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�Ik GrQmt1CHSEGNA1rS'1'AR,T43UitSRAY,DECEMBER 11,1969
THE BILUE. THUM
BY G. MacLEOD ROSS
When a *Menaoir is written
about a man with whom you
have lived and worked in
intimate contact, it is not hard
to assess the veracity of the
witness, although, as in this case,
our impingement occurred when
both of us were barely 30 years
of age and were never to meet
again. And though the period of
our association lasted but two
years, it was not difficult to see
what manner of man held the
appointment of Political Agent
Tochi, in the North West
Frontier Province of
unpartitioned India. For one
thing we were working in tribal
territory and for another, the
tribes were far from quiescent.
Conditions were not precisely
comparable to actual war, but
treachery and sudden death were
never . too far removed;
conditions which invariably
provide an accurate evaluation
of your fellow men.
That service on the North
West Frontier was an ideal
character -forming experience is
platitudinous. You worked
remote from any form of
assistance, far removed from
"higher authority," with only
yourself to rely on. No libraries
of reference; no- committees to
call into being to provide
breathing space. Every act
reaped -the consequences it
deserved. 'Under such conditions
men learn extremely quickly.
This unfettered responsibility
bred the initiative which was
soon -to die out with the British
Empire. Only a decade later, at
the British Embassy in Peking,
the everlasting twitter of the
high-speed radio continued day
and night, so that it became
apparent that the . Colonial
Office in Whitehall must have
been prescribing every detail to
the Ambassador, even down to
his breakfast menu.
On the Frontier
communications were
absentia. True there was the
tenuous telegraph line, but, it
served mainly as ,a source of
metal for the Pathan arms
factories around Kohat. Thus it
was that the misinterpretations
of an. office 5000 miles away
never intervened to influence
your actions, (even Simla was
muzzled) thus for the most part,
mistakes brought- their just
rewards as instantly as did
discretion and tact.
The Political Agent and the
Militia (The Tochi Scouts) lived
together in a mud -walled fort at
-Miranshah on the Tochi river,
while to the west were hills
climbing to 10,000 feet. Prior to
coming here Cunningham had
in
1922, the Government of India
was trying out another strategy
to contain the restless Pathan
tribesman. It consisted in
building roads deep into tribal
territory from Bannu to Razmak
and from Ram* to Wana,.
Cunningham's interest in these
road construction projects was
to obtain labour from local
,Maliks to whom sections of the
road were contracted out. The,
silver rupee was one of the most
successful weapons exploited by
the British to minimise the
sometimes inevitable
confrontations.
When Lord Irwin came out as
Viceroy of India, Cunningham
joined him in Delhi as his Private
Secretary and became immersed
in the problems of
Hindu -Muslim enmity and the
rise in influence of the Indian
Congress Party led by Gandhi.
Cunningham gives us a
thumbnail sketch of Gandhi,
who wrote saying: "I would like
to meet, not so much the
Viceroy of India, but the man in
him."
In 1932 Cunningham returned
to the Province as a Member of
the Executive Council and by
1937 had become Governor of
the Province, a position which
was to 'bring him face to face
once more with the irresistible
urge of the tribesman to raid,
together with his innate love of
freedom and independence.
Later still, when Provincial
autonomy -was established,
Cunningham asked the leader of
the Congress Party_ in the
Province, Dr. Khan Sahib, to
form a Ministry, which he did,
and immediately the two were
working in complete harmony.
Once again Cunningham's
firmness and intimate knowledge
both of the people and of the
countryside were the keys to his
success in maintaining the hold
he had over the purely political
aspirations of his Ministry.
When conditions became so
unruly that the Army took over
temporarily from the Political,
an incident occurred which
typifies Cunningham's firn�nnness
and integrity. Certain Mahsud
prisoners, taken by the troops,
were killed by their guard.
Convinced there ' had been
treachery, Cunningham''
persuaded _the Government of
India to pay "blood money" to
the relatives of the murdered
men. 'This was the customary
tribal way of settling murder on
the Frontier. It is somewhat
comparable to the "blood
money" ordered to be paid out
by our judges when someone is
maimed on our less civilised
highways. ,
served since 1912 in -various During_ the period_ of the
Congress Ministry, Dr. Khan
Sahib was constantly at
Government House to play
bridge or eat dinners. When his
party resigned he assured
Cunningham: "No responsible
member of Congress envisage
any real severance of the British
connection. They all know they
can't get on without it."
In December 1939, at Tauda
China on the road to Razmak, a
column of the 518th Punjabis
posts on the Frontier; a period
in which a Scots Highlander
soon found a common bond
with the personal characteristics,
of his counterpart, the Pathan
hillman..Cunningham was short
and stocky as befitted a Scots
International Rugger half back.
He w,as also a good tennis player,
shot° well and played hockey and
polo with dash, and he was as
tireless as any Pathan.
At this particular juncture in
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WINNER
One of' the last great proconsuls
was attacked and lost 80 men
killed, including their C.O. The`"
Political Agent was very 'upset
by the incident, which reflected
on his influence with the local
tribe, Cunningham, however was
quite unruffled and sent him a
message of encouragement.
Again when news of the Belgian
surrender came, Cunningham
drove to Peshawar to reassure
the Khans, who then reaffirmed
their loyalty to the British
Government. Later he called a
meeting in Government House
garden, expecting perhaps 200,
1000 were attracted., His diary
notes that it took a very few
minutes for them to consume 60
dozen bottles of lemonade and
that they went off with a large
proportion of the empty bottles.
When he heard that nine tenths
of the Expeditionary Force had
been safely evacuated from
Dunkirk, he noted: "This ought
to ease the' situation."
He was forever travelling
ceaselessly to all parts of the
Frontier by horseback, aircraft,
car and on foot. In the Hazara
District he noted several
triumphal arches along the way
with the usual inscriptions; the
last one read "Gbod God." On
another occasion one arch
inscription read "Long live the
Governor" only to be succeeded
by another which read "God
Save Lady Cunningham." These
unintentional home truths
appealed to his sense of the
ludicrous.
When the Congress Party
members announced their
intention to shout hostile
slogans in public places, he
decided not to arrest them.
Instead he ordered the police to
tell the,men to "go home."
When hilate Chief' Minister, Dr.
Khan Sahib was picked up by
the police for agitating, he was
taken back to his home and to
Mrs. Khan Sahib. The Minister
was most irate, saying "You
can't do this to me," for he was
seeking arrest. His action
backfired and the Pathan, who
loves a joke, merely laughed at
the Doctor's discomfiture.
In 1941 "Cunningham
journeyed to Thal in Tochi to
settle an age old dispute between
adjoining sects. He told the two
opposed Maliks he would
demarcate the boundary he felt
was fair after he had had `lunch.'
While .. the marking was , in
progress he refused to allow
either of the Maliks on the
ground. When it was done both
sides were amenable and the
decision holds to this. day. Soon
after this the Afridis gave him
Rupees 10,000 for the Fighter
Aircraft Fund, while a year or so
later the rebellious Wazirs gavee"
Rs 25,000 for th Red Cross.
e
He entertained .a Chinese
Mission of twelve and notes that
one member in speaking "made
a noise like a waterpipe with a
lot of airlocks in it." He was
very good with parables or
similes °which the Athan could
understand. When a number of
Mullahs asked how to regard
Russia, which until then had
been taboo to them, he
suggested that if a mad dog got
loose in the Parachinar bazaar,
berth- Shias and Sunis (the two
schisms of the Muslim Faith)
would unite to kill it. Britain
and Russia had similarly
"'combined to defeat Hitler.1fhere
is a Pathan proverb: "In time of
need you call a Hindu Bannia
your friend."
Dr. Khan Sahib, very much
under the influences of� his
Congress Party, announced he
would go out and shout the
slogan "English leave India."
"Cunningham sent for him and
told him he would have to say it
first to him, after which
Cunningharri would pack up and
return to England, taking. Mrs
Khan Sahib with him. (Mrs:
Khan Sahib was English )
The Duke of Gloucester's visit
to the Peshawar Bazaar made an
excellent impression, because
Cunningham decided to drive
him through without clearing
the streets, so that he could see
for himself what things looked
like. As a result they were held
up for some time by the
inevitable bullock carts which
blocked the street.
From 1943 onwards,
Cunningham's dominance was
apparent at every critical
situation. The Muslim -League
now formed his Ministry and the
Chief Minister became so
amenable that the' diary relates:
"He seems to have forgotten the
function of a Minister is to
advise the Governor and not vice -
versa."
Cunningham always knew
intuitively the tactful thing to
do to please the Pathan. Thus he
went out of his way to visit an
old Bannochi, Shahzar Khan,
who had been bedridden for two
years in his village on the Tochi
_river bank. The Khan began by
offering a robe which he had
been given by the King of
Afghanistan, Amanullah, in
1919 when the Afghans invaded
the Province down the Kurram
valley. Cunningham sal that the-'
robe was very old'- and moth
eaten, insisted the .old man pass . r
such a `treasure' to his sons.
Then, when Shahzar Khan asked
for amnesty for a Bannochi
outlaw he was harbouring,
Cunningham asked 'where he
was. They pointed to the man
who had been serving them a
meal of local oranges. "I must
see. if we can do something for,,
him" he notes. Three days later
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he heard that some Wail's had
said "If he ,had given us 20 lakhs
of rupees we would not have
been so glad as to hear he had
paid a visit to Shahzar."
Returning from a tour of the
Middle East, visiting Indian
troops of the Frontier
Regiments, the Nawab of Amb
asked if it were true that he
went to Iraq to do the Haj. (The
Muslim pilgrimage to Mecca) "I
told him Yes. Itwas now a rule
that every governor of the North
West Frontier Province should
do the Haj once during his
tenure."
* * * *
Sir George Cunningham.
G.C.I.E., K.C.S.L, O.B.E. LL.D.
There is no secret surrounding
his success with libertines such
as those he tamed and governed
on the North West Frontier, as
the foregoing has tried to make
clear, though these few hundred
words are quite' inadequate to do
his character justice. In a
Province in which every man
carried a rifle, his personal
weapons were never more lethal
than Justice with Firmness.
Great Integrity. Sweet
Reasonableness. -A genuine
interest in the interests of the
Pathan. Courage merging into
Bravery on many occasions. A
Good Comrade and, above all, a
Leader. Surprising as it may
seem, to those unfortunate
enough never to hale known..ap,d
•
*
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The • Sgoare
worked for the Pathan,' these
were the virtues which they too
admired,
After he. retired, Cunningham
was Rector of St. Andrews
University for four years. His
tenure preceded by some 20
years the violenceand
licentiousness at Universities
everywhere, which we have
noted of late. Yet when a
modern University President
admits he cannot control 15,000
civilized students, it is relevant
to enquire . how ' Cunningham
could hold tens of thousands of
wild tribesmen in the hollow of
his hand. The answer is that he
made the time to meet them all;
to call their Maliks by name and
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to understand all the minutiae of
their lives. His memoir does not
tell us how many thousands of
miles he traveled to accomplish
-this, but his inexhaustible energy
enabled him to. be virtually
omnipresent, especially wherever
tension wasbuilding up. He kept
his finger on the pulse at all
times; And, in all fairness, it
must be remembered that "here
was a people that .looked you in
the face."
The British Raj has passed
into the archives of India and
very soon, none of those who
served her will remain.,. In the
cloisters of Westminster Abbey
are inscribed these words to the
Services of the Crown of India:_
1.11111111.11 ®M.—
"Let thein not be forgotten, for
they served India well."
* Sir George Cunningham. by
Norval Mitchell. Blackwood.
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