Letter to BBC

Honorable Editor,

This is with reference to your article "Sabarimala: The Indian god who bars women from his temple" dated 19th October 2018. In this article you have stated that Hinduism regards menstruating women as unclean and bars them from participating in religious rituals. However, no Hindu scripture states menstruation or menstruating women to be impure. 

However, Hindu scriptures regard menstruation as a period where a women is filled with power. In ancient Hindu families, women were told to compulsorily take rest on the first 4 days of their menstrual cycle. 

However, as you rightly stated, Many Indians consider menstruation impure and various taboos surround it. Menstrual awareness has still not reached many parts of the world and such taboos still exist. 

The argument surrounding Sabarimala temple is now no more about Menstruation. Many legends and stories believe Sabarimala deity Ayyappa is a celibacy and the entry of women at Sabarimala will distrupt him. 

However, all these mass protests are not voices of the common people. They are politically funded protests by BJP in this southern state for political gains. These protests are common after every revolutionary judicial decision. And will soon be overcome. 

However, I hope I have made it clear that HINDUISM DOESN'T CONSIDER MENSTRUATION IMPURE. Please correct your article and use more accurate sources for data collection. 

Yours Sincerely

Charu Veluthoor