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 INDIA

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INDIA

Kennery in Salsette, and Karli near Poona,etc.; be- sides these there are numerous Brahminical rock- temples dating from about the seventh century, apparently in imitation of Buddhist precedent. Of these the best known is that of Elephanta near Bom- bay. From the seventh century a. d. there was a great development of Hindu temple-building, chiefly m the South of India — of which noljle specimens are to be seen in the Mysore and Dharwar districts, e. g. Lakundi, Aivally, Paddatgul, Badarai, etc., near Gadag, and also in the parts round about Madras. Hindu architecture reached its climax in the four- teenth and fifteenth centuries, as at Vijayanagar, Madura, Tanjore, Trichinopoly, and other places near the (Joromandel Coast. Nor should Benares or the Orissa Coast be omitted. In the thirteenth century the Jains of Ilajputana had attained wonderful per- fection in the marble carvings of the interiors of their temples, of which the finest specimens are .seen on Mount Abu and at Giriiar. In the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries Moslem art also grew to the highest perfection in Agra, Delhi, and other northern centres, and also in the Deccan sultanates at Gul- berga, tiolconda, and Bijapur. At Ahmedal>ad a special kind of Moslem architecture was developed through the employment of Hindu workmen under Mohammedan direction ; while in Sind the mausoleums are remarkable for the splendour of their interior decoration with encaustic tile-work. Among secular buildings the palaces of rajahs and sultans, and the hill forts of various chiefs, are objects of interest. Add to this the eminence attained by Indian artisans of the past in all kinds of jewellery work, brass work, enamel work, wood carving, weaving, and embroidery, and it will be .«oen that there is proljably no country which might more profitably be visited by the art student than India.

Catholic Ancii^oLOGY. — Except for the reputed tomb of St. Thomas near Mylapur, the two shrines at the Great and Little Moimts close by, a few early stone monuments, and a few inscriptions on copper in Travancore, ecclesiastical antiquities are wanting be- fore Portuguese times. The Portuguese churches of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, though with- out pretension to high artistic style, were in many cases majestic and imposing. The finest group was naturally at Goa, but the ruins at Bassein and Chaul near Bombay are also of remarkaljle interest both for number and size. Elsewhere the churches are mostly of secondary importance. The presence of Portu- guese Christianity is marked by numerous stone crosses of a peculiar shape scattered about the coun- try, especially along the seashores and on the tops of hills near Bombay. Among modern buildings of note may be mentioned the cathedrals of .Allahabad and Lahore, the college churches of Mangalore and Trichinopoly, and the parish churches of Karachi and the Holy Name, Bomliay. The college buildings of Trichinopoly, Calcutta, Darjecling, and Bombay are also worthy of mention.

Religiou-s Policy of Government. — With regard to religion, the Indian Government maintains an atti- tude of strict neutrality. The Church of England is not in any sense "by law established ", and whatever official countenance is given to it rests purely on the principle of providing for the religious requirements of subjects belonging to its communion, e. g. by ap- pointments and salaries for bishops, military chap- lains, and subsidies for the building or mainte- nance of military churches. A .similar patronage, etc., is extended to the Scotch Presbyterian Church, and in a less degree to tlie ( 'at holic Church. No better statement of the details of the law can be found than that contributed by Mr. J. .'\. Saldanha to the "Ex- aminer" of 23 February, 1907, and 24 July, 1909, which runs as follows; —

InBrilish India. — One of the fundamental principles

of the British Government in India is the toleration and equal protection of all religions. Every religious denomination enjoys the utmost freedom of action, and the religious privileges and susceptibilities of every community, caste, and class are respected with the most delicate care. This policy drew encomiums as early as 1818 from Abb6 Dubois, a French mission- ary of Southern India, who in the preface to his treatise on "Hindu Manners, Customs and Ceremo- nies" attributes the strength of the British power in India among other causes to "the inviolable respect which they constantly show for the customs and reli- gious belief of the country; and the protection they afford to the weak as well as to the strong, to the Brahmin as to the Pariah, to the Christian, to the Mahomedan, and to the Pagan". This attitude of toleration, protection, and equal treatment of all reli- gions was affirmed in the most emphatic language in the royal proclamation of 1S5S: — " We declare it to be Our royal will and pleasure that none be in any wise favouretl, none molested or disquieted liy reason of their religious faith or ob-servances, but all shall alike enjoy the equal and impartial protection of the Law; and We do strictly charge and enjoin all those who may be in authority under LTs, that they abstain from all interference with the religious belief or worship of any of Our subjects, on pain of Our highest dis- pleasure". Assemblies within religious edifices or outside are never to be interfered with in British India except in cases of disorder. The police authori- ties have only the right of licensing and regulating public assemblies on public roads under ,\ct V of 1801. On the other hand, under the same enactment they are bound to keep order "in the neighbourhood of places of worship, during the time of public worship". The utmost liberty is allowed to preach on religious subjects even in i)ul)lie streets, provided no cause is given to offend the religious feelings of the hearers or others, and no disturbance of public jjeace or obstruc- tion to traffic is caused. No restriction is imposed on other means of propagating a religion, except such as ■would bring the measures within any of the olTences against religion or the offence of defamation as defined in the penal code.

Even practices regarded by the educated clas.ses as grossly superstitious are tolerated. It is only in places to which the Prevention of Cruelty to .\nimals Act, 1890, has been specifically extended that measures can be legally taken to prevent the infliction of unnecessary pain on animals in connexion with .sacrifices, etc. But the superstitious and religious but inhuman practices of .SVi((iand of 77(fi3yniave been abolished by the strong hand of law.

No native of British India, nor any natural-born subject of His Majesty the King resident therein, is by reason only of his religion, place of l)irth, descent, col- our, disalilcd from holding any office under the British Government (3 and 4 Will. 1\'", c. 8.5). The scrupulous regard to the policy of non-interference with religious practices of the people in British India is carried so far that the court shave always refused to interfere with the internal autonomy of castes. The principle is that where the caste exercises jurisdiction on a subject which interests its members, it is enough if it proceeds according to caste u.sage and exercises its powers with due care anil in accordance with custom (.see I. L. R. 24 Bom. ;{; 20 Bom. 174). Where a community is a private and voluntary religious society resting upon a con.sensual basis, the law observed is that the members make rules for themselves and may constitute a tri- bunal to enforce the rules, and the decision of that tribunal is l)inding when it has acted within the .scope of its authority and in a manner consonant with the general principles of justice. When the decision of a domestic triljunal has been arrived at bona fide, the court has no jurisdiction to interfere (I. L. R. XI Bom. 174). Act I of 1880 is the only enactment in the