By Aditya Aamir
Even the most careless and dated ones among us know that the world and the word have been reduced to a bunch of hashtags. But it is like the Universe. Ever-expanding. From #TalkToAMuslim to #RightToPray. It goes on and on with gay abandon though ‘gay abandon’ is also dated. #TalkToAMuslim surfaced two days ago. #RightToPray was in the Supreme Court after years on the slow burner.
Bollywood actor @ReallySwara alias Swara Bhaskar unleashed #TalkToAMuslim on unsuspecting Muslims. The self-respecting ‘Indian Muslim’ did not like it. The religion-first ‘Muslim Indian’ loved it. To add salt to injury @ReallySwara tweeted “they are also humans”.
If @ReallySwara’s intention was to impress @RahulGandhi, it riled more Muslims than it vowed. #TalkToAMuslim will never make it to the Supreme Court. Not even if Prashant ‘PIL’ Bhushan will take it up.
But #RightToPray went for a third day of hearing in the apex court. And what was heard was not music to millions of Ayyappa devotees. By the end of Day 2, #RightToPray had stolen a march. After Haji Ali, the deluge! O! Yep, this one is also about gender equality. Men are the ‘villain’. Women are the ‘heroine’. And, if the Supreme Court ruled in favour of #RightToPray, it would be ‘hero’ and ‘villain’, both!
The feeling is ‘men might revolt’. The top court was not impressed. Article 14 of the Constitution says ‘Equality before Law’, and that’s it. CJI Dipak Misra expressed as much on Day 1: “That’s it!” The Pinarayi Vijayan Government also put its weight behind ‘That’s it’. It was a #CommieKaze on Sabarimala after decades of let things be!
But it was not just communists. Feminists and Hindutva-types also joined hands. The feminist and the commie are ideologically irreligious. They were ready to move river and mountain to see gender equality triumph. None of them may head to Sabarimala but they were shouting from the mala-top, Manglish for ‘hilltop’. The fight dated back to Adam and Eve. For feminist Tripti Desai, #TalkToAMale would never be a hashtag. Unless it comes with chainmail! It is ‘War’. Planetary – Venus & Mars.
That being said, the 1st Battle of Sabarimala was poised delicately. Lawyers of the Travancore Devaswom Board had not spoken on Day 2. Conservative social activist Rahul Eswar promised a “spirited defence”. And men would continue to rule! But women with the resilience of Eve smiled at the boast and insisted this brag would end in a ditch!
If the women won Sabarimala, all that would be left for the male would be the ‘Gents’ and #RightToPee would not garner enough retweets to make a splash. Only dogs and lions and tigers pee-mark territory. Human beings, like Darwin stated, have to evolve! At this point in human history, men might have to take the cue, fall in line, and take their designated place in the gender-neutral queue.
“No,” said @Rahul Eswar, “We aren’t talking about God. Lord Ayyapaa is a deity – a private individual with a personal domain. Deity-rules apply in his house. You cannot allow a female to knock the ball around at the FIFA World Cup, can you? Lord Ayyappa is not God. The deity has a bank account! This is not a case of gender equality. Only certain ages have been bracketed. Like Jallikattu, it’s socio-cultural. Don’t disturb the status-quo.”
He said the Travancore Devaswom Board has “good lawyers” fighting its case. One of them, Abhishek Manu Singhvi (ASM), took the floor on Thursday, July 19, and said, “It’s the collective of the believers and pilgrims that this is necessary for the purity of the idol and not women.” He wondered aloud why women only wanted to “enter this temple?” to which the CJI said, “It is because they believe.”
For the Supreme Court it’s the Constitution, Article 14 and Article 25. Equal rights for all and the right to follow and propagate religion. To others, it’s North India’s Sanatan Dharam versus South India’s Tantram-Mantram. Apples and oranges. Chalk and Cheese! ASM said, “If they believe in it, they should believe in the traditions of the deity.”
What atheists and no-religionists saw in the court proceedings was trouble brewing for God’s Own Country where a deity is revered! Like Freedom of Expression is not absolute, there are restrictions to freedom of religion, too. One of them: ‘Public order’ must be maintained. Disturbing a centuries-old tradition would disrupt a way of life.
And those affected would not only be men but also women. A big chunk of Malayali, Tamil, Telugu and Kannada women do not take Sabarimala rules lightly. Their counter to #RightToPray is #ReadyToWait. It’s not gender-rights. It’s about the deity’s rights. Feminists cannot change rules. Male chauvinists, too, have a right to rights.
The reaction to an ‘in favour’ #RightToPray outcome would not be restricted to the street alone. It would rend ties within the family, “where” there’s an established balancing of male and female roles. Rights advocacy has its borders. It cannot be unbridled.
Last, the RSS, VHP and BJP’s Hindutva is alien to Swami Ayyappa. Ask the Vavaraswamis of the Vavar Mosque at Erumely – the Gateway to Sabarimala? ‘Hindutva Sabarimala’ is as abhorrent as ‘Hindu Pakistan’ to Ayyappa devotees. Unacceptable. A point for the ‘Me Lords’ to ponder. (IPA Service)
The post In Sabarimala It’s Faith Versus Belief appeared first on Newspack by India Press Agency.
