Breaking Down Caste in India
At the last national congress held at Madras, delegates of every class, caste, and creed sat down, side by side, at a common meal. Of course, this was a violation of all the laws of caste; and were caste customs rigidly enforced, every delegate—even tho a high-caste leader—who attended the banquet could only escape exclusion from his caste by undergoing ignominious and degrading penance. But not one of these delegates appears to have made himself liable to any such forfeitures or penalties. A few years ago, some of the most influential leaders in Poona had to submit to the most humiliating treatment because they had simply taken tea with missionaries. We regard this as among the most significant movements of the day, that this impenetrable and incommunicable system is giving way, and that leaders of Indian society openly and with impunity violate restrictions that have the sanction of remote antiquity and universal usage.—Missionary Review of the World.