Sabarimala issue: What happened in Kerala after the SC verdict?

On September 28, 2018, after the Supreme Court announced its verdict in the Sabarimala case, Kerala faced a political crisis unlike any it had ever seen. The Supreme Court directive was to open the Lord Ayyappa temple—whose deity is said to be a naishtika brahmachari (eternal celibate)—to women devotees. Thousands hit the streets and massive rallies were organised all over the state.

Egged on by the Bharatiya Janata Party and the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, the self-declared protectors of Lord Ayyappa vowed to block every woman of menstrual age who attempted an entry into the shrine. Even the police escorting these women had to back off following protests from the devotees of the 'Save Sabarimala' group. On live television, an elderly woman spat caste insults at the OBC chief minister, the son of a toddy tapper. Women formed vigilante groups, laying siege to the capital city. Caste and religious organisations openly banded in protest against the Supreme Court ruling.

The CPI(M) government promised to follow the Supreme Court verdict in letter and spirit. Days later, it realised it was stuck between a rock and a hard place, and that it would have to weather the political storm. As protesters swarmed to the temple to prevent any woman from entering the shrine, the whole event became television fodder with 24 x 7 media presence and live streaming.

Last October, two women—journalist Kavitha Jakkala of Mojo TV from Hyderabad and Rehana Fathima, an activist from Kochi—were turned away just metres from the famous 18 steps of the Sannidhanam. Claiming Fathima hurt the sentiments of Hindu devotees, Muslim organisation Jamaat-e-Islami expelled her from the community. A third woman, Mary Sweety, was stopped midway by protesters and had to return.

A New Delhi-based woman reporter of The New York Times had made a failed bid to visit the temple in October. She was stopped midway by devotees opposing the entry of women of menstrual age into the hill shrine. The journalist who was accompanied by her male colleague, a foreigner, descended the hills from Marakkoottam area in the face of mounting protests.

Politically, the CPI(M) had—pun intended—chosen the hill to make a stand. But, at the beginning, they found themselves on the back-foot—constantly on the defensive against an overtly aggressive BJP, who accused them of not doing enough to bring the stakeholders (the head priest and the Travancore royal family) into discussions on implementation of the verdict.

Rightwing social media handles flooded timelines with lists and memes of past Supreme Court orders that the CPI(M) and Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan failed to implement. The Congress accused both the CPI(M) and the BJP of turning Sabarimala into a pawn in their political games. UDF constituent Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) announced its complete support to Ayyappa devotees.

On some occasions, IUML activists, sporting party flags, joined the protesting devotees, expressing their solidarity. The Supreme Court ruling queered the pitch, upending traditional political delineations, and caste and religious equations, as friends turned foes, and foes turned strange bedfellows. The CPI(M) government stood firm on its decision to implement the verdict. But, when in the past the party has chided its top leaders for open displays of faith, the state secretary Kodiyeri Balakrishnan himself had to assure the devotees the party was not against them; “Believers walk amongst us too,” he said in a public address.

The BJP announced it was embarking on a rath yatra (modelled after senior BJP leader L.K. Advani’s 1990 Ayodhya Ram temple campaign) from Madhur Siddhi Vinayaka Temple in Kasargode to Pathanamthitta district where Sabarimala is located.

THE WEEK covered the BJP campaign on the ground, and it was symbolism galore. According to legends, Tipu Sultan tried to conquer Siddhi Vinayaka Temple and failed. "Pinarayi Vijayan is our modern-day Tipu Sultan, who is trying to destroy Sabarimala," BJP Kerala general secretary K. Surendran opened his inaugural address to enthusiastic applause. The icing on the cake was the fact the procession commenced on Advani’s 91st birthday, on November 8. “The Sabarimala rath yatra will be a watershed moment for the party,” said Kerala party president P.S. Sreedharan Pillai.

Along with Pillai was Thushar Vellappally, the leader of Bharatiya Dharma Jana Sena, NDA constituent and the political outfit claiming to represent Ezhavas, a numerically strong backward caste community in the state. As opposed to the BJP’s high-octane political offensive, the CPI(M) opted for the quieter, but no-less-intense, counter-campaign—mobilising its cadres and youth organisations like the DYFI to counter BJP propaganda—on the ground and on social media.

Unlike the northern states, religion was never an overt campaign tool in Kerala. But, the BJP had other plans in mind. This was a golden chance for the BJP to lay fresh political moorings in a state that has consistently rejected muscular Hindutva. “We have taken the blessings of Hindu spiritual leaders, Islamic scholars and Christian priests. This is not just an issue that matters to Hindu/Ayyappa devotees. This is a dharmayuddha—a war between believers and non-believers,” a BJP leader warned. A war between believers and the communists, or so they wanted it to be.

But, the tables did soon turn for the saffron party. A video of Pillai speaking at a closed-door event, where he called the Sabarimala fiasco ‘a golden opportunity’, and how the fight was now directly between the BJP and the CPI(M), leaked, evoking widespread outrage. Then came a video of Kannur RSS leader Valsan Thillankeri climbing the pathinettam padi (the final 18 steps) of the Sabarimala temple without the traditional irumudikettu, earning public rebuke from the chief temple priest.

The game of political one-upmanship did not end there. In December, Vijayan announced his decision to implement a women's wall, with nearly 1 million women joining and linking hands. The decision did have its critics, with influential caste-based Hindu organisations like the Nair Service Society (NSS), led by Sukumaran Nair, deciding to keep away, in opposition. Powerful minority outfits like the Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) cited the government decision to only consult with Hindu organisations, dubbing it a "communal wall".

"This will demonstrate the secular and progressive mindset of the state," Vijayan said. "No one can push back the progressive society of Kerala into the dark ages." The event, in all, was largely successful, creating a 620km-long human 'wall' from the northern end of Kasaragod to the southern tip of the state. To counter this, the BJP embarked on an Ayyappa Jyothy (lighting of sacred lamps) campaign, lining up women across the state.

Then came the acid test: The April 2019 Lok Sabha polls, which was when the left parties felt the first burn. Though the Election Commission had barred political parties from using it, Sabarimala emerged as the central theme, or rather the only theme, dominant in the political narrative across Kerala. There was nothing covert in these discussions about faith—a sharp contradiction to the secular, tolerant fabric that the state had been always known for.

During the campaign phase, every Hindu candidate—from both the Congress and the BJP—competed to wear their Hindu identity on their sleeve. Most of these candidates appeared with sandalwood paste on their foreheads, and all of them frequented temples. In the polls, the Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF) swept Kerala. The tally for the 20 Lok Sabha seats stood 19-1 in favour of the UDF, with A.M. Arif from Alappuzha constituency being the only winner for the Left Democratic Front (LDF), led by the CPI(M). In the 2014 election, it was 12-8 in favour of the UDF. The biggest loser in this election was the ruling CPI(M), which lost all but one seat. Adding to its woes, the LDF has come third in one constituency, where the BJP bagged the second slot.

One of the factors that helped the Congress was the resentment against Vijayan among the upper caste/class Hindu voters over his aggressive posturing on the issue of entry of women of all age groups into Sabarimala following the Supreme Court verdict. Though it was the BJP that led the protests on the Sabarimala issue, it was the Congress that benefited from issue.

“Pinarayi's aggression regarding Sabarimala was a huge blunder. He failed to understand what Sabarimala means to believers and fell for the unrealistic words of intellectuals who have no connection with ground realities,” said Congress MP K. Muraleedharan.

That Vijayan's “progressive” posturing on Sabarimala and 'renaissance' slogans did not have many takers is a reality that was reflected in the Lok Sabha poll results. Though one did not foresee any major upheaval against Vijayan in the CPI(M) despite the rout, he had a lot of explaining to do within the party forums.

“Till now, Pinarayi had been doing all the talking and the party stood behind him like a rock without any questions. Now, he will have to listen to others too,” said a senior party leader on condition of anonymity soon after the results.

If there is one party that is equally as sad as the CPI(M), it is, ironically, the BJP. That it failed to open its account despite having a “golden opportunity” in the form of Sabarimala is an issue that will stare the state BJP leadership in the face. The BJP's only solace was that it could put up a decent fight in at least two constituencies.

A CPI(M) secretariat meet held recently to review the poll results had observed that both the Congress and the BJP had managed to misdirect a section of the Sabarimala devotees, causing a large number of women voters to leave the party. The party's stand was criticised in the review meetings of the coalition partners, too, including the CPI.

The CPI(M) seems to have bounced back now. On September 27, LDF's Mani C. Kappan created history as results were declared in the Pala Assembly byelection. Mani. Even the traditional UDF bastions of Ramapuram failed to back the party. Kappan got 54,137 votes, while Kerala Congress (M) candidate Jose Tom could manage only 51,194. BJP's N. Hari came a distant third with 18,044 votes.

But, the CPI(M)'s troubles look far from over. The party is in a quandary as to how to address a court order on the Piravom church, which has resulted in a face-off between the police and the Jacobite faction of Christians. How this will be resolved remains to be seen.