This story involves a BJP minister and a temple, but this is an unusual one. On his birthday, newly elected Education Minister of Rajasthan, Ghanshyam Tiwari, created history. Ignoring protests and lecturing priests, he broke an ancient tradition and took his wife and daughter inside the sanctum-sanctorum of the Ghushmeshwar Shiva temple in Siwad yesterday.In the process, Tiwari opened the temple doors to all women, many of whom have expressed resentment at being kept out of the shrine in the temple’s visitor book.‘‘I told them that if my wife couldn’t go in then neither would I,’’ says Tiwari, who says he wasn’t aware of the rule when he arrived at the temple in Sawai Madhopur’s Siwad area along with wife, son and daughter.As the priests objected, Tiwari and his son stuck to their ground. They had almost turned to go back when the temple trustees came to their rescue and the situation was diffused. The complete Tiwari family then entered the sanctorum and offered prayers.Soon after that, the temple trust passed a resolution allowing the entry of women into the sanctum-sanctorum.‘‘Actually, every time a woman asked us why she was not being allowed inside we never had a reply,’’ says Prem Prakash Sharma, general secretary of the Ghushmeshwar Shiva temple trust, who firmly backs Tiwari’s move. ‘‘We were ashamed but were not able to break tradition. Now the doors have been opened and we will gladly welcome women in.’’Ironically, adds Sharma, ‘‘The biggest disciple in the history of this temple (a centuries-old Shiva shrine) was a woman. Ghushma, after whom the temple is named, was a Brahmin lady who performed puja here. It is only in the recent past that the rulers of this area banned the entry of women. We don’t know exactly why or when.’’On Friday, Tiwari arrived with his family to participate in the closing ceremony of the 11th ‘Kundiya Mahayagya’. As the minister was entering the sanctum-sanctorum, the priests prevented his wife and daughter from entering, stating that women were not allowed inside. ‘‘We told them it was ridiculous,’’ says Tiwari.Incidentally, former minister and Independent MLA from Siwad ‘Thakurain’ Narendra Kanwar, herself a woman, is not happy at the break from tradition.‘‘This whole thing was never about banning women from the sanctorum but just ensuring that they did not make the place impure,’’ according to her. ‘‘There is no other way to stop illiterate village women from entering the temple while they are menstruating. And if they enter, they vitiate the temple’s atmosphere. There are always bad repercussions when a temple is made impure.’’Kanwar has never entered the temple—‘‘Only my son performs puja there’’—and has no problems with that. ‘‘We pray at home. I set an example for the village women to follow and to ensure that the purity and sanctity of the temple is maintained.’’But Sharma, who believes in women empowerment, brushes aside such objections. He is also confident there won’t be any uproar as feared. ‘‘Barring a few priests who have been at loggerheads with the trust since it was created 10 years ago, no one else has protested against this.In the village, women are happy and we are going to try and ensure that their entry is not stopped.’’
