Anjan Kumar Samal
Recently women between the ages of 10 and 50 have entered the disputed Sabarimala temple in Kerala.
It is absolutely first case of entry of women even in the period of menstruation for which it is also termed as historic. However, as per many unconfirmed reports, news of women entering into the temple had been coming before.
<a data-snax-placeholder="Source" class="snax-figure-source" href="https://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/ban-on-entry-of-women-facts-controversies-about-kerala-s-sabarimala-temple/story-K4Xi6GKMacPDmQO2jAmjNO.html" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">https://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/ban-on-entry-of-women-facts-controversies-about-kerala-s-sabarimala-temple/story-K4Xi6GKMacPDmQO2jAmjNO.html</a>
The Apex Court of India in a verdict decided in September 2018 that women of all ages can enter into the temple of Lord Ayaapa at Sabarimala. After this many women even tried to enter into the temple alone and some tried in group.
But these attempts to enter into the shrine failed due to heavy opposition and attacks of devotees of Swami Ayyappa several times in earlier days.
But on January 2, in the morning at four o’clock in the, two women named ‘Kanakdurga’ and ‘Daksh Ammini’ entered into the temple breaking the longest tradition of Lord Ayyappa and also offered a prayer to Swami Ayyappa. Both of them are absolutely around 40 years old.
<a data-snax-placeholder="Source" class="snax-figure-source" href="http://www.greattelangaana.com/women-will-be-allowed-for-ayyappa-darshan-2/" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">http://www.greattelangaana.com/women-will-be-allowed-for-ayyappa-darshan-2/</a>
Both women were successful in entering the temple of Swami Ayyappa in the protection of policemen and activists in plain clothes following the stricture of country’s highest court of law and order.
The protesters against the admission of women from the age group of 10 to 50 years in the temple claimed that only after the Supreme Court’s decision, women could able to enter Sabarimala temple and this January incident is the very first case so far.
There is an unprecedented evidence that even before the Supreme Court order, women under 50 had entered into the temple of Swami Ayyappa at Sabarimala.
The Travancore Devasam Board, that supervises the Sabarimala temple, also had information about these entrances and these women got permission directly from the board. At the same time, the receipt for the payment of the fees for worshiping these devotees was also released.
The Kerala High Court had given a decision after examining a case earlier in which such cases of entrance of women were mentioned. As per those decission, it shows that women who had menstruation could able to eneter into the Shrine as per the order and permission of ‘The Travancore Devasam Board’.
<a data-snax-placeholder="Source" class="snax-figure-source" href="https://www.deccanherald.com/specials/sunday-spotlight/bjp-desperately-needs-701507.html" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">https://www.deccanherald.com/specials/sunday-spotlight/bjp-desperately-needs-701507.html</a>
After this S. S. in the Kerala High Court A person named Mahadevan filed a petition and said that VIPs are being given an inappropriately priority in the temple and women from 10 to 50 years are being allowed to enter, which is against tradition.
This petition was later converted into a PIL.
In its reply, the Board of ‘Travancore Devasam’ demanded that any rights of the common citizen have not been violated in this matter, so this petition should be canceled.
In the year 2016, after 26 years of this, the Devasam Board in the Supreme Court opposed the entry of women. The Board also had acknowledged that women having menstruation, i.e. 10 to 50 years of age, had already entered into the temple and in the event of such the board used to take a fee from the devotees.
<a data-snax-placeholder="Source" class="snax-figure-source" href="http://hankered.in/2018/law/constitution/the-sabarimala-controversy/" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">http://hankered.in/2018/law/constitution/the-sabarimala-controversy/</a>
According to court judgment, the board allowed women of all ages to enter the temple on the occasion of the beginning of the Malayalam months and on the occasion of food festival. But stunningly according to ‘Makarvalyakulaku Puja’, ‘Mandla Puja’ and ‘Malayalam Calendar’, during the festival , women of 10 to 50 years were not allowed to enter into the temple.
According to a court judgement, “Maharaja of Travancore, Empress and his diwan had entered the temple in the year 1115 for the visit of Swami Ayyappa, according to the Malayalam calendar, there was no restriction on the entry of women in the temple in the olden days but it’s the fact that a large number of women were not coming to the temple to worship Lord Ayyappa.
<a data-snax-placeholder="Source" class="snax-figure-source" href="https://www.indiatoday.in/magazine/states/story/20181105-kerala-the-sabarimala-stakes-1375293-2018-10-27" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">https://www.indiatoday.in/magazine/states/story/20181105-kerala-the-sabarimala-stakes-1375293-2018-10-27</a>
Former Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, Deepak Mishra, had also remarked the High Court’s decision in his verdict that ordered the entry of all women between 10 to 50 is justified.
Regardless of the devotees of Swami Ayyappa and in some media circles, it is claimed that after the Supreme Court order, these two women under 50 years of age who entered Sabarimala are the first , but it is true that the years Earlier this temple was given permission of entry of women of all ages.
