HINDOO BARBARITIES.

Thames Star, Volume XV, Issue 4878, 22 August 1884, Page 2

HINDOO BARBARITIES.

A native correspondent, writing from a village a few miles from a station on the ; Hajpdtana railway, sends as tliei particularsof a..revoltingpiece of barbarity committed under the sanction of the social customs of a Hindoo commumty;;. It seems that "a beautiful young liHmdbo widow of the Bania caste, aad professing the Dhundia tenets, resolved to petfproi the necessary deremohies to denote her widowhood. ■;As many of-our •■■* elide^irji^ probably aware, it is" customary: (or Hindoo women to have their yieadi divested of hair after theloss|Cof ■their husbands. The young Bania .womani to whom we have 'referred agreed to the performance of this rite, but the hair was removed in such, an inhuman way as to excite the disgust of our informant. The fanatics, instead''of, shaving the head with. a razor, or resorting to isomiffi simple method of removing the'v'Lair^yp'lacked'it' put by the roots, " just as f weeds are ,v rooted up in a cultivator's field, or husks taken off a cbcbanut.''- The .wounds caused by the brutal violence of the oper- £ ators bled profusely;(and the poor creature must have suffered agcnißß of pami^Th6^ incident occurred in the broad light of day, under a;tree in the village^; and the S^ participators in the cerembnyi&fai^^^firbm fearing interference, probably considered \ they were doing right. Qur correspondent? is justly indignant at thej V inhumanity - displayed in this matter; and rtirges that Rovernmpnt should take steps to prevent the; practice of barbarous customs which inflict pain and injury "upon innocent' and ; helpless creatures. He argues with some force that as the government have pro- " hibited suttee, they might to: see 1 that 1 cruel form of torture is not substituted; For our own part wo have morefaith in i the good which inaiy be; wrought in^ii matterdftbis description by fbeinfldence of the enHgbtened members of; the natire ;community thiid by the^ governmentinterference, thtiirmptives actuating vwhichare surje to be; ihiscontrded, and which may fail to; produce the desired resuUs —- Times.of India.:, .-;;••