THE PEOPLE OF INDIA 213

In our army, however, the Muhammadan element is
most important. The Punjabi Muhammadan is a-strong
addition to the mixed class regiments of the Punjab and
the frontier, and takes his place alongside the Sikh in no
unworthy manner, The Pathan tribes of the borderland,
Kuttaks from the Kohat district, Afridis from Tirah,
Afghans, Baluchis, Kakurs, &amp;c., from the southern districts,
 contribute some of the best of the raw material for
our native military service, and as our knowledge of the
border people extends, and mutual confidence increases,
we shall doubtless number more and more of these fighting
 races in the ranks of our native army. For the best

RELIGION
rol

7G. 70.— Lower India.

of those qualities which combine to make a good soldier
there is not much to choose between Baluch, Pathan,
Sikh, or Gurkha,
In the south of India we find that in the province
of Madras, out of a population of nearly 40,000,000,
nearly 35,000,000 are Hindus, and rather more than
1,500,000 are Christians. Southern India is the habitat
of the Dravidian races, the Tamil and Telegu (Telinga)
people, whose origin is to be traced to quite a different
Asiatic cradle and who reached India in prehistoric
times by quite a different route to that followed by
the Aryan immigrants of the north. It has long been