KOTTAYAM: Evoking memories of the revolt that he had spearheaded against the Pinarayi Vijayan government over the Sabarimala women entry issue in 2018, NSS general secretary G Sukumaran Nair on Thursday unleashed a scathing attack on the chief minister on another contentious topic — men entering temples with shirts on.
“It (removing shirt while entering temple) is a practice followed by people for ages, and it cannot be altered by a government or a particular community,” Nair said, referring to Pinarayi’s remark supporting Sivagiri Mutt head Swami Satchidananda’s call to change the custom.
“The CM should not have endorsed (Satchidananda’s) suggestion,” he said while addressing the inaugural session of the Mannam jayanthi celebrations at the NSS headquarters in Perunna.
A charged-up Nair didn’t spare the Sivagiri Mutt either.
“There are reports that somebody said the practice (of removing the shirt) is to ascertain whether the person entering the temple is a Brahmin. Why are these interpretations limited to Hindus and their customs alone? Such obsolete practices, particularly pertaining to costumes, exist in other religions, too. Does the Sivagiri Mutt or the chief minister have the guts to question such practices in other religions?” he wondered.
The NSS is against changing age-old rituals and customs, he said.
“Several temples are managed by various subdivisions in the Hindu community, and each temple follows its own customs and practices. While some temples permit darshan wearing shirts, others do not. In Sabarimala, there are no such restrictions. Hindus have the freedom to enter the premises without disrupting the customs and rituals of the respective temples. This is the stand of the NSS in this matter,” he said.
NSS founder Mannathu Padmanabhan had opened his temple at Perunna for all people years before uprisings erupted demanding temple entry rights for all sections and subsequent proclamations, Nair added.