HC Deb 23 July 1901 vol 97 cc1329-30
MR. HERBERT ROBERTS (Derbyshire, W.)

I beg to ask the Secretary of State for India whether he will state how far the outpost of Jandola (the scene of the attack made upon a detachment of the 45th Sikhs on the 10th instant) is from Kohat or other nearest position on the administrative frontier of India; whether this locality is included in the trans-frontier portion of the proposed new province; and whether, seeing that the presence of Sikh troops is obnoxious to the Moslem tribesmen in those regions, the Government of India will consider the desirability of employing native troops of a different race as garrisons of such outposts.

LORD G. HAMILTON

The nearest important position in British India is Tank, headquarters of a sub-division of Dera Ismail Khan, which is about fifteen miles from Jandola. The answer to the second question is in the affirmative. The choice of troops must be left to the discretion of the Government of India and the military authorities on the spot, who are fully acquainted with the racial likes and dislikes of the tribes with whom they have to deal.