For hundreds of years, girls aged 10 to 50 weren’t allowed to enter the Sabarimala Temple. However in September final 12 months, the nation’s Supreme Courtroom overturned the ban, and in January, girls entered the temple for the primary time, defying opposition from spiritual conservatives. However that call is now in query, after the Supreme Courtroom agreed to overview its landmark ruling.
Thousands of police have been deployed in the southern Indian state of Kerala as a centuries-old temple at the center of an ongoing gender row prepares to open its doors for the pilgrimage season.
It is now unclear whether women will be allowed to enter the temple when it opens its doors today despite the Supreme Court saying on Thursday that the discriminatory ban was no longer in force.
Around 2,500 police were deployed on Saturday and more may be sent out if required, Lokanath Behera, the Director General of Police in Kerala, told CNN.
During the last pilgrimage season in January, violent protests erupted across the southern state when at least one person died and police used tear gas and water cannons to deal with the disruption. Women who tried to enter the shrine were told to go back and in some cases they were assaulted.
The Supreme Court ordered the state authorities to “take steps to safe the boldness of the neighborhood so as to make sure the achievement of constitutional values. “Organized acts of resistance to thwart the implementation of this judgment should be put down firmly,” the ruling added.
Rahul Easwar, a right-wing Hindu activist who petitioned to overturn the September 2018 ruling, referred to as Thursday’s determination a “step in the correct route. There may be an implicit admission that the sooner verdict ought to be reviewed,” he advised reporters. “We hope that the Sabrimala tradition and perception shall be protected.”In September 2018, the ban was reviewed by a 5 judges — it is going to now be dispatched to a seven-judge bench for consideration.
The Sabarimala shrine, regarded as greater than 800 years old, is taken into account the non secular dwelling of Lord Ayyappa, a Hindu god of development. Supporters of the ban on girls of menstrual age argue that since Ayyappa is taken into account celibate, permitting “impure” girls into the temple is disrespectful.
Devaswom Minister Kadakampally Surendran has stated that Sabarimala is just not a spot for activists to show their activism and stated the federal government wouldn’t encourage such girls who wish to go to the shrine for publicity. Those that wish to go to the temple can procure a court docket order to enter the temple, he stated. However individuals who oppose the ban say that it was a type of discrimination finished within the identify of custom.
