Heavy rain blocks Woman’s Journey to Shabarimalai Temple

Heavy rain blocks Woman’s Journey to  Shabarimalai Temple

Shabarimalai: SP Manju, a Dalit woman activist, who was planning to visit the Sabarimala shrine Saturday, 20^th October 2018, told the Kerala police she would retreat shortly after her journey was stalled following heavy rain at the hilltop.

The woman, who is the general secretary of a Kerala-based Dalit outfit, had to halt her historic trek for the day because of heavy rains in the region. It was said that she would resume the pilgrimage on Sunday, 21^st October 2018 under heavy police protection, provided she passes a ‘background check’.

However, later, Police said that woman told them she will not continue her journey towards Temple.


Embarking on the journey, the woman had clarified that she had come to the Lord Ayyappa shrine as a devotee and not as an activist.


Kerala police said that, SP Manju has 14 cases against her and that she told them she is going back.


As reports of yet another woman attempting to make it to the shrine reached devotees at the temple, they again trooped to the entry point. Protesting devotees also lined the trekking path to the hilltop.


Devotees thought she was under 50. She was allowed to proceed when she showed her identity card which proved her age.


Saturday was the fourth day since the temple gates were opened for the monthly puja after the Supreme Court last month lifted a ban on women between 10 and 50 years entering the Lord Ayyappa shrine.

Temple Rituals stopped for some time in Shabarimalai

Temple Rituals stopped for some time in Shabarimalai

Shabarimalai: Amid high drama, two women – Kavitha Jakkal of Hyderabad based Mojo TV and an activist Rehana Fatima – were forced to return from within 500 metres of the Sabarimala temple Friday, 19^th October 2018  after its chief priest threatened to shut it down if they entered the shrine dedicated to Lord Ayyappa. And the 3^rd woman Mary Sweety returned amid protests after she reached Pamba.


Prayer services in the temple were disruptedfor the first time with priests boycotting rituals in protest.


“It is a most painful day. I told everyone if women enter the holy steps. I will close temple and I will go back to my house. I am with devotees. I can’t be a part to violation of temple rituals,” Tantri (chief priest) Rajeevaru Kandarau. There are 18 steps that lead to the temple’s sanctum sanctorum.


After the threat of temple closure, police said the two women would be escorted back.
Earlier, the Pandalam Palace has urged the temple high priest (Tantri), Kandararu Rajeevararu, to take effective steps to ensure due compliance of the ritualistic as well as Tantric custom, tradition and practice at the Ayyappa Temple.


The Pandalam Palace Managing Committe secretary P.N. Narayana Varma told that he has already conveyed the message, through a special messenger, to the Tantri to close the sanctum, in the event of any defilement at the temple premises.


Mr. Varma said the palace messenger and the Pandalam Valiyakoickal Sastha Temple advisory Committee president, Pritvipal, has conveyed the royal family’s direction to close the sanctum if any young woman violates the temple custom and enters the temple precincts or in the event of a bloodshed there.

The Travancore Devaswom Board will meet today in Thiruvananthapuram to find an amicable solution to the deadlock. Ahead of the meeting, the TDB, which administers the hill shrine, Thursday, 18^th October 2018, said it was ready for any sort of compromise to end the stand-off.

TDB president A Padmakumar said the board has always taken a stand that it was ready for any sort of compromise to end the protest and bring normalcy. Seeking to reach out to devotees opposing entry of women of all age groups, he asked if the protests would end if the TDB files a review plea in the Supreme Court against its verdict.

Meanwhile Leader of the Opposition Congress Party Ramesh Chennithala made sharp attack on the Govt and Police for making the mess. Shabarimalai is not a tourist place to anybody to walkover there. It is a temple and devotees feelings must not be hurt. BJP leaders too attacked on the Govt for not honouring the sentments of devotees.

Meanwhile, Kerala Minister of Devasoms, Kadakampally Surendran, claimed the two women were actually activists. "After coming to know that, it becomes our duty to protect the rights of the devotees and not that of activists. Our request to women activists is not to ply their trade in hallowed places. The police should have been more cautious. They should have found out more about these women. The state government is duty-bound to protect the rights of the devotees," said Surendran.

On Thursday, a New Delhi-based woman journalist was stopped midway by devotees opposing the entry of women of menstrual age into the hill shrine. The journalist accompanied by a male colleague, a foreigner, descended the hills from Marakkoottam area in the face of mounting protests. A case has been registered against devotees who allegedly prevented her from trekking and forced her to climb down the hills, PTI reported.

Devaswom Board ‘Ready To Compromise’

Shabarimalai: In what could be seen as a breakthrough in the ongoing Sabarimalai protests, the Travancore Devaswom Board (TDB) president A Padmakumar has said on Thursday, 18^th October 2018 evening,  that board is willing to file the review petition if protesters call off their agitation.

 "We're ready to compromise. Will the protesters call off agitation if the board files review petition? Padmakumar said.

"Board is free to take independent decisions. It can take a call on review petition as well," Devaswom minister Kadakampally Surendran said.

Woman stayed away: Women of the ages hitherto barred from entering the famed Lord Ayyappa temple in Sabarimala stayed away for a second day on October 18 following uneasy calm in Kerala amid a dawn-to-dusk shutdown called by outfits owing loyalty to Hindu groups and the BJP.

Tension prevailed on October 18, a day after the opening of the short five-day pilgrimage season in the wake of the protest shutdown against the alleged police attack on protesters on October 17 even as a senior member of the Sabarimala priest’s family urged women from the 10-50 age group to respect tradition and not visit the Lord Ayyappa shrine.


While on October 17 a couple of women devotees were prevented from undertaking the trek to the hill temple and some women journalists were stopped from proceeding with their coverage amidst violence by activists of Hindu groups affiliated to the BJP and RSS, no women devotee of the ages that have been allowed darshan by the Supreme Court turned up on on October 18.


At the end of the day, A. Padmakumar, president of the Travancore Devaswom Board (TDB), the custodian of the temple, told the media they were ready to go to any extent to resolve the issue.


“Tomorrow we are having a meeting and we wish to ask if the protests will be called off if we decide to file a review petitition against the Supreme Court verdict (allowing women of all ages)?” asked Mr. Padmakumar, also a senior CPI(M) leader.


On October 18 morning, Suhasini Raj, who works as the India reporter for The New York Times, along with a foreign national colleague, managed to go past the Pampa gateway but was stopped midway by angry devotees who erected a human wall before her.


“I had reached half way and then the protests grew stronger. I was hit by a stone and then we decided to return. The police had provided us all the security,” said Ms. Raj, who had earlier pointed out that she came to do her job to speak to devotees.


Pathanamthitta District Collector P.B. Nooh told the media on October 18 afternoon that Section 144 was in force and would be there till October 19 midnight. Police would provide security to any woman who wished to go and pray, he said.


Of the 30 protesters arrested on October 17, 20 were produced before the Magistrate Court in Ranni near Sabarimala and remanded to two weeks judicial custody. The arrested activists included a member of the Tantri family, Rahul Eashwar.


The State-wide shutdown called by the Sabarimala Karma Samithi on October 18 was largely peaceful in Kerala and saw only a few private vehicles ply on the roads.


Stray incidents of protesters pelting stones on state-run buses in some parts of Kozhikode, Malappuram and Thiruvanathapuram were reported, prompting the Kerala State Road Transport Corporation to suspend operations.