DEFENSE. The supremacy of the British sea power practically guarantms India from invasion lit- way of the sea, and the Himalaya Mountains perform a like service for a great part of the northern frontier. The main interest in the defense of India centres about the northwest frontier, which is the historic gateway for in vasions into India. In the last two decades of the nineteenth century the British adopted a. more active frontier policy. They have estab lished outposts and fortifications commanding that communicate with the west and north and more securely defend the Trans-lndus region. The British have a 1)0.4 of observation at Chitral and possess an 'influ ence' at Gilgit which enables them to keep in formed as to the llindu-Kush passes. Farther south the Swat Valley is in the hands of the British. The important Khyber l'ass (q.v.) is open, and the large garrison stationed nt war serves to protect it. Continuing south, the Euram and the To(-hi valleys iire controlled by the British, as are also the Gunal l'ass and the %hob Valley. Quetta has been made a strong defensive, point, as has also Sakkar—the city on the Indus where the railroad crosses to the westward. .1 number of posts along the earlier frontier line farther east are still maintained; others have been abandoned. The scheme of defense has led to the construction of railroads for military purposl'A, one of which extends to New Chaman, the farthest outpost on the Afghan frontier. These lines now make it possible
quickly and easily to transport the soldiers to the different frontier strongholds.
The threatening approach of the Russians to the Indian frontier has established all excuse for the British to maintain a large army. The experience of the Sepoy rebellion has led them to increase the proportion which the British troops hold to the total military force, the inten tion being that the latter shall constitute one third of the total number, and that the artillery shall he almost wholly British. The native soldiers are drawn largely from a few tribes, such as the Sikhs, Gurkhas, Habilis, and .fats, wino are the warrior races of the country, and are much more efficient as soldiers than are the masses of the population. Class distinctions are recognized, an.1 the different units in the army organization are composed of homogeneous ele ments. Through the hnprovemenl of sanitary cenditions, and the exercise of greater caution in locating British soldiers, fatalities are of much less frequent occurrence than formerly. The na tive States still maintain military forces, but the 1Iritish have succeeded in their effort to have their nullifier reduced and brought more or less under their own control. For a statement con cerning the organization and statistics of the army, see Au Mms, paragraph on British Empire.