Conservative colonial papers mocked the Wahhabi trials as witch-hunts

Evidence

As Amir Khan’s legal ordeal dragged on, press opinion—even in some of Calcutta’s conservative Anglo-Indian papers—generally shifted in his favour. Although some papers supported the government, many lamented the use of extralegal methods. They compared the proceedings to ‘witch-finding’ and ‘Star Chamberl-ike [sic]’ and expressed consternation that, ‘Such a mountain, a very Himalaya, has been made out of this Wahabee molehill.’ — Julia Stephens, The Phantom Wahhabi, 142

Categorization

• CANDY: The line about a ‘Himalaya made out of this Wahabee molehill’ is a genuinely quotable nineteenth-century pun.
• XREF: Echoes contemporary debates over ‘Star Chamber’ secrecy and the modern rhetoric of political witch-hunts.