Although the Fakir of Ipi, as a 'For! Khel man is a Wazir, although the' Wazirs are estimated to be more numerous than the Mahsuds, the on the North-West the tribes in Waziristan in some appearance of unity. He died in 1913. His bones were moved from Man-dash to Marobl as a gesture of eace-construction toward the end of the campaign of 1920-23, 'Makin, secluded and sedulously' reserved from intrusion by @ con-derate Sirkar, is nowadays within the Mahsuds answer to the jehad than if it be eon Gned to the Wazirs, The Wazirs—the name must not be confused) with the Urdu word wazir which is the same as the Arabic translated in the Arabian Nights as vizier—are the Pathan tribesmen from whom Waziristan takes its name. They are said to derive their origin from a chieftain of ancient times named Wazir—probably he was the rough equivalent of the Viceroy of those parts. for a necessarily tolerant ruler at Kabul. He had two grandsons who are regarded a3 the real ancestors of the inhabitants; of the crude parallelogram 60 miles (East to West) by 160 miles (North to South) which is now so anxious ly watched as General Eric de Burgh's operations develop. rugged disarray of ridges, ravines and mountains, the country breeds: men faster than it feeds them. 'The term Wazir or Waziri comprises all' tribes therein—Darweshkhhel, Mah-suds, Dawars and Batanni are the' main classifications—but, somehow or other, the Mahsud Wazirs have acquired a separate entity under the name Mahsuds and are thus distinguished from the Wazirs. There are hots of wnb-sctions and Somewhere in Simla studious staff officers can be found to detail the whole list of these tribes not only in Waziristan but in the whole of the non-administered tribal area where, as stated the other day, there are 500,000 fighting men, 200,000 of whom are armed with moder rifles, the Afridis being the main class signation north of Waziristan round the Khyber pass. Fortunately the Afeidis for the moment are quite nor are they likely to change their attitude, unless by chance some startling success in Waziristan is too much for their natural love of fighting, Unlike the Mahsuds and the Wazirs the Afridis have in adminis tered territory sufficient stake in land and family connections to make them think twice before breaking out against the Sirkar. The Mahsud or Wazir, finding the barren period of winter a strain upon his resources, will migrate for that season into India in the guise of a peaceful trader and may be seen in-Dharamtolla in Calcutta endeavouring with some success to earn an honest rupee. When the snows melt he trickles back to his: own people and resumes the life. of a highland chieftain.
Whereas, other Pathan tribes! road-making policy which reduced raids into administered territory from the annual average of has brought him in closer touch with the ordered life of Bannu and Dora Ismail Khan, There are actually primary schools for him at Karamma and Maidan. So the an exceptional strain—probably induced by the unrest in the Islamic world of Arabia. Tie Fakir of Ipi is by all accounts the most dangerous of fanatical leaders because of his personal incorruptibility. Whatever may be the inspiration of the tribesmen in the shape of secret subsidies from unidentifiable sources, he is credited with a stern indifference to such offers. He is} the unbending diehard who mourns the degeneracy of a world in which unbelievers are allowed to rule the occasions of the faithful. Moslem snd he seeks to mobilize the Pathan warrior in championship of the true Prophé
The Mahsuds have been reported to be doubtful of the wisdom of giving this Wazir leader their support. Yet the signs suggest that] they are falling into line. It is useful therefore to consider what marine? of men these Mahsuds be. At one time, before 1914, it was thought that the fine fighting quallties of the Mahsud should be given the tribute of offering him the right to be enrolled in the Indian Army. 'A Mahsud regiment was raised, The details of that failure are. not}
Generally available. Admirers of the Mahsud declare that by some bureaucratic blunder the new unit was trained under grave disadvantages—in a country strange to the men where the food was unpalatable and the conditions irksome.
However that may be the Mahsud was found to be unsuitable for the disciplined routine of a regular army and the experiment was observe a fairly decent, sense of obedience to the leadership of their headmen—thus making the Political Omicers' handling' of them com~ paratively easier—the Wazir and particularly his fellow Mahsud are intense individualists. When his fanaticism is aroused by a mullah (warrior priest) the Mahsud is not capable of resisting this unrullivess. He maintains his feuds and the complexity of the hostilities be~ tween the sections and subsections of his tribes Keeps the supervisory authority constantly on the alert.
The tribal history of Waziristan in modern times has produced a main cleavage between the Mahsuds and the rest of the Wazirs. In the course of successive conflicts the Mahsuds have driven the Wazirs northward. Razmak marks the area where their battles for supremacy once took place. The Wazirs. driven nearer the administrative border, became tinged with civiliza ing habits, assumed "softer" characteristics—are they not devoted to the bright coloured velvet waistcoat, the tribesman's only foppery?—and, perhaps, acquired the sem-lance of commercial prosperity. Makin is the Mahsud capital; it formerly was in Wazir hands. But the sacred place is Marobl, a notable pleasance of greenness on the top of a rock-supported plateau, where now lie the bones of the Mullah Powindah, a great leader who almost succeeded in welding.
The Fakir of Ipi is described as a gigantic figure of impressive appearance, The Mahsud, generally, does not At in with that description, Hardy, spare of form, not specially fall, he is the born'hiliman, He is quick-tempered, treacherous by some lights, but rigidly faithful to conventions. "Tu firga_(pow-wow 'oF council) he regards the lives of the representatives of the Sirkar as sacred, It Is on record that, on tone occasion during a. firma," an Irresponsible tribesman from some distance away let fly with a shot which narrowly missed the political officer in charge. Although the negotiations were plainly doomed failure and fighting would be soon resumed the whole jirga rose put their bodies as screens for the affeer and expressed deep shame at the incident. Yet, as the discussions proceeded, one' young Mahsud hada heated argument with his uncle; the latter objected, drow a knife and stabbed his kinsman dead. The Indian Political Assistant to the OMlcer present gently remonstrated. "No temper please." The body was removed fud the jirga proceeded quietly.
Woren being searce are precious. They are Kept in seclusion and seldom does the traveller through Waziristan in the normal course see any but males, The privacy of villages is respected by the Sirkar
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.