Daily Times

Sir: Today Sabarimala which is attracting the largest pilgrimage in the world every year has turned out to be the battleground for all the wrong reasons and the unnecessary controversies. And this is really sad to note. The fact that the Sabarimala temple has long been attracting the devotees from all the corners, traditionally and ethically remains the same as such. Adding to the controversy over the entry of women to the Sabarimala and tarnishing the sanctum sanctorums of the temple premises cannot be taken lightly.

Just see, the Asian region has been having the strong background of religion. The people from the countries like India, Pakistan, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh often take the religious things seriously and they have such natural tendencies. Therefore, it is the responsibility of the governments and the authority figures to see to such difficult/inherent issues.

The ongoing Sabarimala issue has almost become a global issue now with so many media houses from the West and the East seriously focusing on the current controversy.

It is really understandable that the people always stick to the traditional values and ethics in a sensitive way. Any kind of bias based on gender in terms of entering the temples will never look good, only creating problems and disturbance to others. After all, religion is for the people to seek solace and the religious things/stuffs are finally in the hands of the people. Let there be no barriers of gender, caste and color in religion. In a nutshell, the religion should be harmonious – free from controversy or free of disturbance.

P SENTHIL SARAVANA DURAI

Mumbai, India

Published in Daily Times, January 20^th 2019.