“Women of all age groups should be allowed in the famous Sabarimala shrine of Kerala,” the state government today told the Supreme Court, turning the opinion of the former Congress-led government.

From many years, women are not allowed inside the Sabarimala temple. This is as they are considered as "unclean" because of their menstruation cycle. According to some of the scholars, the woman is not allowed because Lord Ayyappa to whom the temple is devoted - is considered an unmarried yogi.

Last year, when the chief of the Sabarimala Devasom Board Prayar Gopalakrishnan, said: "women will be allowed into the temple the day the machine is invented to detect if they are menstruating." Due to his statement huge outrage came.

"The day there will be a machine to detect if it's the 'right time' for women to enter temples, that day they will be allowed in Sabarimala," Mr. Gopalakrishnan was reported as saying.

The Left-led LDF government had in 2007 said that "women should not be stopped from entering the shrine but that stand changed when the Congress-led UDF was in power."

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BY M. DIVYA SRI