Page:Between the twilights being studies of Indian women by one of themselves (IA betweentwilights00soraiala).pdf/124

104 than caste. In the second century before Christ Buddha strove to break it down—Gautama Buddha, who was so reverenced by the Hindu that he is considered an incarnation of Krishna. … Yet, to-day, in Buddh Gaya, the preacher of the brotherhood of man sits in the beautiful old Temple, to which Hindu and Buddhist alike come on pilgrimage, with a caste mark on his forehead! And under the very shadow of the image the Brahmin will throw away the food or water defiled by contact with the outer-brother.

We see men travelling by the same train (and of course this and all the other cohesive tendencies always being quoted to us do effect something), and we think this represents a breaking down of barriers. Does it, of the real barrier? Listen to the Water-Carriers on the platform: “Water, water for the Mahommedan”; “Water for the Hindu”; “Water for the Brahmin.” The Brahmin may “water” any caste, the highest may stoop to serve the lowest; but the highest may not accept service of any but the highest.

To my mind this caste problem is one which will need grapplement before any single other