Expecting BJP to fix Sabarimala is like hoping an arsonist will develop a better fire-extinguisher.

Ihave been wrestling with the moral, religious and constitutional dilemmas of the Sabarimala issue for weeks. But the ongoing uproar has eclipsed all these with the political.

There are four principles at stake on Sabarimala, all of which I normally have no difficulty adhering to at the same time:

• Unconditional respect for the equality of women and men;
• Respect for the Constitution and the institutions it has created, notably the decisions of the Supreme Court;
• Respect for the rights of religious adherents to follow their beliefs and practices, so long as they do no harm to others; and
• Respect for Indian democracy and the rule of law that sustains it.

What is unusual about Sabarimala is that it offers the first example, in my experience, of these invaluable and seemingly unchallengeable principles clashing with each other.

As a constitutionalist and a liberal, I can easily uphold the first two principles. As a democrat and an elected representative responsive to his voters, I am happy to uphold the last two. The problem is that the two pairs of admirable values are diametrically opposed to each other on Sabarimala.

The zeal of the state government to implement the Supreme Court verdict has given opportunist politicians the chance to fish in troubled waters. The BJP has leapt on the opportunity to reassert anew its role as the self-appointed custodian of Hindu sensitivities, creating a paroxysm of outrage and violence in the hills around the shrine by leading an agitation to prevent women from accessing the temple. Meanwhile, the ruling party CPI-M blows hot and cold, saying one day that it will implement the Court order by escorting women to the shrine, then ordering its police not to do so and indeed to escort them back if they attempt it. Both have converted a sacred spot into an unseemly stage of political theatre.

Initially, I had taken the view that when there is a clash between two Constitutional principles — in this case, Article 14, promoting equality, and Article 25, promoting religious freedom — it is the duty of the Supreme Court to reconcile the two or decide which one should prevail. The Supreme Court did this, by a 4-1 majority, in favour of Article 14. And I reacted by expressing my respect for their verdict.

But as subsequent reactions in Kerala have demonstrated, abstract notions of constitutional principle also have to pass the test of societal acceptance — all the more so when they are applied to matters of faith.

Judges are, of course, rational beings applying legal principles and precedents. Worshippers have no such constraints. They can believe in Immaculate Conception and virgin birth, in miracles and messages from God, in deities with both human and supernatural qualities. The legend of the deity at Sabarimala is that Ayyappa did not want to see any female in the reproductive stage of life, and deliberately removed himself to His jungle abode for that purpose. Therefore, women are barred out of respect for His wishes. These are questions of faith, not rationality, and susceptible to emotion, not reason.

For a secular institution like the Court to engage in a theological exercise as to what aspect of faith or belief is an “essential religious practice” is therefore problematic; when such a ruling is done by those who do not share the belief or practice impugned in the legal process, the problem is compounded. (In the interests of full disclosure, I myself have undertaken a pilgrimage to Sabarimala as a devotee and ascended the famous final eighteen steps bearing the “irumudi” on my head.)

The overwhelming majority of Kerala Hindus, including a significant majority of women, have now demonstrated that their faith is offended by the Supreme Court verdict. Informal surveys suggest that opposition to the court judgment among Kerala Hindus is above 75 per cent and perhaps as high as 90 per cent. The intensity of emotions on display have surprised many liberals, not least because so many women seem outraged that other women might be allowed to go into the Sabarimala temple and disturb its sanctity.

It is all very well for some liberals to suggest that “false cons

Source: https://theprint.in/opinion/why-sabarimala-issue-leaves-instinctive-liberals-like-me-torn-shashi-tha