Samikhsya Bureau
Two young women from Kannur, who trekked from Pamba to Sannidanam to have a darshan of Lord Ayyappa at Sabarimala, were stopped at ‘Neelimala’ and sent back on Wednesday morning following protest from devotees.
When the women reached near Neelimala water tank, a few Ayyappa devotees staged a protest on the trekking path and blocked their movement. Later, more Ayyappa devotees joined the protest leading to the arrest of five people from the spot by a police team led by assistant commissioner of police A. Pradeep.
However, when the two women insisted on visiting the temple with police protection in view of September 28 Supreme Court order that allowed the entry of women of all ages into Lord Ayyappa Temple, the police showed its helplessness citing law and order situation and sent them back. The women alleged that the police sent them back forcefully and announced hunger strike demanding police protection.
Kerala Devaswom Minister Kadakampally Surendran said those who sent back the women were not “humans”.
On January 2, two women devotees, below the age of 50, managed to enter the Lord Ayyappa temple here, in a first after the Apex court’s verdict allowed entry of women of all ages into the hillock temple.
The women, identified as Bindu Ammini (40) from Koilandy and Kanaka Durga (39) from Angadippuram in Malappuram entered the temple accompanied by the police officials from Pamba police station to Sannidanam and ensured their darshan at 3.30 am on that day.
In the meanwhile, Kanak Durga, who created history by entering the temple, was reportedly beaten up by her mother in law on Tuesday with a wooden plank. Apparently, due to her action Kanak Durga had drawn the wrath of her orthodox Nair relatives who had no inkling of her plan to visit the temple.
“I knew my life will be in danger but I still wanted to go into the temple. We are proud that we have made it easier for women who wanted to go to Sabarimala now. It is about devotion but it is also about gender quality,” Kanaka Durga had told NDTV after entering the temple.
On the day Bindu and Kanaka Durga entered the temple, lakhs of women of the state formed a 620-km wall crisscrossing the whole state and took a vow to protect and preserve Kerala’s progressive tradition and gender equality.
The Ayyappa Temple has been the eye of the storm since the Supreme Court ordered that women of all ages can enter the temple. According to the temple’s traditions, women aged between 10 and 50 are barred from going to have a darshan of Lord Ayyappa. Since the Apex court’s order, many women have tried to enter the temple but failed due to protests from devotees. The Bharatiya Janata Party has backed those opposing women’s entry in the name of preserving tradition.
Reacting to the CPI (M)-led Left government’s stand on Sabarimala, Prime Minister Narendra Modi who visited Kerala on Tuesday, said the Left government’s action was ‘shameful”. Modi also said Communists do not respect history, culture and the spirituality of the country.
(With UNI input)
