Category: Books

Frederick P. Gibbon, The Disputed VC: A Tale of the Indian Mutiny (London: Blackie & Son Limited, 1909)

Vol 08, No 14, January. 16- 2015 (Magh 2, 2071)

Charles A. Sherring & M.A. F.R.G.S, Western Tibet and the British Borderland: The Sacred Country of Hindu and Bouddhists (London: Edward Arnold, 1906)

Prithvi Narayan Shah, Divya Upadesh (Possibly 1772-1775)

V.A. Smith, The Early History of India: From the Sixth Century B.C. to the Mohammedan Conquest (London: The Glorier Society, 1907)

There are many books on the history of South Asia of the first millennium AD. One such book entitled The Early History of Indiaby Vincent Arthur Smith is indeed special.

The book is one of his pioneering works on the Sakas, Kushans and Vakatakas, the early people of this region, and summarizes the available material on the ancient and early medieval periods. A British indologist and art historian, Smith also wrote about the Buddhist ruler Ashoka and Mughal emperor Akbar, trying to further portray a complete picture of the two great rulers who ruled ancient India.  The book touches on Nepal when it deals with Chandragupta, who founded the Maurya empire, Emperor Asoka and King Harsha Vardhan – the three significant historical figures of the region.

According to V. A. Smith, Nepal has always maintained a close connection with India despite being outside the periphery of Indian politics. He stresses in his book that, “the kingdom of Nepal, the most valuable portion of which is the enclosed valley in which Kathmandu and other towns are situated, although it has remained generally outside the ordinary range of Indian politics, has maintained sufficient connection with India to require brief mention in a history of that country.” Smith claims that  Nepal was an “integral part” of the Maurya empire, and was “probably administered directly from the capital as one of the home provinces.” He says, “in the days of [Gupt King] Samudragupta, in the fourth century AD, when we next hear of the Nepalese kingdom it was an autonomous tributary frontier state, but, after the fall of the Gupta empire in the following century, it became independent.”

The book shows that the birth of Gautama Buddha in Nepal in c. 563 BCE (or c. 480 BCE) was a significant turn in the history of the South Asian sub-continent. It covers the the history of the region from the century when Bouddha was born down to the first centuries after the Mohammedans entered India. Roughly speaking, this covers the period from 600 BC to 1200 AD.

Alexander the Great of Macedonia, who came to rule this region during 331–323 BC, is the next important figure after Bouddha. He is followed by three great rulers, Chandragupta, Asoka, and Harsha. They all had important consequences for Buddhism. The book deals with the dynasties before Alexander, his campaign in India and the subsequent advances towards expansion. Further, the history of Chandra Gupta Maurya (340 BC – 298 BC) and Bindusar, Asoka Maurya (299 BC -c. 237) and his successors, the Sunga, Kanva and Andhra dynasties, the dynasties of the Indo-Greek and Indo Parthian, and the Kushan or Indo-Scythian dynasties get significant coverage. The stories of the Gupta empire (320 to 550 CE) and the western satraps follow next. The white Huns, who remain obscure rulers in history, have also been described in the book. The reign of Harsha Vardhan, who ruled northern India during 606 to 647, the medieval kingdoms of the north, the kingdoms of the Deccan and the kingdoms of the south have been discussed in the last few chapters.

It is natural that Nepal finds its place as a frontier country when V. A. Smith deals with the history of the region. Nepal comes into the picture with the birth of Buddha in the Sakya territory, Kapilvastu, at the foot of the Nepali hills. The Sakya dedication of the relics of Buddha at Piprawa, which may date back to about 450 BC, and the number of inscriptions anterior to the Christian era are primary evidence of Bouddha’s birth there.He spent most of his monastic life in spiritual experiences at Bodh Gaya in Magadha. Sravasti was the capital of the neighbouring realm of Kosala, situated on the upper course of the Rapti river. Kapilvastu was captured by King Virudhaka of Kosala. Sakyas suffered much following this. At the time Buddha died, Ajatasatru was the ruler.He was the son of King Bimbisara of Magadh. Ajatsatru is also famous in the history for taking over the kingdom of Magadha from his father forcefully by imprisoning him. Records of the second and third centuries AD, however, are rare.

The book has no reference either about Kirants or Khasas when the author writes about Nepal. However, it is the assertion of V. A. Smith that “the triumphant progress of Alexander from the Himalaya to the sea demonstrated the inherent weakness of the greatest Asiatic armies when confronted with European skill and discipline. The dreaded elephants lost their terrors, and proved to be a poor defence against the Macedonian cavalry.” Alexander went on conquesting Panjab and Sind almost unopposed. However, Alexander ‘s premature death in Babylon at the age of 32 destroyed the fruits of his well-planned and successful capture of the South Asian sub-continent. His colonies here took no root. His campaign has been mentioned as a “successfully orchestrated raid on a gigantic scale” rather than a ” permanent conquest”.

In the year 249 BC, King Asoka of the Maurya dynasty, who was to be the mightiest warrior of all times, took over Magadh and occupied the throne for next twenty-three years. Asoka, a powerful Bouddhist, made a solemn pilgrimage to different places of Bouddhist importance including the famous Lumbini Garden, “the Bethlehem of Buddhism,” or the place where Bouddha was born. Saint Upagupta, his tour guide, addressed Asoka and said: ” Here, great king! was the Venerable One born.” This is where the famous Asokan pillar inscribed with these words still stands. He also took Asoka to Kapilavastu, “the home of Buddha’s childhood.” He visited “Sarnath, near Benares, the scene of the Master’s first success as a preacher; to Sravasti, where he lived for many years; to the Bodhi tree of Gaya, where he overcame the powers of darkness; and to Kusinagara, where he died.”

V. A. Smith states that the extent of the enormous empire governed by Asoka includes on the northwest the Hindu Kush mountains, Afghanistan, Baluchistan, and all of Sind, the secluded valleys of Suwat and Bajaur, and the valleys of Kashmir and Nepal. He built Srinagar as the capital of Kashmir. In terms of Nepal, V.A Smith provides references to the memorial visit of Asoka to Nepal in 250 B.C. He writes, “In the Nepal valley, he replaced the older capital, Manju Patan, by a city named Patan, Lalita Patan, or Lalitpur, which still exists.” Moreover, there are references to his daughter Charumati, who accompanied her father in his visit to Nepal and adopted a religious life in Nepal subsequent to her imperial father’s return. V.A. Smith states, “She[Charumati] founded a town called Devapatana, in memory of her husband, Devapala Kshatriya, and settled down to the life of a nun at a convent built by her to the north of Pasupatinath, which bears her name to this day. Asoka treated Lalita Patan as a place of great sanctity, erecting in it five great stupas, one in the centre of the town, and four others outside the walls at the cardinal points.” All of these monuments still exist.

The pilgrimage of Asoka to Buddhist holy places, the erection of pillars at Lumbini Garden and a stupa of Kouakatnana, his visit to Nepal, and foundation of Lalita Patan, and his daughter Charumati becoming a Buddhist nun in Nepal are important historical references.

In the year 242 B. c., when his reign had lasted for thirty years, Asoka undertook a formal retrospect of all the measures adopted by him in furtherance of the ethical reforms which he had at heart, and took the opportunity of laying down a concise code of regulations concerning the slaughter and mutilation of animals, practices which he regarded with abhorrence.

During the reign of Harsha, the Hinduism revived again, though, more or less, the coxistence of both these religions remained as norm. “While toleration and concord were the rule,exceptions occurred. King Sasanka of Central Bengal, who has been mentioned as the treacherous murderer of Harsha’s brother, hated Buddhism, “which he did his best to destroy. He dug up and burned the holy Bodhi tree at Bodh Gaya.” He also broke the stone marked with the footprints of Buddha at Pataliputra; and he destroyed the convents, and scattered the monks, carrying his persecutions to the foot of the Nepalese hills.” V. A. Smith guesses that these events must have happened about 600 AD. Harsha has been said to have reduced the Kingdom of Nepal to the position of a tributary state in around 638 AD.

Futhermore, an interesting reference demonstrating the the power and clout of Nepal at that time has been mentioned in the book. V.A Smith refers to the years 643-5 when the Chinese envoys led by Wang-Hiuen-tse to Harsha traveled through Tibet and Nepal. Before he reached Kannauj, in 648 AD, King Harsha had died, and there was instability and disorder in the kingdom. Wang-Hiuen-tse suffered much while the members of his escort were massacred. He was however fortunate enough to escape into Nepal by night. King Srong-tsan Gampo of Tibet, assisted the fugitives, and supplied them with a force of a thousand horsemen. This force cooperated with a Nepalese contingent of seven thousand men. With this force, Wang-hiuen-tse descended into the plains, and, after a three days’ siege, succeeded in storming the chief city of Tirhut. This followed the beheading of a thousand prisoners, the capturing of the entire royal family, taking twelve thousand prisoners, and obtaining thirty thousand head of cattle. Finally, Wang-hiuen-tse brought the usurper Arjuna as a prisoner to China, and was promoted for his services. Thus ended this strange episode, which, although known to antiquaries for many years, has hitherto escaped the notice of the historians of India.

V. A. Smith also mentions about King Raghava Deva who established the Nepalese era, which dates from October 20, 879 AD. Here he opines that some important event must have happened which needed to be marked in local history, but “the exact nature of which is not known.”

Smith notes an important difference between Nepal and the then India. In all vicissitudes of the sub-continent, the kingdom of Nepal was never subjugated by any of the Mohammedan dynasties while India was almost rampaged. The Palas and Senas at the neighbourhood of Nepal were “swept away by the torrent of Mohammedan invasion at the end of the twelfth century.” They were ruthless. In Bihar, “the slaughter of the ‘shaven-headed Brahmans,, that is to say, the Buddhist monks, was so thoroughly completed that, when the victor sought for some one capable of explaining the contents of the books in the libraries of the monasteries, not a living man could be found who was able to read them.”

Describing the effect, the author says: “This crushing blow, followed up, of course, by similar acts of violence, destroyed the vitality of Buddhism in its ancient home. No doubt a few devout though disheartened adherents of the system lingered round the desecrated shrines for a few years longer, and even to this day traces of the religion once so proudly dominant may be discerned in the practices of obscure sects; but Buddhism as a popular religion in Bihar, its last abode in Upper India south of the Himalaya, was destroyed once and for all by the sword of a single Mussulman adventurer. Many monks who escaped death fled to Tibet, Nepal, and Southern India.” However, nowhere does the author mention that there was mass migration to Nepal hills.

V.A. Smith’s book is a single portal on the early history of the sub-continent from the Sixth Century B.C. to the Mohammedan Conquest. It makes for a wonderful reading.

Frederick P. Gibbon, A prisoner of the Gurkhas (London: George Routledge & Sons Ltd, 1904)

The book A Prisoner of the Gurkhas (London: George Routledge & Sons Ltd, 1904) is one of the few books written by Frederick P. Gibbon on British India, the Mutiny and army related stories.

The book starts with conversation between Margaret Upton, a young lady and Ensign John Collingwood Russell of England’s 162nd Foot Regiment, just gazetted at that time. Jack Russell, his son aspiring to join “the profession of arms,” had reached sixteen and they were celebrating at Claydon Manor House on the latter’s birthday, before parting to take off for his profession. The book is about Jack Russell’s adventure in India, his initial suspicions about the Gurkhas, and more particularly his experience with them. Russell fought in the Anglo-Nepalese War against Gurkhas under the command of Colonel Balbhadar Sing, and eventually, after some ruses of war and bitter experience, became a friend of Nepalese. The bond that developed was incredible.

In the beginning, Jack Russell had little or no knowledge about Nepal. He gradually came to know that this country contained the highest mountains of the Himalayas, and was ruled by “a barbarous tribe known as Gurkhas or Gurkhalis.” These Gurkhas were taken as local imperialists as they had conquered the territories in their vicinity and were extending their country in every direction. The British in India, who were already consolidating themselves, were concerned because Gurkhas were also encroaching what they thought were British territories. Further, they thought “their [Gurkhas] aggressions grew from bad to worse and they mocked at the British threats.”

Frederick P. Gibbon, the author of this book, clarifies about the unfolding scenario when he talks about the events leading up to the British Police Post attacks. Gibbon states that, subsequent to the Police Post attack, which killed British Army personnel, the officers and men of the 162nd were in a fever of excitement as they felt insulted. The mood in the camp read that the enemy must be wiped out at any cost. Gibbon further writes that the British were“eager as any to punish the “cheek” of these parbattias.” Subsequently, the retaliation was led by General Robert Gillespie from Saharanpur into the territory occupied by the Gurkhas with 3,500 men. General Gillespie was accompanied by Jack Russell. A bad luck, General Gillespie, though a trained commander, was killed by the Nepalese bullet at Kalunga no sooner the Anglo-Nepal war had begun.

Describing the initial response, Gibbon comments that the British “were all under the delusion that their progress would be simple and that little opposition would be attempted against so large a force as theirs. To their manifest surprise, therefore, they found that the enemy had not the slightest intention either of surrendering or of retiring.” Colonel Balbhadarwas asked by the British to surrender which was denied by him ‘defiantly.’

Jack Russell was arrested by the Gurkha armed guards led by Jaspao Thapa while he was on a mission together with one colleague, and passing through a jungle. He was immediately taken in as captive to extort war related information of the British side while his colleague was able to escape. While in custody, Russell was taken from one place to another as his captors wanted. There he got the opportunity to know Gurkhas, their lifestyle, military acumen, faith and sturdy character. This proximity gradually helped them understand each other, and experience their virtues and common interests. This interesting encounter between them has been described as follows:

“Come out, you Englishmen,” commanded the Gurkha officer in Hindustani not much better than Jack’s.” Come out, and we won’t kill you.” This officer was a small thick-set fellow, very strongly built.

“You stay where you are,” retorted the ensign scornfully, “or we will kill you.”

“You cannot escape; we’re six to two, and we do not wish to kill brave men.”

“I want to know what you are doing here,” the little highlander eplied.” You carry a message, and I must know what that message is.”

“But who are you ? Think you that we shall give the letter to the first that asks?”

The young Gurkha haughtily drew himself up to his full height of five feet two inches. ” I am Jaspao Thapa, son of the great Amar Sing.”

Now all the English soldiers had heard of the brave old lion, General Amar Sing Thapa, commandant of the Gurkha forces, and of his son Ranjur, who was defending Jytak fort so pluckily against them.

“Is that true?” said the ensign slowly. “We are indeed fortunate to have fallen into the hands of so distinguished a soldier. But I cannot give you any letter; there is no letter here.”

“Come out at once or we slay you both,” was the quiet reply, and Jack recognised the tone of one who meant what he said.

“Grant us a moment for consultation,” he requested, and pretended to confer with his companion.

“That’s enough,” ordered the officer at length; “come out.” Ensign Russell slowly emerged from the bushes.

“Come out, you other Englishman,” shouted Jaspao, but no one stirred. 

Further, there is an interesting reference in the book about General Amar Singh Thapa. Gibbon writes, Amar Singh was of the belief that Englishmen and Gurkhas “ought to be good friends and allies.” Moreover, acknowledging their own shortcomings, Amar Singh was optimistic that upon an emergence of a “sagacious” leader, the two nations could indeed enjoy a cordial relationship. Despite his desire for friendship, Amar Sing did reiterate that any attempts to compromise the sovereignty of Nepal would be met with a “fight to the death.”

As events unfolded, Amar Singh’s wishes were indeed destined to be fulfilled. Gibbon writes that “Many years later a great statesman and warrior did rise up to rule Nepal, and usurper and intriguer though he was, stained with the vices of the Nepal court, he piloted that kingdom safely through the troublous times of the Great Mutiny.” He aided Sir Colin Campbell to capture Lukhnow, drove out the enemies of Britain seeking refuge in Nepal and established a cordial relationship with the imperialist neighbors. Moreover, Gibbon showers him with superlatives and introduces him as, “the mighty Shikarri, the greatest slayer of tigers since the world began, the Maharaja Sir Jung Bahadur, Prime Minister of Nepal.“

In addition, Frederick P. Gibbon describes many touchy instances of the Gurkhas in this book. The famous expression of Jaspao Thapa “Katar hunnu bhanda manru ramro” [it is better to die than to be a coward] finds its place in the book with all required focus.” In Bhurtporecampaign, during the Indian mutiny, Gurkhas fought shoulder to shoulder with the British, arousing a sense of solidarity for the future. This solidarity, the author notes, “lasted ever since.”

This is an exciting book describing the adventure of Jack Russell. The author has taken liberty of going beyond in his depiction of the Gurkhas, making it further exciting. The book immensely helps readers know about many aspects of Nepal and Nepalese in the understanding of the British.

W. W. Hunter, Life of Brian Houghton Hodgson (London: John Murray, 1896)

Diplomacy is the art and practice of conducting negotiations between representatives of state in the interest of one’s own country. Brian H. Hodgson [1801-1894], who served in Nepal as British resident for many years, was probably the most renowned among all the foreign diplomats, who served Nepal hitherto with utmost dignity. However, Hodgson was not just a high caliber diplomat. 

There was more to him than just diplomacy in the post Anglo Nepal War [1814-16]. The book Life of Brian Houghton Hodgson (London: John Murray, 1896) by W. W. Hunter, which was published after two years of his death, is an effort to trace him out in his entirety. It also gives analysis of his references on Nepal ever since he got the opportunity to go to Kumaun during 1819-1820 as a British Indian civil servant.Hunter studied the life and achievement of Hodgson dividing his early years in Nepal during 1820-1824, his further stay here as an assistant resident during 1825-1833, the stay in the capacity of resident during 1833-1839, and the last four years of his residenceship in 1839-1843. The book also explains his recluse in Darjilung following his return from Nepal.

The range of topics included in the book makes it clear that Hodgson was not only a diplomat, but also a scholar of diverse taste. His study on hill races of Nepal and the Himalayas, his advocacy for vernacular education in India and his contribution as a naturalist of the highlands have been separately identified and discussed in this book. He researched on numerous species of birds and mammals of Nepal and the Himalayas. Some of the species and genera of mammals and birds already bear his name. In the botanical context, he is remembered by the genus Hodgsonia heteroclita and by the beautiful rhododendron which Joseph Hooker dedicated to him. His writings on Buddhism, linguistics and religion have also been highlighted in the book. It provides a coherent analysis of the issues covered.

There is no doubt that Hodgson was the first foreigner in Nepal who assembled and studied local sources to write about the country in many key areas. He was not writing as a tourist or a short term visitor to Kathmandu. The book of Hunter lists many unpublished Sanskrit manuscripts and Tibetan printed books which Hodgson had collected, the unpublished manuscripts on Nepal, the list of his Buddhist, ethnological, and miscellaneous writings and books, his zoological writings and drawings with list of new genera and species first described by him. A large number of Nepalese materials, manuscripts and zoological specimens and drawings were sent by him to the libraries and museums of England and the European continent. Suffice it to say, some of the history of Nepal could not have been written without his references. Almost all historians who wrote on Nepal after him have relied on his materials and line of interpretation in the analysis of Nepal’s history. Even the illustrations of the sketch of Nepal residency and Prime Minister Bhim Sen Thapa are copied by many others after Hodgson.

Hunter’s book has many references of Hodgson’s views on Gurkhas. In his opinion, subsequent to their invasion of the Kumaun hills in 1790, Gurkhas were not taken well in Kumaun because of their style of governance, confiscation and squeezes. Hodgson who visited Kumaun before he got some experience in Nepal describes the 24 years of Nepal rule on Kumaun as oppressive. Describing this situation later, he notes that “no sooner had the British forces entered the hills (in 1815) than the inhabitants began to join our camp, and bring in supplies of provisions for the troops.” According to him, “their [Nepalese] tyranny has passed into a proverb, and at the present time, when a native of these hills wishes to protest in the strongest language in his power against some oppression to which he has been subjected, he exclaims that for him the Company’s rule has ceased, and that of the Gurkhas has been restored.” Once the British took over, changes were introduced but for a time indeed it seemed that, under Gurkha rule, the only alternative for the Kumaun hill-men lay between flight to the jungles and the sale of themselves and their women and children into slavery on the Indian plains.

As the book notes, based on Hodgson’s writings, the Gurkha administration in Kumaun squeezed the last drop out of the local people. It is stated that the exactions of the revenue officials and soldiers in the Garhwal district were “so heavy that even the Gurkha military chiefs found it impossible to enforce them.” The local cultivators “who remained [following depopulation] were responsible for making good the whole revenue.” But the depopulation under the Gurkha oppressions had rendered it impossible for the taskmasters to wring the full demand out of the remaining inhabitants. However, according to Hodgson, fiscal brutalities and depopulation kept pace together and the revenue balances under the Gurkhas annually increased compounding the misery of the local habitants. Some exaggeration in Hodgson’s descriptions could be sensed at this stage.

It is clear to Hodgson that both Britain and Nepal were watching each other, making no progress in bilateral relationship. They appeared “equally incapable as an opponent and as an ally” in the first twenty-five years of their intercourse. The treaty signed between these two countries in 1792 remained a dead instrument. It is stated that “the Nepalese encroached on our frontier, and a new treaty in 1801 ended in our further discomfiture.” Captain Knox who was appointed as a British representative in Kathmandu was compelled to withdraw in 1803. There was a break in the diplomatic tie. It was accepted that the British involved themselves in domestic disputes of the reigning family in Nepal.

Further, Prime Minister Bhim Sen Thapa was not an easy person to deal with. The 1914-1816 war was a big lesson to him in the opinion of Hodgson. It convinced him, “once and for ever, as to the reality of the British power – “a power that crushed thrones like potsherds.” Following this, the terms of peace were negotiated. However, Lord Hastings, who understood the situation, insisted that Nepal give up Terai as the price of truce. It was his thinking that this alone can effectually curb Nepal which had developed expansionist attitude. Terai meant the riches of the country. It also “furnished it with the sinews of war, was the lush, unhealthy borderland at the foot of the hills.” Moreover, “It was precisely because Lord Hastings knew that the loss of the Tarai would disable Nepal for further aggressions that he determined to have it.” notes Hodgson.

The truce was indeed aweful for Nepal. However, what is more interesting is the guile demonstrated by the then Prime Minister Bhimsen Thapa. It is noted that Bhimsen “first, by skilful diplomacy, obtained a retrocession of part of the eastern Tarai as a special favour from Lord Hastings to the young Raja [of Nepal], and in return for relieving us of certain pecuniary obligations. He then, by even more skilful obstructions, endeavoured to render nugatory our demarcation of the frontier. By 1819 these delays amounted to a contumacious disregard of the treaty, and nearly led to chastisement by a British force. Bhim Sen next changed his tactics from open obstruction to covert frustration. Boundary pillars were erected, but unsurveyed gaps were left for future encroachments, and for endless annoyance to the British officers. The rugged hills and dense jungles, in the absence of a scientific survey, favoured uncertainty. Dr. Oldfield states that the boundary between Nepal and Oudh was not finally adjusted until 1830, and that between Nepal and the British territories not for some years later.”

The improving relationship between Nepal and the British government owed much to the effort of Brian H. Hodgson. Living in Kathmandu for many years, he established himself “as a man of ascetic life, deeply versed in divine things.” His knowledge on Buddhism, the friendship with Tibetan Grand Lama, search for Sanskrit manuscripts and his transcriptions of Hindu texts, etc made him popular. Following some illness, he even adopted Brahmanic food and drink habits – saying no to meats or wines, “the Hermit of the Himalayas.” They all had influence on the locals. All this helped in building relations.

Hodgson wanted to complete the collection of materials to write a book on the history of Nepal. In 1857, he wrote to his wife, asking her to “speak most despondently of my father’s state [who was not in good health in England], and of the ardent hopes he has of my speedy presence. So I must cast away my long-cherished ambition of writing that History of Nepal for which 1 have been collecting materials during half my life, and hasten to do my duty to those most dear to me. I shall hardly have a month at Darjiling, and must then hurry down to Calcutta to prepare for my voyage.”

As Hunter shows, Hodgson lived as a remarkable diplomat. He lived for 95 years. His contribution to the Himalayan studies have been pioneering. In fact, the 2004 book of David M. Waterhouse, which was published after 110 years of Hodgson’s death, explains so well what his contribution means in the modern context. It is no doubt great.
The first paragraph of W. W. Hunter in Chapter I of his book aptly states: “Had [Hodgson] died seventy years previously, he would have been mourned as the most brilliant young scholar whom the [British] Indian Civil Service has produced. Had he died in middle life, he would have been remembered as the masterly diplomatist who held quiet the kingdom of Nepal and the warlike Himalayan races throughout the disasters of the Afghan war. Had he died at three-score years of age, he would have been honoured as the munificent Englishman who enriched the museums of Europe with his collections, enlarged the old boundaries of more than one science, and opened up a new field of original research.” In this regard, Hunter’s introduction is not exaggerated at all.

Jogesh Chunder Dutt, Kings of Kashmira: Being a translation of the Sanskrita work Rajataranggini (London: Trubner & Co, 1879)

The Rajataranggini, a twelfth century book, which explains the history of Kashmir, has many important references about the Khas people. Written in Sanskrit by a Kashmiri Brahman named Pandita Kahlana, the book describes the history of Kashmir and its monarchs in a way that nobody had ever worked before his time.

The author, who seems to be a court staff at the royal palace, chronicles in the book the rulers of the Kashmir valley from earliest times, from the epic period of the Mahabharata to the reign of King Sangrama Deva (c.1006 CE), before the start of the Muslim era in the sub-continent. Kahlana draws a long list of kings which dates back to the 19th century BCE. His list is comprehensive, although there are many details in the book, which give the impression that the book is not just historical, as he has claimed, but it also ventilates his personal point of view and prevailing legends. With 7826 verses, which are divided into eight folios, the book begins with the legendary reign of King Gonarda. He is described as contemporary toYudhisthira of the Mahābhārata epic. The real history, however, begins from the period of the Mauryas – the Iron Age historical power in this region.

PanditaKahlana was the son of Champakprabhu. He was surprisingly well read and had good understanding of the Kashmira valley, and surrounding hills and mountains. His father served as a Minister of Kashmira. The book, in its make up looks likeGopalarajavanshavali of Nepal, or similar chronicles of medieval Europe and of the Muhammadan East.

Jogesh Chunder Dutt, who translated the Rajataranggini in English for the first time, also contributed a preface to the book, explaining its overall context. In this preface, referring to the Himalayan region from Kashmir to Nepal, and the overall significance of the book, Dutt points out: “[W]ithin this vast continent lived from the remotest antiquity a portion of the Aryan race who developed among themselves a degree of civilization unattained by any other nature of antiquity. This people, though originating from the same stock, speaking the dialectics of the same language, and following the dialectics of the same religion, had only divided themselves into different tribes according to the physical nature of the portion of the country which they each came to occupy. The Kashmirians and the Nepalese who in-habited the mountainous region of the Himalayas were different from those who dwell in the valleys of the Indus or the Ganges or occupied the deserts of Rajputana or the tableland of Maharashtra. Nor did the division cease there.” Referring to Houen Sang, the Chinese pilgrim, who visited this region in the 7th century, Dutta speaks of 138 such principalities, of which 110 were personally visited by Houen Sang. The internal diversity between them was therefore bound to exist.

The Rajataranggini mentions about the Khas people in different context. Although no specific chapter is devoted to them in the book, they find space here and there. From the details provided, it is clear that Kashmir and the adjoining principalities had significant presence of Khas communities. They came from different realms and wielded different social identity, wealth and power. They had their own kingdoms (or lorddoms) in several places. They differed vastly with the Kashmiri kings and their people. It is clear that the wordKashmira itself seems to be related with the Khas [Khas-mira] people; however, Kahlana does not explain this connection. It is very likely that Khasas came to be settled there long before others came to join. This seems to be the basis of animosity that Khasas had against others including the Kashmiri kings. This is probably the reason Khasas posed challenge in the existing power relationship.

According to Kahlana, King Jayapira, who was a great patron of learning, ascended the throne of Kashmir in 745. He used to invite men of genius to his court. He also employed learned men in collecting the work of Patanjali, Katyana and Panini – the three ancient scholars before this time. He was brave and engaged in expansion of the kingdom continuously. Once when he set out for conquest of the Kingdom of Bhimsena, which appears to be a Khas kingdom, and again in Nepal, “he was beaten and imprisoned, but on both occasions he managed to escape and to triumph, over his enemies in the end.”  Kahlana also writes that in early 10th century, in the short reign of Kashmiri King Gopalavarma, Minister Prabhakara (who was a favorite of the queen mother Sugandha), defeated the reigning Shahi, another Khas dynasty that existed at that time, because he had disobeyed his orders to build a town in Shahirajya. This seems to have been some petty dependent or tributary king. A place called Dinnagrania is also said to have been inhabited by the Khasas. Kahlana also mentions about how the Kashmiri King tried to conquest King Aramuri [Arimundi] of Nepal, and was imprisoned in deplorable condition at the bank of Kali-gandaki river. King Aramuri has been referred to by Kahlana as “the learned and wily king of Nepal” who wished to engage himself in war with Jayapira.

Further, another King, Sussala, has been mentioned in another context. His armies are said to have entered a town of the Khashas. Sussala is credited for “attacking and chastising” them. He is said to have fortunately returned to Lohara, his place, in time, passing through roads difficult to traverse on account of fall of snow. He faced death at every step but his period of life was not yet ended, and he lived and thought of the means of obtainingKashmira.

Even though the Khashas wielded powers, they are not named with respect anywhere in Kahlana’s book. In one place Kahlana writes: “The powerful lord of Khasha had, through indulgence in wine and in gross vices, become an object of pity, like a vulgar beast, and lost his senses. His courtiers acted properly or improperly without any restriction.” At another place, Kahlana states how the Khashas were difficult to be managed with, and how they were manipulated by interlocutors by making them drink. They were made to drink, and the fact was intimated to Bhoja, the puppet of a local king. The king was informed without reserve, by Bhoja, of what was ‘going on, “but that wise sovereign whose senses were not bewildered, felt doubtful about the conclusion of the peace and uncertain about the success of the negotiation without making an impression on the heart of the enemy.” The King then sent queen Samanyato Taramulaka for further negotiation. Still in another reference, Damshaka, a lord of Kampana, is said to have incurred the king’s anger because ‘he was enjoying prosperity; he fled to “Vishalaya and was kitted by the Khashas.” Another lord, Udaya, crossed over theSankata in the month of Vaishakha and fought a battle with Bhikshu who was attended by the Khasha. All these accounts give a poor impression of the Khas people.

As it appears, the country of the Khasas is said to have also comprised the valleys lying to the west of Pira-Pantsala-range between the middle course of Vitasta river in the west, which is believed to be one of the seven Sapta Sindhu rivers mentioned so many times in the Rigveda (now called Jhelum) and the Kastavata in the east. The country of Rajauri, which was ruled by the Kambojas in epic times, was ruled by the Khasas in the later times.

The Rajataranggini is still a valuable work. The scholars writing on the Khasas may find it extremely important even now.

Lieutenant General George Fletcher MacMunn,  The Martial Races of India (London: Sampson Low, Marston & Co Ltd, 1933) 

Lieutenant General George Fletcher MacMunn (1869-1952) who started his military career in 1888 and retired in 1925, authored many books and papers on the armies of India and the issues of strategic interests of the British empire.

The book The Martial Races of India (London: Sampson Low, Marston & Co Ltd, 1933) is one of them. The Martial Race Theory states that there are some races which are brave and well built for fighting, while there are others who are coward or generally unfit for battles. This theory takes it for granted that the qualities that make a useful soldier are inherited and that most Indians, with the exception of the specified groups, did not have the requisite traits that would make them warriors. This classification between ‘martial’ and ‘non-martial’ race came on the fore after the Indian Rebellion of 1857. Any race that they thought lived with inactive life styles were not supposed to be good warriors. Normally, the people who were considered educated, and therefore intelligent, and capable of showing their differences with the British Raj, were not recruited by the British Raj, even if they demonstrated martial qualities and exceptional valour. For example, the patriotism shown by the Indian Brahmins during the 1857 Rebellion became a factor not to recruit them in the post mutiny period as in the immediate past. The Gurkhas of Nepal, were considered martial race because they were not only considered strong, mountain built and non-sedentary, but also because they were assessed as hating Indians. The others on the group were Pashtuns, Punjabis, Kumaonis and Garhwalis. Initially, they resisted the British, but once good will was created on both sides, they remained loyal. They fought on the side of the British Raj. Frederick Sleigh Roberts defined this thinking in general as “pseudo-ethnological” construction.

George Fletcher MacMunn’s book is not only informative as to the British military psychology, but also interesting for contemporary security issues. In his bid to describe the martial races, he defines the meaning of the martial race including the early warriors of this region like the Kshattriyas during the conquest of Alexander the Great, the Rajpoot warriors, the warriors and the people of Islam, the Sacca of Chittoor, the Maharatta story, and the Sikh warriors. Thereafter, MacMunn spends some pages on the narratives of the early European settlements, the British and the French in Madras, the British in Bengal, Plassey and Buxar, Warren Hastings, the Regulating Act, the Mysore Wars, the Early Sepoy Armies of Madras, the Third and Fourth Mysore Wars, the Second and Third Mahratta Wars and the Fourth Mahratta War. He then describes armies of John Company and elaborates on how the Punjab became British and the Bengal army was mutinied. Furthermore, the situation of the Indian army between 1860 to 1914 has been described separately. When dealing with the martial class in the north, MacMunn describes Pathans who served the British Crown and the Punjabi Muhammadan, Jammu and Kashmir, the Dogra, and the Sikhs at that time. The martial races of the East and West have also been pointed out and described. His analysis of the Brahmin as a soldier also finds a place in the book. There is a comprehensive chapter on the Indian army’s role in the first World War. Finally, the author also charts out the future of the Indian army and martial races.

Chapter X of The Martial Races of Indiadealing with the Gurkha as martial race certainly deserves a special mention. The Khasas, Magars and Gurungs are mentioned by the author as true Gurkhas. Khasas are described as semi-Aryan race. Magars and gurungs are described as slightly Hinduized tartars. They are said to exhibit close touch with Buddhism. The list of Gurkhas extends to “the more aboriginal Newar, and Sunwar, and the races of Eastern Nepal, generally known by their main group names as Limbus and Rais. Both Lama and Brahmin are summoned indifferently to officiate at family feasts in Eastern Nepal. Except the Khasas, these Gurkhas are short, thickset men, and in accordance with the “rifle spirit.”

MacMunn states: “Speaking generally it may be said that the bulk of the Gurkha tribes are in no great sympathy with the races of India, and in the Army would far rather associate with the European soldier than with other Indian troops. This especially dates from intimate association of the 6oth Rifles and the Sirmoor Battalion, now the 2nd Gurkhas, during the siege of Delhi in 1857, a connection which has been very close ever since. But it was equally in evidence at the siege of Bhurtpur in 1826, when the 59th Foot and they were close friends.”

Referring to the problem of Mine boy among Gurkhas, he states: “One interesting feature of the Gurkha Corps is the problem of the Mine boy/ the boy born and bred in the lines and in the colonies. If born of a Gurkha mother he has for one generation at least most of the warlike traits of his father. Sucking in the regiment tradition he makes an extremely smart soldier. Opinion rather goes in cycles as to the wisdom of encouraging him, or of going back fresh to the Tartar matrix. The Governmental policy of encouraging Gurkha colonies near the regimental stations does to a certain extent postulate their employment. With the cuteness of the line life may also come undesirable petty villainy. They are certainly most valuable as signallers, and technicians as well as in the quarter-master’s branch. Sir Charles Reid who commanded the 2nd at Delhi always said that out of the twenty-five Orders of Merit gained by the regiment twelve were gained by line boys, i.e. men brought up in the regiment, and at Aliwal and Sobraon in the Sutlej campaign five out of seven were gained by such.”

It is the assertion of the author that Nine-tenths of the people of Garhwal, now in India, belong to the “mysterious Khas race.” He describes Garhwal as the true Khas desk, or Khas country. According to the author, the geographical traces of these Khas people are found in many a place-name like Kashgarhas, Kashmir and the like. It is difficult to locate them in “the Aryan cosmos.” The question he poses thus is – “were they a separate and advance wave of Aryan, or were they earlier folk, whiter than Dravidian, who mingled with Aryans? No man knoweth. We see the same folk also in Nepal and along the Himalayan foothills towards Assam as Khasas, amid the Khasya Hills. However that may be the Khas have now Rajput Aryan status sufficient for the purposes of modern Hinduism.” MacMunn describes the remaining tenth of the Garhwal people as the Tibetan Bhotyas, the Nagas, also the remnant of some lost race, and certain immigrants as well as the universal black servitors of India, the Doms. It is clear that he was describing the Khasas of the semi-Aryan stock only, and not the Khasas with clear Aryan heritage, yet without being immigrants of the plains. He mentions however that “as you get into that bit of the Himalaya between Nepal and the Simla Hills Rajputdom is a more important matter, for you are in the Garhwal Hills where Kshattriya and the ancient race call Khas, of whom so little is known, have combined to produce a race to which the reformed stamp, ‘Rajput’ was well and truly given. How and what they have been in recent British times shall, in due course, be shown, with the crash of the German shell as chorus and the swish of the Flanders rain as accompaniment.”

Chapter X also discusses about the rise of the dynasty of Gurkha, the Gurkha invasions of British India, the first assembling of the British Army, the second campaign, and the signing in of the peace treaty. It is here that MacMunn describes the races of Nepal and the contemporary Gurkha Regiments. There are not much new angles in the analysis, but there is some new information in the book.

Finally, George Fletcher MacMunn, a British officer speaks aloud about the British Raj when he says: ” The ineffective outlook of the Ghandi mind would but throw the country back, would get rid of the West and its millions of miles of life-giving water, its thousands of miles of rail that prevent famine, and would bring it where it was, like China with her bandits and war-lords.

“Scored with the brand of the burning heat,

And the wrath divine and the sins of man

And the fateful tramp of the conqueror’s feet,

It has suffered all since the world began.”

The true intent behind this obviously does not need any elaboration.

Lt. Colonel Laurence Austine Waddell, Among the Himalayas (London:  Archibald Constable & Company, 1899)

It was Lt. Colonel Laurence Austine Waddell (1854–1938), a British military surgeon, who ventured to publish this book after traveling around a decade and a half exploring these beautiful yet, dangerous regions. They included Sikhim and areas on the borders of Nepal and Tibet. The book talks about the soaring peaks of the greatest mountain range on earth and the “primitive tribes” who live around them. It also talks about their lifestyle, religion and culture including Tibetan Buddhist religious practices he observed there.

Highlighting the challenges of traveling in the region, Waddell takes the readers on visits to Nepalese and Tibetan tea gardens, journeys to monasteries in the mountains, palaces, and temples, and much more. There are stunning photos and drawings in the book complementing his exciting and gripping Himalayan experiences. He adds on: “To render the narrative more complete, I have added in respect to some glaciers and peaks, which were not reached by [Joseph] Hooker or myself, a summary of the descriptions of these by Sherwill, Graham, White, and Hoffman, and also some geological notes by V. T. Blanford, mostly from reports that are buried away in more or less inaccessible journals.”

Laurence Austine Waddell was the cultural consultant on the 1903-1904 British invasion of Tibet led by Colonel Francis Edward Younghusband, and was considered alongside Charles Bell as one of the foremost authorities on Tibet and Tibetan Buddhism. He also estimates the commercial potential of Tibet, including its gold mine, talks about the imminent disintegration of China:  “And with an English protectorate over Tibet, replacing the shadowy Chinese suzerainty over that country, and the rich valley of the Yangtse up to the border of Eastern Tibet secured within the English ‘sphere of interest.’ England would not only prevent a possible Russian wedge being interposed between her Indian, Burmese and Chinese possessions, but she would consolidate her position from the Indian Ocean to the Northern Pacific, and gain thereby the paramount position throughout Asia.”

Weddell describes Everest as the king of all mountains. He further mentions about several peaks over 20,000 ft. There are amazing details about these peaks and the feelings that they generate in the author and the passers by in the lower mountains. In praise of the mighty Kanchenjunga, most clearly seen and observed from his route to Darjeeling, with its 13,000 feet of everlasting snow, the author recites: “Whose head in wintry grandeur towers, And whitens with eternal sleet; While summer in a vale of flowers Is sleeping rosy at his feet.” The whole Himalayan region in the vicinity finds splendid mention in the book along with the rivers, streams and everpresent mountainous sceneries.

The controversy that has been mentioned by Waddell as to the name of the highest peak in the Himalayas, and the rest of the world, might be of some interest to modern readers. According to the author, the Surveyor-General of that day had proposed to the Royal Geographical Society of London to give this giant mountain the surname of his predecessor in office, Sir George Everest, to whom the great merit belonged of organising the Survey of India on a scientific basis, between the years 1823-43. It is amazing to read that Brian Hodgson, already a leading Nepalogist by that time, protested this on the ground that the vernacular Nepalese name “Deva-dhunga” (God’s Seat) already existed, and there was no need to give any new name. Some also said the highest peak were called “Bhairava Langur” or ” The Terrible Pass”. It was later argued that these names did not apply to this particular mountain at all. The name ‘Everest’ therefore was finally given, shutting all doors for further exploration. The local Nepalese names, whether they were correct or not, have now disappeared from the history.

The book is a wonderful description of the picturesque Himalayan region. “The vastness of this view, vast beyond that of any other spot of earth perhaps, is almost oppressive.” It was not only beautiful, but also a healthy region. This explains why the British took over the Darjeeling hills from the Sikhimese King as a sanitarium for their troops. The context of the Nepalese in this majestic land is quite important here. Nepalese people existed in the region, albeit in limited numbers, long before the British came to settle in. However, Waddell describes Nepalese as the people who came to settle in the Darjeeling hills, affecting the dense virgin forest, only after the Europeans moved in there, and subsequently the tea gardens were introduced as an enormous industry.

Dr. A. Campbell of the Indian Medical Service, who had been the British political Resident at the Court of Nepal, has been mentioned as the person who [further?] encouraged the Nepalese to settle in their thousands subsequent to his appointment as the Superintendent of Darjeeling. The hills prospered like anything significantly raising the local standard of living. He gives one example as an effect: “The bright-eyed Nepalese women, gaily parading their holiday attire, are neatly dressed in bright colours, many of them in English broad-cloths, and they complete their toilet with a gaudy handkerchief of European manufacture thrown gracefully over their heads, in Italian style.”

At one place, writing about Sikhim, Waddell names the Nepalese as colonists: He notes these colonists felling and burning the virgin forest in their new settlement “in accordance with our new policy of developing the resources of the country, and raising revenue for improvements, by leasing out the land on easy terms to the Hindooized Nepalese.” He finds Nepalese as excellent peasantry, when compared with the easy-going Lepchas and Bhotiyas. To his surprise, the latter are “neither good cultivators, nor do they pay any revenue worth mentioning in cash.” He talks about the need for preserving these aboriginal Lepchas andBhotiyas from being swept away altogether.  He mentions however that the Nepalese are “at present restricted to the lower and most fertile part of native Sikhim, adjoining the district of Darjeeling. In the unreserved portion, the racial distribution corresponds to some extent with the geological formations; for the Lepchas down in the hot valley coincide generally with the limestones and schist rocks, while the Bhotiyas occupy the massive gneiss and granite.”

The author spares many pages to write about Nepalese, Sikhimese and Tibetan tribes. As he mentions, at one place, Limboos (or Ts’ong-pa or merchants’) are still the chief cattle-traders and butchers in Sikhim. They import cattle used to be the chief import from the plains. It is not clear for him why they are called Yak-tamba(Yak-herds?) or Ek-tambo. The difference that he finds between Limboos and Lepchas is that while Limboos have more Mongolian flatter faces, the Lepchas have less. He mentions what he was told by one Achoomthat the Limboos are “proverbially stingy and inhospitable.” As far as Kiranti tribe is concerned, the author mentions that they are “semi-aboriginal” and Limboos intermarry with them. Nepalese are ‘hardy’ people. They have adopted the dress and externals of Hindooism, like most of the other Nepalese tribes because “their ruling tribe – the Goorkhas – have set them this example.” His opinion is that “[T]hough small in stature, these Nepalese have big hearts; and in many ways resemble the bright joyous temperament of the Japanese, though lacking altogether the refinement of the latter.” However, all Nepalese are similar in the one respect, “that personal cleanliness is rather at a discount amongst them.”

Waddel talks about the personal titles of the Nepalese. He finds it peculiar. Nepalese hardly use the proper personal name. Even close friends avoid this. “This is not done, apparently, because it is deemed unlucky. As all men are brothers, they are usually addressed simply as “elder brother” [dajti), and the women are called “elder sister”; or they may be called by one or other of certain titles, all of which are considered to be more polite than the proper name of the individual. These tribes do not appear to have any totems, or beasts specially sacred to the clans, like the mountaineers of Central India, as found by V. Ball and others.”

There are some references on the semi-aboriginal tribe Kooch, who inhabit the Dooars and the adjoining plains of the Brahma-pootra. He is sure that they must have come from Tibet, and are certainly not Dravidians or Negro aboriginals. “They have become so muchHindooized by contact with Bengalees, that they have lost not only their own language, but even their tribal name, and are now known by the Bengalee epithet of Koch, or “the Terai” (people), just as their kinsmen across the Brahma-pootra are called Kochari or Cachari, an identical term.” By now they prefer to be called Rajbansi or “the Royal Race.”

The book has wealth of contemporary information. The area covered is of course Tibet, Eastern Nepal and the Darjeeling’s hills and Terai adjacent to it. He has written everything credible in the area incredibly well. It is the opinion of Weddell that the easiest route to Lhasa would, of course, be up the Tsang-po or Dihing river from Assam. He also makes a point that the Nepalese levy heavier duty on their Tibetan frontier. He notes that Silver is strictly forbidden to be imported from Tibet into Nepal. One must read the book to observe Laurence Austine Waddell at the midst of the Himalayas.