Kerala reiterates bar on women at Sabarimala

The Oomen Chandy government in Kerala has conclusively told the Surpreme Court that it could not allow entry to women upto 50 years of age into the Sanctum Sanctorum of the famed Sabarimala temple. The women are actively seeking entry to temples that barred their entry. But the temple authorities citing tradition are overruling them. A similar but forceful appeal was made to the Shani Singanapur temple in Maharashtra, where the attraction is worship to Saturn. But the authorities there, too, cited the tradition to deprive women of Shani worship. The Kerala government reiterated a similar bar on women from entering the Sabarimala temple on Friday. The tradition could not be changed for women, the government told the court. The appeal for allowing women to the Sabarimala was made in 2007. The plea was heard by the court on Friday. The government further said it held tradition in the highest regard. The Sabarimala deity is youthful bachelor God. The tradition therefore shuns women from entering the temple.