Sabarimala opens today, Kerala on edge

Thiruvananthapuram, October 16

Kerala on Tuesday waited with bated breath for the opening of the gates of Sabarimala temple tomorrow, the first time since the Supreme Court allowed women of all age groups to enter the shrine, under the shadow of ominous warnings of “mass suicides” and threats of disruption.

The last gasp effort by the Travancore Devaswom Board (TDB), which manages the temple, to defuse the situation came to nought with the Pandalam royal family and other stakeholders walking out of a meeting called by it over its reluctance to discuss the issue of filing a review petition against the apex court order.

Meanwhile, hundreds of women devotees of Lord Ayyappa, the eternally celibate deity of Sabarimala, picketed the road to the hill shrine and prevented women they suspected were of menstrual age from proceeding to the shrine some 20 km away. They checked buses and private vehicles for girls and women of the “banned” age group and forced them to abandon their journey. Among those was a woman journalist Ritu, who 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 devotees.

“No woman belonging to the banned age group of 10-50 will be allowed to travel further from Nilackal, the gateway to Sabrimala, and offer prayers at the shrine when it opens for the monthly pooja tomorrow,” said a woman protester. A small police contingent looked the other way.

CM Pinarayi Vijayan ruled out any rethink of his government’s decision against seeking a review of the SC order.

The TDB went into a huddle with stakeholders to soothe frayed tempers amid protests by devotees. There was, however, no breakthrough. “It is painful...we cannot agree. We wanted a decision on filing the review petition to be taken today itself, but the board said it can be discussed only at the next meeting of the board on October 19,” Shashikumar Varma, a member of the Pandalam royal family, said. — PTI

‘Will ensure security’

"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. Stern action will be taken against anyone who prevents devotees from going to Sabarimala." Pinarayi Vijayan, Kerala CM