which the great men of the past have done is before us, and we can avoid their mistakes. All the attempts made by the previous workers to break this caste system have failed, but it should not be thought that all the possible remedies have been exhausted.
We ought to investigate what the condition to-day is, how it came to be, whether it is desirable, and, if not desirable, what methods, if any there be, can be adopted to get out of such a condition.
My intention in this study of caste may here be stated. It is not only to lay down a method for the study of caste and to find out the general principles of the present formation, but also to find how and when this snare came to be woven and to see whether its history suggests any methods to remodel it.
People of superior intelligence and authority have made several attempts to do what I am proposing to do, and have failed. I am not quite sure whether the remedies which I shall suggest would be crowned with success, but I shall lay before the readers the results of my investigations.
This book is especially for the Hindus, but I do not at all expect that it will be acceptable to all. I do not pretend to write for those who believe that the caste system must be good because it was introduced by our forefathers and because our forefathers were wiser than we are and that we are in the wrong if we think it bad. Nor do I write for those who believe that the great sages who gave the law in the past ages were omniscient and that a frail mortal of to-day ought not to criticise their writings.[1] But I write this book for those
- ↑ Such attitude is shown by some very prominent orthodox Brahmins. See for example the sentiment expressed in the preface of Arvāchina Kosha by Godbolè
