Has the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) shown a new willingness to march with the times by terming restrictions on the entry of women into temples as “unfair”?
The RSS view on allowing women's entry into temples came on Saturday in a report by RSS general secretary Suresh Bhaiyyaji Joshi at the three-day Akhil Bhartiya Pratinidhi Sabha meeting at Nagaur in Rajasthan. The same meet where the Sangh decided to shed its trademark khaki shorts for brown trousers.
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For long the Sangh has been identified in popular minds with orthodox viewpoints on Hinduism that have supported gender and caste stereotypes. So it is indeed refreshing to see that the outfit taking cues from the contemporary discourses on gender equality and women's rights, more so at a time when regressive forces advocating a going back to a past with its terrible gender and caste biases are gaining new strength in all religions.
The powerful outfit's change of stance is especially germane to Kerala where a debate on the entry of women to the Sabarimala Ayyappa temple has flared up again. The state is known for its social and religious reformers but Sabarimala temple has been one of the rare holdouts.
If the RSS is willing to use its considerable religious and political influence to take its new gender-friendly articulations to their logical conclusion, Sabarimala – and other such temples – may soon see a rush of women pilgrims. And it may usher in a new wave of social reform in Hinduism.
The RSS's decision has been widely welcomed in Kerala. Former BJP Kerala unit secretary and a long-term associate of the RSS, V. Muraleedharan says the decision fits with the changing times.
"The Sangh's stance is based on Hindu customs and puranas. In ancient times, women were not discriminated against in Hinduism. But for various reasons, there came some restrictions at certain points of time. With the changing times, there is nothing wrong in the Sangh's decision. Moreover, the RSS has made it clear that the stakeholders should arrive at a consensus on such issues through discussions," Muraleedharan told Onmanorama.
Asked about Sabarimala, the BJP leader said the Sangh will voice a similar opinion when the issue comes up for discussion among Hindu outfits.
Kerala Women's Commission member Lissy Jose hoped that other religions would also follow suit.
But some women did not wish to see the customs at the temple changed. Lakshmi Babu, an architect, said: "I have been hearing the Ayyappa tales right from childhood and I believe in them. Maybe they don't have any proof or may appear absurd. But people who go to Sabarimala are usually Ayyappa devotees.
"I don't personally want to go to Sabarimala until menopause," she said.
The RSS stance, still, is nothing short of momentous for Hinduism – and India. Because it has the potential to give a fillip to progressive elements in other religions and force conservative forces trying to restrict women's rights to back down.
One example where such a struggle is playing out is the famous Haji Ali durgah in Mumbai where the entry of women has been curtailed, although they had enjoyed the freedom till quite recently.
The challenge for the Sangh is to push this new view through its conservative rank and file, and change their ossified mindsets. And to apply this newly embraced progressive viewpoint to other aspects of Hindu religious and social life as well.
If the Sangh leadership succeeds, it will change the RSS itself, Hinduism and India. Because no other political or religious outfit has the power and reach to influence such a change at such a scale.
But if the Sangh leadership fails, we stare at an ever-darkening age of gender and other biases and bigotry.