Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis had a choice and he took it. In the clash between women activists, who made an abortive attempt to enter the Shani Shingnapur temple in Ahmednagar and temple authorities, he chose to be on the side of women. Around 400 women left Pune in buses for the temple which is located around 250 km away. But they were stopped by police and locals who formed a human chain around 50 km from the shrine. The Chief Minister tweeted that the Hindu religion gives women the right to pray. “Discrimination in praying in not in our culture,” he wrote and added that he preferred a dialogue to resolve the issue. It might be recalled that a few weeks earlier the Supreme Court came to the same conclusion during the preliminary hearings of a petition pertaining to the Sabarimala temple. The laws preventing entry of women into temples is ancient and considered sacrosanct. However, they are out of sync with a modern nation that is racing towards gender equality. The action of the 400 women has drawn attention to the discrimination they face when it comes to praying in temples, but overturning these archaic laws is not going to be easy. Only a prolonged, non-violent movement can force a change and with the Chief Minister on their side, the barricades of old will fall sooner than later.
