This enraged the Mohammedans.
The hut had been converted into a mosque, and they regarded its destruction as a wicked act.
They rose against the Europeans under whose authority this had been done, attacked them, and the soldiers had to be called out to quell the disturbance.
The riots lasted for two days. At the end of that time it was reported that to pacify the mob the authorities had given them possession of the land on which the mosque had stood.
The European residents were very angry when this news reached them. They feared that it would make the people still more unruly, as they would be sure to think the authorities were afraid of them if they gave in to their demands.
This prediction appears to have been correct, for even after the rioters had been subdued, it was unsafe for Europeans to venture into some parts of Calcutta without protection.
It is stated that the authorities did not really give up the land, but only allowed the rumor to be circulated for the sake of pacifying the mob. The police have possession of the disputed property, and will not allow any one to approach it.
It has developed that notwithstanding the fact that the owner of the land was a Hindoo, there is no really bad feeling between the Hindoos and the Mohammedans, but that both have combined against the Europeans.
It is distinctly an anti-European feeling. British authority is openly defied by the natives, and the situation is regarded as very grave.