Supreme Court of India of India has agreed to hear the Sabarimala age-restriction matter once again, prompting the Kerala law minister to say that the state government will maintain status quo at the site. It will take up the matter on January 22, after the current pilgrimage season, for detailed hearing. It is not yet […]
Adding to the headache of the Kerala state government in the Sabarimala matter, Pune-based women’s rights activist Trupti Desai said today that the she is planning to visit the shrine later this month. “The temple will open on 17 November. I will soon write a letter to the SP [of police] and the CM [chief […]
Kerala BJP state president Sreedharan Pillai has been shown bragging in a leaked video that the recent agitation by Ayyappa devotees in the temple courtyard was set off by a BJP worker, and that he considers the issue the ‘golden opportunity’ that the party has been waiting for in Kerala. Speaking at a convention of […]
Rehana Fathima, the women’s rights activist who came closer than anyone else towards entering the Dharma Shastha temple Sabarmala has said she was motivated to undertake the controversial pilgrimage by her desire to know more about the worship of Ayyappa. “I am extremely interested in knowing the essence of all religions. That is how I […]
Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, the ideological mentor of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party, today came out strongly against the Supreme Court’s decision four days ago not to conduct an expedited hearing into the Ram Temple-Babri Masjid issue. Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi had resisted pressure from pro-temple activists on Tuesday to complete the hearing before general elections […]
The much-awaited daily hearing of Ayodhya Ram Mandir hearing has been adjourned to at least January 2019, throwing cold water on hopes that the matter would be settled before elections in May next year. The adjournment was done by a bench headed by the chief justice of India Justice Ranjan Gogoi. “The honorable bench said […]
The Kerala unit of the Congress Party today called on the BJP to issue an ordinance to give denominational status to Ayyappa devotees and reiterated its stand that it was against the entry of young women into the temple. Ramesh Chennithala, the leader of the Congress Party in the state legislative assembly, took aim at […]
Sabarimala Chief Priest Kandararu Rajeevaru has said that he will shut the temple and walk out if the Kerala Police continue to force their way into the temple with a woman’s rights activist and a female journalist. “I have discussed this matter with the seniors of the family,” said the priest, “and have arrived at […]
Noted right-wing ideologue and BJP leader Subramanian Swamy today climbed down from his earlier stand that the military should be used to implement Supreme Court’s decision on allowing fertile women into the Sabarimala temple. In the backdrop of unexpectedly strong protests against the move in Kerala, Swamy today blamed the Left Front government for trying […]
Riot-like conditions prevailed in Nilakkal and surrounding areas as thousands of Ayyappa devotees and Kerala Police engaged in pitched battle involving stone throwing and lathi charges. The situation worsened after the police moved early morning to dismantle the local pandals put up by devotees, who had used the camp to conduct vehicle checking yesterday. Women […]
Libi CS, a self-proclaimed atheist, was taken away by police today on her way to the holy site of Sabarimala. The woman, a native of Cherthala in Kerala, had announced on Facebook yesterday that she, along with three of her friends, will visit Sabarimala today. “When Rahul Easwar (leader of the agitation) is camping at […]
The Supreme Court today agreed to hear the petition filed by BJP leader Subramanian Swamy against continued control and oversight of temples by the state government of Kerala. Unlike in other places, the control of temples in Kerala — which used to rest with the kings before independence — was directly transferred to the newly […]
Rahul Easwar, one of the most prominent spokespersons of the Hindu right wing in Kerala, has blamed a section within the Hindu right wing for the controversies surrounding South Indian traditions likes Jallikettu and Sabarimala. Easwar, who can be found on TV on most days expounding the Hindu right wing perspective on Kerala-related issues, said […]
The Catholic Church in Kerala withdrew action against Sister Lucy Kalappura, who came out publicly in support of the five nuns who sat on protest against Bishop Franco Mulakkal in Kochi for two weeks. The withdrawal followed strong protests by parishioners belonging to Karakkamala, which comes under the Manathavady Diocese in Wayanad district of Kerala. […]
An engineer from Kerala working with a petroleum company in Saudi Arabia has been sentenced to five years of imprisonment and a fine of around Rs 30 lakhs for his tweets. With this, Vishnudev, a native of Alleppey in Kerala, has become the first Indian to be punished under Saudi Arabia’s stricter anti-blasphemy laws that […]
The Supreme Court today directed the home secretaries of the states that have not filed compliance reports on anti-mob violence measures to personally appear before it after a week. Hearing a public interest litigation on rising cases of violence by cow vigilantes in July, the court had issued 12 guidelines for all state and the […]
The Supreme Court has refused to stay the sale of ‘Meesa’ (The Moustache), a Malayalam novel that has been in the news for offending certain organisations in Kerala, pending further deliberations. Hearing a public interest litigation filed by Delhi-based Malayali N Radhakrishnan, a bench headed by Chief Justice Dipak Misra asked for a translation of […]
Setting off a controversy, Janam TV, a Malayalam news channel with leanings towards with the BJP, today reported that displaced people belonging to scheduled castes at a relief camp in Aleppey were moved to a separate relief camp due to protests from another community. The ‘apartheid’ took place at a relief camp run by the […]
Authorities at Little Lourdes Mission Hospital near Pala in Kerala have stopped asking patients to specify their religion after a unique form of protest by a young man named Sunil K Sudheer. Sunil had reached the hospital earlier this week for a doctor’s appointment for his 58-year-old mother Sarasamma. “I started filling the registration form,” […]
St Agnes College, one of the top destinations for higher education for women in Mangalore, has invited protests by some Muslims for continuing with its ‘no hijab’ policy inside classrooms. The college, run by Sisters of the Apostolic Carmel Congregation, said students have to conform to the college’s dress code that has been in existence […]
