{"id":264598,"date":"2016-01-14T15:22:52","date_gmt":"2016-01-14T09:52:52","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.tehelka.com\/?p=264598"},"modified":"2016-01-14T15:22:52","modified_gmt":"2016-01-14T09:52:52","slug":"why-not-let-women-into-sabarimala","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/tehelka.com\/why-not-let-women-into-sabarimala\/","title":{"rendered":"Why Not Let Women Into Sabarimala?"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Photo:
Photo: SK Mohan<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>
\nThe age-old bar on women at Kerala\u2019s Sabarimala temple has once again become the topic of a legal battle and a raging debate after the Supreme Court made a sharp observation vying for a total lift of the ban. Though the temples of the state do not permit women to enter the shrines during their menstruating period, Sabarimala had imposed a total ban on women aged between 10-50 from worshipping at the temple.
\nThe three-member special bench of the court headed by Justice Dipak Misra asked the Travancore Devaswom Board (TDB) counsel KK Venugopal on what logic the Board is not permitting women from entering the temple.
\nThe bench also observed that no temple or governing body could bar women from entering as it is against their constitutional rights. The court has also asked the lawyer for proof to show that no women had entered the temple in its 1500-year history.
\nIn a half-hour long debate, which saw Venugopal and the special bench engaging in a heated debate, the TDB counsel argued that the ban is based on the peculiar custom of the temple.
\nThe devotees visit the temple after following a strict penance and austerity for 41 days and during all these days, they restrain from engaging in worldly pleasures. Moreover, the reigning deity Lord Ayyappa is a perpetual celibate, he said.
\nThe bench has fixed the next date of hearing on 8 February. The court has also asked the state government to file a fresh affidavit before the next hearing.
\nThe question of allowing women to Sabarimala has been debated for the last two decades in Kerala. During every pilgrim season, the topic pops up for discussion and dies a slow death once the season concludes.
\nDuring the last pilgrim season, a woman was shooed away from a government-run bus that was occupied by Sabarimala devotees. Based on the complaint filed by the woman, Kerala State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) now allows other passengers, including women, to travel in special Sabarimala buses.
\nThe entry of non-Hindus in Guruvayur temple and entry of women to Sabarimala are the two religious issues that have been debated relentlessly for the past several years.
\nThe recurrent rows have emerged as a result of the conflict between traditional beliefs and progressive thoughts.
\nG Sudhakaran, cpm state committee member and former Devaswom minister, says that it makes no sense to follow such discriminatory customs in this age.
\nHe says the petition was filed by the Indian Young Lawyers Association based on the affidavit he had filed in the apex court during his tenure as a minister. He says he presented the affidavit when the court sought the opinion of the state government after a group of women lawyers questioned the custom in 2006 and had given clear proof that young women from the Travancore royal family had visited the temple.
\nSudhakaran also added that if there are any security concerns about women visiting Sabarimala during the pilgrim season, a special time could be prescribed for their visit to ensure security.
\n\u201cThe issue cannot be solved in a day or two as it involves many stakeholders. The court should appoint a committee comprising sociologists, lawyers and Vedic experts to review the situation,\u201d he says.
\n
\nMeanwhile, the state government said they will file a fresh affidavit in the case protecting the beliefs of the devotees. Devaswom minister VS Sivakumar said that the udf government\u2019s policy is to protect temple traditions and customs that has been followed for centuries. \u201cWhen we file an affidavit in the court, we will take into consideration the beliefs and traditions,\u201d he said.
\nTDB also said that they had no plans to change the age-old customs followed at Sabarimala. Prayar Gopalakrishnan, president of TDB, said that the previous LDF government was responsible for the SC\u2019s observation.
\n\u201cIt is the wrong affidavit filed by the then LDF government which led to such a situation. The court has made the observation without understanding the basis of the temple\u2019s rituals and the speciality of the presiding deity,\u201d says Gopalakrishnan.
\nHe also made it clear the TDB will implead in the case to protect the interests of the devotees. \u201cThe rituals of the temple have evolved as part of the tradition and custom and this has been followed for many centuries. It is the duty of the TDB to protect it at any cost,\u201d he says.
\nSudhakaran rejects arguments Sivakumar\u2019s and Gopalakrishnan\u2019s arguments. \u201cWho are they to take such a decision? This is utter foolishness. No one can bar women from enjoying their fundamental rights and there were instances of women entering the Sabarimala temple. The Congress government has vested interests and they have no right to mock at the rights of women,\u201d he says.
\nSwami Sandeepanandagiri, the founder of the School of Bhagavad Gita says, \u201cThe reasoning is that it is against the traditions of Hindu belief. It is ridiculous to say that the deity will lose his sanctity in the presence of women. Can\u2019t the deity keep his celibacy intact and be free of temptations? Women should be allowed to the temple if they are willing to go.\u201d
\nHe also criticised the community of priests attached to the temple saying their priority is the money and not the welfare of the devotees.
\nHowever, noted poet and environmentalist, Sugathakumari says she would oppose any decision allowing women entry into Sabarimala.
\n\u201cWe are obliged to follow certain customs and there is no need for women to visit Sabarimala as there are many Ayyappa temples downhill where they can visit and worship,\u201d she says.
\nMeanwhile, Nikita Azad, who started \u2018Happy to Bleed\u2019 campaign in response to a controversial statement made by Gopalakrishnan a month ago, tells Tehelka that the Supreme Court\u2019s observation is highly appreciable.
\n\u201cThe observation has lent liveliness to the campaign and I thank the lawyers who moved such a petition before the court. I hope it would lead to more discussions in the country regarding the entry of menstruating women in all temples.\u201d
\nAzad also says that her campaign was well received by the youngsters of the country and especially Kerala. She believes that the campaign has helped in democratising the debate.
\n\u201cIt is the combination of the movement and the firm stands of the lawyers that led to such a discussion,\u201d she adds.
\nHindu Aikyavedi state general secretary, RV Babu says, \u201cSince the issue is internal to Hindu religion and can hurt the Hindu sentiments, the court was not supposed to interfere in the matter. It is better that the priests and the temple authorities decide on it.\u201d
\nHe says Hindu Aikyavedi has no objection to changing the ritualistic practices according to changing times but it should be done only after proper discussion.
\nMeanwhile, the BJP has responded to the controversy with caution. The state president Kummanam Rajasekharan has opined that it would be better to leave decisions on temple practices to religious scholars and that the court has only made an observation on it.
\nadarsh@tehelka.com<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Supreme Court asks the Travancore Devaswom Board why women aged between 10-50 are banned in the famous hill shrine, setting off a fierce debate. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":70,"featured_media":264621,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[56],"tags":[453,6559,466,3926,134,6560,6561,6562],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/tehelka.com\/rest-api\/wp\/v2\/posts\/264598"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/tehelka.com\/rest-api\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/tehelka.com\/rest-api\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tehelka.com\/rest-api\/wp\/v2\/users\/70"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tehelka.com\/rest-api\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=264598"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/tehelka.com\/rest-api\/wp\/v2\/posts\/264598\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tehelka.com\/rest-api\/"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/tehelka.com\/rest-api\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=264598"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tehelka.com\/rest-api\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=264598"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tehelka.com\/rest-api\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=264598"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}