The about to retire Chief Justice of Supreme Court, as per convention, was in a hurry to dispose of the important pending cases he was hearing. Gender inequality in disallowing women of menstrual age into Sabarimala temple was one such case, which the bench he headed, decided is violative of the Indian Constitution and struck it down. The court, by challenging the century-old practice of barring women has not only challenged the very foundation of religion but could have contested the existence of God itself, placing our secular credentials above religion.
I was close by in the Brahmagiri Hills and saw nothing else in the media or on the TV except the vexed issue of permitting women into Sabarimala temple.
Religions of the world, often, have been patriarchal and grossly discriminatory to women. Hinduism is no exception. ‘Women only’ temples do exist, but they are in rarity. Menstrual period of women was considered to lack hygiene and they thus voluntarily refrained from entering any temple or participate in any religious function. The deity Ayyappa is celibate, and mythology refers to harm to the land if it is broken by the entry of women into the sanctum.
Nothing that is a law or the written in the constitution could be sacrosanct and requires amendments as the people want. Therefore, the court has armed itself with powers to revise, recall any order at any time. By this order, the Supreme Court has placed law firmly over faith, though it sounds hollow and discriminatory when demand for uniform civil code or challenges to Sharia law in discriminating women are all gathering dust.
Implementable is a fundamental requisite of Judicial orders, which was seriously threatened by Karnataka State on the Cauvery river water sharing issue. The Government of Kerala is in a quandary, the choice being a devil or the deep sea, whichever way it responds, torn between its secular credentials, respecting the rule of law and violent aftermath of a Hindu retort.
However, if women devotees have to be allowed, where from emerged Fatima and Mary Sweety? Who perpetrated plan of the devious mischief? Fatima claims to be a devotee of Ayyappa, will it be alone enough strip her of her Islamic bearings? Trupti Desai, the Pune based other activist, who has spearheaded such movement in Sani Signapur is digging her heels to arrive with her aggressive team.
Kerala is a strange state, where all major religions have co-existed in peace for a millennium and more. Inter-religious and inter-cultural practices are standard and tolerance usually the highest. The advent of Wahabi Islam, funded by Saudis has polarised the tranquil lands, which needs to end.
Women could go to the temple, with a pure mind. They should be devotees and not activists, who are funded by foreign powers to instigate communal disharmony and chaos. I must add, this issue could be singularly force polarisation of Hindus and consolidate the vote bank of the BJP.
I wish the lordships had kept the final judgement of the case undelivered and saved itself from the ignominy of disregard by the state in its implementation.
Sampath Kumar
Intrépide voix
