Not asking women to enter shrine… our duty to give them protection: Kerala CM

As a state government, we have no option but to obey the court order. In 1991, the Kerala High Court had ordered preventing the entry of women between the ages of 10 and 50 to Sabarimala. All governments have been following that order. The LDF governments in 1996, 2006 and 2016 also did the same, until this SC order came.

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How has this case evolved?

When this case (to allow entry of women of all ages into the temple) was filed in 2006, most of the lawyers who were part of Indian Young Lawyers Association, the lead petitioner, were RSS people. During the process, the Kerala government made some major suggestions to the court. One point was that we stand for equal gender rights, but considering the fact that this is a matter of faith, we proposed the constitution of a commission with knowledge in Hindu Dharamasastra. This was part of our affidavit in 2007. We added that the government has no plans to make a law but will follow the court direction.

Moreover, some 100 lawyers appeared for this case. But only a few of them argued against women entry, a majority who impleaded were supporting women entry.

Did the government explore other options, so as to prevent alienating believers upset with this court order?

If there is a court order, the option before the government is to implement it. If women come to Sabarimala following the order, our duty is to take steps to facilitate their entry along with the Devaswom Board. Unfortunately, the SC order is being publicly challenged here. But interestingly, the target of blame is not the SC but us, the state government. It is being portrayed that the state government has made some mistakes.

In a democratic nation, a government has no other option but to implement the court order. We are not asking women to enter Sabarimala, we are not mobilising them to make a visit. Our only duty is to provide them protection. Here, devotees were attacked, one leader publicly admitted that he had a team of youth ready at the shrine (to prevent women entry.) If SC changes its stand tomorrow, we will obey that as well. We cannot go against the Supreme Court….

(Source: Express Photo by Tashi Tobgyal/File)

But the order appears to have led to polarisation in society.

I see it differently. The secular mind of Kerala was formed out of a long process of reforms and renaissance. The Sangh Parivar has been trying to destroy this peaceful environment for a long time. Sabarimala is yet another chance for them. Maybe, some misunderstanding may have arisen among some of the faithful. However, it is only
temporary. I hope the secular mind of Kerala will survive this, that it cannot be challenged by communal forces. I hope for the best.