the offspring of the successive generations of Mahomedan conquerors. In addition to these great classes, of which the Hindoos are in the proportion of four to one of the Mussulmauns, many other tribes have established themselves in India, originally as traders, or have found shelter there from foreign persecution, and are now become part and parcel of the gross population. Such are the Parsees, descendants of the ancient Guebres, or fire worshippers; the Armenians, formerly refugees from Persian persecution; the Arabs, Jews, Persians, chiefly traders from the Red Sea and Persian Gulf; the Portuguese, coloured descendants of the early conquerors; the Eurasians, or offspring of English, Dutch, French, and Danish connexion with Hindoo, Mussulmaun, or Portuguese females; the Chinese, settlers from the Celestial Empire; Burmese, chiefly employed in menial pursuits; Seikhs and Affghans, merchants from the neighbouring states; the English, soldiers, civil officers, merchants, agriculturists, lawyers, seamen, ecclesiastics, &c.; French, merchants and agriculturists; with a few Americans and others from the Western world.[1]
The Hindoos are separated into four great castes, or religious divisions – Brahmins, Rajpoots, Vaisyas, and Soodras. To the Brahmins are intrusted the performance of religious ceremonies, and the instruction of the people. The Rajpoots are of royal and military descent. The Vaisyas or Banians are the trading-classes, and the Soodras comprehend the labourers and artificers. These four castes are subdivided into an infinite number of smaller tribes or sects; while a fifth great class called Pariahs, or Chandalas, comprehends all who have violated some leading principle in the religion of the other four, and all who follow the lowest professions in the scale of Indian society.
The Mussulmauns, who are for the most part traders, soldiers, police-officers, menial servants, seamen, &c., profess the religion of Mahomet. All the other races in India adhere to the religion of their ancestors – the most perfect
- ↑ In our relations with the native states, we have bound them strictly down to the exclusion of Americans and Europeans from their service.
