THE DOOM OF PURDAH

[Prof. Dr. Yogendra Yadav]

Prof. Dr. Yogendra Yadav

Gandhian Scholar

Gandhi Research Foundation, Jalgaon, Maharashtra, India

Contact No. – 09415777229, 094055338

E-mail- [e-mail];[e-mail]

 

 

THE DOOM OF PURDAH

 

 

A reasoned appeal signed by many most influential people of Bihar and almost an equal number of ladies of that province advising the total abolition of the purdah has been just issued in Bihar. The fact that over fifty ladies have signed the appeal shows that if the work is carried on with vigour, the purdah will be a thing of the past in Bihar. It is worthy of note that the ladies who have signed the appeal are not of the Anglicized type but orthodox Hindus. It definitely states: I know the evil effects of the purdah in Bihar. The movement has been started none too soon. The movement has a curious origin. Babu Ramanand Mishra, a khadi worker, was desirous of rescuing his wife from the oppression of the purdah. As his people would not let the girl come to the Ashram, he took two girls from the Ashram to be companions to his wife. One of them, Radhabehn, Maganlal Gandhi’s daughter, was to be the tutor. She was accompanied by the late Dalbahadur Giri’s daughter Durgadevi. The parents of the girl wife resented the attempt of the Ashram girls to wean young Mrs. Mishra from the purdah. The girls braved all difficulties. Meanwhile Maganlal Gandhi went to see his daughter and steel her against all odds and persist in her efforts.

He took ill in the village where Radhabehn was doing her work and died at Patna. The Bihar friends therefore made it a point of honour to wage war against the purdah. Radhabehn brought her charge to the Ashram. Her coming to the Ashram created additional stir and obliged the husband who was already prepared for it to throw himself in the struggle with greater zeal. Thus the movement having a personal touch promises to be carried on with energy. At its head is that seasoned soldier of Bihar, the hero of many battles, Babu Brijkishore Prasad. I do not remember his having headed a movement that has been allowed to die. The appeal fixes the 8th of July next as the date on which to inaugurate an intensive campaign against the system which puts a cruel ban on social service by one half of Bihar humanity and which denies it freedom in many cases and even the use of light and fresh air. The sooner it is recognized that many of our social evils impede our march towards swaraj, the greater will be our progress towards our cherished goal. To postpone social reform till after the attainment of swaraj is not to know the meaning of swaraj.

Surely we must be incapable of defending ourselves or healthily competing with the other nations, if we allow the better half of ourselves to become paralyzed. I therefore congratulate the Bihar leaders on their having earnestly taken up the struggle against the purdah. The success of such a reform especially, as of all reform generally, depends upon the purity of the workers. A great deal will rest with the ladies who have signed the appeal. If notwithstanding their having given up the purdah, they retain the original modesty of India’s womanhood and show courage and determination in the face of heavy odds, they will find success quickly awaiting their effort. The campaign against the purdah if properly handled means mass education of the right type for both men and women of Bihar.