4 / அயோத்திதாசர் சிந்தனைகள்
and robbing them of their jewels and other valuables, and is sentenced to undergo imprisonment in the Jail, he is made to perform no degrading work. But, if a Pariah having nothing to eat, commits the trifling crime of stealing a handful of rice or paddy and is made to undergo imprisonment, he is forced to do the degrading work of a toty or scavanger, which work he has not done at any time before in his life. By this treatment the unfortunate sufferer, his friends and relations, and even those who have read section 464 of the jail Code, are led into a belief that under the British rule the Pariahs have no right whatever to make any progress, nor to any fair play, and that they cannot but remain disheartened and humbled always to the very dust, without ever having to rejoice at any progressive step.
Secondly - In sections 428 and 434 of a book called the Epitome of Law in Tamil relating to Village Officers, it is stated that such class of men as Carpenters, Goldsmiths, Blacksmiths, etc., should not be put under wooden fetters (called Tholoovoo), but only Pariahs for the space of 6 hours. The day-labourers as well as owners of small pieces of land among this class who have read the provision contained in these sections and who have witnessed the hardships caused by its working, become afraid of their caste neighbours and ever shrink from the thought of making progress in civilization and material comforts. For, the illiterate caste villagers not regarding these unhappy people as human beings treat them always like brutes, and when once a Pariah appears before them with any marks of improvement about him, he is at once accused of some crime or other and made to bear the wooden fetters. This tyranny, no doubt, lasts every time for the space of 6 hours only according to the law, still, these unhappy people are almost cowed down by the fear that their caste villagers have it in their power to bring into operation, at the same time, the further ruling, that escape from the above tyranny renders the criminal liable for punishment under Section 224 of the Indian Penal Code.
The fear of power, and the cruel act on the part of the caste villagers whereby the members of this community are lent small sums of money at a high rate of interest for marriage or funeral expense, and then made slaves-though no marks of slavery are ever presented to the outside world-and lastly, the difficulty created by Mirasi right secured by the caste people previous to the introduction of the Revenue Settlement Act when they grew jealous to the extreme degree at the thought that these people could make some progress by land acquisitions -- all these are so many effective obstacles in their way of making any progress as tillers of ground.
Thirdly - When the Europeans first conquered this country and, with a view of improving it as well as the means of communication, organised the army of Sappers and Miners, the high caste men did not enlist themselves in it, partly because they thought they would lose their caste by foreign travels and partly because they thought that levelling mounds of earth, filling up ditches and felling trees were degrading to them. But the Dravidians called Pariahs, who had no such scruples came forward and enlisted themselves in large numbers. They opened roads through forest and over hills; they were the first to stand bravely before all the battle that took place in those days, and to undergo all the hardships and privations of a cruel war; and in short, they served their European masters
