The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1916-06-27
CASTE SYSTEM IS
 MlSREPRESENTED'
 SAYS HINDU EDITOR

In regard to the article entitled 'India's 19,0Oo Castes,,' also giving a story of a child of a Brahrnin being allowed to drown in a we'll rather than permit one of the Shudra caste to rescue it. would like to say that this story was published in a number of papers and magazines about six years ago. The stories of this kind appeared to us Hindus to be circulated by missionaries who seem to make it their special business to pick out the most glaring examples of the evil eff feet of the Caste system, for the pur- pose of trying to show how deep we are in heathenism and degreda- ton. @.
 Suppose that a Hindu who had trav- eled in this country on returning to India were to report only cases of atrocious crimes that are constantly being committed here; murders, rapes,
 (comnnitted even by clergymen) lynching of negroes, Kidnapping of girls for prostitution, the general pre- valence of divorce, nine million un- married women, millions of children working in factories,-what monsters of iniquity the Americans would ap- pear to, be and how atrocious their civilization. Just as there is another side of life in this country so there is another side in India which is kept concealed because the one source of information is devoted to trying to convert us to Christianity and the other is determined to keep us in po- 1itical subjection. The Caste system is a natural outgrowth of division in labor. In the short history of the United States caste has already se- cured a firm foothold. Servants in houses are not received in the society of their mistresses, garbage men do not associate with judges. All kinds eof small tradespeople are not allowed to associate with the wealthy. The Caste of labor as against the owners of capital is so strong that the two are in continual war with each other; then there are the almost innumerable cIiques in the social scale from New York's 400 down to the small group of the exclusive set even in the small est town. If this division which has been growing in western civilization is not checked it will not be long before castes will be as deeply fhgrained here as in India.
 i There is a great movement in In- dia called Young Indiay" or the Ga dar'' party. One of it's purposes is the overthrow of the Caste system. Raja Mehendra Partap Singh, who is reported to be in the German ranks fighting against the British, when he wa sin India, at the time of the mar riage of his sweeper (of the Shadra caste), he invited one hundred Hindu princes and many prominent mem bers of the Brahn1in Pundits from Benares to attend the ceremony. They all dined together with the sweeper, and his family and shook hands with the sweeper. n
 In 1907 at a great gathering of the Indian National Congress containing representatives from every class and from all parts of India under the leadership of the aged Marhatta, B. G. Tilk, editor of the daily "kesree' (Poona) a Brahmin of the highest caste, and one of the few translators of the Vedas, on this occasion all dis functions were laid aside, Brahm1ns l and Shudras fraternizing on basis of strict democratic equality,
 As the British watchword in India
 is Divide and Conquer" the govern ment viewed this movement With
 alarm and a few months later brought 1 charges Of sedition against B. s. T1lk
 and imprisoned him for a period of
 six years in Fort William in Burma.
 The government is doing everything 1 in it's power. to prevent the disinte- | grafton of the Caste system N< A united India means the overthrow e.
 the British domination. But the | movement has gone too far to be
 stopped. The example has been glv- | en and is being continually given by | the greatest religious leaders who | command the respect and full conf l dence of the people.
 | It is not true that there are 19.OOO | castes in India ,and if every small di- | vision in a community is to be called l a caste there are just as many here l as in India There are only four
 castes in India and those are now broken.
 l RAM CHANDRA.
 Editor Hindustan Gadar, San Fran k cisco, Cal.