Report on the Administration of the Punjab and its Dependencies, for 1915-16

· 1917 · Public domain (published pre-1930) · archive.org ↗

1ii PUNJAB ADMINISTRATION REPORT. [ 1915-16.

2taking an active part in encouraging it. All the fighting races, whether

3in British districts or in the Native States, came forward nobly,

4“and even classes which for generations had given up military service

5successfully pressed their claim to take part in the defence of the

6Empire. How well those who went to the front played their part was

7made clear by the august message of His Imperial Majesty to the

8Indian troops when leaving France for other theatres of War, from

9the despatches of the various Commanders in the field testifying to

10the gallantry and perseverance shown by Punjabi regiments, from the

11many Military decorations bestowed not only by the British Government

12but by our French and Russian allies on Indian officers and men for

13acts of signal bravery, and, finally, from the number of war-worn,

14wounded or invalided veterans whom the Proviitce welcomed baek to

15their hearths and homes. The proud distinction of being the first Indian

16to win the Victoria Cross belongs to Naik Khuda Dad Khan of the 129th

17Baluchis, a resident of Jhelum, and of 9,215 death casualties in the

18Indian Army (excluding Gurkhas from Nepél) up to 31st March 1916,

195,183 fill to the share of the Punjab.

204, While the spirit of the troops won universal approval, the

21spirit at home of the people of the Punjab was no less remarkable.

22Generous gifts were made to the war relief and other funds to procure

23comforts for the troops in the field, to assist the wounded and invalid-

24ed while in hospital and to give them a good start on their return to their

25+ homes. And, last but not least, the Ruling Chiefs and people of the

26Province supplied to the Army at the front a fleet of 43 fighting aero-

27planes. costing nearly 15 lakhs of rupees—a generous and practical gift

28which received august recognition ina message from His Majesty the

29King Emperor.

305. In 1915 the political situation was regarded as alarming

31by many people outside the Province. But those who knew the Punjab

32and the people, while they felt the anxiety which is natural when

33passing through critical times, saw no cause for alarm. They realised

34that the disorders caused by the returned revolutionaries and‘ their

35adherents in the Central Punjab and by bands of ignorant and misguided

36dacoits in the South-West Punjab were but passing and sporadic mani-

37festations with which the vast majority of the people had no sympathy or

38concern. They were therefore confident that those disorders would soon

39be repressed by the united efforts of the administration and the people,

40and the results of the year show that their hopes were realised more fully

41and speedily than any one who did not understand the temper and spirit

42of the people of the Province would have anticipated. The great majority

43of those who were actually associated with the anarchist movement were

44brought to justice and met their deserts. A. special tribunal constituted

45under the Defence of India Act, 1915, was employed for nearly a year in

46dealing with the two great cases known as the Lahore Conspiracy Cases.

47The procedure prescribed by the Act is framed with the object of secur-'

48ing the speedy administration of justice under very special conditions.

49Details of the results achieved by.the tribunal are given in Part II,

50and, though at the conclusion of the trials a few of the leaders in

51‘the revolutionary conspiracy were still fugitives from justice, their