#WomenInSabarimala: Temple's doors close but November poses the real challenge
What's the story
Despite the Supreme Court's order last month, women of menstrual age weren't allowed to enter the holy shrine of Lord Ayyappa in Kerala, and now the Sabarimala Temple has closed its doors.
But come November, the temple will re-open for its three-month annual pilgrimage. Last year, as many as 35 million devotees visited the temple.
In recent days, the Pinarayi Vijayan government has received flak.
Women's entry
Women tried entering the temple, protesters stopped them
At least 12 women, including journalists and activists, tried entering the shrine but were met with a wall of resistance.
Two Dalit women were given police protection in the 5-km trek but were forced to retreat after protesters didn't budge.
At base camps of Nilakkal and Pamba, Section 144 of CrPc (which prohibits a group of four and more people from gathering) was imposed.
Religion in court
Supreme Court decides date to hear review petition
On Tuesday, CJI Ranjan Gogoi said the SC will hear petitions seeking review of its September 28 verdict on November 13 at 3 PM.
As many as 19 petitions against the historic judgment have been filed.
Notably, the Travancore Devaswom Board (TDB), which takes care of the 800-year-old temple spoke about filing a status report in SC about the protests which caused damage.
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Separately, politics is at play over Sabarimala and women's entry
In the Left-ruled state Kerala, BJP has been launching scathing attacks on the Vijayan government over its handling of the issue. On his part, Vijayan blamed BJP for instigating violence and said his government was committed to implementing the top court's order.
Devotees' views
Women's entry staunchly opposed by 'devotees' of Ayyappa
The devotees have made their stand clear: Since Lord Ayyappa is a celibate, women of menstrual age can't enter the shrine.
A 62-year-old woman, Bhanumati Amma, said, "If a woman enters the temple, she will have to go over my body."
Inspector general S Sreejith, who appealed to protesters to allow women's entry, said he was a devotee but was also duty-bound.