Ground Zero Sabarimala: The Last 36 Hours 

Thursday, 18 October 2018

A day after the state failed to implement the Supreme Court’s controversial judgement lifting restrictions on the entry of women of reproductive age into Sabarimala Temple, Lord Ayyappa’s abode, protests against the order intensified.

Protesters had gathered in areas around the hilltop shrine, including the two base camps critical for access to the temple, Wednesday. The temple had opened for the first time that evening since the apex court overturned a centuries-old tradition. The court’s decision, which the devotees have called an attempt at interference in their religious beliefs, has triggered widespread protests throughout the state. Interestingly, these protests are led by women themselves.

Under attack from the government and the media, the protesters have defended themselves by arguing that the aim of the practice was to preserve and honour the celibacy of the deity, Lord Ayyappa. During the hearing in the case, lawyer J Sai Deepak, representing ‘People for Dharma’, put forward evidence from various religious texts before the bench, establishing the celibate nature of the deity. He stated that the charge of discrimination against women would have been justified had the entire focus of the practice would have been to keep “all women” out, but that’s not the case. (Read: ‘People For Dharma’ Lawyer Leaves Court Spellbound; Here Are His Arguments)

On day one, the protesters had successfully thwarted the government’s effort to use police to escort women between ages 10-50 to the temple premises. The Left Democratic Front (LDF) government, led by the Communist Party of India (Marxist), had deployed 1,000 police personnel, including women, around Sabarimala and at the two base camps in Nilakkal and Pamba. While Nilakkal is around 18 km away from the temple, the base cap at Pamba is 5 km away.

On day two, both sides seemed ready to up the ante. While the state administration imposed prohibitory orders banning large gatherings for 24 hours in a 30 square km radius of the temple town, Hindu organisations called a statewide shutdown to protest against the state government’s refusal to file a review petition. Protesters held their own, refusing to allow women who turned up for the trek to go ahead. In one such incident, two journalists of the New York Times, one of whom was a foreigner, were forced to abort their trek after they managed to go beyond the base camp in Pamba.

Meanwhile, police continued to use brute force against the protesters. It was seen pelting stones at the devotees. Sixteen cases have been filed against a total of 300 people due to the unrest. 'Save Sabarimala' campaigner Rahul Easwar, a member of the chief priest’s family, was taken into custody by the Kerala Police. The activists has been sent to 14 day police custody and is currently lodged in Kottarakkara sub jail.

The Travancore Devaswom Board, controlled by the Communist Party of India (Marxist), said yesterday that the board is willing to file the review petition if protesters call off their agitation. Kadakampally Surendran, Minister for Tourism and Devaswom, said that the Board is free to take “independent” decisions.

The Bharatiya Janata Party and its National Democratic Alliance partners, who have been supporting the protests, had extended their support to the hartal call by Hindu outfits. The Congress has refused to join the strike but has extended support to the protesters.

Friday, 19 October 2018

Today, news broke in the morning that two young women, were walking towards the shrine with full police protection. Even as outrage was building on this story, it was revealed that neither of them were Hindus. One was, Rehana Fathima, an employee of BSNL in Ernakulam District and the other was Kavitha Koshy, a journalist from Hyderabad.

A few minutes later, reports emerged that the Devaswom Minister of Kerala, Kadakampally Surendran had informed the Director General of Police that the temple was not a place for activism and that it would be irresponsible for the police team to take the women further.

Surendran was quoted as saying, “Sabarimala is not a place for you to prove the power of your activism. I plead to all activists to not misuse the judgement like this. If true devotees come, the government is committed to take them to the sannidhanam. The government is not responsible for providing security to activists”.

Even as this story was breaking, it seemed inevitable for matters to turn violent at the gates of the shrine, when the women were only a few hundred metres away from it.

But just then, the head priest of the temple did this:

Around half an hour later, the police made an announcement that the two women had decided to return and would not enter the shrine.

The faith of the devotees of Ayyappa was respected, at least for the day, and the women along with the police climbed down the hill.