During his brief tenure of office as Indore Resident Colonel Durand declined to submit to the humiliating ordeal, but his successor, Sir Richmond Shakespear, was more complaisant.
Accordingly, when Meade and his suite presented themselves for the first time, on his appointment, no chairs were provided, and he and those accompanying him had a very mauvais quart d'heure.
But this was the first and last occasion. Meade courteously but firmly declined a repetition of the unpleasant operation, and insisted that, in future, chairs should be invariably provided for the Resident and those accompanying him.
There was much correspondence, but ultimately Holkaryielded—and the old ceremonial of obeisance and squatting has been long a thing of the past (in the case of British officers), not only at Indore, but even in the still more strait-laced court of the ruler of Hyderábád.[1]
- ↑ Another phase of the "shoe question" was for many years a cause of much difficulty and disquietude in India, viz.: how far was the half-anglicised Indian to be excused from compliance with the ordinary forms of Oriental respect? Members of the Young India party were prone to wear tight-laced boots incapable of easy removal, and at the same time objected to remove their head-dress—a proceeding which often led to unpleasant altercations. At length the question came before the Viceroy in connection with the regulation of ceremonial at darbárs. The knotty point was solved by the Viceroy (Lawrence) thus: It was decided that, if a native of India so far conformed to English notions of respect as to wear patent leather shoes, he should not be required to remove them, and, at the same time, should not be required to remove his head-dress. The decision caused much grumbling, and was, perhaps, not very logical, but it had the merit of settling a much vexed question. It has prevented unpleasant altercations, has done no harm to any one, and has greatly benefited the manufacturers of patent leather.
