The Olneyville times. (Olneyville [Providence, R.I.]) 1887-1917, 1906-12-21
THE CURSE OF INDIA
CASTE, WHICH FIXES THE STATUS
OF EVERY HlNOOO.
No Man Can Rise From the Class,
However Uneiean, In Which He
Was Bsvs-Neither Wealth Nor Sac
cess Affects the Caste of Any One.

however tneNean, In ~nlch he
Was Bsrs-Neither Wealth Nor Sac
cess Affects the Caste of Any O.e.
In the fixed scale Of descent in India
some classes are merely inferior, while
some are ''unclean" or "untouchable,"
but from whatsoever class a man be
born in he has no escape but death.
Children born in an "unclean" caste
remain "unclean;" children born in an
inferior caste remain as their fathers
were Nothing that they can do can
in the slightest degree change their
situation. They were born "unclean;"
their ancestors were "unclean;" their
descendants will he "unclean" TIL the
end OF the chapter.
To give few illustrations from
many, a weaver IL less "unclean" than
n carpenter, n carpenter is above
house cleaner, house cleaner is above
a street cleaner and n street cleaner is
above n pariah or no caste man. Every
trade or occupation has its exact place,
arbitrarily fixed I'm the scale OF degra-
dation.
Above all the men that labor with
their hands in whatsoever way are
the tradeSmen and shopkeepers, also
with subdivisions into classes; above
the tradesmen is the useless and now
almost idle warrior class; above the
warriors Is the Brahman or priestly
class. and with these grand divisions
the structure OF the system is COM
plete.
Wealth or material situation or sue
cess has nothing 10 do with the caste or
any man. You may hire for your cook
or valet n Brahman Of the purest strain
serene, who for weeks before you ell
gagged him may have been on the verge
Of starvation. The meager beggar 10
whom you toss aims in the road may
be OF very high caste. Tho we'll fed
groom, Respondent in gorgeous livery,
fashing by on a carriage that covers
the bcggar with dust, is very likely or
q caste a mile below the beggar. Time
no more than effort can break down
these walls Of division. One or the
wealthest and most distinguished Fam
lilies I'm Calcutta, the famous Tagore
family, lost caste about two centuries
ago. Members Of this family have re-
ceived honor from the government
have conferred great benefits upon city
and country and have been noted for
their numerous charities and benefac-
tions. one cxerted himself all his life
70 further native education. Another
helped 10 endow Calcutta university.
All are enormously rich. and all bear
enviable regulations for goodness, hon
esty and philanthropy. But the wall OF
caste has never fallen for them. They
are still hated and avoided by their
countrymcn exactly as they were ut
the beginning OF their exclusion. In the
streets of Calcutta is many n ragged
artisan that would not sit on the same
bench with n Tagore or touch the end
OF his robe.
Pain, suffering. pcnury, even death
itself. Ia nothing To the Hindoo com
pared with the loss Of caste. Many
Hindoo that in the old days would
yield nothing TO the most fiendish tor
lures quickly surrendered his secrets
when threatened with something that
would Contamiuatc him-a piece OF
cowSkin, perhaps, or glass OF water
that had been touched hy Il pariah. In.
| suppose, thousands OF cases persons
that have hopelcSSly lost their caste
have abandoned their homes and wan
dered miscrably along the roads until
death overlook them. Thousands OF
others have thrown themselves into the
Ganges or deliberately starved.
Three Brahmau girls who had been
degraded by Mussulmau went before
Judge to demand vengeance and
when the judge declined to interfere
| killed themselves in the courtroom.
At "A town called Bui Buj a widow
lost caste 10y falling in love with a
man beneath her. As loss Of caste by
one member Of the family dcgrades
! the others also, her eldest son imme-
! dately swallowed poison and died,
and his remaining brethren fed the
country
, A husband shares wifes degrade
! ton 4 wife goes down the steps with
a husband. For more than 100 years
Brahman family OF Santipur has
been outcaste because one member fell
in love with the daughter OF a shoe
maker Charles Edward Russell In
! Cosmopolitan Magazine.