The Position of Women in Hindu Civilisation, from Prehistoric Times to the Present Day c17.s3.11

c17.s3.11

We have seen above that the Purda custom was beginning to get a footing in a few royal families in the last period. There was, however, a staunch opposition to it down to the 12th century. Many royal ladies used to plainly tell their husbands that they would not stand the nonsense of the Purda. As a consequence the custom failed to become popular even among royal families down to about 1200 A. D. The advent of the Mahomadens, however, changed the situation. The customs and manners of the conquerors were imitated with as much zeal in the 13th as they were in the 19th century. In the beginning the Purda entered the families of feudatories and nobles, and then it gradually spread among higher classes in northern India. The Muslim influence was weak in the south and so the Purda found no general acceptance there. It got a footing only in a few ruling families.