Civil meet to hail Sabarimala verdict as politicos rally to derail it
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Kozhikode: The historic Sabarimala verdict has pitted traditionalists against the so-called progressive elements in the society. As political parties are busy lining up their followers against the recent Supreme Court ruling permitting the entry of women in the child-bearing age to the Sabarimala temple, a group of secular people is organising a gathering to support the verdict and create awareness about the same. They will gather at Central Stadium, Thiruvananthapuram, on November 13 and will have in their ranks people who don't bother about religious, casteist or political differences.
“The Constitution is under threat. Each and every citizen of the country has the responsibility to uphold its sanctity. Majority of the public is aware of this situation. But how can a citizen uphold the sanctity of the Constitution? We have an answer. We will do something in our own way, a unique way," said VS Syamlal, one of the organisers and president of Humans, an NGO, about the purpose of the meeting which has the tagline 'We, the People'.
"We have decided to organise a mega event in the capital of Kerala to uphold constitutional supremacy. We plan to express our solidarity with the Constitution through songs, poetry, games, entertainment programmes, theatre and film,” he added. Bands like Oorali and Gravity will be performing at the event.
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The collective has already received support of writers like Satchidanandan, J Devika, scholar Lakshmy Rajeev, tribal leader CK Janu and journalist N Ram. Though nearly 100 organisations with secular outlook have expressed their support for the event, their representatives would be attending the meet only on a personal capacity. The build-up for the meet began on November 8 itself, when the Kerala unit of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) started a Rath Yatra from Kasaragod as part of its campaign to perpetuate the age-old conventions in the Sabarimala temple. The Congress is also organising similar processions from different parts of Kerala as part of its efforts to 'protect the faith, fight communalism and explain to the people the 'politicisation' of the Sabarimala issue.
'Spreading truth'
“It is necessary to refute the lies being promoted and circulated by the communalists. Their queries like, why only Hindu traditions are being questioned or what happened to the implementation of the other Supreme Court verdicts, have to be answered scientifically. Though we ignore these propaganda as trolls, some Hindus fall in their traps and feel that the government as well as the Constitution is anti-Hindu. Our mission is to spread the truth about the Sabarimala verdict,” the organisers stated.
“An anti-women, anti-constitutional mind set of Keralites has been revealed amid the row over the Sabarimala issue. Such a retrograde point of view has the support of a minority which is indeed a vociferous section of the population. Unfortunately, this minority could make themselves more visible because they represented the vested interests of the upper crust of the society for whom change is always an anathema,” Syamlal reasoned.
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