Violence has not returned to the district known as the country's sugarcane-belt, but political divisions remain as Hindus typically vote for BJP and Muslims for the opposition
Indian women form '620km human chain' for equal access to Sabarimala temple
Women in the southern Indian state of Kerala have formed a 620km (385-mile) human chain "in support of gender equality", amid a row over access to a prominent Hindu temple, reports BBC.
Published : 2 Jan 2019, 04:37 AM
Updated : 2 Jan 2019, 04:48 AM
The Sabarimala shrine was historically closed to women of "menstruating age" - defined as between 10 and 50.
India's top court overturned the ban in September, but protesters have since attacked female visitors.
The "women's wall" was organised by the state's left-wing coalition government.
Around five million women from various parts of Kerala had gathered across all national highways to form the chain, which stretched from the northern tip of Kasaragod to the southern end in Thiruvanthapuram, officials told BBC Hindi.
Organisers had predicted a turnout of around three million.
Officials said the short demonstration was to combat inequality and counter the efforts of right-wing groups that support the ban on women.
"This is a great way of saying how powerful women are, and how we can empower ourselves and help each other. Of course, I support the move to allow women of all ages into the temple. I don't think tradition or any kind of backwardness should stop women. Those who want to pray must have the right to pray," a young demonstrator, Kavita Das, told BBC.
"Sabarimala is not the main issue here today. I believe men and women are equal," observed another woman, Tanuja Bhattadri.
The ban had turned out to be more political when the Supreme Court decision to let women worship at the Sabarimala shrine came after a petition argued that the custom banning them violated gender equality.
But India's ruling party, the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), has argued that the ruling is an attack on Hindu values.
The issue has become increasingly contentious in the run-up to India's general election, scheduled for April and May. Critics have accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of pursuing a religiously divisive agenda to court the BJP's mostly-Hindu support base.
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