Sabarimala Temple Row: Security tightened amid reports of entry of more women on final day of pilgrim season
According to latest reports, a woman armed with the Supreme Court order -- permitting the entry of all women into the shrine -- has approached the police, seeking help to offer prayers at the temple as the stand-off over the entry of women of menstrual age into the famous hill shrine continued for the sixth day.
Security has been tightened at Sabarimala and other pilgrim centres connected to it amid reports that women in the menstrual age group are planning to visit the hill shrine Monday, the last day of the "darshan".
Devotees opposing the entry of girls and women in the age group of 10 to 50 years into the temple of "naishtika brahmachari" -- the eternally celibate deity -- are camping at the Sabarimala Sannidhanam temple complex to prevent them from reaching the shrine situated in a dense forest.
Despite clamping section 144, CrPC at Sabarimala Sannidhanam, Pamba, Nilackal and Elavumkal, hundreds of Ayyappa devotees have prevented around 12 women who attempted to visit the shrine, forcing them to give up their plan.
According to latest reports, a woman armed with the Supreme Court order -- permitting the entry of all women into the shrine -- has approached the police, seeking help to offer prayers at the temple as the stand-off over the entry of women of menstrual age into the famous hill shrine continued for the sixth day.
Police have tightened the security at Sannidhanam and other areas following the reported move of some women to visit the temple.
Inspector General of Police (IG) S Sreejith, a top official deputed to ensure the security of women devotees, offered prayers at the Lord Ayyappa temple Monday morning.
Visuals of the officer offering prayers with tearful eyes before the deity were telecast by the local media.
Sreejith had faced the ire of the devotees for taking activist Rehana Fathima to the temple amid tight police security.
However, the police could not take her up to the temple due to strong protests by the Ayyappa devotees.
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Earlier on Sunday, six more women were prevented from entering the Sabarimala shrine by a large number of devotees of Lord Ayyappa.
Amid high drama, the devotees, up in arms against implementation of the Supreme Court order lifting ban on entry of women in 10-50 age group, chanting Ayyappa mantras blocked the six, all Telugu-speaking women, from reaching the famed shrine.
A heavy flow of pilgrims was witnessed at the temple despite intermittent downpour lashing the hills and Pamba.
Though attempts had been made by some young women, including an activist, to enter the temple of the 'Naishtik Brahmachari', the eternally celibate deity, since Wednesday, the devotees backed by priests have stood their ground, saying they would not allow the tradition to be breached.
According to police sources 12 women in the 10-50 age group have so far been prevented from offering worship at the temple, since it opened for the monthly pooja.
BJP demanded a special assembly session to seek theCentre's intervention, while the Congress sought an ordinance by the NDA government.
The Pandalam royal family, the traditional custodian of the Sabarimala temple, alleged the CPI(M)-led LDF government was trying to destroy sanctity of the shrine of the "NaishtikBrahmachari" by taking women in the menstrual age group there.
On Sunday, a 47-year old woman reached up to the 'Nadappandhal' close to the sanctum sanctorum, but was prevented by the devotees chanting "Swamiye Saranam Ayyapa" while five others were stopped enroute to the hills.
The woman, who complained of uneasiness, was brought to a hospital here by the police.
A elderly woman devotee who was present at the spot said as the identity card of the woman showed she was born in 1971 and had not attained the 'permissible age", the other devotees started chanting Sarana mantra.
Earlier, the protesters prevented two women, in their 40s, at the foothills itself. The women were accompanied by their relatives.
The police, who took the women to the safety, said the two informed them that they came to Sabarimala without knowing the customs of the temple.
After the women were brought Nilackal, the base camp, they gave in writing to the police that they did not want to break the centuries-old custom of the temple, sources said.
Amid mounting protest in the state against the Supreme Court order, BJP on Sunday urged the Kerala government to convene a session of the assembly and pass a resolution seeking the centre's intervention to overcome the crisis.
BJP state president P S Sreedharan Pillai claimed even CPI(M) members in the state were opposing the bid to break the custom of the ancient shrine, which draws lakhs of devotees from across the country, especially from southern states.
A small group of BJP leaders was arrested for violating ban orders in force under Section 144 of the CrPC at Nilackal, a key entry point to Sabarimala.
Leader of Opposition in the state Assembly Ramesh Chennithala of Congress urged the Centre to bring an ordinance to overcome the Supreme Court verdict.
CPI(M) politburo member S Ramachandran Pillai claimed the devotees opposing the apex court verdict were in a minority and they did not have the support of the entire Kerala society.
He supported implementation of the court verdict on Sabarimala.
Meanwhile, the Sabarimala Karma Samithi intensified its agitation against the CPI(M)-led government's "hasty" move to implement the court order.
Thousands of people participated in the "namajapa yatra" (protest march chanting Ayyappa mantra) to police stations across the southern state against alleged police action on the samithi activists near Sabarimala last week.
Hundreds of women participated in a protest march held in Erumeli, a key pilgrim centre connected with Sabarimala.
State police chief Loknath Behera said the police will conduct a review of the alleged police lapses while handling the issues related to Sabarimala after the doors of the shrineclose on Monday.
He said the Sabarimala annual pilgrim season beginning next month was going to be a challenging one for them.
In another development, activist Rehana Fathima, who had made an attempt to enter the temple on Friday, has been expelled from the Muslim community for "hurting the sentiments of lakhs of Hindu devotees", the Kerala Muslim Jama'ath Council said.
The Sabarimala temple opened for pilgrimage on Wednesday, the first day of the Malayalam month of Thulam. Unlike other Hindu temples in Kerala, Sabarimala Sree Dharma Sastha temple is not open the year-round but opens for its devotees for the first five days of every month in the Malayalam calendar, as well as during the annual ‘mandalam’ and ‘makaravilakku’ festivals between mid-November to mid-January. The temple will be closed on Monday after which the shrine is to be shut for the rest of the month.
Kerala has been witnessing protests against the entry of girls and women of menstrual age into Sabarimala temple since the government had said it would abide by the ruling of the apex court.
The agitation intensified since the shrine was opened for the five-day monthly pooja on October 17.
On September 28, a five-judge Constitution bench of the SC, headed by then chief justice Dipak Misra, lifted the centuries-old ban on the entry of women of menstrual age into the shrine.
The Centre on Friday asked the southern states of Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Karnataka to tighten security in view of the continuing protests against the Supreme Court order allowing entry of women of all age groups to Sabarimala temple.