The annual Haj at
Mecca draws the more religious from all parts of India, and the Hajjis
on their return are treated with exceptional respect and visited by
their friends and neighbours, who naturally inquire about the latest
news and doctrines propounded in the Holy Cities; so that for the
dissemination of their views the most effective way would be for the
propagandists to bring the Hajjis under their influence. I call it
_effective_, because the influence of what the Hajjis say goes to the
remotest villages of the Mofussil." He then advocates as a
counter-acting influence the undertaking by Government of the transport
of the Haj to Jeddah, and the appointment of an agent, a native of
India, to look after their interests while in the Holy Land. "By
making," he concludes, "the arrangements I have suggested, the English
Government will gain, not only the good-will of the whole Mohammedan
population of India, but they will also inspire the Hajjis with the
wholesome feeling that they owe allegiance to, and can claim protection
from, an empire other than that to which the people of Arabia are
subject (the Turkish).
"The proposed help would stand in very favourable contrast to the
sufferings which the pilgrims undergo from maladministration at Mecca
and in their journey to Medina.
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