Not a Religious Custom.

IT is worth ascertaining whether the institution of purdah prevalent in India except the Deccan has more opponents among the women or the men. The discussion on the proposal to set apart a park for the exclusive use of purdah ladies in Calcutta showed that men raised serious objections and said the ladies would not use the park. On the other hand, many educated ladies have stated that women nowadays do not like the restraints this custom imposes on them and like some relief. Commenting on the subject, the Empire writes: “An amazing factor in the case is that for the majority of the inhabitants — the Hindus — the observance of the purdah is not a religious custom. It is merely a relic of the bad old days for which no justification is to be found in any doctrine or sacred book. The Hindu woman condemned to the purdah is suffering not because of any religion belief but purely through the obstinate conservatism of the old school.”