Caste and Race in India c12.107

c12.107

When the city of Bombay began to attract large numbers of people from rural areas, the immigrants, with their traditions of caste, began to congregate, as far as possible, according to their castes, though the village affinity influencing the place of residence, modified this tendency. The Brahmin castes of the Maratha country are vegetarians, while the other castes are usually non-vegetarians. The Brahmins had the additional motive of escaping bad odours given out by fish and flesh when they are being dressed, to try to live together in buildings where only Brahmins dwelt. This tendency for every large caste to live in isolation from other castes has been steadily growing during the last twenty years. It will be observed that this desire is only the old-caste practice of reserving special parts of the village for the different castes moulded to suit the changed conditions of city life. The inclination of the people was encouraged and aggravated by private charity expressing itself through the channels of caste. With the quickening of caste-consciousness and the fostering of caste-patriotism, philanthropic persons have been building houses and chawls to be rented only to their caste-members at moderate rents. Charity, intending to further the educational interests of a caste, has found expression also in providing free hostels to the student members of the caste. As a result, in those areas of Bombay which are largely inhabited by the middle classes, we find to-day whole chawls which are occupied by members of one or two castes with close affinity, whole buildings rented at moderate or even nominal rents only to the members of a particular caste, and hostels giving free accommodation to the students of a particular caste. Buildings meant for members of particular castes generally bear prominent boards blatantly announcing the fact of their reservation and where it is a case of individual endowment also the name of the philanthropic donor. Even the colleges and the University are infested with endowments from which scholarships are to be paid to students of certain specified castes.