Sabarimala opens today LIVE Updates: Tensions are running high in Kerala as the gates to the hill shrine will be opened for the first time since the Supreme Court lifted the age-old entry ban on women in the 10-50 age group. Express Photo
Sabarimala Temple Row Live Updates: Amid threats of “mass suicides” and disruption, the famous Sabarimala Temple in Kerala will open its doors on Wednesday – this time for women devotees of all ages as well. Tensions are running high in Kerala as the gates to the hill shrine will be opened for the first time since the Supreme Court lifted the age-old entry ban on women in the 10-50 age group.
As devotees make their way to the shrine, those opposing the judgment are screening vehicles on the way and forcefully stopping women of “menstruating age” at Nilackal and not allowing them to reach the last base camp before the temple. Nilackal, the main entrance of Sabarimala, is 20km from the shrine and a point where pilgrims disembark.
This is despite Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan warning of “stern action” against those who prevent devotees from going to Sabarimala. “We will ensure security to all. Nobody will be allowed to take law into their hands. My government will not allow any violence in the name of Sabarimala,” Vijayan said and ruled out any rethink of his government’s decision against seeking a review of the Supreme Court order.
The Travancore Devaswom Board, which runs the hill-shrine, met the Tantri (head priest) family, the Pandalam royals and members of the Ayyappa Seva Sangam on Tuesday to reach a consensus on the issue and will further discuss it on Friday.
The Pinarayi Vijayan government has extended support to the judgment and will not file a review petition. (Express photo by Prem Nath Pandey)
The myth of the presiding deity at Sabarimala is connected to the Pandalam royal dynasty which had settled in present-day parts of Pathanamthitta after breaking away from the Pandya dynasty. The King and Queen of Pandalam were believed to be childless. The story goes that when the King went hunting one day, he found a crying baby by the side of the river in a forest. Upon inquiring, a sage advised the king to take the baby home and bring him up as his own son, which the King eventually did. The child was named Manikandan and grew up to become the prince of Pandalam.
When Manikandan was 12, the queen of Pandalam developed a sudden illness and the physician treating the Queen recommended tigress’s milk to treat the same. While everyone shied away from the responsibility of bringing tigress’s milk from the forest, Manikandan volunteered to do so. He eventually not only brings the medicine, but himself rides a tigress, accompanied by several cubs, to return to the kingdom. The king, said to have been elated with his adopted son, realises that he is no ordinary child. According to the lore, Manikandan expresses his desire to renounce the kingdom and all material wealth and become an ascetic. The king later builds a shrine for his son, 30 kms away atop a hill that eventually became Sabarimala, where Manikantan acquires a divine form and becomes Ayyappan.
There are scores of RSS workers and volunteers who are making their way from the base camp at Nilackal. They have abandoned attempts to stop cars and buses and are travelling with chants of "Lord Ayyapaa" filling the air.
Over 500 cops that are deployed on the site are ensuring that the movement of vehicles and devotees remain unaffected because of the protests. Libi, a resident of Cherthala, was stopped by protesters at Pathanamthitta, but with the help of police, she was rescued and is being given security as she travels to Sabarimala. Another family hailing from Andhra Pradesh has been given police protection as they move to Pamba accompanied by a 40-year-old woman. However, there are very few women between the age group of 10 to 50 years who are going towards Pamba.
Vishnu Varma reports from Nilackal
(Express photos)
Protesters are screening the vehicles at Nilakkal and Erumeli, the two base camps for this month’s Sabarimala pilgrimage. A woman journalist Ritu was one of those who was stopped by the protesting women devotees. Ritu claimed she was heading for the temple on assignment and had no intention of entering the shrine, something that could have offended the religious sensibilities of Ayyappa devotees. Read more
BJP MP Udit Raj says that he is surprised to see that women themselves are stopping others from going to the shrine. "I have seen the fight for equality, not for slavery and inequality. On one hand, fight against atrocities by men is going on in the nation and on the other hand, women are fighting against their own freedom & rights. It has happened for the first time in the world, it's amusing - 'Make me a slave, treat me unequally, we're inferior to men' - women are stopping women. What's the point in this. I don't know what's happening in this nation," he said, adding that it was his personal opinion.
Adding that anyone will not be allowed to entice violence, protesters in tents near Nilackal were driven away and few were taken into custody this morning. The police has also added that security will be tight in Pamba as well. Also, present at Nilackal are few RSS activists, Swayamsevaks and volunteers from other Hindu organisations.
Our correspondent Vishnu Varma who is present at Nilackal says that massive security has been deployed at the site to ensure that all those who want to visit the temple are allowed to go. A team of 500 security officers and 100 plus women officers and constables are at Nilackal to ensure law and order in the area. "Police will do everything to provide security to those who wish to go to Sabarimala - men and women of all ages. All the buses, cars carrying both men & women will be allowed to go to Pamba and anyone who tries to stop them will be taken into custody," Manoj Ibrahim, Inspector-General said.
There's a mixed opinion among the women on the Sabarimala row. Priests argue that the ban is essential to the rites for Lord Ayyappa, considered eternally celibate. Women in the menstruating age of 10 to 50 are considered "impure" and hence not allowed inside the premises. Those opposing the judgment also argue that the journey is tough for women to undertake.
The journey to Sabarimala for women of menstruating age till now ended at a base camp near Pamba river, while others continued the 5-km trek upwards. Many women The Indian Express spoke to in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana said traditions and beliefs should not be tampered with. While many women said the court has no power on issues of faith and belief, many said they want to visit the shrine but have put off the plan fearing a blowback from conservative believers. And there are a few who find it hard to forfeit their newly acquired right.
“There are many arguments – from the impurity of women to the difficult journey — to prevent women’s entry into Sabarimala. We have gone to Mars, why not Sabarimala now? Temple authorities should provide security for women,” says Latha Subramaniam, a university professor in Chennai in her late 40s.
There are others who decided to wait till they turn 50. Rasmi Ramesh, who runs a local cafe in Chennai and is in her 30s, said she will wait till she turns 50. “The court has no power on Sabarimala,” she said. “What is being followed there or any temple is tradition and belief. I am a devotee of Ayyappa, and I accept the fact that I can go there only after I turn 50 — that is the tradition. I visited Sabarimala when I was a child, and I will go again when the time comes.”
Read more: Some women consider Sabarimala trek as many vote for status quo
In a 4-1 verdict, Supreme Court on Septemeber 28 put an end to a centuries-old custom, restricting women into the Sabarimala temple. However, a bench of five judges, led by the then Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra, Justice Indu Malhotra gave a dissenting order stating “the religious practice of restricting the entry of women between the ages of 10 to 50 years is in pursuance of an ‘essential religious practice’” and “notions of rationality cannot be invoked in matters of religion by courts”.
Justice Chandrachud said “the postulate of equality is that human beings are created equal… To exclude women from worship by allowing the right to worship to men is to place women in a position of subordination. The Constitution should not become an instrument for the perpetuation of patriarchy.
Ever since the apex court's judgment, Kerala has witnessed major upheavals. Kerala BJP yesterday concluded the five-day long rally against the implementation of the Supreme Court's verdict. Following state government's refusal to file review petitions against the apex court's order, BJP, Congress and Hindu outfits protested in the state, disrupting normal life.
Earlier this month, some organisations had filed review petitions seeking review of the apex court's order, which the court had declined to hear. Meanwhile, Chief Minister of Kerala Pinarayi Vijayan maintained his stand that his government would abide by the top court's order and cannot backtrack from its affidavit. “The government does not want to clash with the faithful. At the same time, the government will not succumb to the attempts of the politically motivated forces who want to foment tension in society. The government will go ahead in upholding the reformative tradition of the state,’’ he said.
Who filed the case?
A group of five women lawyers had moved the apex court after the Kerala High court upheld the centuries-old restriction, and ruled that only the “tantri (priest)” was empowered to decide on traditions. The top court heard the matter for eight days, reserving the judgment in July.
The shrine of Lord Ayyappa is at present located atop a hill, 3000 metres above the sea level, at Sabarimala in Pathanamthitta district of Kerala. The last couple of weeks have seen a strong surge in street-protests and prayer meetings by devotees of Lord Ayyappa who are divided on the topic of women entry in the temple. The striking of the ban has snowballed into a controversy with the BJP opposing the judgment. While the Congress national leadership has been supporting the Supreme Court verdict, the party unit in Kerala has taken a ringside position. The Vijayan government, meanwhile, has refused to file a review petition in the court and issued a stern warning to those who dared block devotees from entering the temple.
Good morning! The famous Sabarimala Temple in Kerala opens today amid protests over the Supreme Court verdict that lifted the ban on women between the age group of 10 to 50 years. Follow this space to track all the latest information as thousands of women make the historic journey to the hill shrine.