‘Everyone Can Go’: Top Court On Entry Of Women In Sabarimala Temple
NEW DELHI: The right of a woman to pray is a constitutional right and does not depend on laws, the Supreme Court said today while hearing a bunch of petitions that challenge the traditional ban on the entry of women between 10 and 50 years of age in the famous Sabarimala temple. Women are of an age to menstruate are restricted from entering the temple as its presiding deity, Lord Ayyappa, is considered to be a celibate.
The temple board has even made it mandatory for women to provide age proof before they are allowed in.
"Every woman is also the creation of God and why should there be discrimination against them in employment or worship," said Justice DY Chandrachud, who was part of the five-judge Constitution bench hearing the case.
"All persons are equally entitled to freedom of conscience and the right freely to profess, practice and propagate religion... This means your right as a woman to pray is not dependent on a legislation. It is your constitutional right," the judge said.
In October last year, the top court referred the issue to the Constitution bench, framing five "significant" questions, the chief is which is whether the ban amounts to discrimination against women and violates their Constitutional rights. The bench, headed by Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra, also has Justices RF Nariman, AM Khanwilkar, and Indu Malhotra.
Today, state minister K Surendran said women should be allowed to offer prayers at Sabarimala, voicing the longstanding stance of the state's ruling CPM. "You are changing your stand again. This is the fourth time," Chief Justice Dipak Misra said, referring to the stands taken by the earlier governments.
The age notification, Justice Nariman said, is "arbitrary" as it "leaves out the 9-year-old girl and 53-year-old woman who are menstruating.
courtesy : ndtv.com
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Chinese astronauts return to earth safely after six-month stint in space station
Beijing, Nov 4: Three Chinese astronauts who spent six months developing China’s low orbit space station returned to Earth safely early Monday, the China Manned Space Agency (CMSA) said.
The capsule of the spaceship Shenzhou-18' carrying astronauts Ye Guangfu, Li Cong and Li Guangsu, touched down at the Dongfeng landing site in north China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region at 1:24 am (Beijing Time).
The three astronauts, after staying in orbit for 192 days, were all in good health and the Shenzhou-18 manned mission was a success, the CMSA said.
Ye, the Shenzhou-18 mission commander, has become the first Chinese astronaut with an accumulative spaceflight time of more than a year, setting a new record for the longest duration of stay in orbit by a Chinese astronaut.
He served as a crew member in the Shenzhou-13 mission from October 2021 to April 2022.
"Chinese astronauts have flown to space in successive missions. I believe that the record of the duration in orbit will be broken in the near future," Ye said.
Another astronaut Li Guangsu said that they grew two types of plants -- cherry tomatoes and lettuce -- and they had harvested some lettuce leaves for food.
"Being able to eat fresh vegetables in space is truly a blessing. These green plants have also brought a touch of green and good cheer to our busy work," Li was quoted by state-run Xinhua news agency.
China launched the Shenzhou-18 manned spaceship in April this year.
During the mission, the Shenzhou-18 crew utilised the scientific experiment cabinets and extravehicular payloads to carry out dozens of experiments in the fields of basic physics in microgravity, space material science, space life science, space medicine and space technology, Xinhua report said.
The three were relieved by another set of three Chinese astronauts, including a woman who docked with the orbiting space station on October 30.
China changes crew for the station every six months.
China built its space station after it was reportedly excluded from the International Space Station (ISS) over concerns that China's space programme is manned by its military, the People's Liberation Army, (PLA).
The two robotic arms of the station, especially the long one which has the ability to grab objects including satellites from space, drew international concerns.
Early this month China announced its plans for the further development of space programmes which included launching a manned lunar mission, construction of a lunar space station, exploration of habitable planets and extra-terrestrial life to expand its space programme in the next few decades.
