Row over Left backing for women's temple entry

Thiruvananthapuram: The Leftist government's stand supporting the entry of women of all age-groups in the Sabarimala temple has triggered a row in the southern state of Kerala.

The government made its stand clear in an affidavit it filed before the Supreme Court over some women's groups' demand for allowing the entry of all women to Hindu temple that by tradition now keeps out women of the 10-50 age-group. The women are kept out on the belief that the temple's presiding deity Ayyappa is a celibate.

The opposition to the government has come from different quarters including the family of the temple's "tantri" (chief priest) and the Hindu nationalist organisations.

However, C.K. Guptan, the head of the Travancore Devaswom Board, the body that administers the temple, has come out in favour of the government, stating that the "tantri" need not interfere in these matters.

"Tantris need not look into such matters. If the Board decides something it knows how to get it done," he said on Friday.

Guptan supported the stand of G. Sudhakaran, the minister in charge of temple affairs, who remarked that "wherever men can enter, women too can".

BJP state president C.K. Krishnadas said the government has no business to tamper with the temple's traditions and that it was wrong not to have consulted the temple authorities and religious heads in the matter.

Rituals

Sabarimala's tantri Kandararu Maheswararu said the state should not be passing opinion on ritualistic practices of Hindu places of worship. Maheswararu is the senior-most tantri of the temple. The family from which the tantris are traditionally appointed, has pointed out that entry of women would go against the age-old traditions of the shrine.

The issue of gender equality in Sabarimala has often come up for discussion in Kerala in recent years, and the matter assumed larger proportions when Kannada film actress Jayamala claimed that she had entered the temple's sanctum sanctorum some time ago and had even touched the deity.

The actress' claim led to the matter being discussed at a national level and those approving and opposing women's entry into the temple submitting petitions before the courts.