RSS-backed outfit holds event of lighting lamps across Kerala to uphold Sabarimala traditions

The event called 'Ayyappa Jyothi' was planned by the SKS with the aim of galvanising support among the Hindu community for the protests centering around the Sabarimala temple, with backing from BJP and caste-based organisations such as the NSS.

In a bid to gain an upper hand in the ongoing row over women’s entry into the Sabarimala shrine, the Sabarimala Karma Samithi (SKS), an umbrella organisation of right-wing outfits backed by the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), paraded thousands of men, women and children across Kerala’s streets simultaneously lighting lamps.

The event called ‘Ayyappa Jyothi’ was planned by the SKS with the aim of galvanising support among the Hindu community for the protests centering around the Sabarimala temple, with backing from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and caste-based organisations such as the Nair Service Society (NSS). It was also launched as a counter to the LDF’s proposed ‘women’s wall’ on January 1, as part of which thousands of women are set to line up as a human wall to strengthen the party’s stand on the issue.

Also Read : Two women stopped from entering Sabarimala temple

As part of the ‘Ayyappa Jyothi’ programme, thousands of people stood by the roadside from northernmost Kasaragod district to Thiruvananthapuram in the south lighting lamps from 6 pm till 6:30 pm, expressing solidarity with temple traditions and customs that bar women of menstruating age from offering prayers. BJP state president PS Sreedharan Pillai and the party’s lone MLA, O Rajagopal, participated in the programme in front of the Secretariat in Thiruvananthapuram.

Also Read : Sabarimala: The past and present

On September 28, the Supreme Court swept aside temple traditions to allow women of all ages to enter the shrine. However since then, every time a woman of menstruating age attempted to climb the hill leading to the temple, violent protests backed by right-wing outfits have rocked the premises. Last week, a six-member group of women from Tamil Nadu were forced to return home after mostly male pilgrims blocked their way to the shrine.

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