Identifier: worldsinhabitant00bett (find matches)
Title: The world's inhabitants; or, Mankind, animals, and plants; being a popular account of the races and nations of mankind, past and present, and the animals and plants inhabiting the great continents and principal islands
Year: 1888 (1880s)
Authors: Bettany, G. T. (George Thomas), 1850-1891
Subjects: Civilization Culture
Publisher: London Ward, Lock
Contributing Library: Robarts - University of Toronto
Digitizing Sponsor: University of Toronto

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Vedas for their guide, and believe in thereugionists. abolition of caste rules, the cessation of child marriages, and theremarriage of widows, and have given up Hindu domestic ceremonies.Rammohun Roy, who died at Bristol in 1833, was one of the most notablereformers. He was the real founder of the Brahmo Somaj, or TheisticRammohun Churches, of Bengal, Keshub Chunder Sen, who died in 1884,^^^- being equally eminent. Although the Native Marriage Actof 1872, obtained largely by his influence, introduced civil marriageat a proper age into India, legalised marriage between different castes,and permitted the remariiage of widows, it has not as yet been largelyKeshub taken advantage of. Keshub Chunder Sens doctrine cannotChunder Sen ^^ ^^Q^i^.^ described than as the Fatherhood of God and thebrotherhood of man. It represents the daily growing ferment of dis-belief in and rejection of Hindu idolatry which is permeating Indianscciety as it becomes more educated, and is a sign of hopefulness for
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313 314 THE INHABITANTS OF ASIA. Indias future, if it do not degenerate into mere negation of all religion,a feeling which is also growing in India. The Christians of India mnst not be left out of account. They arevariously estimated at from one to two millions, being most numerousin southern India. A considerable number of these are how-ever Europeans or descendants of Europeans. The RomanCatholics report the largest number of converts ; but their tolerantinclusiveness makes the reality of their claim doubtful. TinnevelJyis a centre round which the largest numbers of Protestantsare found. Very many of the Christians are Eurasians, ofmixed European and Asiatic blood, a large number being Indo-Portu-guese. The Eurasians, however, do not yet manifest the solid qualitiesof either Europeans or Hindus ; and the problem whether a permanentEuropean cross can be established in India is yet unsolved. It appearscertain that pure-blooded Europeans cannot become acclimatised inIndia. The great nu

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