A wrong administrative move using Kerala police to disrupt the Kaliyoottu Mahotsavam (festival) at Vellayani Bhadrakali Devi Temple failed due to the timely intervention of the festival committee and Hindu devotees yesterday evening. After solid resistance from pilgrims, police were forced to remove an aid post on temple land. Jihadi and left-leaning local media quickly reported “RSS violence at Vellayani Temple.”  

Vellayani Bhadrakali Temple comes under the Nemom police station on the outskirts of Thiruvananthapuram. Last week, HinduPost reported how local police and the administration attempted to destroy Hindu customs and traditions since the day volunteers began preparations. Green communists and jihadis initially opposed using saffron for decorations. Devotees resisted by setting up a police aid post using saffron fabric. 

Then the police banned devotees from wearing saffron clothes, but it fizzled out when pilgrims (mainly women) arrived in their thousands wearing them. Pilgrims turned the famous Kaliyoottu Mahotsavam into a sea of saffron. Several prominent figures alleged that it was highly disrespectful for the government to interfere in the ritual followed by the Temple for centuries. 

Police personnel refused to use the aid post built by the festival committee since it was saffron in color. The same police do not have any issues when lakhs of Mosques use green color all over Kerala during their festivities and bloody the streets with the sacrifice of animals. The two-month-long festivities began at the Temple on 14 February and will last until mid-April.

Yesterday, Vellayani Bhadrakali Devi’s Murti was taken out of the sanctum sanctorum as part of Kalam Kaval. It is the ritual in which the chief priest carries the huge Murti on his head and dances in a trance until he falls unconscious. A vast crowd, including festival committee members, devotees, and locals, stood guard. 

Janmabhumi reported that Nemom police station Station House Officer (SHO) Rageesh Kumar R, Inspector of Police, used this as an opportunity. Instead of guarding the Murti, some policemen secretly constructed a massive tent in front of the Temple using a shamiana. This was supposed to be the new police aid post. 

Incidentally, the shed was built where the Nagappana is performed, which is of great ceremonial importance. For Pongala, the fire lit in this Nagappana is transferred to other hearths. Vellayani Pongala occurs on Ashwathy Nakshatram in the Malayalam month of Meenom, which begins in mid-March. Nagappana is also where the Bhagavathi resides after Dhikku Bali, performed in four directions. 

Festival committee members and devotees were surprised to see a tent where the Nagappana was supposed to be set up and demanded the removal of the police shed. Initially, the police refused, leading to protests by the devotees. After strong opposition, the aid post was finally removed by the police.

As if to add ghee to the fire, a large posse of policemen led by Thiruvananthapuram Fort police station Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) S Shaji reached the spot and tried to create a stir again. Shaji threatened that unless they were allowed to set up a tent at the exact location, the police would not provide security for the Vellayani Temple! 

Vellayani Devikshetra Committee General Convener Nedungad Gopan told Janmabhumi that under no circumstances will the construction of a police aid post be allowed at a place of ritual importance.

Incidentally, the same media houses that claimed RSS violence knew the Temple itinerary very well and the importance of Dhikku Bali. This meant that either there was a massive ideological collision between its staff or a concerted effort to create communal friction and blame it on BJP/RSS. They forget that such triumphs are temporary and truth always prevails.

The 70-day-long Kaliyoottu Mahotsavam festival at Vellayani Devi Temple began on Tuesday morning at 8.30 am with the Thanga Thirumudi procession. Kalam Kaval was held at 5.30 pm. Dhikku Bali will be held, and the Temple flag is scheduled to be hoisted at 8.15 am on 15 April. The festival will conclude at 6 pm on 24 April.

Pallichal Dhikku Bali is on 16 February, Kalliyur Dhikku Bali on 27 February, Pappanamkot Dhikku Bali on 10 March and Ashwathy Pongala on 24 March. Koliakot Dhikku Bali is on 25 March. Vellayani Bhadrakali Murti will be carried around in a specially prepared procession, accompanied by the Chenda Melam (percussion using Chenda).

Like what transpired in Sabarimala, dark forces create controversies daily in Vellayani Temple. Open atrocities, like local police refusing to use an aid post nestled in saffron, are unheard of in Bharat. Experts have warned that local police officers must ponder on their actions and stop acting like mere puppets in the hands of atheist/jihadi communist leaders. Meanwhile, the stalemate at the Temple continues.