Hindu Infanticide; An Account of the Measures Adopted for Suppressing the Practice of the Systematic Murder by Their Parents of Female Infants; With Incidental Remarks on Other Customs Peculiar to the Natives of India (Paperback)

Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: person, of the measures pursued in the western parts of India. I shall, however, previously quote, from the xxii article of the fourth volume of the Asiatic Researches, some observations by Sir John Shore, now Lord Teignmouth, in which he introduced his brief notice of the discovery and suppression of Infanticide in the eastern parts of India; as above detailed more at length by the discoverer and suppressor, Mr. DunCan himself. " That the practice of Infanticide should ever be so general, as to become a custom with any sect or race of people, requires" (the Right Honourable author justly observes) " the most unexceptionable evidence to gain belief: and I am sorry to say, that the general practice, as far as regards female infants, is fully substantiated with respect to a particular tribe on the frontiers of Juanpore, a district of the province of Benares, adjoining to the country of Oude. A race of Hindus, called Rajekoomars, reside here; and it was discovered, in 1789 only, that the custom of putting to death their female offspring, by causing their mothers to starve them, had long subsisted, and did actually then very generally prevail amongst them. The Resident at Benares, in a circuit which he made through the country where the Rajekoomars dwell, had an opportunity of authenticating the existence of the custom from their own confessions: he conversed with several; all unequivocally admitted it, but all did not fully acknowledge its atrocity; and the only reason which they assigned for the inhuman practice, was the great expence of procuring suitable matches for their daughters, if they allowed them to grow up. It is some satisfaction to add, that the custom, though general, was not universal; as natural affection, or some other motive, had induced the father of some ...