But the horrible memories of those days still linger in the minds of every devotee who fought to ensure that the Sabarimala traditions were not broken by a bunch of atheists.
Horrible, because this was a very rare occasion, when a ruling atheistic state government decided to use its entire might to break the traditions of a popular temple. Millions of devotees were disturbed and hurt.
Many of us stayed up late into the night, almost as if we were following a cricket match ball by ball, and then woke up early in the morning, hoping and praying that the state government had not been successful in implementing its agenda.
Now, according to Janam TV and others, former DGP A. Hemachandran has made some startling revelations in his book, 'Neethi Evide' (Where is justice?), released a couple of days ago. Hemachandran was a member of the high-level monitoring committee appointed by the Kerala HC.
5/16
According to the reports, the former DGP accuses the Kerala government of supporting moves to break the age-old traditions at the temple in his book. He mentions that the government portrayed Ayyappa devotees as religious fundamentalists in a report submitted to the HC.
6/16
He says that the government provided VIP treatment to those women who wanted to go to the temple and break the traditions. (Remember that all these women were left-leaning activists or liberals.)
He says in his book that while the devotees were stopped at Nilackal, the police made arrangements for activists to go all the way till Pamba. Just to provide some context, Nilackal is 18 kilometers away from Pamba. Pamba is a holy place where 'Triveni sangamam' occurs.
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“Triveni Sangamam” refers to the convergence of three rivers, namely Pampa, Kakki, and Njunungar. Pamba is the base station and nearest road point to Sabarimala Temple. The final trek to Sabarimala temple starts at Pamba.
There was a team of women activists, Manithi Sangam, from Tamil Nadu who were also accorded special treatment by the government. He says in his book that he was not in favor of providing special treatment to Manithi Sangam and even conveyed this to the government.
11/16
The government rejected this, stating that not giving protection would be contempt of court. There were devotees ready to prevent this team from moving to the temple. He mentions that the preparations made, were similar to what is normally done to face guerrilla fighters.
12/16
Apparently, he also mentions in his book that the unnecessary restrictions imposed during the struggle were distressing to devotees, adding that several police officers were also uncomfortable with all of this.
He says that he had also expressed his dissatisfaction with how the police were handling the situation directly to the Chief Minister. However, his views were rejected by the CM based on a report submitted by the police force.
We can soon expect comments from the state government stating that Hemachandran's book is driven by political motives, and that it is the BJP and the Sangha Parivar behind all this.
Thank you, sir for speaking about this in your book.
Swamiye Saranam Ayyappa 🙏
16/16
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"Secular" Kerala Story of Madrasa Students Atmika and Aishika
Kerala is once again becoming a glowing example of "secularism." The story reported by Asianet News revolves around Atmika, a 6th standard student, and her younger sister, who is in the first standard.
What makes them "unique"? They both study at a nearby madrasa. Every morning, they wake up early and attend "secular" classes on the Quran and Arabic. Afterward, they proceed to their regular school. #KeralaStory
2/8
These sisters are the children of "secular parents," Babu and Kavitha. I believe these two parents deserve “an award” for their approach. Babu and Kavitha probably understood that the culture their children were born into, had "nothing positive to offer." #Kerala
3/8
Controversial Welcome for Sexual Harassment Accused Savad Sha: Kerala
Do you remember Savad Sha? No, he isn’t a celebrity. He was arrested for sexually harassing his co-passenger in a KSRTC bus on May 19th. He was released on bail yesterday. #kerala
1/5
Now comes the funny part. Savad was garlanded and welcomed by the All Kerala Men's Association outside the Aluva Sub jail upon being released on bail yesterday. Here's a video of the "welcome" he received. 2/5
President of this association Ajit Kumar, now claims that Savad is innocent and this was done by the victim to increase her Instagram following.
3/5
Here is another judgment from the Kerala High Court that feels like a slap in the face for those following the indigenous faith in Kerala.
1/10 #Keralatwitter.com/i/web/status/1…
In a plea moved against a man to stop ritualistic animal sacrifice in a temple like structure he built at his residence, the court quoted Ambedkar: "True religious practice should be guided by reason, equality, and humanistic values rather than blind adherence to traditions.
2/10
All unhealthy, unscientific, and deleterious practices are to be prevented, even if they are done in the name of religion." I read this again to make sure I was reading it right. The court has quoted Ambedkar on a matter concerning a religious ritual.
3/10
Man Arrested for Sexual Harassment in a Bus:Kerala
Savad Sha, is a name that has gained popularity in Kerala since last evening, albeit for the wrong reasons. He was arrested for misbehaving with a girl in a bus. Attached are his images from his Facebook profile.
The incident came to light after the girl, Nanditha, took to social media to talk about it and also posted a video of the incident that she herself shot. From the images, it appears that he is associated with the Muslim League of Kerala in some manner. #KeralaNews
2/7
So, this is what Nanditha narrates in her video: She was on her way from Thrissur to Kochi when Savad boarded the bus and sat on a reserved women's seat next to Nanditha. Soon, the man started touching her inappropriately.
3/7
The Pooram (temple festival) this year is to be held between April 11th- April 23rd, 2023. This is purportedly a list of the temple festival committee members. For those of you who can’t read Malayalam, let me list the names in the highlighted boxes. #Communists#Kerala
2/21
1) Honorable MP Abdussamad Samadani (Indian Union Muslim League) 2) Ms. Rafeeqa (District Panchayat President) 3) Ms. Shaharban (District Panchayat Member) 4) Ms. Saeeda teacher 4) Mr. Abutahir 5) Mr. Manjalamkuzhi Ali MLA (Indian Union Muslim League) 6) Mr. Jose Varghese
3/21
1921 Malabar riots, Gandhi and a Malayalam Movie:
Malabar riots of 1921 often called the “Moplah rebellion” is a topic that was not discussed openly in Kerala until recently (“Moplah” is a term used to refer to Kerala Muslims)
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Moplah riots have always been whitewashed by the Congress and the left historians as freedom struggle against the British. However, the reality is something else!
2/36
Any sensible society would know that reopening old wounds can only disturb the goodwill that exists in the society between various communities. Therefore, these riots were never a part of political discourse at least in the last 30-40 years.
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