Law must Respect faith: Tharoor on Sabarimala case

Congress leader Shashi Tharoor on Tuesday said those interpreting the law must take faith into account, arguing that one has to understand and respect the faith of people. Speaking to the media, the Thiruvananthapuram MP highlighted the Sabarimala women’s entry issue and the lessons learned from the controversy.

He said he had written in detail about the matter earlier and urged people to read his views.

Referring to the controversy over the entry of women of menstruating age into the Sabarimala Temple, Tharoor said the Left Government in Kerala had realised its mistake.

“One of the very important lessons that the LDF Government has learned... is that you cannot just act blindly, without regard to the particularities of the wishes of the people and the faith of the people,” he said.

He underlined that while the Constitution and the courts must be respected, they function within a society shaped by deep beliefs.

“We are all in favour of the Constitution. We all respect the Supreme Court. But the Constitution and the court serve a society where people have rather profound beliefs,” he said.

Explaining the traditional practice at the hill shrine, Tharoor said, “As we all know, Lord Ayyappa in Sabarimala is an Nitya Brahmachari, and he has gone and taken refuge in that jungle shrine in order not to see any women of menstruating age.”