Kerala sticks to its stand on Sabarimala

The Kerala government yesterday stuck to its stand favouring women’s entry into the Sabarimala temple, reiterating its position before the Supreme Court of India.

The decision had caused much religious and political turmoil in the state since October last year, with traditionalists opposing women’s entry and the state government giving all support to girls and women devotees in the fertile age to make the pilgrimage to the temple which has traditionally been open only to men.

The state government’s position was clarified before the apex court yesterday when it submitted that the bachelorhood of Ayyappa, the deity at the temple, would not be affected by the presence of girls and young women there.

The temple had traditionally prohibited girls and women in the 10-50 age group from entering the temple. The Supreme Court quashed that in September 2018, ruling that the tradition went against the grain of the constitutional right of equality of gender.

The state government argued yesterday that it could not agree to the view that the presence of a 10-yearold girl could quash Ayyappa’s bachelorhood.

The state government also pointed to the fact that until 2007, women who were above 35 years could be members of the Travancore Devaswom Board, which manages the temple, and that only later was the rule changed to include only women above 60 years.

The state government also argued that there were Ayyappa temples elsewhere that permitted women’s entry, while the same was being prevented at Sabarimala.

To underline its position to allow entry to all devotees irrespective of gender, the state government argued that tradition alone could not be a reason to impose a particular custom if the constitution of the country did not permit it.