The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 18??-19??, 1914-11-03
midas FINEST SOLDIERS ARR
NOW FIGHTING ON FRENCH SOu.
Soil Of Europe Resounds for First Time With Tread of
Armed Men OF Races Which Were Old Hundreds of
Years Before the Birth of Christ

me erect of the Hindu attitude TO-
WARD the COW is that every Hindu
Ieeis ne is deeply insulted every day
OF his life by the mere sight of a man
who eats beef. His emotions repre-
sent IN a highly intensified form those
Wnlcn would be experienced by a de-
Vout christian who was compelled to
see a drunken man defle the altar in
q cathedral.
But there remains to be recorded a
SUI more remarkable characteristic
OF Hinduism which profoundly at
Iects the relations between one Hindu
ana another. The Hindus are split
up INTO 1nnumerable castles.
VI the origin of castles and Of the
considerations on which the thou
sands OF caste distinctions are based
L have no space to write | must con-
tent myself by explaining that as be-
tween one Hindu and another a man
OF one caste cannot cool for a man
or another caste, cannot give him a
drink of water, cannot allow his
shadow to fall upon his food without
lniilctlns upon him a pollution of his
religious purity which can only be
removed by severe penance and large
payments of money to the priests. So
m1nutely regulated is the question OF
caste that there is a table of distances
at winch different castles convey pol
luton. Thus a ~beef-eating pariah
pollutes a Hindu Of superior caste if
ne passes within siXty-four feet of
him.
Death Preferable t Losing Caste.
In order that what has gone be-
fore may not be mistaken for the
fads and fancies of a few religious
fanatics ! may state the sober fact
that in times Of famine in India there
are always a number Of cases record
ed in which a man will, When he is in
the last stages Of starvation, refuse
cooked food offered to him by the
famine relief workers, received from
Nepal, the home Of the plucky little
on the ground that it may ave been
cooked by a man Of the wrong caste,
and that though death is indeed ter
rible it is less terrible than having
ones ceremonial purity endangered,
SO i'll his faith the man dies.
With reference to the political ad-
m~inistration of India l can note here
but two facts. neither OF which is
which is under direct British rule
covers something over a million
square miles and has a population OF
about two hundred and fifty Millions
while the total number of British ad-
ministrative officials is less than four
teen hundred, or about one British
civil servant to each two hundred
lIlOQSdIU " l1XC 1ldl1VC QOp.ikStl4DIl
The area Of India under native rule
is seven hundred thousand square
miles. with q population Of seventy
millions. This native territory is spill
up into six hundred Inc ninety-thre<
states under their own native rulers
and in matters of internal admins
tration these native rulers are practi
; cally independent Of British control
, Native Princes Rallied to the British
Raj.
:, What is the attitude Of the nativ'
princes of India at the present criti
, cal juncture in the affairs Of the Brit
8 ish Empire? With n accord the,
: have rallied to the defense of tn
q empire and nave offered their per
sOnal services and the resources o
: their states for the war. From ever
: part OF India men, horses and none
have been pressed upon the accept
ance of the Viceroy; and even iron
beyond h borders Of India offer
r have beer Gurkhas, and from the Da
. lai Lama Of Thibet, who placed
thousand Thibetan troops at the dis
posal Of the British government.
A list of those Indian princes an
= chiefs who are now serving at tn
= front with the Indian eXpeditiOnar
force in France makes strange read
ing for eyes accustomed to Europea
names.
There is His Highness Raj Rajesf
war Shiromani Shri Sir Ganga Sing
Bahadur, Maharajah Of Bikanir, a
honorary colonel in the British arm.
who served in the China expeditio
Of 1900. There is His Highness Tn
dae Rajahae Baland Makan Mahars
- iadhiraja Sir MADAM Singh Bahadu
= Maharajah of K~ishnagarh; and thel
IS are many more with flowing titles an
"a ancient lineage.
~ Among them all none is a more il
,f teresting and distinguished figure tha
~ Maior-General His Holiness Sir Pa
nv tab Singh. who at seventy years
- age would not be denied his right
place his sword at the
"a the King-EmperOr and who n;
. Joined the forces in Europe with n
nephew the siXteen-year-old Mahar
nv jah OF Jodhpur.
Sir Partial Singh was born IN l8,
49, = -. RlJDlJJ d All [