BARELY 12 HOURS after lakhs of women lined up along the entire stretch of Kerala to create a ‘women’s wall’ in support of “renaissance values and gender equality”, two women quietly stepped into the Sabarimala temple. By then, more than three months had passed after the Supreme Court lifted the ban on women between the ages of 10 and 50 visiting the hill abode of Lord Ayyappa. A few hours later, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan confirmed that the two women, Bindu and Kanakadurga, had entered the temple. “The government, being duty-bound to obey the Supreme Court order, ensured their entry,’’ said Vijayan.
Bindu and Kanakadurga entered the temple in the wee hours of January 2, wearing the traditional black dress of Ayyappa devotees. Bindu, a dalit, and Kanakadurga, a Brahmin, had the mandatory irumudikkettu on their heads as they folded their hands before Ayyappa, who, according to tradition, prefers to avoid the presence of women as he is a staunch celibate.
Bindu, 41, is a lecturer at the School of Legal Studies, Kannur University, and a leading dalit activist. She has a 12-year-old daughter. Kanakadurga, 40, works as a manager at the Kerala State Civil Supplies Corporation. Her husband is an engineer, and they have two children. Kanakadurga is from Malappuram. Bindu and Kanakadurga became friends through a Facebook group meant for connecting women keen on visiting Sabarimala.
“Malayali women will be grateful to Bindu and Kanakadurga for their bold step. Earth has not shattered because women entered the shrine,” said Reshma Nishanth, the first woman who announced her intention to visit Sabarimala after the Supreme Court verdict. “There is poetic justice that a dalit and a Brahmin joined hands to break the age-old taboo against Hindu women,” she said. Lekshmy Rajeev, a writer, said it was a dream come true for female devotees of Ayyappa.
Bindu and Kanakadurga had tried first to enter the shrine on December 24, but their attempt was foiled by activists of the Save Ayyappa Forum, who had been camping in the temple premises from the beginning of the pilgrimage season in November. A police officer told THE WEEK that the two women insisted that it was their right to visit the temple. “They were not scared of the men who surrounded them, shouting slogans. They were even ready to risk their lives for the cause,’’ he said. He added that the duo agreed to return only after getting an assurance from the chief minister’s office that they would be given another chance once the mandala puja, the main pilgrimage season, was over.
The entire operation was coordinated by the office of the director-general of police and the chief minister’s office. The plan was to time the entry of women with that of the ‘women’s wall’. “The chief minister had made it clear that the women’s wall will have no significance if the government could not ensure the entry of women despite an order of the Supreme Court,’’ said a government official, who was given the task of coordinating with women devotees who wanted to visit the temple. “Every minute detail was planned with so much secrecy that nobody—not even the police officials stationed in Sabarimala—had any clue about what was happening.”
The tantri shut down the shrine once the chief minister confirmed women’s entry. But it was reopened an hour later after shudhikalasham (ritual cleansing). CPI(M) state secretary Kodiyeri Balakrishnan and several other leaders of the ruling Left Democratic Front criticised the decision to shut down the temple and perform shudhikalasham. “It is a clear violation of the Supreme Court order. We will certainly bring this to the attention of the court,’’ said Balakrishnan.
The BJP, meanwhile, has launched protests across Kerala, and continues to target Vijayan. “Pinarayi Vijayan has cheated the entire Hindu community of Kerala,” said BJP state president P.S. Sreedharan Pillai. “We will ensure that he pays for it.’’
Vijayan even had to face caste slurs. The BJP and other organisations affiliated to the sangh parivar have been blocking roads, forcibly shutting down shops and clashing with the police. The Sabarimala Karma Samithi has called for a hartal on January 3. The BJP has announced its support for the hartal, and has also called for a two-day protest.
The Congress, too, has come out criticising Vijayan. “We will protest against the chief minister’s deceit. He must resign,’’ said Ramesh Chennithala, leader of opposition in the Kerala assembly.
Balakrishnan defended the chief minister, saying that there was nothing wrong in implementing the Supreme Court order. “It is a great step towards gender equality. The state government is duty-bound to implement the order. The central leadership of the Congress and the BJP should explain why their state units are behaving like this,’’ he said.
Amid the chaos, another set of women devotees are getting ready to trek to the hill shrine. “We are in touch with the government, and we will go to Sabarimala soon,’’ one of them told THE WEEK. “But I dream of a day when going to Sabarimala is not a law and order issue. And, I hope that day will come soon.”