ar
footing, ready for immediate mobilisation, and on January 1, 1915, the
regular army consisted of 247,000 men, of whom 75,000 were English; it
was the money spent by India in maintaining this army for years in
readiness for War which made it possible for her to go to the help of
Great Britain at the critical early period to which I alluded. She spent
over L20 millions on the military services in 1914-15. In 1915-16 she
spent L21.8 millions. In 1916-17 her military budget had risen to L12
millions, and it will probably be exceeded, as was the budget of the
preceding year by L1-2/3 million.

Lord Hardinge, the last Viceroy of India, who is ever held in loving
memory here for his sympathetic attitude towards Indian aspirations,
made a masterly exposition of India's War services in the House of Lords
on the third of last July. He emphasised her pre-War services, showing
that though 19-1/4 millions sterling was fixed as a maximum by the
Nicholson Committee, that amount had been exceeded in 11 out of the last
13 budgets, while his own last budget had risen to 22 millions. During
these 13 years the revenue had been only between 48 and 58 millions,
once rising to 60 millions. Could any fact speak more eloquently of
India's War services than this proportion of military expenditure
compared with her revenue?

The Great War began on August 4th, and in that very month and in the
early part of September, India sent an expeditionary force of three
divisions--two infantry and one cavalry--and another cavalry division
joined them in France in November. The first arrived, said Lord
Hardinge, "in time to fill a gap that could not otherwise have been
filled." He added pathetically: "There are very few survivors of those
two splendid divisions of infantry." Truly, their homes are empty, but
their sons shall enjoy in India the liberty for which their fathers died
in France. Three more divisions were at once sent to guard the Indian
frontier, while in September a mixed division was sent to East Africa,
and in October and November two more divisions and a brigade of cavalry
went to Egypt. A battalion of Indian infantry went to Mauritius, another
to the Cameroons, and two to the Persian Gulf, while other Indian troops
helped the Japanese in the capture of Tsingtau. 210,000 Indians were
thus sent overseas. The whole of these troops were fully armed and
equipped, and in addition, during the first few weeks of the War, India
sent to England f