Women's entry into Sabarimala: Opposition accuses govt of enforcing political agenda; activists decry 'patriarchal mindset' behind protests

The five-day monthly puja at Sabarimala beginning 18 October sets the tone for the 41-day annual pilgrimage by hundreds of thousands of Ayyappa devotees from across the country, especially the southern states. The pilgrimage is going to be tough this year with the Supreme Court verdict allowing women of all ages to enter the temple against the centuries-old custom of keeping out menstruating women followed by the temple, paving the way for a confrontation in the hill shrine. [caption id=“attachment_5285711” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  File image of Sabarimala temple. PTI[/caption] The pilgrims may get a taste of things to come during the coming season when the temple opens at 5 pm on 17 October for the monthly rituals for the Malayalam month of Thulam, with a section of Hindu activists threatening to prevent women between the ages of 10 and 50 from entering the temple. Ayyappa Dharma Sena, a prominent body of Ayyappa devotees led by Rahul Easwar, grandson of former Sabarimala supreme priest, is planning to erect a human shield against the women by lying down at the entry point of the hill shrine. “We will not physically block the women. If they want to go to the temple they have to walk over our bodies. This is a Gandhian protest to register our concern against the attack on the temple’s customs and traditions,” Rahul said. He added that they will also not allow women police personnel to be deployed by the state government to ensure the protection of women devotees across the entry point. He said many women police personnel drafted for duty for the monthly puja had already refused to go to Sabarimala. Rahul said their protest was not against the apex court verdict, but against the haste shown by the Communist-led government in implementing its order. He alleged that the Travancore Devaswom Board (TDB), which is duty bound to protect the interests of the believers, was also toeing the government line under pressure.“Several organisations, including Ayyappa Dharma Sena, announced their decision to seek a review of the 28 September verdict of the five-member SC Constitution bench. The government could wait for the outcome of the judicial review before implementing the order,” he added. The organisation will be filing its petition later Friday. Rahul said they were planning to demand reference of the case to a larger bench since they were not optimistic about filing a review petition in the same bench that passed the order. Rahul said several judges in the apex court were against judicial intervention in matters of faith. He said he was confident that the constitution bench verdict will be reversed if the case is heard by a new bench. He said the verdict hurt the religious sentiments of genuine believers as well as devotees of Ayyappa. The mounting protest against it is a true reflection of the feelings of the believers, he added. The protest launched by a few Hindu organisations gained strength after Opposition parties rallied behind them following the Communist-led government’s moves to implement the order. What irked Opposition parties most is the sudden shift in the stands of TDB, an autonomous body established to protect the interests of the temple and its believers. The temple administrator changed its plan to file a review petition against the verdict after Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan chided its president A Padma Kumar, a nominee of his Communist Party of India (Marxist). The Congress and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) hit the streets and accused the LDF government of trying to force the TDB to implement its political agenda at Sabarimala. State BJP chief PS Sreedharan Pillai alleged that the Communist government was trying to use the SC verdict to convert Sabarimala into a centre of conflict. “On one side are the beliefs of crores of people and on the other the fight for equal rights. The government should implement the court verdict by reconciling the two. Instead, it is trying to sow seeds of conflict at the Hindu shrine for its political gain,” Pillai alleged. CPM state secretary Kodiyeri Balakrishnan alleged that the Congress and BJP were holding hands for political capital. The devotees will reject this political move which is aimed at destroying the peace prevailing at Sabarimala, he added. “The SC verdict has ended discrimination related to worship and helped in elevating the status of women. The people who believe in renaissance and social reformation will not stand against this verdict,” he said in an article in his party mouthpiece Deshabhimani published on 5 October. Balakrishnan accused the Congress and BJP of politicising the issue by creating confusion and misunderstanding among the people. There were several opportunities for those opposing the entry of women in Sabarimala to intervene in the case in the past 12 years, he said. Instead of using that they are trying to fish in troubled waters now, he said. He said devotees were enlightened enough to see through this game and reject any attempt to politicise the issue. Noted women activist P Geetha said the forces behind the protests were men with patriarchal mindsets. She said they were trying to scuttle the justice done by the apex court to women by instigating them to revolt against the judiciary in the name of faith. “This is not fair. Many women were ready to go to Sabarimala in the wake of the SC verdict. However, most of them have adopted a wait and watch policy in view of the attempt by political parties to make Sabarimala a conflict zone,” she said. “If they are against the entry of women in Sabarimala, they have the option of approaching the apex court. Instead they are trying to make political capital out of it by misguiding the women.” “The parties, which initially welcomed the court order, are now speaking against it as they see an opportunity to get more votes on the issue. There is no need to mix politics in the issue. The political parties should leave it to women. Let those who do not want to break the custom not go and allow others to go,” she added. Meanwhile, state police chief Loknath Behra assured full protection to women willing to go to the hill shrine. He said that they will deploy 500 women police in the temple to assist women. The state police have sought one platoon from each of women’s police from the southern states of Tamil Nadu, Pondicherry, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Telengana for the smooth conduct of the pilgrimage. Pathanamthitta district superintendent of police said that they will finalise the full preparations at Sabarimala next week. “We have taken note of the protests against the SC verdict. We are monitoring the situation. We will review the situation next week and make the required arrangements for women to go to Sabarimala without any hindrance,” he added.