The Supreme Court had, in its September 28 decision, allowed the entry of women between the age group of 10-50 at the Sabarimala temple. The SC had set October 17 as the date for starting the entry of women at Sabarimala.
Hours ahead of the opening of the Lord Ayyappa Temple for devotees, this time for women too, the air is thick with resistance and anticipation at Nilackal, the main entrance to Sabarimala. Girls and women of menstruating age en route the shrine are being stopped or asked to get off vehicles by those who disagree with the Supreme Court decision that has allowed women of all ages to enter the temple.
Several groups of devotees, including elderly women, chanting “Swamiya Saranam Ayyappa”, are randomly “inspecting” cars, buses and taxis at Nilackal, the base camp about 20 km from the Sabarimala hill top. If they spot women, they ask them to stop right there or try to pursuade them to follow the tradition.
One of the protesting women was heard saying, “No woman belonging to the banned age group of 10-50 will be allowed to travel further from Nilackal when it opens for the monthly puja tomorrow evening.”
“Ayyappa devotees not only in Kerala but across the country are disturbed by the recent developments. The state government is responsible for the crisis,” BJP general secretary P Muralidhar Rao had earlier said.
Meanwhile, the Travancore Devaswom Board, the body that administers the shrine is slated to hold a meeting of all the stakeholders, including the Tantri (head priest) family, Pandalam royals and Ayyappa Seva Sangam, on Tuesday. They are likely to seek postponement of the date of opening of the shrine to December. The BJP-RSS have been targetting the state government, calling the decision and the implementation, a conspiracy to kill the tradition at the historic shrine.
Also, Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan has reiterated that his government will not file a review petition against the SC order. “We will not allow anyone to take law and order in their hands. The government will ensure facilities to devotees to go to Sabarimala Temple and offer prayers. The government will not submit a review petition. We’ve said in court that we’ll implement the order,” the CM told the press.
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