Online
\nNew Delhi
\nOne person was killed and at least 15 injured in violence across southern India\u00b4s Kerala state which broke out after two women defied traditionalists to enter one of Hinduism\u00b4s holiest temples, police said Thursday.
\nClashes were reported across the state after the two women activists, escorted by police, entered the Sabarimala temple in a surprise pre-dawn operation on Wednesday.
\nThe Supreme Court in September overturned a decades-old ban on women of menstruating age \u2014 deemed as those between 10 and 50 \u2014 setting foot inside the gold-plated Sabarimala temple.
\nSeveral women activists have made unsuccessful attempts to reach the temple since the order but faced stiff resistance from thousands of devotees including men and women, who see it as an attack on tradition.
\n\u201cThe person who died was part of a BJP (Bharatiya Janata Party) demonstration yesterday and got injured when some stones were hurled (at the demonstrators),\u201d Kerala police spokesman Pramod Kumar told media.
\n\u201cHis injuries were serious and he died late Wednesday night. At least 15 others were injured in incidents across the state,\u201d Kumar added.
\nLocal media reports said the demonstrators from Prime Minister Narendra Modi\u00b4s BJP were hit by stones from a local office of the state\u00b4s ruling Communist party.
\nKerala remained tense on Thursday, and the police said additional forces had been deployed across the state to prevent further violence breaking out.
\nThe police Wednesday used tear gas, stun grenades and water cannon to control clashes between the rival groups, largely conservatives and cadres of the state\u00b4s ruling left-wing parties.
\nJournalists were also assaulted during the disturbances in the state\u00b4s capital, Thiruvananthapuram, and nearby Kollam city.
\nSeptember\u00b4s verdict was the latest progressive ruling from the court, with judges also overturning bans on homosecuality and adultery last year.
\nIn rare comments regarding the Sabarimala temple on Tuesday, Modi \u2014 running for a second term in elections later this year \u2014 appeared to support the ban, saying the matter was related to tradition.
\n\u201cThere are some temples which have their own traditions, where men can\u00b4t go. And men don\u00b4t go,\u201d Modi told Indian media.
\nThe Supreme Court is to start hearing a legal challenge on its ruling to allow women into the temple from January 22.
\nWomen are still barred from a handful of Hindu temples in India. The entry of women at Sabarimala was taboo for generations and formalised by the Kerala High Court in 1991.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Online New Delhi One person was killed and at least 15 injured in violence across southern India\u00b4s Kerala state which broke out after two women defied traditionalists to enter one of Hinduism\u00b4s holiest temples, police said Thursday. Clashes were reported across the state after the two women activists, escorted by police, entered the Sabarimala temple […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-43793","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","category-world"],"yoast_head":"\n