PATHANAMTHITTA: With crucial local body and Assembly elections approaching, politics in the name of the Sabarimala hill shrine has once again turned murky. Hindu outfits have warned of another fiasco, alleging a fresh ‘sacrilege’ reminiscent of the 2019 massive protests triggered by a few women’s attempt to enter the temple.
Amid preparations for the Global Ayyappa Sangam, several Hindu organisations, including the Ayyappa Seva Sangham, have voiced strong opposition to the meet.
Speaking to TNIE, Ayyappa Seva Sangham national vice-president D Vijayakumar said the outfit, founded in 1945 to propagate Ayyappa dharma, even before the Travancore Devaswom Board (TDB), has always remained apolitical and worked exclusively for devotees.
“We do not cooperate with the Global Ayyappa Sangamam. Annadanam at Sabarimala was our initiative to serve devotees, and even the High Court has recognised our role several times. But the TDB intervened, took over annadanam, and curtailed our services,” he alleged.
According to him, the Sangham recruits nearly 1,500 volunteers every year and deploys them for cleaning purposes under the Sabarimala Sanitation Society chaired by the district collector.
“We send volunteers to clean several locations including, Nilakkal, Sannidhanam, Pamba, Pandalam, and Chengannur. The TDB has no permanent facility for this. They bring in temporary staff only during the pilgrimage season. We are veterans in these services, yet the board has systematically sidelined us.
Several Hindu organisations, including Ayyappa Seva Samajam, Sree Boothanatha Sarvaswam, Mata Amritanandamayi Math and Sree Subramanya Board were also weakened by Devaswom interventions,” Vijayakumar said.
He further pointed out that even cremation services of devotees at Sabarimala are handled by the Sangham. “In this situation, how can we attend the Sangamam? We were completely sidelined,” he said.
Women entry issue
Touching upon the women entry controversy, Vijayakumar said the Sabarimala tradition bars women between 10 and 50 years from entering the shrine. “However, during the Achuthanandan regime, an affidavit was filed claiming women had historically entered the shrine. It was corrected later by Oommen Chandy. But Pinarayi Vijayan’s government submitted another affidavit in the name of reformation, which led to the Supreme Court verdict allowing women entry,” he said. He also accused the government of misusing the TDB.