The San Francisco call., 1897-02-28
The Pariahs of India

There is one native East Indian in this
city who was much stirred by the accounts
OF lndia's great famine in the Sun last
Sunday. He is Deva Sundrum, a major
in the Salvation Army. While he is more
interested in saving the souls of his fellow
countrymen than anything else, he real
ICES very well that this cannot be done
unless their bodies are fairly comfortable.
"In South India" he said, 81 walked
35l3 miles, pioneering ffty-six districts,
visiting 884 villages and 30, ,639 houses.
In Malayalam, North Travancore, [
walked 4095 miles. Here l pioneered
twelve districts and visited 1881 villages
and "a, 7Y6 houses. All the people with
whom L came in contact on these journeys
were pariahs-that is, the very lowest
caste people. Poor pariahs! They are all
the slaves OF the high caste people. To
give an idea OF how densely the country is
populated with these unfortunate beings
there are in Madras Presidency alone
5. 162, 0G6.
'rhe houses of the pariahs are never
more than twelve feet square, and the
sufferings of these people during the
rainy season and in famine are indie
serbia BILE. They have no homes. They
keep wandering from place to place by
day trying 10 secure food, and when night
comes they drop down where darkness
overtakes them. Their main diet is a
scant one of roots. In South India there
are fully $500, 900 people who do not know
| what it is 10 have a single satisfactory
meal from one years end to another.
Along with the periodical famine comes
| cholera. Those weakened by want of
| food quickly fall victims to the disease,
and thousands die off every year. When
the plague does break out the Government
sometimes sends along a special medical
officer to carry relief to the pariahs, but he
! is always a high caste, who, instead of
| visiting the cholera stricken low caste,
confines himself 10 visiting those in his
! own caste. The result is that the pariahs
are simply swept off the face of the earth.
"Pariahs are always expected TO peep at
| the respectable distance of ninety feet
| from the high-caste people. Indeed, the
public roads are never opened in the viii
! lage, since they are only for the use OF the
high caste. In certain parts of the coun-
try there are special footpaths alongside
all the main roads. Ii pariah should
dare leave these to trespass on the main
road, he would run the risk of losing his
life. Oftentimes when the poor creatures
see high caste approaching on the main
road, he leaves the path, and, hiding far
away under bush, keeps exclaiming over
and over again in a mournful voice, as the
man passes: Master master, master
when in need of money pariah goes
to his master and gets loan amounting
to So in American money. But he does
not get this until bond is signed by the
pariah, in which he signifies his willing
ness to give himself to the service of the
high caste for life. India is perishing,
dying. The Government is not able to
cope with the situation. The sanitary
condition Of the native quarters tend to
spread the plague, but the pariahs do not
! believe this; they think it a visitation
from their gods. The Salvation Army is
one of the hopes OF my country. If we
can win the millions away from their
! id OILS and temples they can be taught the
be netlt of cleanliness, for then and not
until then will they learn that their gods
have no control over famine and disease
| New York Sun.