Thiruvananthapuram: The Kerala authorities is ready to host a one-day international summit of non secular leaders and devotees of Ayyappa, revered as a god by Hindus, in Sabarimala subsequent month to place itself as a centre of non secular tourism in addition to for the event of the temple devoted to the deity.

The summit, to be inaugurated by Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on 20 September, has, nevertheless, drawn questions from a number of quarters.

Positioned in Kerala’s Pathanamthitta district, Sabarimala, a pilgrimage web site, hosts one of many largest variety of devotees yearly.

The minister mentioned the occasion will spotlight the idea of ‘Thathwamasi’, a Sankskrit phrase that means ‘you might be that’ and a philosophy ingrained within the Sabarimala temple.

“Thathwamasi in Sabarimala highlights the message of secularism. We need to spotlight that and make the place a centre of non secular tourism. And, we purpose to make it a world pilgrimage centre,” Vasavan mentioned.

He added that the choice was taken by the Travancore Devaswom Board as a part of its platinum jubilee celebrations. The gathering, he mentioned, will probably be held in accordance with the customs and rituals of the temple, with none discrimination of caste, color, or class.

Travancore Devaswom Board president Adv. P.S. Prasanth mentioned the Sabarimala Grasp Plan, accredited by the Kerala Cupboard in January, will even be mentioned intimately with the delegates to hunt their strategies.

The Rs 1,033-crore grasp plan proposes three-phase improvement of Sabarimala targeted on infrastructural uplift, crowd administration and ecological preservation.

The summit choice comes forward of essential native physique and meeting polls in Kerala and in addition assumes political significance because it comes seven years after the Sabarimala protests of 2018, which resulted within the ruling Left Democratic Entrance (LDF) profitable one of many lowest numbers of seats within the state within the 2019 Lok Sabha elections.

In September 2018, the Supreme Court docket had delivered a landmark judgment permitting ladies of all ages to enter the Sabarimala shrine, resulting in widespread protests by sections of devotees. The difficulty took a political flip after two ladies activists of menstruating age entered the shrine in January 2019.

The LDF, which had initially supported the SC verdict and promised to uphold constitutional regulation, got here below assault as each the BJP and the Congress aligned over the standard stand banning ladies of reproductive age from getting into the temple. Led by its then state president Okay. Surendran, the BJP even held statewide protest marches, positioning itself as a defender of the Hindu religion.

The LDF felt the political warmth within the 2019 Lok Sabha elections held months after the protests, profitable solely one in every of Kerala’s 20 seats (Alappuzha), whereas the Congress-led United Democratic Entrance (UDF) gained 19. The LDF managed to attract solely 35.29 p.c of the vote share, in comparison with Congress’s 47.48 p.c.

State-based political analyst C. R. Neelakandan mentioned the LDF might face political questions for holding such a non secular convention now.

“Their preliminary stand on the Sabarimala verdict backfired within the 2019 elections. This (summit) occasion can’t be considered solely as a pilgrimage tourism initiative. The Left Entrance has been leaning in the direction of Hindutva politics following the setback within the Lok Sabha polls. This must also be seen in that mild,” he instructed ThePrint.

Though the LDF made historical past with a consecutive win within the 2021 meeting polls, it once more managed to win solely one in every of 20 seats within the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, regardless of a marketing campaign centred on minority rights and opposition to the Citizenship (Modification) Act.

The election noticed a big surge in BJP’s vote share in Kerala, with notable help from upper-caste and Ezhava Hindu voters. The LDF secured a vote share of 33.34 p.c, whereas the UDF gained 45.21 p.c. The BJP-led NDA secured a vote share of 19.24 p.c, recording a rise of 4 p.c.

Talking to ThePrint, BJP’s state vice-president Okay.S. Radhakrishnan termed the summit as an try and appease the Hindu vote financial institution within the run-up to the following 12 months’s Kerala polls.

“They’re exhibiting a pro-Hindu and anti-Muslim face nowadays to get the Hindu vote financial institution,” he mentioned, including that the state authorities ought to focus on constructing primary facilities slightly than remodeling the pilgrimage web site right into a tourism hub.

(Edited by Nida Fatima Siddiqui)

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