Left Govt Goes Against the Grain, To Hold Ayyappa Sangamam

Ayyappa devotees’ popular pilgrimage centre Sabarimala is in the news again these days. It is over the controversy over organising a Global Ayyappa Sangamam by the Kerala government in association with the Travancore Devasom Board on September 20 at Pamba. Pamba is the base camp from where the Ayyappa devotees start the five-km trek to the temple.

Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan will inaugurate it. The controversy goes back to 2018 when the Supreme Court lifted the centuries-old ban on women of 10-50 years entering the temple.

The Left Front government had then supported the Court’s judgement with full force.  But the temple authorities and believers had opposed it, contending that the presiding deity at the temple is an eternal celibate, and women in the menstruating age should not be allowed entry.

The Congress and the BJP were also on the side of the believers and had opposed the Left government’s attempt to implement the judgement. Several religious organisations had also opposed it.

Seeing the mood of majority Hindus, the government later developed cold feet on it. They have now taken a U-turn and come to terms with the believers’ claim that the apex court verdict is against the Hindu tradition.

The government is organising the Sangamam to placate the Hindus who felt hurt by the government’s stand on the Court’s judgement. As the local self-government elections are due in two to three months, and the Assembly elections are slated early next year, the CPI(M)-led Left government wants to woo Hindu voters even at the cost sacrificing its core belief.

The Congress and the BJP have taken a dig at the newfound love of the CPI(M) for the Ayyappa devotees.  The state government is indulgent to majority communalism for votes, they allege, adding that the non-believers are at the forefront of organising the Sangamam with an eye on the coming elections.

The Left Front was wiped out in the last Lok Sabha elections held after Sabarimala judgement. Significantly, several Hindu organisations like Nair Service Society (NSS), Sree Narayana Dharma Paripalana Yogam (SNDP), Kerala Pulayar Maha Sabha (KPMS) and Malayaraya Mahasabha have extended their support to the government’s initiative to hold the Sangamam. They enjoy immense support among the Hindus in Kerala.