HOW INDIA ANSWERED THE CALL.
"Sons of Shannon, Tamar, Trent,
Men of the Lothians, men of Kent,
Essex, Wessex, shore and shire,
Mates of the net, the mine, the fire,
Lads of desk and wheel and loom,
Noble and trader, squire and groom,
Come where the bugles of Britain play,
_Over the hills and far away!_
"Southern Cross and Polar Star--
Here are the Britons bred afar;
Serry,[243] O serry them. See, they ride
Under the flag of Britannia's pride;
Shoulder to shoulder, down the track,
Where, to the unretreating Jack,
The victor bugles of Britain play,
_Over the hills and far away!"_
In Chapter XXVI. you learned how Britons all over the world answered the
call to arms. The verses which you have just read might almost have been
written to describe the great rally. But the greatest surprise of all
was the response of India. It is a vast land, equal in area to the whole
of Europe outside Russia, and containing nearly one in five of all
people that on earth do dwell. These people consist of many races and
many religions, and large numbers of them are ruled by their own
princes. During recent years many educated Indians have asked for a
larger share in the government of their own country, and this has been
granted to them in some measure. Nevertheless, there are still many of
them who are not satisfied with our rule, and the Germans, as you know,
hoped and expected that when Great Britain was in straits these
dissatisfied persons would rise and throw off the British yoke.
[Illustration: Types of our Indian Soldiers: Sikhs are seen above, and
Cavalry below.
_Photo, Central News_.]
Even in this country some people feared that there would be trouble in
India; but their fears were soon set at rest, for in the course of a few
hours India showed clearly that Britain's quarrel was her quarrel, and
that she was as loyal to the Empire and as eager to help it in the hour
of trial and stress as any of the Dominions. It is remarkable to note
that several of those who had been most bitter against British rule at
once ceased their work of stirring up the people, and called upon them
to rally in Britain's cause. Thus India, instead of being a weakness to
the Empire, proved a tower of strength; instead of a danger, she became
a staunch bulwark.
In times of peace we maintain in India 70,000 British troops and a
native army of about 160,000 men, recruited from many castes and races.
Chief amongst these are the Sikhs, a fierce warrior caste, whose home is
in the Punjab.[244] Long and bitter strife was necessary to overcome
them; but when they were finally conquered they threw in their lot with
the British, and ever since have proved themselves faithful and skilful
allies. Our native army also contains fine fighting men from the lofty
mountainous country on the north-west frontier of India, and from the
rugged tableland of Beluchistan. Perhaps the best known of all our
native Indian troops are the Gurkhas, little, tireless mountaineers of
Nepal,[245] famous for their marching and shooting. I remember seeing
some thousands of these fine little soldiers in Burma. They were clad in
dark green, and armed with a murderous-looking knife, known as the
kukri, in place of the bayonet. They marched on to the parade ground,
behind the bagpipes, to the strains of the "Cock o' the North."
The Indian army is highly trained, and is under the command of British
officers, who know and respect their men, and are trusted and esteemed
by them. It has seen much fighting, not only against rebellious Indian
tribes, but in Afghanistan, Uganda, the Sudan, Egypt, Persia, and China.
It was in China, in the year 1900, that Indian soldiers made the
acquaintance of the Germans, with whom we were then engaged in fighting
the Boxers.[246] German officers and men during that expedition looked
down upon our Indian troops with contempt, and talked of them as
"coolies" and "niggers." As you know, they belong to the oldest and
proudest races on earth, and their British officers always show them the
highest possible respect. You can easily understand how deeply they were
offended by this treatment. They have long memories, and when they were
told that they were to fight in Europe against those who had insulted
them in China, they were not only proud and glad to stand shoulder to
shoulder with their British comrades, but eager to pay off old scores.
[Illustration: Gurkha Soldiers and Officer.
_Photo, Underwood and Underwood_.]
Some of the Indian princes are allowed to maintain bodies of Imperial
Service troops, which they equip and train at their own expense. These
troops number in all some 22,000. As soon as the princes knew that
Britain had need of soldiers, they gladly offered their troops to fight
for their King-Emperor. The Maharajah of Mysore[247] gave £330,000 to
fit out a force, and other princes sent large sums of money and
thousands of horses, while little hill states in the Punjab and
Baluchistan[248] offered camels and drivers. The Maharajah of Rewa[249]
instantly asked, "_What orders has my King for me?_" and forthwith
placed his troops, treasury, and even his private jewels at the disposal
of his Majesty. Nor were the smaller chiefs behindhand. All were eager
to help, even beyond the measure of their ability. Even the Dalai
Lama[250] of Tibet, whose country was invaded by British troops as
recently as 1904, offered soldiers, and ordered the priests throughout
the length and breadth of the land to pray for the success of British
arms and for the souls of the fallen. From private persons came money
gifts, and from Indian societies blessings on the campaign. Almost every
Indian prince desired to fight for us, and the Agha Khan,[251] the
spiritual leader of 60,000,000 Mohammedans, offered to take his place as
a private in the ranks. Many of the princes were accepted for service,
and amongst them was Sir Pertab Singh,[252] who long ago swore that he
would not die in his bed. Though seventy years of age, he was as eager
as a boy to ride forth to the last and greatest of his wars. In this
muster-roll of princes every great name in India was represented. Chiefs
whose line of descent went back to the days of Alexander the Great, and
whose forefathers had fought many a good fight against us in the days
when we were winning India, were now assembled in battle array to do and
die for Britain and her King.
* * * * *
I am sure that you have read with feelings of great pride and
thankfulness this brief account of how the Empire rallied as one man in
the day of trial. What an effect this splendid response must have had
upon the Germans! They had sent their agents with bribes and lying tales
into every part of the Empire where they thought men were discontented
with British rule, and they hoped that when war broke out we should be
so troubled with risings in many lands that we should be quite unable to
fight them on the continent of Europe. A bitter disappointment awaited
them. Except in South Africa, where there was a small rebellion which
was easily put down without a single soldier being sent from Great
Britain, the Empire proved as firm as a rock and as staunch as steel.
Our Allies, the French and the Russians, were much struck by this
wonderful unity. It proved to them, as it has proved to all the world,
that, though we may have made mistakes in the government of our Empire,
the races under the Union Jack know that we have honestly tried to do
our duty by them, and have made their welfare our first and foremost
consideration. So in this great and fateful struggle they stand by us,
one in heart and mind, and we are knitted closer to them, and they to
us, by their splendid loyalty in this hour of danger.
The Germans call the British army "a multicoloured travelling circus."
One of their writers has said that the British have got together the
peoples of the earth to fight them, and have shipped to France a
variegated white, black, brown, yellow, and red medley of races. What
else did they expect when they challenged an Empire that has possessions
in every continent on the face of the globe? We have every right to be
proud that men of such diverse races, creeds, and colours have united so
gladly and freely against the common foe. In an earlier chapter of this
book I told you how the states of Germany were welded together into an
empire after they had fought side by side in the war against France. As
Lord Rosebery tells us, "blood shed in common is the cement of nations."
Now that miners of the Yukon, trappers of Athabasca, backwoodsmen of
British Columbia, cowboys of Alberta, stalwart sons of Manitoba,
Ontario, Quebec, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, and Newfoundland, stockmen
and sheep farmers of Australia and New Zealand, Boers of South Africa,
and men of a thousand towns and villages in the old country, stand
shoulder to shoulder with Sikhs of the Punjab, tribesmen of the Khyber,
Gurkhas of Nepal, Egyptians of the Nile, and Maoris of the Southern
Seas, may we not hope that hereafter a new and stronger bond will unite
all the scattered states of the British Empire? The war of 1870-71 made
the German Empire; the great war in which we are engaged bids fair to
make the British Empire.
[Footnote 243: Close them up in ranks. The verses are adapted from W. E.
Henley's "A New Song to an Old Tune."]
[Footnote 244: The Land of the Five Rivers, on the north-west frontier
of India.]
[Footnote 245: Independent state of India, on the southern slopes of the
Himalayas. It includes Mount Everest, the highest mountain of the
world.]
[Footnote 246: Members of a secret society in China with the cry, "China
for the Chinese." The German minister at Peking was murdered, and
foreigners were besieged, and an expedition, in which British, French,
Germans, Russians, Americans, and Japanese took part, relieved them
(August 1900). China was forced to pay 64 millions of money.]
[Footnote 247: Native state of Madras, India; about as large as
Scotland.]
[Footnote 248: Native state of Central India; nearly twice as large as
Wales.]
[Footnote 249: Part of the Indian Empire, to the south of Afghanistan.]
[Footnote 250: The high priest and ruler of Tibet, and the head of the
religion known as Lamaism. He lives at Lhassa, the capital of Tibet, a
country of Central Asia north of the Himalayas.]
[Footnote 251: Aga Sultan Mohammed Shah, born 1875. He is a man of lofty
character and great influence. He attended the coronation of Edward VII.
as a guest of the nation.]
[Footnote 252: Ruler of Kashmir, the most northerly state of India.]