In its judgment on the Sabarimala Temple, in the India Young Lawyers’ Association vs State of Kerala case, delivered on 28 September 2018, the Supreme Court declared that prohibiting entry of women of menstruating age (10-50 years) was a form of untouchability. The verdict states, “A claim for the exclusion of women from religious worship, even if it be founded in religious text, is subordinate to the constitutional values of liberty, dignity and equality. Exclusionary practices are contrary to constitutional morality.” One of the unexpected fallouts of the controversy over the restriction on women’s entry into the Sabarimala Temple is the demand for restoration of the ownership of the temple to the Malai Arayans, an Adivasi community.
READ THE FULL ARTICLE HERE: Adivasis stake a claim on Sabarimala
