Pariahs

Pariahs is the Tamil name now generally given to the lowest class of the Hindu population of Southern India—the 'out-castes' who do not belong to any of the four castes of the Brahminical system (the Telugu name is Mala, the Kanarese Holia, the Malayalim Paliyar). In the Madras Presidency they numbered, in 1881, 4,439,253, or 15.58 per cent. of the total population, or four times as numerous as the Brahmans. Presumably they represent the aboriginal race conquered by the Sudras, themselves a stock vanquished by the Vedic peoples. In the 18th century Pariahs were slaves to the higher castes; they must still dwell in huts outside village bounds, but are frugal, pleasure-loving, and laborious. See CASTE.—For the Pariah Dog, see DOG.