'Unprovocative women never made history': Twitter users pan Shashi Tharoor's comments on Sabarimala standoff

Congress leader Shashi Tharoor on Thursday kicked off a storm amid strident protests over the entry of women into the Sabarimala temple in Kerala, as he termed the entry of two women from the previously prohibited age group as an “unnecessary provocative act”. Several Twitter users panned Tharoor for his comments, questioning his stance on the issue and contrasting it with the stands he took in the past in favour of women’s rights. Speaking to CNN-News18, Tharoor had said, “The entry of women into the temple was an unnecessary provocative act. I can’t imagine that it gave any satisfaction to the women. They didn’t go up the holy eighteen steps with the irumudi (travelling kit for pilgrims) on their heads, and so, they have not technically conducted any ritual act. We’re in favour of women’s equality, but we’re also in favour of respecting the sanctity of religious processes in the country.” Journalist Salil Tripathi mocked Tharoor’s view on the issue, comparing the entry of women into the Sabarimala with other acts of defiance in the past. “Mohandas Gandhi walking from Ahmedabad to Dandi in 1930 to make salt was an unnecessarily provocative act,” he remarked. CPI (ML) leader Kavita Krishnan said:

Hey @ShashiTharoor... Today's the birth anniv of Savitri Bai Phule. When she opened schools for girls, incl little Brahmin widows, she was branded 'provocative'. Women violating patriarchal laws are always seen as 'provocative'. Unprovocative women never made history #Sabarimala https://t.co/4nEy3jKoeB

— Kavita Krishnan (@kavita_krishnan) January 3, 2019

Other Twitters also recalled similar acts from the past and wondered if Tharoor would refer to them in the same way. 

Rosa Parks refusing to give up her seat was an unnecessary provocative act - @ShashiTharoor circa 1955

— peeleraja (@peeleraja) January 3, 2019

More from India

‘Make in India’ Rafales: MoD begins review of Rs 2 lakh crore fighter jet proposal Nari Shakti sets sail: 10 women officers from 3 forces on historic voyage around the world

1. Wanting to pray is a provocative act?
2. Unless he has telepathy how would he know whether the women got any satisfaction from entering the temple?
3. "We are in favour of women’s equality but we’re also in favour of religious practices" LOL. Translated: General Elections 2019 https://t.co/W8EZJlkPmM

— Rituparna Chatterjee (@MasalaBai) January 3, 2019

This, however, is not the only time Tharoor has opposed entry of menstruating women into the Lord Ayyappa shrine. In an article in The Print on the Sabarimala controversy, in November 2018, Tharoor referred to himself as an “instinctive liberal”. He had called on the Supreme Court to review its decision, as he wrote, “In religious matters, beliefs must prevail; in a pluralistic democracy, legal principles and cultural autonomy must both be respected. The Supreme Court has a chance to consider all these issues when it hears the review petitions on 13 November. Once it rules, we must all work co-operatively, in consultation with all stakeholders and with respect for the Constitution and the believers, to decide how to take this complex issue forward.”