NSS, SNDP hopeful of Kerala govt. ‘upholding Sabarimala custom’

The Nair Service Society (NSS) and the Sree Narayana Dharma Paripalana (SNDP) Yogam, two prominent Hindu community organisations in Kerala, have received the government’s move to recalibrate the State’s stance on the entry of women of menstruating age into Sabarimala with cautious optimism. 

NSS general secretary G. Sukumaran Nair told reporters at Perunna, Kottayam, that the Left Democratic Front (LDF) government, prima facie, has recanted its earlier position supporting the 2018 Supreme Court decision allowing women of all ages to worship at the temple. He said that the government had protected and adhered to temple custom in the years following the verdict. “The NSS perceives no ground for the government to reverse course when the Supreme Court hears petitions challenging the 2018 order in April,” he said.

‘Position unchanged’

Mr. Nair said the NSS position on women’s entry into Sabarimala would remain unchanged, regardless of the government’s line. “There is no ban on women from worshipping at Sabarimala as propagated by some quarters. There is only an age restriction imposed by faith and custom. Social progress does not necessarily entail negating essential religious practices specific to different places of worship,” he added. He emphasised that the issue should not be linked to the forthcoming elections or political considerations.

Mr Nair said the NSS was unaware of any stance taken by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led Union government on the matter. (Last month, Mr. Nair had criticised the BJP for failing to fulfil its promise to pass a Central legislation to insulate Sabarimala custom and essential religious practices from present and future legal challenges. He had also slammed the Congress for using the issue for political gain.)

“Now the Centre has to take a position on the subject at the Supreme Court,” Mr. Nair said. He also expressed satisfaction that the LDF government had “started withdrawing” cases slapped against non-violent protesters during the Save Sabarimala campaign. 

SNDP Yogam general secretary Vellappally Natesan, who called for a broad alliance of religious social organisations to protect Renaissance values at the peak of the Save Sabarimala agitation in 2019, stated that matters of faith and social progress were starkly different. He expressed optimism that the government would respect public sentiment for protecting Sabarimala custom. He said the SNDP was not a party in the Supreme Court case. “However, we support the entities that have filed review petitions against the 2018 Supreme Court decision,” he said.

Communist Party of India (Marxist) [CPI(M)] State secretary M.V. Govindan said the party’s line on the entry of women of all ages into Sabarimala did not preclude the government from taking an informed decision on the Sabarimala issue. “The government need not always toe the ideological positions adopted by the party or the LDF on governance issues,” he said.

Leader of the Opposition V.D. Satheesan said the LDF could settle the issue in favour of Ayyappa devotees at a stroke by withdrawing the Supreme Court affidavit backing the entry of women of all ages into Sabarimala. “The government was using consultations and legal opinion as a pretext to equivocate on the matter,” he said.