Women activists march to Trimbakeshwar temple to protest entry ban | Latest News India - Hindustan Times
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Women activists march to Trimbakeshwar temple to protest entry ban

ByHT Correspondent, Nashik
Mar 07, 2016 01:14 PM IST

Activist Trupti Desai confident they won’t be detained because both police and chief minister seem supportive of the movement

Nearly 150 women, led by activist Trupti Desai, marched to the Trimbakeshwar Temple in Nashik on Monday to protest against a rule forbidding the entry of female devotees into its inner sanctum.

Activist Trupti Desai talks to Maharashtra chief minister Devendra Fadnavis on the issue of temple entry recently.(File photo)
Activist Trupti Desai talks to Maharashtra chief minister Devendra Fadnavis on the issue of temple entry recently.(File photo)

Desai said she was confident they won’t be detained because “the police and chief minister were supportive” of their movement. “We hope to create history today by entering the sanctum,” she added.

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The Bhumata Brigade, a women’s rights group that had earlier led the protests at Shani Shinghnapur temple, organised the march led by Desai.

Read: Shani temple row: Shrine authorities, activists hold talks

Supporting the initiative, the Maharashtra State Commission for Women batted for equality among both the sexes in religious matters.

“In our culture, equal status has been given to both men and women… this is the same for worshipping gods also. The women can worship god as men do. We feel that society must work in accordance with this and provide equal opportunity to all,” commission chairperson Vijaya Rahatkar told ANI, demanding that women be allowed inside the temple.

Read: Trupti Desai: The woman spearheading Shani Shingnapur protest

The temple trust maintained that the ban was based on an age-old tradition, and claimed that no objection has ever been raised in this regard. “What Desai and the other women are doing amounts to a mere publicity stunt. At a time when intelligence agencies have issued a security alert to various religious places, this will only add to the burden of police personnel guarding the temple,” said a woman trustee of the religious establishment.

The ancient Trimbakeshwar temple, located 30 km from Nashik city, is a major Lord Shiva shrine containing one of the 12 ‘jyotirlingas’ – devotional objects representing the deity.

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