Caste in India: The Facts and the System c6.s7.30

c6.s7.30

It is also a veritable court of justice. Cases are cited in which it has passed sentence of death.² They are already ancient history, and to-day, under the English Government, such a thing would never again be possible. But theoretically its jurisdiction extends to real crimes; the murder of a Brahman, of a woman, or of a child are among the heinous sins into which the caste would have a right to make inquiry.³ In actual fact its power is exercised much less on crimes or breaches of common law than on the rules peculiar to the caste. These rules appear to us both meticulous and trivial, but their strict maintenance is very important to the caste and equally absorbing to consciences held captive for so long in this network of exacting observance. It is a jurisdiction of manners and usages. It takes care that customs are faithfully observed, and punishes infractions which come to its notice. In its domain it is supreme; the decisions, favourable or otherwise, of the civil magistrates disturb it but little.⁴