Sabarimala impasse back, Kerala govt withdraws handbook for cops on women entry

“The government has no plan to allow entry for all (permitting entry of women of menstruating age). We would go by the court directive. It would be examined how such a directive cropped in the handbook,’’ Radhakrishnan told the media.

The home department brought out the handbook for policemen on duty as the two-month-long annual pilgrim season at the shrine began Wednesday evening. The controversial directive to the policemen was issued as part of general guidelines. Quoting the September 2018 verdict of the Supreme Court, it said all pilgrims are allowed entry at the temple.

On Thursday, BJP state president K Surendran said that in the past the faithful had forced Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan to correct his stand. “If the government has certain other intentions, it is better to nip them in the bud. We have not forgotten the past developments,’’ he said.

In 2018, the Supreme Court ruled that the prohibition of girls and women between the age of 10 and 50 at the Sabarimala temple was unconstitutional. However, Kerala witnessed massive protests from various Hindu organisations against the government’s decision to implement the order by allowing entry for women of all ages. The state was rocked by repeated incidents of violence, including at Nilakkal, the base station of the temple in the Pathanamthitta district. A few young women even managed to enter the temple in January 2019.

As review pleas were filed, in November 2019, the Supreme Court kept them pending until a larger Bench decided on a gamut of issues around religion, essentiality of religious practices, and constitutional provisions relating to freedom of religion.