The IPS officer's blog post had stirred a controversy around the centuries old practice.Thiruvananthapuram: State devaswom minister Kadakampally Surendran has lashed out at DGP Prisons, R. Sreelekha, for raising objections to the 'Kuthiyottam' ritual at Attukal temple in the capital, which takes place Friday.
Surendran said that the Kuthiyottam ritual involving young boys will take place in an atmosphere of great piety, and asserted that there is no need to ignite a controversy over it.
The minister, however, added that the government will examine the need for changes if any, if the times dictate it.
Sreelekha had pointed out that the boys are made to suffer mentally and physically as part of the ritual, which takes place during the famous 'Pongala' festival at the temple, attended by the largest number of women devotees in the state.
The DGP had also stated that legal provisions for cruelty against children can be invoked to take action against Kuthiyottam.
Surendran pointed out that Kuthiyottam has been observed at the temple over several decades and boys aged 5 to 12 have been involved in the offering. The temple website describes the boys as 'soldiers of the goddess' and states that the ritual involves 'rigorous physical and mental discipline.'
Sreelekha dismissed the claims saying that most parents and temple authorities push the children into the ritual without their explicit permission.
The boys have to stay away from home and parents for days in preparation of the ritual. This is like incarceration, the prisons chief said.
She said the boys do get physically injured and hence legal procedures can be initiated. But no one dares to complain, because they fear faith.
"Who will complain? Parents will not, those who see it will not since they have no locus standi. Will a child complain? How will he even know that a crime has been committed on him? And I found everyone with whom I talked knew about this torture on children, but did or are planning to do nothing!," she wrote.
Kuthiyottam should be reviewed, she said in the blog posted on Tuesday.
Sreelekha said she had been offering Pongala at Attukal Kadakampilly attempts to douse Sreelekha temple firesince the age of 10. “But this year I'm keeping off in protest against Kuthiyottam unless there is a divine intervention that stops this torture,” she wrote.
The Attukal Bhagavathi temple trust had come out in protest against Sreelekha's stance.
