Caste and Race in India c9.38

c9.38

There is another proposition of Risley's which we must examine more minutely, for it is one which, if true to facts, affects our conclusion. He observes, "If we take a series of castes in Bengal, Bihar, the United Provinces of Agra and Oudh, or Madras, and arrange them in the order of the average nasal index so that the caste with the finest nose shall be at the top, and that with the coarsest at the bottom of the list, it will be found that this order substantially corresponds with the accepted order of social precedence." ⁴ In the argument elaborated above it is evident that we depend upon the uniqueness of Hindustan amongst the provinces of India as regards the gradation of the physical type for our explanation of the origin of endogamy. The statement of Risley in a way challenges that basis. For Bengal and Bombay we think we have made a good case, and our figures will speak for themselves; but as regards Madras, for lack of material, we have not been able to apply the formula for differential index. It may be urged against us that as far as nasal index, without the absolute measurements of the nose, can be an indication of racial mixture, Madras seriously damages our argument. We shall therefore examine the association between nasal index and social status province by province.