Faithful to rituals, traditions at Sabarimala: Kerala Devaswom Minister as SC review nears

Kerala Devaswom Minister V N Vasavan has said the state government will share its opinion on the entry of young women into Sabarimala Dharma Sastha Temple when the matter comes up before it.

Saturday (March 14) was the deadline to submit affidavits in the review petitions related to the matter in the Supreme Court.

Without directly going into whether the state government had taken a U-turn on young women being allowed entry, the minister said, “We have always been faithful with regard to rituals and traditions at the temple.”
Last month, the SC had said a nine-judge Constitution Bench will start hearing review petitions on April 7 regarding its 2018 verdict allowing young women entry to the temple.

The court had asked all stakeholders to submit their affidavits by March 14.

Vasavan said, “In the affidavit submitted in the SC in 2017, the government had stated that an expert committee comprising persons who have deep knowledge in temple rituals should make decisions on rituals and customs at the temple, including young women’s entry.

Our stand is very clear.

We have always been with the faithful.

When the court seeks the state’s stand on young women’s entry, we will submit our stand.

At present, the Supreme Court has raised seven Constitutional questions.

When the Supreme Court passed an order in favour of young women… in 2018, we had implemented it.

We were bound to go by the SC verdict.”
The ruling CP(M) government had facilitated the entry of young women at Sabarimala in 2018 after the verdict.

However, the party had suffered an electoral setback in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections after the government’s stance on Sabarimala, among other factors.

The issue has come up before the Supreme Court at a time when Assembly elections are around the corner.

This time, the ruling party has dropped several hints that it would not adopt a stand that hurts sentiments of the faithful with regard to allowing young women at Sabarimala.

Early this month, the Travancore Devaswom Board (TDB) had decided to contest the matter in review petitions pending before the apex court.

Board president and former IAS officer K Jayakumar had stated that the board is mandated to protect the traditions and rituals at the temples.

“… our considerate opinion is to maintain the traditions which have been prevailing in the temple.

We will inform this stand before the court before March 14,” he said.

Shaju Philip is a Senior Assistant Editor at The Indian Express, where he leads the publication's coverage from Kerala.

With over 25 years of experience in mainstream journalism, he is one of the most authoritative voices on the socio-political, religious, and developmental landscape of South India.

Expertise, Experience, and Authority
Decades of Regional Specialization: Shaju has spent more than two decades documenting the "Kerala Model" of development, its complex communal dynamics, and its high-stakes political environment.

Key Coverage Beats: His extensive reporting portfolio includes:
Political & Governance Analysis: In-depth tracking of the LDF and UDF coalitions, the growth of the BJP in the state, and the intricate workings of the Kerala administration.

Crime & Investigative Journalism: Noted for his coverage of high-profile cases such as the gold smuggling probe, political killings, and the state’s counter-terrorism efforts regarding radicalization modules.

Crisis Management: He has led ground-level reporting during major regional crises, including the devastating 2018 floods, the Nipah virus outbreaks, and the Covid-19 pandemic response....

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