Sabarimala temple gates open amid protests, but no woman enters | Latest News India - Hindustan Times
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Sabarimala temple gates open amid protests, but no woman enters

Nilakkal, Hindustan Times | By
Oct 17, 2018 10:51 PM IST

At least three women journalists were attacked by an angry mob while on their way to report the protests over the Supreme Court’s verdict to allow women of all ages into the Sabarimala temple.

The hill shrine of Sabarimala in Kerala’s Pathanamthitta district opened on Wednesday as protests against the entry for women devotees of menstrual age turned violent.

Devotees wait for the Lord Ayyappa temple gates to open.(Vivek Nair/HT Photo)
Devotees wait for the Lord Ayyappa temple gates to open.(Vivek Nair/HT Photo)

Hundreds of policemen and women guarded the main gateway to temple dedicated to Lord Ayyappa, which opened for the first time after the Supreme Court verdict that allowed women of all ages access to the shrine. Despite the Supreme Court order, no women turned up at the opening of the temple.

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Earlier, police chased away protesters and demolished their tents in Nilakkal, the second base camp 16km away from the temple, as stones were pelted on the streets.

Many journalists were also injured in the baton charge by the police as they tried to control the protesters, who fled into a nearby forest. Protesters, as well as police personnel, were also injured in the violence.

At least three women journalists were attacked by an angry mob while on their way to report the protests over the Supreme Court’s verdict to allow women of all ages into the temple.

Pooja Prasanna of television news channel Republic TV, Saritha S Balan of The News Minute website and News18’s reporter Radhika Ramaswamy were attacked by the mob in several places.

The situation remained tense throughout the day as protesters threatened suicides and self-immolation and blocked women of reproductive age from visiting the 800-year-old shrine since its presiding deity, Lord Ayyappa, is considered to be celibate.

All small towns leading to Sabarimala, Erumeli, Vadessrikara, in Pathanamthitta remained tense as police said they would not let anyone to block the movement of the people.

Kerala chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan has reiterated that his administration will not file any review petition against last month’s Supreme Court order that allowed women between 10 years and 50 years to enter Sabarimala in what has been hailed as a landmark verdict.

The Congress, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and several Hindu organisations have been protesting the top court’s verdict and have warned of strong consequences if any temple traditions were broken.

Devotees from across the country throng the hill shrine, nestled in the Western Ghats mountain range, during the festival season between November and January every year. The temple is also opened on the first day of the Malayalam month.

Those visiting the temple take a vow of celibacy for 41 days before beginning an arduous trek through the mountains to the shrine, located around 3,000 feet above sea level.

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  • ABOUT THE AUTHOR
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    Ramesh Babu is HT’s bureau chief in Kerala, with about three decades of experience in journalism.

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