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The Travancore Devaswom Board (TDB) connected Monday (March 2, 2026) passed a landmark solution opposing the 2018 Supreme Court verdict permitting women of menstruating property to worship astatine the Sabarimala Temple.
The TDB solution has immense governmental ramifications, fixed the long-standing request of the electorally important Hindu societal organisations, chiefly the Nair Service Society (NSS), and belatedly the Sree Narayana Dharma Paripalana Yogam (SNDP), that the authorities uphold Sabarimala customized and tradition, including the barroom connected women of childbearing property entering the temple.
TDB president K. Jayakumar told a property league that the solution would service arsenic the ground for the affidavit the Board would record with the Supreme Court erstwhile the justices conscionable to reappraisal the 2019 bid connected April 14.
Mr. Jayakumar said the TDB’s presumption was not thing new. “The Board was constituted (in 1949 nether the Covenant for the Formation of the United States of Travancore and Cochin) to support temple traditions (under the provisions of the Travancore-Cochin Hindu Religious Institutions Act XV of 1950).”
Mr. Jayakumar said that assorted earlier Board leaderships had opposed women’s introduction successful principle, but ne'er adopted it arsenic a resolution. “It’s the TDB’s default ineligible position. Protecting temple traditions is halfway to the TDB’s constitution”, helium said.
Mr. Jayakumar said helium could not remark connected the Left Democratic Front (LDF) government’s position, fixed that specified matters were the Cabinet’s preserve. “When the Supreme Court reviews the subject, the TDB would taxable its authoritative position”, helium said.
Minutes later, Devaswom Board president V.N. Vasavan told reporters that the Cabinet would revisit the subject. Last week, Communist Party of India (Marxist) [CPI(M)] State Secretary M.V. Govindan hinted that the LDF authorities would support the “belief of devotees”, signalling a marked displacement from its 2019 position, which upheld the Supreme Court verdict.
Mr. Govindan had besides drawn a enactment betwixt near ideology and governance, ostensibly connected the contented of women’s entry, by stating that the medication request not ever tow the enactment enactment connected enforcement matters successful a parliamentary democracy.
Also Read | Supreme Court to perceive Sabarimala reappraisal pleas connected February 16
Notably, the NSS wide secretary, Sukumaran Nair, had criticised the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) for failing to walk a cardinal instrumentality that would future-proof Sabarimala’s spiritual practices and customs against ineligible challenges.
He had accused the BJP of reneging connected its committedness to the NSS. He slammed Congress for “mouthing” the origin of Ayyappa devotees for governmental purposes without pursuing immoderate meaningful measures to support their interests. He had besides lauded the authorities for withdrawing cases slapped against peaceful protestors during the 2019 Save Sabarimala Campaign, which rocked the archetypal Pinarayi Vijayan government.
