From an influential band of Nairs to group of NRIs, there are many who want to stop women from entering Sabarimala temple, despite SC orders.
Bengaluru: As women gather in Sabarimala to enter the famous hilltop Ayyappa temple after the historic judgment by the Supreme Court, tension prevails along the foothills. Several organisations have raised the banner of ‘Save Sabarimala’, blocked roads and forcibly stopped young women from entering the area around the Pampa River.
Although the Kerala police and government had assured that any woman who wanted to enter the temple could do so freely, several groups leading the protest have been using force to ensure it does not happen.
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Some of these organisations are petitioners in the Supreme Court against the lifting of the ban, as they feel it is injustice not only to their age-old traditions, but also to Lord Ayyappa and his devotees.
Nair Service Society
One of the oldest and biggest groups at the forefront of these demonstrations is the Nair Service Society (NSS), a highly influential body of the majority Nair community.
The NSS has always been against the entry of women, and has fought against the “injustice to Lord Ayyappa” for decades.
As soon as the Supreme Court verdict was delivered, the NSS was the first to file a review petition, alongside the Pandalam royal family.
In its submission, the NSS said: “Allowing entry (of women) into the Sabarimala temple will change the character of the deity and the temple.”
It believes that the residing deity Lord Ayyappa himself did not want it.
People for Dharma
Founded in 2016 by a group of NRIs from Kerala, the organisation began fighting to preserve Hindu tradition. It focussed on the Sabarimala case as it felt that Ayyappa devotees’ beliefs and values needed upkeep.
People for Dharma actually gained traction with a social media campaign called #ReadyToWait. It garnered support from fellow Ayyappa devotees, who were largely women and believed that they were ready to wait until the age of 50 to fulfil their wish to visit the temple.
The Chennai-based society is primarily funded by Shilpa Nair, a Dubai-based entrepreneur. It also relies on charity and contributions from friends and like-minded people, Nair said.
“All the Ayyappa devotees are in this struggle for dharma. We formed because we wanted to stand for the traditional values of the temple. Sabarimala was our first case, and we want to ensure that the tradition continues,” Nair told ThePrint.
Nair, who is in the business of logistics, clarifies that though she is an active member of the Kerala BJP NRI cell, People for Dharma does not have any political backing.
“For me it is clear that I stand with the BJP for national development and helping people, while People for Dharma stands for my Hindu dharma. It is two different things and two different causes,” she said.
Ayyappa Dharma Sena
“It is the right to Lord Ayyappa’s privacy that we are fighting for,” said Rahul Easwar, president of the Ayyappa Dharma Sena.
Easwar is a member of the family of priests in charge of the Sabarimala temple, and formed the group to ensure that people had a platform to voice their concerns.
Wednesday, in compliance with the SC order, the gates of the temple were opened. But the protests intensified and Easwar was arrested by the Kerala Police in Nilakkal.
Speaking to ThePrint from the police station, Easwar said his organisation had been active for many years, but formally registered as a society only in 2016.
“We have a two-pronged approach. Our community is opposed to the entry of women to the temple. On one hand, we uphold Hindu beliefs, and on the other hand, we work towards Hinduism and secularism,” he said.
Claiming to be completely apolitical, Easwar emphasised that the organisation works on charity and is dedicated to serve and help Ayyappa devotees.
Other organisations
There are several other organisations that also are fighting for the cause of dharma. The Sabarimala Ayyappa Samrakshana Samiti has been encouraging protesters to gather in large numbers, and has also called for a state-wide strike in order to stop the women devotees from entering the temple.
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In a Facebook post, the convener of the Samiti, Pratheesh Vishwanath, a lawyer by profession and also a member of the Vishva Hindu Parishad, announced: “The true devotees of Ayyappa will do anything for the sake of Ayyappa. They will even take law in their hands. All devotees should burn effigies of chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan to lodge their protest.”
The post added that the chief minister would be responsible for “all events that transpire henceforth”, such as any violence.
Another organisation called the Hindu Aikya Vedi is also part of the movement. It is an ultra-Right-wing organisation which is known to be backed by the BJP and the RSS in Kerala.
Violence and people taking the law into their hands is not something the state administration can afford to countenance, especially when it is upholding and implementing an order of the apex court. It should not blink. If considered appropriate, it could report the leaders of the protests to the Supreme Coury for initiation of contempt proceedings.
Why don’t you also explain and analyse which groups were involved in the litigation, in the first place? And why is the CPM government hell-bent in ‘implementing the misconstrued SC order, instead of filing a review petition. And why did the stupid MSM in the country sent only women reporters to cover the news today. Why don’t you also look into SC judgements which have been kept in abeyance by the same SC, for many decades because they fear a riot?