PATHANAMTHITTA: As the debate over women’s entry to the Sabarimala Temple resurfaced with the Supreme Court once again taking up the matter, the Akhila Bharatha Ayyappa Seva Sangham has sharpened its criticism of the state government’s role in the landmark verdict of 2018.
D Vijayakumar, general secretary of the devotees’ organisation, alleged that the 2018 verdict delivered by a five-judge Constitution Bench was secured based on arguments advanced by the then Left government. According to him, the ruling dispensation sought to do away with what he described as a centuries-old custom that restricted the entry of women of menstrual age to the hill shrine.
Vijayakumar told TNIE that the earlier 2016 affidavit filed during the UDF regime, which supported the continuation of the traditional practice, was withdrawn by the subsequent LDF government and replaced with a fresh affidavit favouring women’s entry.
Vijayakumar further alleged that the government failed to present the “true factual position” of Sabarimala before the court. He pointed to an earlier affidavit submitted by the Travancore Devaswom Board stating that women used to visit the temple for the ‘choroonu’ ritual of children for five days every month and that restrictions applied only during the Mandala-Makaravilakku and Vishu seasons. According to him, the government did not correct the factual inaccuracies in that statement.
He claimed that the contradictions in affidavits and shifting stands adopted by the government and the party eventually influenced the apex court’s judgment. “The real facts of Sabarimala could not be effectively conveyed to the Supreme Court,” he said.
He maintained that the restriction is rooted in the belief that Lord Ayyappa is a ‘Naishtika Brahmachari’ (eternal celibate).