Colonial overreaction against phantom conspiracies erodes state credibility with the public

Evidence

The paper denounced the Bengal government’s obsession with pursuing ‘the obsolete Wahabi phantasy’ and lambasted sections of the press for ‘inordinate pursuit of the phantom’. The Indian Daily News initially defended the necessity of the brothers’ detention but later described the government’s response as overblown and expressed concern that it was undermining the credibility of the colonial state in the eyes of the Indian public. — Julia Stephens, The Phantom Wahhabi, 148

Categorization

• XREF: Echoes the moral-panic reading of dress and comportment in ‘Complaints About Immodesty Go Way Back’ — states legislating against phantoms of their own making.
• SHARE: Perfect for someone obsessed with why imperial anxieties outrun the actual threat.