Across India; Or, Live Boys in the Far East by Oliver Optic
CHAPTER XII
THE POPULATION AND PEOPLE OF INDIA
"Ladies and gentlemen, I am happy to appear before you, and to look you allin the face," his lordship began as the applause subsided. "The task befawme is to put a gallon of fluid into a pint pot. It cawn't be done. I shallnot attempt to do what is quite impossible. I can only put in what thevessel will hold. I cawn't say all there is to be said about the people ofIndia in an hour, or even two or three hours."
The noble gentleman was an easy, pleasant, and fluent speaker, evidentlyquite accustomed to addressing public assemblies; but he had certainpeculiarities of speech, a very few of them, which sounded just a littleodd to the Americans, as doubtless some of their pronunciation did to theBritons. But there is hardly a perceptible difference in the pronunciationof highly trained speakers of one nation and the other. It is not necessaryto indicate any farther the slightly peculiar speech of the accomplishedgentleman.
"I can only select from the mass of material before me what I think will bemost interesting and useful to you; for I have been warned that I must nottalk all day," continued the viscount.
"We leave that to your lordship's own judgment," added Captain Ringgold.
"I will be merciful, Mr. Commander: as merciful as possible. Next to China,India is the most populous country on the globe; and without Nepaul, itnumbered, in 1891, 287,223,917, or more than one-seventh of the people onthe face of the earth; and the increase in the last decade was almost28,000,000,--enough to populate about a dozen of your larger States.
"In spite of its vast population, India cannot be said to be a very denselypeopled region; 184 to the square mile for the whole country. The mountainterritory is quite thinly settled. All the native states have but 108 tothe square mile, though the plains of the Ganges show about 400. AboutBenares and Patna the average is about double these figures. I was lookingat the 'Year-Book' in your library, and I saw that the average in theStates, including Alaska, is about 18 to the square mile; but the nineStates in the north-east have 107.
"The little bit of a State of Rhode Island leads in the density of itspopulation, with 318, while Massachusetts comes next with 278. New Jerseyhas 193, Connecticut, 154; the big States of New York and Pennsylvania haverespectively 126 and 117. In the United Kingdom the average in England is541; in Scotland, 135; in Wales, 206; and in Ireland, 144. The density ofIndia, therefore, is quite respectable by comparison.
"By the census of 1891, India has seventy-five towns with over 50,000inhabitants, and twenty-eight with over 100,000; but unlike three cities ofthe States, it has not one with over a million, though Calcutta and Bombayare likely to reach that distinction in another decade. You have not amonopoly of the fast-growing cities in the States."
"We have found out that Berlin has increased faster than Chicago," saidUncle Moses with a chuckle; "and Glasgow has got ahead of Liverpool."
"Quite true, Mr. Scarburn; but the States have not all the fast-growingcities of the world, wonderful as the increase has been in some of them.Europe, Asia, and Australia are alive. The nearest approaches to a millionin India are Calcutta, 861,764, and Bombay, 821,764; but I dare say you areall quite tired of statistics by this time."
"Not at all, Lord Tremlyn; as you present them they are quite interesting."said Mrs. Belgrave.
"Thank you, madam," replied the speaker, bowing low, with his hand on hisheart. "Now I am going to speak of the people as other than mere numbers;and if I wished to entangle you inextricably, I should go back about 4,000years, and tell you about the people down to the present time. I spare youthe infliction in full. Four groups of languages are spoken among thenatives, and from these the original races that spoke them are traced out.
"I mention one as a specimen, the Kolarian language, spoken by those whofirst settled in the hilly regions of the central part. The others are theAryan, Dravidian, and Tibeto-Burman, all of which you will find in'Chambers's' in your library.
"The word Hindu is generally used in a very broad sense to cover all thenative population of Hindustan or India; but it is really applicable to areligion, and belongs only to those of the Hindu, or the faith of theBrahmins; but, like most others, it consists of a great number of sects. Ofthis belief there are about 200,000,000 people. They are divided into fourgrand classes, called castes. The Portuguese called them _casta_ intheir own language, from which the present name comes. I call them grandclasses, or castes, because they are divided into many sub-classes.
"When the Aryans, who came from Europe, and Asia farther north than India,obtained a foothold here, and established themselves, they looked down uponother people in the land, and called themselves the twice-born, or bornagain, as some modern sects have it. They claimed to have experienced asecond, or religious, birth, indicated by a certain cord with which theywere invested at a particular age. The natives of the soil and all otheroutsiders were the once-born.
"In the lapse of time the twice-born were divided into three classes, theBrahmins being the priestly class, the Kshatriyas the ruling military, andthe Vaisyas the agricultural classes. These were of the upper grade; andall the once-born were called Sudras. These four classes are the origin ofcaste, though the divisions have been greatly changed. The Vedas are thefour oldest sacred books of the Hindus, otherwise the Hindu Scriptures.
"Derived from their holy books is the allegorical idea that the Brahmin, orpriest, was the mouth of the original man; the warrior his arms; theagriculturist his thighs; while the Sudra, or common people, sprang out ofhis feet. The duties and relations of the four castes are defined andstated in the laws of Manu."
"We have not been introduced to him," suggested Mrs. Woolridge.
"He is regarded as the author of the most noted law-book among the Hindus;but there is so much that is mythical and contradictory said of him, that Iwill say nothing more about him; but he is authority among the Brahmins. Inmodern caste the Brahmin is the minister of religion; he alone mediatesbetween God and man, makes sacrifices, and teaches the sacred Veda. Hislife is portioned off into periods of special duty. As a student he learnsthe Veda; then he gets married, becomes a householder, and must every dayperform the appointed sacrifice. Some of them live in the woods, ashermits, or live like monks, till they are said to be absorbed into Brahma.
"The soldier's sphere is in connection with the State, to support theBrahmin, and execute the laws he makes or interprets. The third classcultivate the soil as proprietors, and engage in trade and commerce. TheSudra is the servant of all the others. Resulting from the intermarriage ofmembers of different castes there are various mixed classes. The lowest isthe child of a Brahmin mother and a Sudra father, though in Southern Indiathe Pariah is still lower.
"Of the vast population of India, three-fourths are Hindus in religion. TheBuddhists are mostly in Burma, and there are over 57,000,000 Mohammedans.The number of Christians by the last census was 2,284,380; and I am sorrythere are no more of them. The Sikhs and the Jains are Indian sects whichflourish in certain localities; as there are nearly two millions of theformer in the Punjab, and over half a million of the latter in Bombay, andapproaching that number in Rajputana, with comparatively few elsewhere. TheParsees, or Parsis, who were driven from Persia by the Mohammedans, number76,774 in Bombay,--not the city, but the presidency.
"In the small state of Travancore, where my friend Sir Modava was born,there are said to be four hundred and twenty different castes. Thedistinction is sometimes the result of occupation, branch of trade, or someaccidental circumstance. Let me read a short extract from a book from yourlibrary:--
"'Among the lowest classes caste has degenerated into a fastidioustenacity of the rights and privileges of station. For example, the manwho sweeps will not take an empty cup from your hand; your groom willnot mow a little grass; a coolie will carry any load, however offensive,on his head, but even in a matter of life and death would refuse tocarry a man, for that is the business of another caste.
"It is a barrier to the progress of Christianity in many ways. It isgenerally thought that a Christian convert cannot be restored to hiscaste if he should backslide; and the superstition of the low-classnatives is a rhinoceros shield, which it is still difficult topenetrate; but in the end the Cross will come off conqueror, as italways has and always will.
"Caste does not now compel a native to pursue his father's calling,except, perhaps, in the case of Brahmins. For that matter, Brahminsserve in the army, and even act as cooks and in similar occupations. Menof all castes have risen to exalted positions, just as poor men, withnone of the advantages of high birth, have in England. The loss of castehas been regarded by the ignorant native here as the most terrible thingthat could possibly happen to him; but it is not so in practice, for ithas been accomplished by giving a very indifferent supper.
"When an outcast enters another caste, he is well and heartily receivedas a convert. As you proceed through India you will learn more aboutthis stumbling-block of superstition and ignorance.
"The 57,000,000 Mohammedans, of whom 23,658,000 are in Bengal, and over6,000,000 in Bombay, are either descendants of emigrating Asiatics, orHindus converted to that faith. Their religion is a mixture of thedoctrines of the Prophet and local idolatry; for they have been somewhatinfected by the prevailing worship of the natives. The Parsees are aneducated mercantile class, the great body of them being found in Bombay.They are fire-worshippers; and their creed is that of Zoroaster, whoflourished not less than 800 years before Christ. The Zend-Avesta is thesacred book of the sect, containing their religion and their philosophy.The Caliph Omar conquered the Persians, and established Mohammedanismthere, persecuting all who would not believe. The obstinate Parsees fledto India."
"The Parsees of the present day are their descendants, and still clingto their ancient faith. Like all sects, they are fully tolerated by theBritish government, and are considered one of the most respectable andthriving classes of the community. They are largely merchants andland-owners, and bear the highest reputation for honesty, industry, andas peaceful citizens. They are quite prepossessing, and many of theirladies are remarkably beautiful, though I have seen a fairer Americanthan any one of them.
"Some of them have studied law in England, and all are forward to availthemselves of the advantages of education. A merchant-prince of thissect was noted as a philanthropist; and for the vast sums of money hegave for benevolent institutions, the Queen knighted him, as she did SirModava for his public service. This gentleman is Sir Jamsetjee JejeebhoyHe died in 1859."
"Parsees do not eat anything cooked by a person of another religion, andreject beef and pork, especially hams. They are not permitted to marryoutside of their own sect. Their dead are not buried or cremated, butare committed to what is called the Tower of Silence. The bodies areexposed on an iron grating, where the carniverous birds of the air canget to them until the flesh has all disappeared. Then the sun-driedbones fall through into a receptacle, from which they are removed to acavern in the earth."
"How horrid!" exclaimed the ladies with one voice.
"The Parsee does not think so; and perhaps he has the same view you have ofour manner of disposing of the dead. In spite of the awe and respect withwhich the Parsees regard fire, they are about the only eastern people whodo not smoke. But I think you need a rest by this time, and I will retirefor a little while."
The company applauded as usual, and then began to pace the promenade deck.