Editorial - Pure Reason
It is a case of belief
versus reason,
which is the cornerstone of law. The Supreme Court has asked the
officials of Kerala's Sabarimala temple whether tradition can supersede
laws formulated on the basis of the Constitution. The answer to this
should have been an inarguable 'no'. But there are several people in
India, who, much like the Sabarimala temple officials, hold traditions
to be more important than the secular authority of the State. It is on
the basis of such traditions - which, in this context, refer to a set of
rules that have acquired sanctity simply by being followed
unquestioningly by some people down the years - that women are not
allowed to enter certain temples in India. For centuries, women had been
forbidden to enter the Shani Shingnapur temple in Maharashtra. Last
week, the temple officials had to open the gates, rather reluctantly, to
women after the Bombay High Court ruled that if men are permitted to
enter the premises, women must also be let in. While there has been no
logic to the erstwhile prohibition, it has been vicious: the Shani
Shingnapur temple had performed a purification ceremony after a young
woman had offered her prayers standing on a platform banned for women.
The message which is sought to be communicated here is that women are
pollutants who compromise the purity - which is very male, it seems - of
certain temples. The Sabarimala temple debars women on the same
premise.
The contentions of the Sabarimala officials make for a weak case,
which, in all probability, will fall through in subsequent hearings. But
it is surprising that such prejudices are upheld in a temple that is
famous for its egalitarian spirit - the Sabarimala pilgrimage is open to
men of all castes and creeds. Had the exclusion of women from this
otherwise inclusive space struck nobody as absurd till a petition was
filed against it in the apex court a few months back? The fact that both
the temple authorities and the state government are opposing the plea
proves how insidious the hold of traditions can be. Shankaracharya Swami
Swaroopananda has proclaimed that the women who enter the Shani
Shingnapur temple will invite rape upon themselves. This may sound
risible but it indicates the workings of belief, which is validated as
tradition. Such traditions are a disgrace in a democratic State - it is
time people saw reason.
