and for a generation was garrisoned by British
troops, but about twenty years ago it was restored to the Maharaja
Sindhia.
[Sidenote: 59.
Holkar’s Palace, Indore.] Indore lies in the land of Malwa, a
considerable distance south of Gwalior and on high ground about the
sources of the Chambal river. The Governor-General’s Agent for Central
India has his residence here by treaty, and close at hand is now the
army cantonment of Mhow. At the time of the Mutiny some of Holkar’s
infantry attacked the Residency, and as the Resident, Sir Henry Durand,
had only twenty men to defend it, he was compelled to retreat with some
women and children. But it was soon recovered and nothing very serious
ensued in this part of India.
The Rajputana Agency is as large as the whole British Isles, but it
contains only about ten million people, since a great part of it is
desert. The Central Indian Agency is about as large as England and
Scotland without Wales. It has a population only a little smaller than
that of Rajputana. We may measure the significance of the more important
chiefs in these two Agencies by the fact that Sindhia rules a country
little less, either in area or population, than the Kingdom of Scotland.
The Native States of India, of which we have seen a series of examples,
occupy about a third of the area of the whole country, and contain about
one-fifth of the population. They represent in their present secure
position a new phase of Anglo-Indian policy. The Indian Mutiny closed a
period characterised by successive great annexations to the territory
directly ruled by Britain. Since the Mutiny there has been no
acquisition of directly ruled provinces, except in Burma. Therein the
policy of the Empire differs markedly from that of the old East India
Company. The King-Emperor now guarantees the privileges and separate
modes of rule in the Feudatory States. As a result, there are no more
loyal supporters of the British Raj than these great native chiefs, who
in recent years have raised an army of Imperial Service Troops, to
reinforce the Indian and British armies for the defence of the Empire
and the maintenance of internal order.
[Sidenote: 60.
Political Map of India.] Let us cast our eye over the map and enumerate
the principal divisions of India. Under direct British rule are in the
south Madras and in the east Burma. Then in succession through the plain
at the foot of the Himalayas are Eastern Bengal and Assam; Bengal; the
United Provinces of Agra and Oudh; and the Punjab. In the east centre
round Nagpur are the Central Provinces, and in the west is the
Presidency of Bombay, with the detached territory of Sind on the lower
Indus. On the Northwestern Frontier are British Baluchistan and the
Northwest Frontier Province, while in the midst of Rajputana is the
little district of Ajmer, and away in the south amid the forests of the
Western Ghats the little district of Coorg. Ceylon, as was said in the
first lecture, though British, is not a part of India, but a separate
Crown Colony. All these Provinces are directly administered by the
British Civil Service.
Now consider the Feudatory States. In the far south, from Cape Comorin
along the west coast, we have the two little countries of Travancore and
Cochin, ruled by Hindu Maharajas. They are far removed from all the
greater problems of Indian Government, remote homes of the caste system
in its most stringent form, and also, curiously, of a most ancient form
of Christianity introduced long centuries ago from Nestorian sources in
Western Asia. Then, north of the Nilgiri hills and the hill station of
Ootacamund, is the State of Mysore, high on the plateau, completely
surrounded by British territory of the Provinces of Madras, Bombay, and
Coorg. The Maharaja here is a Hindu in religion, and the people are
chiefly Hindu. Northward again, and still on the Deccan plateau, is the
largest and most important native State of India, ruled from Hyderabad
by the Nizam, a Musulman, who administers a country largely of Hindu
religion. Then we have the two great groups of States, whose relations
with the Empire are conducted by the Agencies of Central India and
Rajputana. The most important of the Central Indian chiefs are Holkar
and Sindhia, Marathas in a Hindi-speaking country, though in faith
Hindus like their subjects. In Rajputana are the Rajput States of which
we have spoken in this lecture.
It will be observed that, with the small exceptions of Travancore and
Cochin, all the States thus far enumerated lie inland and are surrounded
by British territory directly administered. The remaining native states
form a fringe along the northern and northwestern borders. To the
northeast amid the foot hills of the Himalayas are in succession, from
east to west, Bhutan, Sikkim, and Nepal. Of these, Nepal stands outside
the Indian Protectorate in a special relation of independent alliance
with the British Government. In the far north is the state of Kashmir,
whose centre is a beautiful valley, with a lake in its midst, deeply
sunk amid the Himalayan ranges proper. A part of the foot hills on the
one hand and a length of the Tibetan Indus on the other hand are also
included within the territory ruled by the Maharaja of Kashmir. To the
northwest are the Pathan and Baluchi hill tribes in relation with the
North West Frontier Province and British Baluchistan.
Such a survey as that which we have thus rapidly made gives perhaps the
best idea of the complexity and vastness of the Indian Political System.
The Indian Empire is in fact not a country but, as the inhabitants of
the United States say of their own land, a sub-continent, and as regards
everything but mere area the expression is far more true of India than
of the United States, for in the United States a single race and a
single religion are dominant, but in India a long history lives to this
day in the most striking social contrasts, presenting all manner of
problems which it will take generations to solve.
--------------
------------------------------------------------------------------------
LECTURE VII.
---
=DELHI.=
---
THE MUHAMMADAN RELIGION.
LIST OF THE MOGUL EMPERORS FROM
HUMAYUN TO AURANGZEB.
HUMAYUN 1530-1540
1555-1556
AKBAR 1556-1605
JEHANGIR 1605-1627
SHAH JAHAN 1627-1658
AURANGZEB 1658-1707
----------------------------
[Sidenote: 1.
Map of Northern India.] Once more we look at the map of Northern India.
We realise the great mountain wall of the Himalayas, four and five miles
high, curving through fifteen hundred miles along the northeast frontier
of the Indian lowland. Behind the Himalayas is the Tibetan plateau,
three miles in average elevation. Northwestward of India there is
another plateau, but a lower one than Tibet, and the mountain ranges
which divide it from the Indian plain are lower than the Himalayas.
Observe the great series of streams which emerge from the Himalayas, and
gather on the one hand into the Indus River, flowing southwestward, and
on the other hand into the Ganges, flowing southeastward. See the
position of the Indian desert and the Aravalli Hills, and note the exact
spot where stands the city of Delhi.
[Sidenote: 2.
Map of the neighborhood of Delhi.] We turn now to a map on a larger
scale of the region round Delhi. We see the Himalaya mountains, the
Aravalli hills, and the Indian Desert. We see the streams of the Indus
and Ganges systems turning away from one another, and we see Simla, the
summer capital of India, high on a spur of the Himalayas, above the
divide between the Indus and the Ganges tributaries. Just north of Simla
is the valley of the Sutlej, tributary to the Indus, and where the
Sutlej issues from the mountains we note the off-take of a great system
of irrigation canals. It is true that the lowland northwestward of Delhi
is not quite desert. Nevertheless it has but a sparse rainfall, and the
result of the construction of the irrigation canals derived from the
Himalayan waters is that great colonies have been established in this
region, and wheat is grown on thousands of square miles that were
formerly waste. India has a great population, but with modern methods of
water supply, and more advanced methods of cultivation, there is still
ample room for settlement within its boundaries. We see on the map that
there are other irrigation canals derived from the Ganges where it
emerges from the mountains at Hardwar, and from the Jumna.