Right to pray, but no right to desecrate: Smriti Irani on Sabarimala
Mumbai, Oct 23 : Amid protests against the Supreme Court order opening the Sabarimala temple in Kerala to women of all ages, Union minister Smriti Irani Tuesday said the right to pray did not mean the right to desecrate.
On September 28, a five-judge constitution bench of the Supreme Court, headed by then chief justice Dipak Misra, lifted the ban on entry of women of menstrual age into the shrine.
Women have been stopped by Ayyappa devotees from climbing up to the Sabarimala temple as protests against the Supreme Court order opening the hilltop shrine to women of all ages continued across Kerala.
"I am nobody to speak against the Supreme Court verdict as I am a serving cabinet minister. But just plain common sense is that would you carry a napkin seeped with menstrual blood and walk into a friend's house. You would not.
"And would you think it is respectful to do the same when you walk into the house of god? That is the difference. I have the right to pray, but no right to desecrate. That is the difference that we need to recognise and respect," Irani said.
The Union textile minister was speaking at the "Young Thinkers" conference organised by the British High Commission and the Observer Research Foundation here.
"I am a practising Hindu married to a Zoroastrian. I have ensured that both my kids are practising Zoroastrians, who can go to the fire temple and pray," she said.
Irani recalled that when her children were inside the fire temple, she had to stand outside on the road or sit in the car.
"When I took my newborn son (to the fire temple), I would give him at the (temple) entrance to my husband and wait outside, because I was shooed away and told not to stand there," she said.
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Woman dies by suicide amid alleged social boycott, five booked in Yadgir
Yadgir (Karnataka) (PTI): A 46-year-old woman allegedly died by suicide after facing sustained social boycott and harassment by members of her community, police said on Thursday.
An FIR has been registered in Yadgir district based on the complaint lodged by Yellappa Suryavamshi (50).
Suryavamshi alleged that the victim Kamalamma (46), a resident of Girinagar area in Yadgir, allegedly jumped into the Bhima river near Joladadagi village between the evening of March 14 and the morning of March 15, following alleged mental harassment linked to a social boycott imposed on her family.
Suryavamshi alleged that their family had been ostracised by members of their community over an unverified accusation involving their son.
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“A village panchayat held on September 8, 2025, had directed the family not to interact with a relative and imposed a 10-year social boycott, asking them to vacate the village,” Suryavamshi said in his complaint.
Following the decision, the family had shifted to a rented house in Yadgir town.
However, earlier this month, when the woman returned to their native locality, a group of individuals allegedly confronted her and reiterated the boycott, the FIR said.
“Despite the earlier boycott, she was again prevented from staying in the village and was subjected to continued mental harassment,” the complainant said.
The complainant further alleged that even relatives who offered shelter to the woman were threatened with similar social ostracism.
“Those who gave her refuge were warned of facing a fresh boycott by convening another panchayat,” Suryavamshi alleged.
Unable to bear the alleged humiliation and pressure, the woman is said to have taken the extreme step, police said.
Her body was recovered from the river on March 15 and shifted to the district government hospital mortuary in Yadgir, police said.
Based on the complaint, a case has been registered against five individuals under relevant sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), police said, adding that further investigation is underway.
