India vis-à-vis ‘Great’ Britain – STATE OF MORALITY OF PEOPLE COMPARED

THE ROLE OF CASTE IN SUSTAINING  DESIRABLE  MORALITY AMONG PEOPLE

Morally Indians were a superior people, even during the second half of the NINETEENTH  CENTURY. ie  during the second-half of 1800’s.  Consider the following TESTIMONY (WITNESS) of Robert H. Elliot, planter in Mysore for 38 years, who had close and constant association with the natives, and whose statement, the result of  comparative assessment of morality of people in India  & G.Britain is given below :-

Quote- “On two very important points, then—the connection of the sexes and the use of alcohol—it is evident that CASTE LAWS have produced some very favourable and valuable results; but I do not think we can accurately  gauge their value unless we compare the state of morality existing in Manjarabad with the state of morality existing in one of our home counties; and the comparison I have to make, if not very soothing, is, I am sure, very interesting. Take any one of our counties in Great Britain, for instance, and compare it with Manjarabad as regards the points I have particularly referred to, and it will be found that Manjarabad has an immense superiority. The crimes and misery arising from drinking are hardly to be found at all in Manjarabad, while the morality

of the sexes, I should think, could hardly be surpassed. Now, there is nothing very surprising, considering that the people in this country are so heavily weighted, that this should be the case; on the contrary, it is the natural result of the circumstances of their worldly situation. But, supposing that the worldly situation as to the means of support and the opportunities of marrying were equal, it seems to me perfectly plain that the people who have a large proportion of the better classes total abstainers, and who have their society so controlled that the rich cannot gratify their passions at the expense of the poor, must be in the possession of a superior morality.”

Further read at the following link, the positive effects of Caste on the Social Fabric of India :-

http://msradha.blogspot.in/2013/08/caste-contributed-positively-to-indian.html

http://msradha.blogspot.in/2013/08/caste-and-womens-safety.html

http://msradha.blogspot.in/2013/08/caste-system-vis-vis-alcoholism-indian.html

http://msradha.blogspot.in/2013/08/caste-widow-re-marriage.html

http://msradha.blogspot.in/2013/08/caste-social-segregation-self-respect.html

http://msradha.blogspot.in/2013/09/caste-its-redundancy-in-urban-areas.html

EXCERPT FROM

Robert H. Elliot. “Gold, Sport, and Coffee Planting in Mysore.” iBooks.
This material may be protected by copyright. (From Chapter VIII.  CASTE)

( note. This book/resource is freely available on the net.)