Sabarimala Judgment and Its Opponents

The recent Supreme Court judgment on women’s entry into Sabarimala temple has both supporters as well as opponents. However, there are two visible trends among the latter. On the one hand, the Congress party has been inconsistent, with its Kerala unit having taken a stand that the party at the national level has not taken. And on the other, Hindutva parties such as the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) have adopted a stand consistent with their support for the power that is entrenched in religious structures.

However, the grounds on which the adversaries of gender justice seem to be opposing the judgment are not only ethically flawed, but constitutionally perilous. This is evident in the recent statement made by the BJP chief, who is reported to have said that the Supreme Court should desist from pronouncing verdicts that cannot be implemented. This raises three questions. First, why is the BJP chief raising this doubt? Second, what is the commitment of the political parties, such as the Congress in Kerala, t0wards realising the goal of gender justice? And third, which social and political forces hold the capacity to enrich democracy by standing with the ­Supreme Court’s Sabarimala judgment?