The St. Louis Republic. [volume] (St. Louis, Mo.) 1888-1919, 1900-07-07
CURIOUS Castles AND CUSTOMS
Cannot BE Reformed. Although
They Prejudice India's Progress.


Fo-ty-three years ago. upon the 10th Of
the present month. the great Indian mill
tary center Of Meerut saw the kjndllng of
that terrible blaze. which was destined TO
iavaSe the whole Of British Hindustan.
Nowadays every SchColboy knows that
the indi IN mutiny was directly the outcome
OF a I. i2ln-S misunderstanding. In 1856
III" British soldier could not understand
vhE the smCarinC Of little grease upon
his cartridges should offend the Sepoy. But
lin" grease used was that o: animals which
were Urcledn alike 10 Hindus and NCham-
medans- Thus ii came TO pass that this
: ine misunderstanding resClted IN the
she iding Of oceans of innocent blood and
the near loss of an Emf ire OF .i0.,cc.oJ
sous.
To-day. Tommy and his officers know bet
tor than tn offend native suscepiibilitics.
Nevertheless. there is much in Hndustan
that the average European finds il hard TO
understand.
one OF the greatest stumbling blocks is
that of caste. There are now four principal
Hindu castles: Brahmin. or priest. ksha-
triya. or soldier: Naisya. or Industrial. and
the much despised SudTa. ssrviie caste.
These four divisions are subdivided again
and again into many others. For instance
eve-y village has It's Dhobi. ar washerman:
k,:mbar. or pottoT; Mali. or green grocer:
Sunri. or publican. chdmas. or CObt,ier;
Eahar or Talkie bearer. ard d"zcn other
risoruusly exclusive sects. The boosted
blue blood Of our European nobility pales
into ins.gntiCance ny comparison Here IN
ENGLAND. for instance. every ambitious boy.
such a position as his talents may nj MN
for In India IL is different. Not only
does, tk.- son never aspire to rise above the
fathers station In life. but. in addition Ne
could not III he chose
consequently thu. brassworking father Of
!? dozen sons Will bring them M as brass.
workeis. the potter father. as porisrS. Had
So on, al minimum Nor must the io""r-
caste man In any way violate the sinctlty
Of his hiCher-Ciass brother. for the penal
ties AZ to the puri!cation Of Inc ldtter are
MANY and inConv-nient. Similarly. he must
marry within his own caste, he may only
eat with hts own caste. and. II a Sudrs. ne
will esteem 1t an honor if he IS ailnWen
To imbibe the water In which his superior
Brahmin has laye1 his feet.
But what undoubtedly strikes the Iriti<h-
or with greatest force is the fantastic way
in W hiCh the lower class man resigns hini-
self without Il word of crumbiinS I" 'nlS
treatment. He is saturated with caste He
Is overwhelmed with a distorted sense OF
it's magnitude. And before it's imposing
JugEernaut he is merely an abject piece of
limp kcklsss humanity.
Another curious custom is that II 'Ruksut
hai'' you may go). II England Ii Is etiGu-tte
for an afternoon caller to himself take the
initiative In the matter of his departure. IN
decd il would be considered the height #
ill-hrceding II the hostess gave the slightest
Indication of any desre to he r li.ved OF her
callers presence. In India the custom -
reversed. and the native Will never leave the
white mans presenc- until told he may 20.
The shoe aud ;urhan question Is CONSTANT
source Of diScOTt. As any schoolhoy knows.
the Hindu keeps on his turban and discarls
HIS shoes on entering a house. Not 10 do so
IS the height of disrespect. When Lori
Lawrence occupied the vicerecal chair he
WIS compelled To issue an official mandate
uphJidinC the custom. Similarly. your ma
tive servant would as soon think of appear
ing before you minus his cumrnerbund is
your English foGtman would wait at table
in his shirt sleeves
TIE vice versa customs of the man In ne
street are legion The native clerk sits up
on the floor TO write, and his characters run
from right TO left. The plowr'an uses a
miserable little n!ow. which Is utterly unit
for II. work by reason OF its shortnes;-
said shcrtness being due to the fact that the
piovman viii only drive his team by twist
ing their tails, and cannot therefore be far
behind them. The tailor, like his English
brother. squats TO his work. but with the
important d!stinc ton that he uses his toes
to hold the work. while his fingers are busted
with the sewing.
The interior of the native houses is equal
" opposed 10 European notions of comfort.
can dignity few rugs cushions and cur
taiBs by such "A name. Even the weait1iest
bankers ana merchants do without cTockery,
giass. tapes. and even plates, knives ana
forks. while You might search the entire
war irobe OF their large crops of retainers
without coming across single hook, eye
or button.
Native relaxations are not particularly
elevating. The gambling element Is pro-
vided for by the showers which Occas!nnal-
" visit even this parched land. The usual
prsctice ~ 10 bet upon the pr baniIitS OF
some particular rain tank Overlooking by a
certain hour of the day The drink habit
Is responsible for much crime
The native drinker swallows an extract
cf the hemp plant. which produces species
cf mania in its devotees While under its
tnN'ienco the drinkar will XIII all and sundry
with whom he comes in contact This Is
drinker is called "hashassirr" that Is one
who drinks .hashin" or Indian hemp. hence
esr OWN word assassin