Before marching into their country, it will be desirable
to consider briefly those causes and events which induced the Government
of India to despatch an expedition against this powerful and warlike
tribe.
The tidal wave of fanaticism, which had swept the frontier, had
influenced the Mohmands, as all other border peoples. Their situation
was, however, in several important respects, different from that of the
natives of the Swat Valley. These Mohmands had neither been irritated
nor interfered with in any way. No military road ran through their
territory. No fortified posts stirred their animosity or threatened
their independence. Had they respected in others the isolation which
they themselves have so long enjoyed, they might have remained for an
indefinite period in that state of degraded barbarism which seems to
appeal so strongly to certain people in England. They became, however,
the aggressors.
In the heart of the wild and dismal mountain region, in which these
fierce tribesmen dwell, are the temple and village of Jarobi: the one a
consecrated hovel, the other a fortified slum.
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