Left move to divide Hindus backfires; Muslims, Christians too slam Sabarimala verdict; join rallies
Justice Kamal Pasha, a retired Muslim judge of Kerala High Court, said he believes that women would not be interested to go to Sabarimala even in the wake of the SC verdict. He was also in favour of protecting traditions followed by people for centuries.
In a video that went viral on social media, a Muslim woman and her family would prevent any young women going to Sabarimala. “The floods have happened because of Lord Ayyappa’s wrath. We will not allow any women to enter Sabarimala, whatever it takes. We have been devotees of Lord Ayyappa for generations. We give neythenga (coconut filled with ghee) for abhishekam at Sabarimala,” she said.
She, being a resident of Pandalam, where Lord Ayyappa is believed to have taken birth, said there was no discrimination on the basis of caste, creed and religion in Sabarimala. “Our forefathers have gone there. Lord Ayyappa is very powerful and we have experienced it in our lives,” she added.
A huge majority of women across Kerala is against young women entering the Sabarimala shrine in Kerala in violation of the age-old traditions. For millions of them, it is unthinkable to disturb the sanctity of the temple.
Several Christians, including controversial MLA PC George, came down heavily on the Supreme Court “for interfering in the religious affairs” of Hindus. A senior Christian leader of the Kerala Congress said he had visited Sabarimala several times in the past observing vratham (penance). The apex court has clearly crossed its limits was the general refrain among people this correspondent interacted.
Kerala witnessed massive rallies on October 2 supporting centuries-old tradition. Interestingly, participation of women in the rallies was incredible, beyond imagination. More than ten thousand women participated in the rally in Pandalam, the place of the Pandalam royal family, the major place linked with the legend of Lord Ayyappa, the presiding deity of Sabarimala. In several places traffic on the highways was obstructed for several hours, thanks to the massive rallies. Significantly none of them were organized by any mains stream Hindu bodies. All were spontaneous congregations.
Since Government of Kerala is not in a mood to move a revision petition before the apex court, the mass movements and agitations are highly likely to take place in the state. Hindus blame the CPM-led LDF government for not arguing the case effectively in the court. They cite several examples of spending several lakhs of rupees for conducting cases in the apex court even though they lacked merit. The case against reinstating the ousted DGP T. P. Senkumar IPS is an example. At last government failed and Senkumar was reinstated. In another words, LDF government spends lakhs for their false prestige, but it develops cold feet when the issue is of paramount importance for Hindu tradition.
This correspondent spoke to few women activists. They oppose the SC verdict. The fundamental rights laid down in the Constitution are concerning day-to-day life of the citizens, not for the religious affairs. Deity has got the fundamental rights. Authorities should have conducted a referendum among the Hindus before reaching a conclusion. One lady activist told that they are going to educate the Hindu women and persuade them not to go to Sabarimala in the wake of the SC verdict. They believe that the temple is sanctified based on the thanthra system. So, thanthris alone are capable of restructuring the system. Hindus’ religious sentiments should not be hurt at any circumstances.
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