It turns out that at least five among the 51 women the government had claimed had entered Sabarimala are below 50 years. Earlier, when Onmanorama had called up 10 women in the list submitted before the Supreme Court by the Kerala government, it was found that the women who had gone to Sabarimala had either not gone to the shrine as claimed by the state or were above 50 years.
When Manorama News made additional calls, five females said that they had not only gone to Sabarimala this season but were also below 50 years. Three were from Tamil Nadu and two from Andhra Pradesh. Sasikala from Chittur in Andhra Pradesh was the youngest, at 44.
Ramadevi from Gundur, though she is 49, said she had not violated customs. She said her uterus had been removed, and was therefore free of menstrual restrictions. Earlier, a Sri Lankan woman, Sasikala, 46, too had told the police that her uterus was removed. According to the government, Sasikala was the third women to enter the shrine after Bindu and Kanakadurga. Sasikala's entry but is still disputed.
That the government has got the names and ages of five women right is no solace. Even the police have now conceded that the list has at least three males. The police also have found out that at least 17 of the women in the list were above 50. Most of the women who did go but were above the age of 50 said their date of birth was wrongly entered. “My aunt is 59. If her age is written as 45 or 46, it is a serious offence,” said Saravanan of Chennai.
After the mistakes came to light, the Devaswom Board was quick to disassociate itself. “The list was not provided by the board,” TDB president A Padmakumar said. “The state government furnished the list on the basis of information they have. We have no idea of the list of women who had entered Sabarimala,” he added.
The government, too, began to speak in two voices. Devaswom Minister Kadakampally Surendran admitted there were defects. However, Industries Minister E P Jayarajan said that the list was based on authentic information. The chief minister's office said that the government could not take responsibility for the inaccurate information provided by devotees. But this begs another question: how could three males be recorded as females in the government list?
When thing turned too embarrassing, the government sought to shift the blame to the police force. ADGP Anil Kanth has been asked to probe how the errors crept in. “A new list will be put out after thorough examination,” a police source said.
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