i was reading the book india a history by john keay and while reading about first anglo afghan war i read a passage about a british indian soldier called
sita ramhe was a bengali brahmin. he escaped from afghanistan. he has also written a book a called "from sepoy to subedar"
http://www.lancerpublishers.com/catalog/product_info.php?products_id=971according to him there was a taboo against indians going outside india. he lost his caste status after he returned and he was looked down upon for this.
my question is when did this cultural taboo come into existence that indians shouldn't go outside the subcontinent?
is there any religious scripture which discourages indians from travelling outside india? or is this restricted to only brahmin caste?
Comments
So if someone traveled to a foreign land he was supposed to have neglected the customs of food caste etc
hence on return faced banishment.
It was particularly true for those serving for company as company in foreign wars could not provide special treatment to upper caste soldiers which it maintained in domestic settings.
hope it clears your doubt.
The people inhabiting these countries are collectively known as mlecchas or barbarian tribes not following the vedic customs , so cohabitation with the mlecchas was forbidden.
Chinas (Chinese ) , Turuskhas (central Asians) , phalavas (Iranian ) , Yavanas (European) etc are some of the names of the people mentioned in the Mahabharat and they fought on the duryodhan's side in the great war. Arjuna after the war lead expedition to uttara patha (Central Asia) for Yudhistir's Ashwamedha yagya.
Vishnu purana mentions various countries and their people and their contact with India. In India's Eastern seaboard from Odisha to TN traders have traded with SE Asians since ancient times. Vishwamitra the great guru of Lord Rama had gone to misr (Egypt) for giving spiritual injunctions. These are some of the examples and there are many more if you want to go through various scriptures.