Special Correspondent Thiruvananthapuram
Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Thursday sought to revive the arguably moribund Navodhana Samrakshana Samithi (Renaissance Protection Forum), comprising majorly Hindu social organisations, as a political counter to what he described as the religious Right’s threat to progressive, secular and democratic traditions enshrined in the Constitution.
Inaugurating the samathi’s meeting, Mr. Vijayan said the Constitution traces its roots to the renaissance credo embraced by social reformers in the early 18th century.
The previous Left Democratic Front (LDF) administration had mustered people under the samathi’s banner to counter the Sangh Parivar-led agitation against implementing the Supreme Court order that allowed women of all age groups to worship at the Sabarimala Ayyappa temple in 2019.
The government nominated Sree Narayana Dharma Paripalana (SNDP) Yogam general secretary Vellappally Natesan and Kerala Pulayar Mahasabha leader Punnala Sreekumar as chairman and convener respectively.
The samathi shot into the political limelight when it attempted to muster social support against the “Save Sabarimala” campaign by organising a ‘620-km women’s wall’ across Kerala during the apogee of the row in 2019. Soon, at least 50 Hindu social organisations quit the samathi citing an ‘overwhelmingly backward caste tilt’. The initial enthusiasm, it appeared, had petered out.
The reconvening of the samathi at the government’s behest on Thursday was also not without controversy. At a press conference, Mr. Natesan accused former Minister K. T. Jaleel of lobbying for the appointment of a Muslim community member as Vice Chancellor of Sree Narayana Guru Open University. He said the ‘Save Sabarimala’ campaign was futile. Mr. Natesan said communal polarisation in Kerala was deepening. “One cannot blame the BJP alone,” he said.
The samathi appointed M. K. Somaprasad, ex-MP, as its convener after Mr. Sreekumar exited claiming lack of time
https://epaper.thehindu.com/Home/MShareArticle?OrgId=G4EA44R7R.1&imageview=0
No comments:
Post a Comment