Thousands of police deployed to India’s sacred Sabarimala temple as protesters stop women entering
- More than 50 days ago the Supreme Court issued a historic ruling giving all women the right to worship at the centuries-old shrine devoted to a celibate god
- But women who have announced their intention to visit the site have met with protests
When a famous Hindu temple in southern India opened recently for its annual pilgrimage, it looked less like a place of religious devotion than a spot primed for trouble. More than 15,000 police officers monitored the area and devotees filed through a thicket of barricades to reach the shrine.
The heavy security had a single purpose: preparing for the moment when women once barred from the temple might attempt to enter. And it paid off.
Indian police arrested dozens of people taking part in protests around a controversial Sabarimala temple.
“We arrested 68 devotees after overnight protests around Sabarimala,” said V.N Saji, assistant commissioner of Kerala police.
It has been more than 50 days since India’s Supreme Court issued a historic ruling giving all women the right to worship at the Sabarimala temple, a centuries-old shrine that sits inside a tiger reserve in the state of Kerala and draws tens of millions of visitors a year. The temple is devoted to Lord Ayyappa, a god considered celibate, and women of menstruating age had been prohibited from entering.