The High Court, in its interim order of September 11, had allowed the conduct of the Sangamam with a few conditions. It has asked the TDB to ensure that the event did not spoil the sanctity of the temple or the river.

“We are not interfering in the order passed by the High Court as it is interim in nature. The High Court has described certain conditions to be followed to conduct the Global Ayyappa Sangamam. Needless to say, all questions are left open for being considered by the High Court,” a Bench headed by P. S. Narasimha said.

According to the lawyers for the petitioners, including devotees V. C. Ajit Kumar, P. S. Mahendra Kumar, and Ajeesh Kalathil Gopi, the Government had moved the Kerala High Court in 2022 against an event conducted similarly near the river. The contention of the petitioners is that the proposed Sangamam is “pure commercial activity.” “They cannot conduct on the banks of Papma. The event is meant for collecting money. They can do it somewhere else, not Sabarimala. This event has no connection with religious or spiritual activities.”

One of the petitioners wanted the SC to restrain the State Government, TDB, their officers, and agents from proceeding with the conduct of the Sangamam, scheduled to be held on September 20 or from utilizing temple funds, properties, or contributions in the name of the deity for any such purpose, pending the hearing and final disposal of this special leave petition. The HC order, Mahendra Kumar had pointed out, was in violation of the Travancore-Cochin Hindu Religious Institutions Act, 1950, too.

The apex court, however rejected their argument. “This is just an interim order. Why should we intervene? Whether they have the power to do it and whether it is appropriate to do it, the High Court is looking into it,” Justice Narasimha said.

The SC order has come as a shot in the arm for the Left Democratic Front (LDF) Government, and deals a debilitating blow to the Hindutva camp, which was hell bent upon preventing the Government from going ahead with the Sangamam. It vindicated the Government’s stance that the event will become a platform to present before the devotees the projects envisaged for the future development of Sabarimala and the plan to turn it into a global pilgrim centre.

Welcoming the order, Devaswom Minister V. N. Vasavan said the Sangamam would become a venue for Ayyappa devotees from across the world to present their ideas, leading to the formulation of a comprehensive policy from all the inputs. The aim is to explore investment opportunities for improving the basic infrastructure at Sabarimala. Another idea is to prepare a database of Ayyappa devotees from across the world. Setting up of help desks in various countries is also under active consideration, the Minister said, adding that the meet would also consider exploring the possibilities of pilgrimage tourism by preserving the traditions and sanctity of the temple.

The Sangamam is being conducted as part of the TDB’s platinum jubilee celebrations. The event is being held at three venues. An estimated 3,000 devotees are expected to attend it. If all the plans envisaged by the Government become a reality, more than double the number of devotees would be able to visit the temple, a shining symbol of Kerala’s secular-pluralistic ethos, the Minister claimed.

The order has, understandably, spread gloom in the Sangh Parivar camp. It had hoped to cash in on the event, recreating the anti-Government sentiment which prevailed in the wake of the SC verdict on women’s entry into the hill shrine in 2018. The BJP-RSS combine had also announced a parallel Sangamam to counter the Government’s initiative. But it has failed to create the kind of enthusiasm and support the Hindutva camp had hoped for.

The campo suffered an early setback when the Nair Service Society(NSS), which has all along adopted a strident anti-Government stand in matters relating to Sabarimala, surprised one and all by effecting a shift in its stand. The NSS decided, to the utter dismay of the BJP-RSS, to send a representative if the customs of Sabarimala remained unaltered. The NSS’s change of stance was the product of years of LDF efforts to reach out to the Society.

Scarcely had the Sangh Parivar recovered from this unexpected blow, when the Sree Narayana Dharma Paripalana Yogam (SNDP), the largest representative organisation of the Ezhava community, also welcomed the Government’s move to conduct the Sangamam. Its general secretary Vellappally Natesan has enthusiastically supported the event’s goal of making Sabarimala an international pilgrimage hub.

The only ‘consolation’ for the saffron brigade is the decision of Pandalam royal family to stay away from the Sangamam. But they too are not attending the event only on the ground that a death in the family prevents them from attending it.

On its part, the Government, buoyed by the SC verdict, is going ahead with making arrangements for the successful conduct of the event on September 20. The SC order will help the Government to knock the stuffing out of the Sangh Parivar’s boast that it alone has the monopoly of the Hindu vote. (IPA Service)