The opposition parties and the right-wing Hindu organisations in Kerala have been dubbing the attempt by the Communist-led government to hastily execute the Supreme Court verdict allowing women of all ages to enter the Sabarimala Lord Ayyappa temple as part of a larger game plan to implement the ruling party’s atheist agenda.
The temple has witnessed a 50 percent dip in the number of pilgrims since the court verdict. According to sources in the Travancore Devaswom Board (TDB), which administers the temple, only about 90,000 devotees have visited the shrine since it was opened on 16 November for the two-month Mandalakala Makaravillakku festival season. This is less than half the number of devotees who trekked to the hill shrine during the corresponding period last year.
Leaders of Ayyappa devotee organisations see the steep fall in the number of pilgrims visiting the shrine following the Supreme Court verdict as a result of the government action as well as the protests against them. Rahul Easwar, president of the Ayyappa Dharma Sena, said that the heavy deployment of police personnel at Sabarimala and the restrictions the police have imposed on the devotees and the rituals had created fear in the minds of the pilgrims.
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