Shani Shignapur Temple

Religious leader Swaroopanand Saraswati said on Monday that the "Kerala temple tragedy may have occurred due to women forcibly entering the Shani Shingnapur temple in Maharashtra," which had been banned for over four centuries.

For months, women activists, in particular Trupti Desai, have tried unsuccessfully to enter a famous temple to Saturn or Lord Shani in Maharashtra. Today, temple officials said that women will neither be encouraged nor stopped from entering the temple, effectively lifting the ban on entry of women.

In what could be seen an attempt at an image makeover, the Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh or RSS, the ideological mentor of the BJP, has advocated for women entry into temples, calling the practice of banning them from the sanctum sanctorum of some temples as 'unfair'.

A Public Interest Litigation (PIL) has been filed in the Bombay High Court challenging the century-old tradition of prohibiting entry of women inside the core shrine area of Shani Shingnapur temple in Ahmednagar district of Maharashtra.

Bhoomata Brigade leader Trupti Desai was today detained in Maharashtra's Ahmednagar district while heading to the Shani Shingnapur temple where she had spearheaded a campaign last month against ban on female devotees entering the sacred platform.

Activists campaigning for the entry of women into the inner sanctum of Maharashtra's Shani Shignapur temple and staff who have opposed the move, held a round of "positive" talks with both sides expecting Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis to take the process forward.

Women politicians in Maharashtra are speaking out against gender discrimination at places of worship after an unidentified woman offered prayers at Ahmednagar's famous Shani Shignapur temple before the idol.

Religious leader Swaroopanand Saraswati said on Monday that the "Kerala temple tragedy may have occurred due to women forcibly entering the Shani Shingnapur temple in Maharashtra," which had been banned for over four centuries.

For months, women activists, in particular Trupti Desai, have tried unsuccessfully to enter a famous temple to Saturn or Lord Shani in Maharashtra. Today, temple officials said that women will neither be encouraged nor stopped from entering the temple, effectively lifting the ban on entry of women.

In what could be seen an attempt at an image makeover, the Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh or RSS, the ideological mentor of the BJP, has advocated for women entry into temples, calling the practice of banning them from the sanctum sanctorum of some temples as 'unfair'.

A Public Interest Litigation (PIL) has been filed in the Bombay High Court challenging the century-old tradition of prohibiting entry of women inside the core shrine area of Shani Shingnapur temple in Ahmednagar district of Maharashtra.

Bhoomata Brigade leader Trupti Desai was today detained in Maharashtra's Ahmednagar district while heading to the Shani Shingnapur temple where she had spearheaded a campaign last month against ban on female devotees entering the sacred platform.

Activists campaigning for the entry of women into the inner sanctum of Maharashtra's Shani Shignapur temple and staff who have opposed the move, held a round of "positive" talks with both sides expecting Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis to take the process forward.

Women politicians in Maharashtra are speaking out against gender discrimination at places of worship after an unidentified woman offered prayers at Ahmednagar's famous Shani Shignapur temple before the idol.