Page:An Essay On Hinduism.pdf/138

called Hindus, but also non-Hindus. I have noticed that in certain villages the Maratha Jews have refrained from killing the cow for fear of being excommunicated by the villagers. The only things which the Jews are afraid of in an Indian village are the refusal of service by the barber, washerman, shopkeeper, physician, and above all the loss of patronage. The refusal of the Brāhmaṇas to do any service cannot have effect in the case of a Jew.

In the case of a Hindu, as I have said, there is no likelihood of his being excommunicated from the entire Hindu society, as the entire Hindu society is not organized. Members of some castes which have a central council have to fear excommunication from the caste, but this does not mean excommunication from the whole Hindu community. Members of castes which are not organized have no fear of expulsion from the caste, though in cases where they do actions which strikes the whole caste with horror, the resultant ostracism would practically amount to an excommunication.

The castes which have a very strong central council are mostly the tribes which are recently Hinduized and have retained their traditional chiefs. In the Maratha country only a few trade castes have councils. The majority of the population, over seventy per cent. of people, are members of castes which do not have any central council. The part of India where almost all castes are strongly organized is, I think, Gujerath. In this province the cases of excommunications from castes are many and frequent.

When a man is expelled from his caste, it should not be understood that all Hindus begin to look upon him with