Thiruvananthapuram: Kerala Pulayar Maha Sabha general secretary Punnala Sreekumar has said his organisation supported the entry of women to Sabarimala temple as it was the continuation of Renaissance ethos. Mr Sreekumar, who favoured changing the tradition after wider consultation with all believers and priests, however, hastened to add that history showed that consensus on such issues never occurred.
“We are an organisation born from the Renaissance thinking of Ayyankali, and orthodox groups have always been against such thoughts,” Mr Sreekumar told Deccan Chronicle.
The resistance to change by the orthodox upper caste forced Sree Narayana Guru to for the consecration of Siva idol at Aruvipuram. “Ayyankali had to defy the social order of the day and organise Villuvandi yathra, the historic journey on roads reserved for the upper castes. Ayyankali defied the social order and admitted Panchami, a Dalit girl, to the school at Oorrutambalam but it was set on fire by the upper caste people. This illustrated that the orthodoxy never wanted change.” All the rights enjoyed by Dalits--for the women to cover their breasts to walk on the streets or to get educated-- were achieved by political and social struggles and not through consensus, he pointed out.
There have been instances of breaking traditions in Sabarimala the past. There was a tradition of tribal community offering honey on the deity; an Ezhava family had the right to offer vedivazhipadu. “They were all stopped,” said Mr Sreekumar. “And nobody bothered.”
The message is clear: the orthodoxy was happy to change traditions that suited them and resist changes to traditions that did not suit them. In fact, even this blanket ban on entry of women between the age of 10 and 50 to Sabarimala came into existence only in 1991. The court had to interfere as it was clear this tradition cannot be changed through consensus, said Mr Sreekumar.
