Dargah row reignites Sabarimala debate
THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The Bombay high court decision opening the sanctum of Mumbai’s Haji Ali Dargah to women has brought the focus back on the famous Kerala Sabarimala temple that bars entry to women.
Those in support of women of reproductive age being kept away from the hilltop shrine cite tradition, scriptures and court judgments, those against describe the ban as regressive and discriminatory. One of the holiest Hindu shrines, the Sabarimala Ayyapa temple doesn’t allow entry to women aged between 10 and 50 years.
The ban has been challenged in the Supreme Court, which is hearing a public interest litigation that says the ban violates a woman’s right to practice her religion.
Activists see the Bombay HC judgment as a positive development but the management and traditionalists argue that the Sabarimala case is different.
“We are confident that custom of the temple will be protected. Women are not banned here. There are some restrictions on women between 10-50 age because they can’t undergo 41-day fast due to biological reasons,” said Prayar Gopalakrishnanan, president of Travancore Devaswom Board (TDB) that manages the temple.
A majority of women see the ban as a custom and favour the status quo. “Women have better things to do. It is not an issue at all,” said homemaker Renuka Devi. Women like her blame Left intellectuals and “non-believers” for fanning a non-issue and giving it a gender twist to it.
Women of reproductive age were not allowed because the temple’s idol is based on the concept of naisthik brahmachari (eternal celibate), a fact well documented in the British records and a 1991 Kerala high court verdict, he said.
Only a section among priests and others are clinging on to the 25-year-old court verdict to deny women their due, argue others.
“You have to change with the time. You can’t go back to ancient customs to differentiate women,” said Swami Sandeepananda Giri, director of School of Bhagavad Gita, arguing women were allowed in all other Ayyappa temples.