Why Kerala govt’s decision to allow Pongala is more political than religious

The festival for women comes amid the coronavirus threat but the backlash after the Sabarimala issue may have forced Kerala's Left-front govt to allow the festivities.

Attukal Pongala in Thiruvananthapuram | Wikimedia commons

Bengaluru: The Kerala government’s decision to allow lakhs of women to attend the Attukkal Pongala, an annual temple festival of the famous Attukal Bhagavathy Temple in capital Thiruvananthapuram, is being perceived more as a political move than a religious one. 

The festival comes at a time when fresh cases of patients testing positive for the coronavirus have been reported in the last 24 hours. 

But with local body elections due in October and the state assembly elections in 2021, the decision to allow Pongala may be aimed at ensuring that the ruling Left Democratic Front (LDF) does not risk losing the Hindu vote-bank. 

“After the Sabarimala controversy, the LDF government in Kerala is scared. Pongala like Sabarimala is a sensitive issue and, clearly, the government is not bold enough to ban the festivities,” said the Thiruvananthapuram-based political commentator Jacob George. 

“By controlling people, restricting them or preventing them from attending the celebrations, the LDF fears there would be a backlash and the BJP may use it to its political advantage, just like it did in Sabarimala,” George told ThePrint. 

“The holding of Pongala is the desire of the Hindu society and no government can dare to stop that, especially after the drubbing the LDF faced after Sabarimala,” said Union Minister of State for External Affairs, V. Muraleedharan who is also a Rajya Sabha MP from Kerala 

A women’s festival

Attukal Pongala is a women’s festival from which men are barred. 

It celebrates the life of Kannagi, the heroine of the ancient Tamil epic Silapathikaram. Myth has it that Kannagi is an avatar of Goddess Parvati and that after destroying the ancient city of Madurai, she reached the banks of the Killi river in Kerala. 

Hungry, tired and in mourning, she sought help from the local women who served her food. That forms the basis of the women offering pongala — a porridge of rice, sweet brown molasses, coconut, nuts, and raisins — to the goddess. 

The festival is popularly known as the Women’s Sabarimala and its importance can be gauged by the fact that lakhs of them turned up at the capital Monday despite the coronavirus threat. 

Kerala reported its ninth case in two months, the latest being a three-year-old in Ernakulam Monday. This takes the total confirmed coronavirus cases in India to 41.

The state government’s decision to let the festival happen has raised eyebrows as it goes against the World Health Organisation (WHO) guidelines suggesting that people, especially children and elderly, should avoid crowded areas.   

The government has been claiming that the Pongala could not be avoided as preparations have been on for months and that no positive cases were reported during the time. 

But even 24 hours before the festival, Sunday saw five positive cases of the coronavirus in the state’s Pathanamthitta district.

“They don’t want to take a chance by stopping Pongala. Politicians who, ideally, should have given a call to stay away from such functions, are now shrugging their shoulders, helpless and hoping that the gods will save them. It is purely electoral politics,” said another political commentator Joseph Mathew. 

“The Umrah has been closed, Vatican has shut down. Allowing Pongala to take place is a huge risk,” Mathew said.

“How can the government stop people who may have been in contact with those earlier affected or may have signs of the virus attack, from partaking in the festivities?”  

Keeping a strict vigil

While the government has given its green signal for the festival, it has put out a list of precautions and warnings.

A strict warning has been issued that any person who may have either recovered from the coronavirus or been in contact with people who have contracted it or show symptoms of it, should not attend the Pongala.   

The entire religious ceremony has also been videographed, with Health Minister K.K. Shailaja having said that in case a problem arises, visuals would make it easier to get in touch with the suspected cases. 

The district administration had also issued instructions to the temple authorities to wipe the railings at the temple every 30 minutes with a mixture of bleach and disinfectant.

Hand washes have been placed every few metres instead of soap and people are being advised to avoid physical contact as much as possible. 

Thiruvananthapuram District Collector K. Gopalakrishnan told reporters in Kerala that a team of 23 health personnel have been deployed at various points near the temple.  Announcements were being made in Tamil, Malayalam and English in railway and bus stations on the precautions to be taken by devotees coming for Attukal Pongala.

“A lot of foreign nationals visit Kerala during Pongala and participate in the festivities. This time, foreigners, especially those from nations that have been identified with Coronavirus have been asked to refrain from mingling in the crowds and make their offerings at their hotel itself,” Gopalkrishna said.   

Shailaja had suggested that those who had returned from foreign countries over the past two months could offer the Pongala from their houses as well.