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CHAPTER IV

THE CASTE SYSTEM OF INDIA

THE CASTE system of India is the most widely dis-cussed subject all over the world ; it is also theleast understood. It is really surprising how little

people outside of India know about the institution ofcaste, as it was originally evolved and perfected to formthe basis of the country's social, political, and economicstructure . Even students of Hindu philosophy andarts have but a very dim perception of the meaningof caste. You cannot talk about India for five minutesto any person without being confronted with the ques-tions : "How about your caste system? Isn't it truethat the upper classes refuse to marry the untouch-ables, and even to come into any kind of physical con-tact with them? Have not the Brahmans of India al-ways lorded over the classes for their own benefit?Wouldn't they seize the power again for their ownbenefit if the English left India today? Don't you seethat we have given freedom to the negroes in thiscountry? They have the same political rights as whitemen to vote and to hold office in our government. Theycan come into our homes and do the cooking for us andwe feel no repulsion for them . Would you permit suchassociation of the classes in India? This equality ofspirit is democracy, and until India gives up her oldartistocratic habits and changes to the new democraticideals of the age, she will never be free politically, mor-ally, or spiritually-talk what you will of your spiritual-ity and ethics ."

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I have heard such sermons over and over againfrom Americans of every status in life . College pro-fessors and their wives, university students, teachers,ministers, shirt dealers, insurance agents, street-carconductors, bootblacks, and railroad porters have askedme similar questions . In reply, I do not deny that oneclass of people is called "untouchables" and that noother class will intermingle or intermarry with them .I question most seriously, however, the truth of thepremise of the second statement . Brahmans have notalways ruled the country with purely selfish motives .The priestly class has wielded immense influence inIndia's political and social life at different periods ofits history, but they have used their power mostly forthe advancement of its culture and arts . To the Brah-mans we owe in general the elaboration and systema-tization of Hindu philosophy . The vast treasures ofHindu literature and fine arts were both produced andpreserved by the same class, who for unknown ageshave been the sole repositories of knowledge in India .They have abused their authority at several periods,but on such occasions a great reformer like Buddha orNanak always appeared among the Hindus and gavethe corrupted priests fresh warning for their mistakes .

The power of the Brahmans was at its lowest whenthe British acquired India, and the Brahmans havefound in the English rulers of the country great cham-pions, who have succeeded first in demoralizing themand then in assisting them to demoralize in turn therest of Hindu society . England with its mighty gov-erning hand of steel is the strongest bulwark of aris-tocracy in India. And those who say things to the con-

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trary either do not know the facts or they deliberatelymisrepresent them . We shall explain later how thesubtle methods of our foreign rulers work .

Lastly, I do not deny that India needs a reorganiza-tion of its antiquated social system in order to fit prop-erly into the modern world . Her caste regulations havegiven to her numerous races and classes only the nega-tive benefits of peace and order at the expense of thepositive opportunities of expansion and movement . IfIndia is to live, and if it hopes ever to occupy its properplace among the family of nations, it must cut out ofits system the cancer of untouchability . Howevermanifest are the evils of India's rigid caste system andthe necessity of its immediate overhauling, the contrastwith America seems so unjust . With typical compla-cency, the Americans declare that there is no caste inthe United States . Yet the American negro, althoughhe has a right to vote and to hold office, has absolutelyno opportunity to make use of these privileges . Achild of ten has more chance of beating the world'sheavyweight champion in a prize-fight than anAmerican negro with the highest moral and educa-tional qualifications has of becoming a governor of thesmallest state in the Union . The world knows that inmost states the law prohibits marriage between whitesand negroes, while society everywhere will, in its owndirect and emphatic American way, ban the union of awhite girl to a negro. It is also true that in most statesnegro children are taught in separate schools, and thaton Sunday colored people must go for prayer to separ-ate churches . In the South, the center of the negropopulation in the United States, negroes must travel

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in separate carriages on railroad trains and use separ-ate waiting rooms at the stations . It is also a matterof history that on the average more than sixty negroesare lynched in America every year by mobs for crimes,which if committed under similar conditions by whitepersons, would be punished through the regular courseof law.

This condition in the United States does not justifythe injustice of caste in India or anywhere else in theworld, but it may help to give the sharp critic of theHindu system a milder temper in his judgment by re-minding him that human nature everywhere has itsvirtues and faults. We shall now proceed to examinethe origin and the function of the caste of India .

The Sanskrit word which has been wrongly trans-lated into caste is Varna, which means color . Thus thederivation of the term shows that the original classi-fications in Hindu society were made on the basis ofcolor or race.* When the Aryans first migrated intoIndia, they found themselves face to face with hordesof savage tribes belonging to inferior and aboriginalraces. The position of those Aryan forefathers wasanalogous to that which later confronted the immi-grants of Europe into the continents of America andAustralia . While these latter invaders have sought tosimplify their race problems by exterminating the ori-ginal inhabitants of these countries, the early Hindusunder similar conditions accepted the inferior races asunits in their social structure and gave them a distinctplace in the scale of labor, the nature of their functions

* Max Muller.[84]


being strictly determined according to their qualifica-tion . Even in our present stage of advancement wefind that caste prevails throughout the civilized world .Its ugly symptoms are most prominent in America,Australia, and the white colonies of Africa . In theUnited States, the lynching of negroes in the South andthe strict anti-Asiatic regulations of the state of Cali-fornia, and in Australia the "Keep Australia white atall cost" spirit among the population,-both of theseshow how deeply the spirit of race hatred has pene-trated into the system of the dominant white races ofthe world . In the state of California, which is thecenter of oriental population in America, law prohibitsthe Asiatics (Japanese, Chinese, Hindus) from owningproperty and even from temporarily leasing lands forfarming purposes. Another statute rules against mar-riage between whites and mongolians . The anti-Asiaticland lease regulations of California have given a severeblow to the oriental population of the state . TheJapanese, Chinese, and Hindu immigrants to the UnitedStates were chiefly agriculturists . In the early daysof California these frugal, honest, hard-working peoplecontributed materially to the development of agricul-ture. And the fact cannot well be denied that the in-tensely hot regions of the Imperial Valley and the mos-quito-ridden, swampy northern counties were broughtunder cultivation almost exclusively through the initia-tive of the Japanese and Hindu farmers of California .The Chinese, in conjunction with the other orientalraces, had much to do in developing the largest aspara-gus growing region in the world, represented by thedeltas of the Sacramento Valley . Imperial Valley is

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today the richest vegetable growing colony in theworld. The northern counties produce the finest quali-ties of California rice in immense quantities, while theDelta asparagus has made California's name famousthroughout the world as the producer of the choicestqualities of both white and green. asparagus . But thesimple, peace loving, industrious, and retiring Asiaticswho toiled to make the name of agricultural Californiagreat are barred by law from making even an honest,meager living through farming on a small scale . Andall because of the caste of race! As one of the statesenators exclaimed not long ago : "We must keep Cali-fornia safe from the yellow peril." To which aneminent Hindu publicist humorously replied : "I haveseen no danger of a yellow peril in California exceptthat of the `Yellow Cabs' ."

When a small group of immigrants in any land findthemselves surrounded by an endless environment ofbarbarous tribes, we grant that the situation is critical .The small group of Aryan immigrants in India, how-ever, unlike the American colonists, who exterminatedmost of the original inhabitants of the country, soughtto assimilate the barbarous tribes, and hence foundthemselves confronted with a difficult problem . Theywere inspired with the desire to preserve the purity oftheir superior race and culture on the one hand, and toassimilate in their social system the aboriginal racesas well as they could, in order to save them from an-nihilation. On the other hand, they felt it necessaryto safeguard their race by refusing to intermarry withpeople on a lower scale of civilization . The Aryan fore-fathers of India, by giving to the original population of

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the country a distinct place in its social life, howeverlow, have preserved them on the one hand from ex-termination and on the other from slavery of person ."Was this not the very solution which suggested itselfto the American emancipator Lincoln, when at a muchlater date he faced the same problems under similarconditions? That adjustment of their racial differencesthat had been declared wise and that had been prac-tised by the Hindus many thousand years ago, was atlast acknowledged by the leaders of the western worldas the only salvation from their difficult situation ." Inthe meantime, whole populations had been obliterated,and generation after generation of human beings hadbeen subjected to the tortures of slavery,-to injusticeand suffering of the most loathsome kind .

Before we judge the Hindu too harshly for refus-ing to drink the same water as the non-Aryans and toeat food -cooked by their hands, we must rememberthat most of the aborigines of India were carrion eatersand were more unclean than their Aryan neighbors .The Aryan would not perform any act of life withoutpreviously taking his morning bath ; he was scrupulous-ly clean in all his habits . He felt, therefore, that itwas merely a hygienic precaution not to allow the filthybarbarians access to his person or his house . But itis the nature of caste to convert temporary inhibitionsinto permanent barriers . In so far as the earlyHindu sociologists safeguarded the superior Aryan cul-ture by laying down strict rules-such as the refusalsto intermarry and to drink the same water-, theywere in the right . Therein they recognized the diver-sity of races and the necessity of keeping separate the

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most highly developed and the least civilized . "Butthey erred most dangerously in not grasping the factthat differences between human beings are not fixedlike the physical barriers of mountains, but are mutableand fluid with life's flow ." * "It is the law of life tochange its shape and volume through the impact ofenvironment." "Was it not expected that contact withthe civilized Aryans would develop among the aborigin-al inhabitants of India the wholesome qualities of clean-liness, honesty, peace, and love characteristic of anadvanced race?* To have thus bound in an iron framethe growing body of a healthy people was not only anintellectual blunder, but a spiritual crime . As a result,India, which is fundamentally one nation, is now torninto innumerable castes and communities . And thisis the cause of her degradation and ruin . India, whichshould be the mightiest nation of the world today, onaccount of her ancient culture and history and thenobility and height of her spiritual idealism, is nowfallen . If there exists anywhere the law of Karma,the Hindus of the present age are atoning for the sinsof omission of their ancient forefathers . The great,great, great grandchildren of those who denied theirfellow humans the natural rights of humanity havebeen cast out of the world's progressive life as theblack pariahs of the race . In a recent decision of theUnited States Supreme Court, which has ruled out thenatives of India as ineligible to the citizenship ofAmerica, the Honorable Justice remarked : "Hindus ofthe high caste belonging to the Aryan or Caucasian

* Tagore .


race, are not white persons ." Those Hindus who pridethemselves as twice-born Brahmans should take noticeof this language .

Let those who wish clamor loud about their Nordicsuperiority or Brahmanic purity . What is needed inthe world today is not the purity of the race so muchas the purity of the human soul and its motives . Howfar the soul of the western people is clean I would notsay, but being myself a Hindu, I do know that the soulof India is black . By denying to their fellow brethrentheir rightful position as human beings, the upperclasses of India have sinned most atrociously againstthemselves and their gods . "Where the touch from afellow human being pollutes and his shadow corrupts,there the gods can never reside, or truth prevail ." Thelaws of nature are immutable . You may err againstthem for a short time, but you cannot afford to ignoretheir existence forever . In the ultimate reckoning na-ture will fall upon you in a mad fury and wreak foryour mistakes a terrible vengeance . Thus, those whoset out to humble and degrade others are in turnhumbled themselves. "In the act of tyranny, the tyrantloses sight of his ideals and develops the pride ofpower, which is another name for the lowering of hissoul. Like a man under the influence of liquor, he mayfeel for the time powerful and strong ; yet from themoment an individual loses hold of truth, the insanityof cruelty and injustice starts its deadly work, whichwill end in his ruin and death ." *

* Tagore .[89]

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If the Hindus wish to survive, they must firsthumble themselves before the members of the lowerclasses against whom they have long sinned so terribly .They must purify their souls and promise to sin nomore. Unless they can do this, it is foolish to expectnational freedom, and it is idle to desire it. Those whowill not grant freedom to those below them, are them selves not fitted to have freedom.

The high-born Hindu should think over the situa-tion in which he finds himself today . When he despisesthe Mohammedans and the lower caste Hindus to suchan extent that the mere physical touch from the mosthighly cultured and clean of their kind will spoil thecooking of the wretchedest of the so-called high-caste,how in the name of God, man, or the devil can he ex-pect them to love and serve him? The entire historyof mankind does not afford one instance in which anoppressed class has fought to protect the honor orpower of its oppressors. It is idle to hope that the op-pressed classes of India will ever consent to shed theirlife-blood to win the freedom of their country . Theymay at some time make immense sacrifices in the serv-ice and at the bidding of such a universal soul asGandhi, or perhaps unite to drive out an intenselyhated foreigner like the British . True liberation, how-ever, can be brought to the nation only through thespiritual unity of its peoples ; under the present socialregulations the hope of such a union is not only vision-ary but idiotic .

My misguided Hindu brethren of India should re-member what the followers of Nanak, the Sikhs, havealready done, and what the Arya Samajsits are doing

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now in the Punjab . They can do the same and muchmore! If they need a leader to guide them, they canfind no one holier or wiser in the whole world todaythan Mahatma Gandhi, who will show them the lightas soon as they are ready to see it . Gandhi, theMahatma (the Great Soul), the leader of millions, hasadopted an untouchable girl into his family, whom Mrs .Gandhi is bringing up with their own children in theirhome. This action has made Gandhi no smaller in thesight of God or man. Will it make other Hindussmaller if they come forward and say to their brethren :"Come, brothers, we embrace you . We shall forgetthe past and be one again . Children of the sameFather, we are all equal before His law. There shallbe, in future, no high or low among us . Brahman andSudra, Mohammedan and Parsi, we shall join handsand strive to bring our motherland back to its formervigor." Then and then alone will the regeneration ofIndia be possible .

We find that quite early in the country's historyHindu society fell into two main divisions, the Aryansand the non-Aryans . The former were again dividedinto three orders represented by priests, warriors, andAryan farmers or merchants ; while the non-Aryansconstituted the servant class or the Sudras . The di-vision of society into the three priestly, warrior, andmerchant classes is a natural one . We find its parallelin ancient Persia, where the division of the communityinto priests, warriors, and husbandmen is shown in theAvesta. "In fact, the caste sentiment prevails in great-er or less degree in all monarchical countries of theworld . In medieval Europe the sentiment of caste

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grew so strong that it found expression in literatureand law."

The work of society in India was distributed amongthe four castes as follows

1 . Brahmans, the priestly class, were the teachersof the rest of mankind . Their function was to studythe Vedic scriptures and various branches of knowledgesuch as science and philosophy. They were to offerspiritual guidance and to assist all other classes in theperformance of religious rites and ceremonies . Every-one depended upon them for favor with the gods, forthey were believed to be specially favored to interpretthe Veda. As a tribute to the Brahmans' spiritualityand learning, they were respected and loved by theother classes. Their simple physical needs were amplyprovided for, so that they were absolutely free fromany form of material care . Within the realm of theirappointed duties they were the free, intellectual lordsof the Universe . This rule applied to the entire classof scholars and religious teachers, and not to anychosen group among them . A parallel state of intel-lectual freedom could be reached in the modern west-ern world if all of its professors and religious instruc-tors were born with independent means . The Brah-mans' threefold function of teaching, studying, and re-nunciation inspired among the masses of mankind thefeelings of reverence and affection for them . "ABrahman's body was on that account regarded assacred, and to hurt him in any way was the heaviestsin ; while to kill a Brahman was an unpardonable sinwhich could not be expiated even by penance throughan unlimited number of successive rebirths ."

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While the priestly class thus received the love andhomage of the populace, they at the same time enjoyedmany immunities and exemptions . From certain pun-ishments a Brahman was always exempt, and his highrank secured him pardon for numerous crimes. On theother hand, special rules were laid down for his class inorder to preserve its sanctity . "He could never drink,eat meat, or enjoy the coarser pleasures of life ." Infact, the law codes of the different castes specify thatfor certain offences a Brahman should be punishedmany times more than a man belonging to the lowerclasses. This severity was due to the belief of the law-givers of India that "greater knowledge demandedgreater restraint, and that with the raise in a person'sstatus his responsibility must also rise ." The rule fora Brahman as given by Vasistha is this : "Those aretrue Brahmans who, well-taught, have subdued theirpassions, injure no living being, and close their fingerswhen gifts are offered them ." Again, the same teacherhas said that a Brahman by birth is not a true Brah-man but a slave unless he lives a virtuous and cleanlife devoted to study and restraint . Says Manu, thegreat law-giver of India : "A Brahman who does notlive as a Brahman is no better than a slave ." He couldbe made an outcast and demoted socially into a lowerrank .

Thus we find that while on the one hand theirhigher status won for the Brahmans respect and rever-ence from the populace, on the other hand their betterposition imposed upon them special restraints . It isdifficult for us to realize the wisdom of this dictum,yet the Hindu law which prohibited its intellectual

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classes from possessing property and otherwise amass-ing wealth was one of the most profoundly wise lawsin the social history of man . Looked at in conjunctionwith the text "that a householder obtains high meritin this life and hereafter by giving food, drink, andraiment to Brahmans," the dictum against the acquir-ing of wealth by the Brahman class will appear notonly wise but highly just . "Here was a class of schol-ars, leaders of mankind, who were safe from the twogreat evils which are the curse of their noble profes

sion-the anxiety of making a livelihood and the temp-tation to acquire fortunes ."

Lest it be supposed that the scholars of India livedon the charity of other classes, a condition which isnot regarded in the West as honorable, it may be addedhere in the form of a corollary that charity in Indiahas an altogether different meaning from that in theWest. The motives behind such acts in India and thewestern countries are quite different. According toHindu theology, the giver of a gift and not the re-cipient is the beneficiary . Absolutely no sense of prideor self-importance is attached to the bestowing of gifts .Such deeds are always accompanied by a sense of deephumility and thankfulness in the heart of the house-holder. "It is the dharma, which may be translated asthe man-ness of man, of every householder to providehandsomely for the needs of a Brahman, and he doesthis from a sense of religious and social duty as wellas from a desire for a religious blessing ." It is as muchthe householder's duty and joy in life to accommodatea Brahman as it is the hope and delight of everymother to comfort her child . To assist a strange

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scholar in his work is considered no more an act ofcharity in India than is the support of a son at col-lege in Europe or America . The experiences of Mrs .Margaret E. Noble, an Englishwoman of literaryeminence, who went to India for a . study of its phi-losophy, are illustrative of the Hindu psychology inthis matter . She relates in her book The Web ofIndian Life the story of her residence in the Hindu sec-tion of Calcutta. After news reached the neighborhoodthat she had come to India as a student, she found infront of her door one morning a jar of fresh milk anda basket of provisions left by some unknown visitor .This experience was repeated almost every day of theyear until her departure . Yet the donors of thesesimple presents never made themselves known to Mrs .Noble, nor was she ever questioned by anyone of herneighbors regarding her views on Hindu life . Theydid not care whether she was friendly or hostile tothem in her judgments . The fact that she had comeamong them as a student was sufficient reason forthem to provide for her . India is the only country inthe world where poets and priests never starve .

2. Khashatriyas or the royal and military classwere the rulers of the country, and their duty was toprotect the other classes . The Khashatriyas constitut-ed the knightly caste of India . They were brave andchivalrous. The enjoyment of the senses and of plea-sures subject to such laws as may protect the weakfrom the strong were the legitimate rewards of thisclass. Many a deed of extreme heroism committed bythis class under the noble impulse to protect justice orto serve Cupid is related in the epic history of India .

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"Chivalry taught them the lessons of gaiety andenjoyment. They learned to admire and desire beauty .Unlike the austere ascetic Brahmans, passion and plea-sure in the company of woman was sought by the gal-lant suitors of the warrior class . Women were oftenobjects of jealousy, and they always exercised greatpower through their beauty and charm . Fine, full-blooded creatures they were, who knew how to get andgive love. Both men and women loved superbly andpassionately. Their passions were strong and consum-ing and their thirst for love great ." Theirs was a loveabout which a poet sung :

"Give me your love for a day,A night, an hour ;If the wages o f sin are death,I am willing to pay .

Oh! Aziza, whom I adore,Aziza, my one delight,Only one night-I will die before day,And trouble your life no more ."

(LAWRENCE HOPE .)3. The Vaishya or the merchant and husbandman

class constituted the body of the people . Theoreticallythey were the equals of the other classes of the Aryanfamily ; but "practically this class together with thefourth caste, namely the Sudras, formed the majorityof the population, whose duty it was to support andserve the two upper classes." They managed the busi-ness life of the country and were responsible for themaintenance of the other classes. They tilled the soiland managed the entire commercial and industrial af-

Quoted from Otto Rothfield-Women of India .[96]


fairs of the land . This class was again subdivided intovarious groups according to their profession . Thisclassification of the middle class of India on the basisof occupation was founded upon a thorough under-standing of the laws of heredity-"the purpose beingto develop the best qualities through heredity trans-mission. Thereby an attempt was made to developfurther the brain of the scholar, the skill of the crafts-man, and the ingenuity of the trader through the cum-ulative influence of careful selection from generationto generation." By thus shutting different trades andprofessions into air-tight compartments the Vaishyadeprived themselves of the benefits of the infusion ofyoung blood into the old system . While on the one:hand it had the wholesome effect of reducing the evils.of competition to the minimum, on the other it has,gradually tended "to turn arts into crafts and geniusinto skill ."

4. Sudras or the servant class constituted the en-tire aboriginal non-Aryan population of the country,whose function was to do mechanical service in thehousehold life of the community. According to Manuthe highest merit for this class was to serve faithfullythe other three classes . The Sudras performed themost degrading tasks, and were allowed to come intocontact with the Aryan population only as menials .On account of their filthy habits these aboriginals werenot allowed a close approach to the persons of the high-er classes-hence the origin of the term "untouchable .Yet the fact stands that even the "untouchables" aremembers of the Hindu family group . At marriagesand other festivals gifts are freely exchanged between

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them and the upper classes . For a householder it isequally important to participate in the ceremonies ofthe village "untouchables" and his own cousins . I re-member very clearly how as a young boy I was in-structed by my mother to bow each morning beforeevery elder member of the family, nor forgetting theservants, or Sudras .

Bhagavad Gita, the Bible of the Hindus, lays downthe following rules for the different castes of India

"The duties of the Brahmins, Kshatriyas,Vaishyas, as also of Sudras, are divided in accord-ance with their nature-born qualities . Peace, self-restraint, austerities, purity, forgiveness, and up-rightness, knowledge, direct intuition, and faithin God are the natural qualities of the Brahmin .Of the Kshatriyas, bravery, energy, fortitude,dexterity, fleeing not in battle, gift and lordli-ness are the nature-born qualities . Agriculture,protection of cows, merchandise, and various in-dustries are the nature-born duties of the Vaish-yas . Conscientiousness in menial service is thenature-born duty of the Sudras . A man attainsperfection by performing those duties which he isable to do ."This division of duties among the different castes

"in accordance with their nature-born qualities" needsspecial notice . We find here that the original distinc-tions between different classes were made on the basisof their natural qualifications. "The purpose of theearly Hindu sociologists was to design a society inwhich opportunity was allowed to everyone for onlysuch experience as his mental and spiritual status wascapable."* In the beginning, castes were not fixed byiron barriers, nor were the occupations and professions

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of the people hereditary . There was freedom for ex-pansion, and everyone enjoyed the privilege of risinginto the higher scales of social rank through a demon-stration of his power and ability to do so . It is a curi-ous fact of Hindu history that nearly all of its incar-nations,-namely, Buddha, Rama, Krishna-belongedto the second or military caste . But the Hindu casteshad already lost their flexible natures as early as thesixth century B.C ., when Buddha once again preachedthe doctrines of equality to all classes of people .Through the influence of Buddhist teachings and forover a thousand years during which Buddhism reignedover India, artificial hereditary caste divisions amongpeoples were almost entirely demolished and forgotten."Buddha gave to the spirit of caste a death-blow. Herefused to admit differences between persons becauseof their color or race . He would not recognize aBrahman because he was born a Brahman . On theother hand lie distinguished between people accordingto their intellectual status and moral worth ."* He whopossessed the qualities of "peace, self-restraint, self-control, righteousness, devotion, love for humanity,and divine wisdom" was alone a true Brahman . To theBuddhist, caste was less important than character .His Jataka tales preached this doctrine in a simple buthighly eloquent manner :

"It is not rightTo call men whiteWho virtue lack ;For it is sinAnd not the skin

* E . W. Hopkins .[99]

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That makes men black .Not by the cut of his hair,Not by his clan or birth,May a Brahmin claim the Brahmin's name,But only by moral worth."*

About 600 A. D. however, when Buddhism declinedand the Brahmans regained their power, caste was onceagain established on the old hereditary lines . Sincethat time the influence of the vicious system has pre-vailed, except when it was checked by such teachers asChitin who have regularly appeared at criticalperiods of the country's history . Nanak's influence inmodern times has been the strongest in breaking downthe barriers of caste . He was born near Lahore(Punjab) in the year 1469 A .D. and became the found-er of the Sikh religion. He recognized the equality ofall human beings, irrespective of their color, rank, orsex. In one of his most popular verses he says :

"One God produced the light, and all creaturesare of His creation . When the entire universehas originated from one source, why do men call

,one good and the other bad?"Even in the present day the followers of Nanak

are a tremendous force in demolishing caste . In arecent general assembly of the Sikhs held at Amritsar(the official headquarters of the Sikh religion) it wasannounced that at all future gatherings of the com-munity, and in all of its free kitchens everywhere,cooks belonging to the "untouchable" class shall befreely employed and even given special preference . Asa beginning of this policy the usual pudding offeringof the Sikhs was distributed by "untouchable" men

*Jataka, 440 . Quoted from E . W. Hopkins Ethics of India .[100]


and women to a group of nearly twenty thousand dele-gates at the convention . Prior to this, resolutions con-demning "untouchability" had been passed on innumer-able occasions at social service conferences ; but neverbefore had the ages-old custom been trampled upon,in a practical way, by any other community belongingto the Hindu religion . May this auspicious beginninginaugurate a triumphant conclusion. It is sincerelyhoped that the leadership of Gandhi and the virile fol-lowers of Nanak in removing the curse of "untoucha

bility" will soon be recognized by the entire Hinducommunity. This alone could insure the enthusiasticHindu nationalists political economic freedom for theircountry. Had it not been for the selfishness of theBrahmans during the mediaeval period,-a selfishnesswhich has tended to segregate the Hindus into differ-ent sections through the strict caste restrictions ofvarious types,-India would occupy today the vanguardof the world's progress instead of the rear . In spite ofher present weakness India possesses, however, withinherself a marvelous reserve force which will enable herto pass through this crisis . While the haughty West,which has always delighted in taunting the Hindus forthe latter's caste, has not even begun to examine herproblem of race-conflict, India is already on its way tosolving her own caste problem . Gradually, as theyounger generation among the Hindus gains morepower, "untouchability" and its allied diseases will dis-appear. Personally, I believe that the leaders of Indiaare headed in the right direction, and that soon equalityamong members of the different castes will be estab-

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lished in the country as a permanent part of its socialstructure .

"In the Hindu system, once the people were dividedinto different castes, equality of opportunity for all pre-vailed within their own castes, while the caste or groupas a whole had collective responsibilities and privileg-es." Each caste had its own rules and code of honor ;and so long as a man's mode of living was acceptableto his caste-fellows, the rest of the community did notcare about it at all . On the other hand, a man's statusin the outside world or his wealth made no change inhis rank within the caste . I shall offer an illustrationfrom my own experience. During the mourning weekafter the death of a near relative of His Royal High-ness, the ruling Prince of the native State of Kashmir,Her Royal Highness gave a state reception to the sym-pathizing friends . Whereas she greeted the wives ofthe two highest officials in the State, the English Resi-dent and the Prime Minister, with a nod of the headfrom her seat, Her Royal Highness had to receivestanding the humble housekeeper in my brother'shome, because the latter belonged to the same caste asthe ruling prince. "Society thus organized can be bestdescribed by the term Guild Socialism ."

Another distinctive feature in the study of itscaste is the communal character of Hindu life. Hindusociety was established on a basis of group morality .No set of rules were held binding on all classes alike,but within a given caste the freedom of the individualwas subordinated to the interest of the caste . Menlived not for their own interests or comfort, but forthe benefit of the community . It was a life of self-

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sacrifice, and the concept of duty was paramount . Thegood of caste, of race, of nation stood first, and that ofthe individual second. Social welfare was placed beforethe happiness of the individual . "For the family sacri-fice the individual, for the community the family, forthe country the community, for the soul all the world ."

Which of the two ideals, the communism of theHindu or the individualism of the Westerner is the bet-ter? Says Rabindranath Tagore : "Europe may havepreached and striven for individualism, but where elsein the world is the individual so much of slave?"

On the other hand it must be remembered also thatall ideals are good only so far as they assist the in-dividual to develop his full manhood, and the momentthey begin to hamper him in his natural growth andthwart his own will they lose their value . So long asthe caste regulations of the Hindus assisted them intheir spiritual development, they were justified . Butthe moment they began to lose their original characterand became an oppression in the hands of the priestlyclasses, who used their authority to stifle the nation'sspirit, they had lost their usefulness and invited theridicule and censure of all intelligent thinkers .

Where finer feelings of fraternal human-fellowshipprevailed over self-interest and individual gain, in sucha community no voice cried in vain at the time of dis-tress. When deaths in the family left small childrenparentless, or sickness and misfortunes made homespenniless, the protection of other members of the castewas always available for those in need . Orphans andhelpless members within the caste were taken into thehomes of caste brothers and carefully brought up and

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fed with the rest as members of the family. Here thelucky and the unlucky were brought up side by side .Thus there has never arisen in India the necessity oforphanages and poorhouses . As was said by an emi-nent English writer : * "For to the ripe and mellowgenius of the East it has been always clear that thedefenceless and unfortunate require a . home, not abarrack."

Let us now review the entire subject of caste thusThe Aryan invaders of India found themselves sur-rounded by hordes of aboriginal and inferior races .Under similar conditions the European invaders ofAmerica and Australia exterminated the original popu-lation by killing them off, or converted them into hu man slaves;the Hindu Aryans avoided both of these

inhumanities by taking the native inhabitants of theland into their social life. They gave these inferiorpeoples a distinct place in the scale of labor, and as-signed to them the duties of menial service, for whichalone they were qualified at the time . Further, tosafeguard their superior culture, the Aryan leaderslaid down strict rules against intermarriage with theirnon-Aryan neighbors. And as these aboriginals werefilthy in their habits and mostly carrion-eaters, it wasalso ordained as a measure of hygienic precaution thatthe Aryans should not be allowed to drink the samewater or eat food cooked by non-Aryan hands . Thiswas the beginning of untouchability .

Simultaneously with this racial division rose a func-tional division among the Aryan population separating

* Margaret E . Noble .[104]


it into three orders of priests, warriors, and husband-men . This constituted the four-fold division of theHindu caste system-the Aryan inhabitants of the landforming the first three castes of Brahmans, Khasha-triyas, and Vaishyas, while the non-Aryans constitutedthe fourth caste of servants or Sudras . At first thesedivisions into different castes were flexible and personsin the lower castes were allowed to rise into the oneshigher by virtue of their merit. We find that most ofthe historic religious teachers of the Hindus, namely,Rama, Krishna, and Buddha, came from the secondclass .

Gradually, however, the castes began to lose theirflexible nature, and 'before the birth of Buddha in theyear 600 B . C. they had already acquired a hereditarycharacter. The teachings of Buddhism had the tend-ency to break down the hereditary barriers of caste,and during a thousand years of its reign the people ofIndia had forgotten their caste boundaries . "Around600 A. D. Buddhism began to decline and the Brahmanpriests gained fresh prestige . They set up the differ-ent castes on the old hereditary lines once again, and,except for a few local breaks through the appearanceof such leaders as Nanak in Punjab and Chaityna inthe South, the spirit of caste has prevailed throughoutHindu India since the decline of Buddhism." Thegreatest champion of the lower classes who has ap-peared in recent times is the peaceful leader of India'ssilent revolution, Mahatma Gandhi . He has spoken andwritten against untouchability and its allied evils morebitterly and longer than against other vital politicaland economic wrongs of the country . He has told his

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countrymen time and again that India's soul cannotbecome pure so long as untouchability stays amongstthe Hindus to defile it . And as a proof of his ownsincerity in the matter he has adopted in his ownfamily an untouchable girl whom he calls the joy ofthe household .

The evils of caste are quite manifest . It has tendedto divide the Hindu community into various groups andthus destroyed among them unity of feeling whichalone could insure national strength . Lack of unitedpower opened the way for foreign invasions, which,again, has resulted in dragging India down from herformer place of glory to her present state of humilia-tion and ruin. Yet alongside with the many evils ofIndia's caste system several advantages have ac-crued from it. Its existence has tended to make thepeople of India conservative and tolerant . With theinstitution of caste they felt so well fortified withinthemselves that they did not fear the influx of newideas into their midst . India offered a safe and wel-come home to the oppressed minorities from otherlands . The Parsis and Jews came and settled there .They were not merely tolerated but welcomed by theHindus, because the latter, assured of their own won-derful powers of resistance, had nothing to fear fromoutside influences . The Hindu caste system may bedescribed as "the social formulation of defence minusall elements of aggression ." Since the beginning ofher history India has been subjected to numerous in-vasions, but she has stood against them successfully .In the cultural sense India, instead of being conquered,"has always succeeded in conquering her conquerors ."

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The invaders belonging to different civilizations andraces have come and disappeared, one after the other ;but India still survives .

Again, in the Hindus' scheme of the division oflabor care was taken to assign to every man his taskand remuneration in such a manner as to avoid all un-necessary friction among the different classes . Itsvalue will be readily recognized by those who arefamiliar with the evils of modern industrialism, arisingfrom the intense hatred within the different classes .

Finally, it must be said to the credit of Hindu so-ciologists that, at least, they had the courage to facethe problem of race-conflict with a sympathetic mind .The problem was not of their creation . The diversityof races existed in India before these new Aryan in-vaders came into the country . The caste system ofthe Hindus was the result of their sincere endeavorsto seek a solution of their difficult problem . Its objectwas to keep the different races together and yet affordeach one of them opportunity to express itself in itsown separate way . "India may not have achieved com-plete success in this . But who else has? It was, atleast, better than the best which the West has thoughtof so far. There the stronger races have either exter-minated the weaker ones like the Red Indians in Amer

ica, or shut them out completely like the Asiatics inAustralia and America." "Whatever may be itsmerits," says Tagore, "you will have to admit that itdoes not spring from the higher impulses of civiliza-tion, but from the lower passions of greed and hatred ."

* Tagore.

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