Yielding to a high voltage campaign by activists, the Shani Shingnapur temple trust on Friday allowed women to enter the sanctum sanctorum, breaking the tradition followed for several decades.
Significantly, lifting of all gender barriers for access to the core area came on the auspicious occasion of “Gudi Padwa”, marking New Year by people across Maharashtra.
Sayaram Bankar, a trustee of Shani Shingnapur temple, said the trustees held a meeting on Friday and decided to facilitate unrestricted entry to all devotees including men and women, in keeping with the high court directive.
“We will welcome (Bhoomata Brigade leader) Trupti Desai also if she comes for darshan,” he said, referring to the campaign spearheaded by the outfit for breaking the tradition followed by the shrine of Lord Saturn.
Temple trust spokesman Haridas Gaywale also said, “The trust has at the meeting decided there will not be any discrimination and today all parts of Shani temple are open for all.”
The Bombay High Court had on April 1, 2016 held that it is the women’s fundamental right to go into places of worship and the government is duty-bound to protect it.
The debate over the issue escalated after a woman in 2015 tried to enter and offer prayers at the Shani Shingnapur temple, in ‘breach’ of the age-old practice of prohibiting entry of women.
The agitation for women’s entry gained momentum over the last few months, even as the temple authorities had later barred men also from entering the sanctum sanctorum.
Ms. Desai welcomed the decision of Shani Shingnapur temple trustees to open gates of the sacred “Chauthara” for men and women devotees, and said it was a “wise” step on their part.
“Der se aye lekin durusta aye (It was late but in the end correct decision),” she said reacting to the development that signalled a victory for her prolonged fight against gender discrimination at places of worship.
“We are happy that the temple trustees have taken a wise decision eventually,” she told PTI.
Ms. Desai said she and her group of activists would leave for Shani Singnapur soon to offer prayers at the temple.
She hoped that trustees at Trimbakeshwar and Mahalaxmi temples in Nashik and Kolhapur respectively, too would take similar decision to end injustice against women devotees.
Earlier in the day, around 250 men from Shingnapur village entered the sanctum sanctorum of the temple in the village and offered prayers to the deity on the occasion of ’Gudi Padwa’, even as the temple officials tried to prevent them.
About 250 residents of Shingnapur village reached the core area of the temple and had darshan as a part of their annual ritual, police inspector Prashant Mandale of Shani Shingnapur told PTI.
The trust members objected to their entry resulting in tension, following which police rushed to the spot.
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