Sabarimala temple closes, ‘ban’ on women’s entry still in place
Five More Women Denied Darshan On Monday, Taking Total Number To 13
Disney Tom & Rejith Balakrishnan TNN
Sabarimala:23.10.2018
Sabarimala: The Sabarimala temple closed on Monday night with the ‘ban’ on entry of women still in place, after six days of tense standoff between protestors and police that had the entire state on the edge. The historic Supreme Court verdict allowing women between the age of 10 and 50 to worship at the hill-top shrine remained unimplemented, despite multiple attempts by women to enter the temple. Amid several tense situations, the state government managed to prevent large-scale violence.
On Monday, five women from Guntur in Andhra Pradesh tried to get a ‘darshan’ but had to turn back. They were part of a group on a pilgrimage of various Kerala temples and had “blundered” into Sabarimala, unaware of the situation here. Four women turned back soon after they began the climb, after some Teleguspeaking male pilgrims warned them of what lay ahead. The fifth woman continued for a while before protesters forced her to go back.
Another woman Bindu, a 43-year-old woman hailing from Kozhikode, sought permission from police to visit the temple but even before she reached Pamba, the bus she was travelling in from Erumely was blocked by protesters and she was forced to alight. A police team rescued her from the mob, and she was taken away in a police jeep after she decided to abandon her plan to climb Sabarimala.
Since last Wednesday, when the temple opened for the monthly pujas, 13 women between the age of 10 and 50 attempted to climb the hill and get darshan but all of them were blocked and forced to turn back by scores of protestors, ranging from devotees to cadres of right wing outfits. The most dramatic incident was on Friday when an activist and a journalist were escorted uphill by police in full riot gear, but just short of the 18 ‘holy steps’ they had to turn back when the chief tanthri (priest) threatened to close the temple if the two young women were allowed darshan.
Travancore Devaswom Board, which manages Sabarimala, is meeting on Tuesday to decide on the final report it plans to submit to SC regarding issues that have cropped up in implementing the verdict, including the law and order aspect. “Whether it will be just a report or if they would seek a prayer in the Supreme Court will be decided after consultations with senior advocate Abhishek Singhvi,” law minister A K Balan said. He also voiced his scepticism on the flurry of review petitions.
REST IS HISTORY: Policemen at Pamba take a nap on ‘dollies’ meant for pilgrims as the situation in Sabarimala eased on Monday
Five More Women Denied Darshan On Monday, Taking Total Number To 13
Disney Tom & Rejith Balakrishnan TNN
Sabarimala:23.10.2018
Sabarimala: The Sabarimala temple closed on Monday night with the ‘ban’ on entry of women still in place, after six days of tense standoff between protestors and police that had the entire state on the edge. The historic Supreme Court verdict allowing women between the age of 10 and 50 to worship at the hill-top shrine remained unimplemented, despite multiple attempts by women to enter the temple. Amid several tense situations, the state government managed to prevent large-scale violence.
On Monday, five women from Guntur in Andhra Pradesh tried to get a ‘darshan’ but had to turn back. They were part of a group on a pilgrimage of various Kerala temples and had “blundered” into Sabarimala, unaware of the situation here. Four women turned back soon after they began the climb, after some Teleguspeaking male pilgrims warned them of what lay ahead. The fifth woman continued for a while before protesters forced her to go back.
Another woman Bindu, a 43-year-old woman hailing from Kozhikode, sought permission from police to visit the temple but even before she reached Pamba, the bus she was travelling in from Erumely was blocked by protesters and she was forced to alight. A police team rescued her from the mob, and she was taken away in a police jeep after she decided to abandon her plan to climb Sabarimala.
Since last Wednesday, when the temple opened for the monthly pujas, 13 women between the age of 10 and 50 attempted to climb the hill and get darshan but all of them were blocked and forced to turn back by scores of protestors, ranging from devotees to cadres of right wing outfits. The most dramatic incident was on Friday when an activist and a journalist were escorted uphill by police in full riot gear, but just short of the 18 ‘holy steps’ they had to turn back when the chief tanthri (priest) threatened to close the temple if the two young women were allowed darshan.
Travancore Devaswom Board, which manages Sabarimala, is meeting on Tuesday to decide on the final report it plans to submit to SC regarding issues that have cropped up in implementing the verdict, including the law and order aspect. “Whether it will be just a report or if they would seek a prayer in the Supreme Court will be decided after consultations with senior advocate Abhishek Singhvi,” law minister A K Balan said. He also voiced his scepticism on the flurry of review petitions.
REST IS HISTORY: Policemen at Pamba take a nap on ‘dollies’ meant for pilgrims as the situation in Sabarimala eased on Monday
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