Page:Provincial geographies of India (Volume 1).djvu/216

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196
HISTORY— THE BRITISH
[ch.

provincial legislation. But the most important Panjab Act of the period, XIII of 1900, dealing with Land Alienation was passed by the Viceroy's Legislative Council. In 1901 a Political Agent was appointed as the intermediary between the Panjab. Government and the Phulkian States. On the frontier the conclusion of the Durand Agreement in 1893 might well have raised hopes of quiet times. But the reality was otherwise. The establishment of a British officer at Wana to exercise control over Southern Waziristan in 1894 was forcibly resisted by the* Mahsud Wazirs, and an expedition had to be sent into their country. The Mehtar or Chief of Chitral, who was in receipt of a subsidy from the British Government, died in 1892. A period of great confusion followed fomented by the ambitions of Umra Khan of Jandol. Finally we recognised as Mehtar the eldest son, who had come uppermost in the struggle, and sent an English officer as British Agent to Chitral. Umra Khan got our protege murdered, and besieged the Agent in the Chitral fort. He withdrew however on the approach of a small force from Gilgit. Shuja-ul-Mulk was recognised as Mehtar. This little trouble occurred in 1895. Two years later a storm-cloud suddenly burst over the frontier, such as we had never before experienced. It spread rapidly from the Tochi to Swat, tribe after tribe rising and attacking our posts. It is impossible to tell here the story of the military, measures taken against the different offending tribes. The most important was the campaign in Tirah against the Orakzais and Afridis, in which 30,000 men were engaged for six months. In 1900 attacks on the peace of the border by the Mahsud Wazirs had to be punished by a blockade, and in the cold weather of 1901-2 small columns harried the hill country to enforce their submission. By this time the connection of the Panjab Government with frontier affairs, which