#SabarimalaCase: Hindu Organisations Call For Kerala Hartal Against State Government’s Stand 

A hartal has been called for in Kerala on 30 July by various Hindu organisations demanding that the state government rectify its stand in the Supreme Court favouring entry of women of all ages at the Sabarimala Ayyappa temple.

Last week, when the Supreme Court resumed its hearing on a petition questioning the ban on entry of women between the age of 10 and 50, the Kerala government submitted a petition favouring the entry of women.

A constitutional bench of the Supreme Court, headed by Chief Justice Deepak Misra, told the Kerala counsel that the State government had been changing its stance often and the current stance would be taken as final. “No more changes in your (state government) stand will be allowed,” the bench told the counsel.

Malayalam daily Madhyamam reported that the organisations that have called for the hartal are the Ayyappa Dharma Sena, Visala Viswakarma Aikyavedi, Sri Ram Sena and Hanuman Sena Bharat. These organisations said that they would also stop women between the ages of 10 and 50 near the Pampa river from proceeding to the temple if the Supreme Court allowed their entry.

A group of women have said that they would wait until their menopause to go to the Sabarimala Ayyappa Temple. On Wednesday (25 July), 90-year-old senior council K Parasaran, appearing for the Nair Service Society, told the Supreme Court bench hearing the case that the ban on women is not based on any caste discrimination and the eternal celibate (Naishtika Brahmachari) status of the deity was protected by the Constitution.

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