History of Dharmashastra (Ancient and Mediaeval Religious and Civil Law in India) v7.c96.s1.67

v7.c96.s1.67

We should not be constantly harping on the caste system as the only or most basic cause of our downfall. The Moslems have no caste system and yet most of the Moslem countries in the world have been backward and under the thumb of Western powers. China, Japan and the countries in S. E. Asia had hardly anything like the caste system of our country, but the first two about a hundred years ago were very backward and many of the countries in S E Asia were within the Colonial Empire of Holland, a small country the population of which is even now only about eleven millions. Since 1818 when the British acquired the Deccan, for about 130 years what little royal power remained in India was distributed among about 600 princely States ruled by kṣatriyas and others and hardly a dozen brāhmaṇa States existed among those 600. What little trade and commerce existed or was allowed by the British to Indians was in the hands of Parsis, Bhatiās, Banias, Marvadis, Jains and Lingayats and the brāhmaṇas had very little share in trade and commerce. It was the brāhmaṇa politicians like Tilak that insisted on *Swadeshi*. Agriculture, money lending and Zamindari were mostly in the hands of non-brāhmaṇas except in Bengal and contiguous territories where the Zamindari system supported by Lord Cornwallis prevailed. Our downfall for centuries was due to lack of certain virtues and idealogies among all our people, high or low. Let us, therefore, all Indians, stop blaming the caste system for our downfall and try to eradicate it or lessen its evils and cultivate virtues like duty for duty's sake, high endeavour, high moral character, nationalism, freedom and justice.