ALAPPUZHA: A 250-year-old ritual that still persists in the Chettikulangara Devi temple is Chooral Muriyal by which children are tortured to get the blessings of the deity. Though the Kerala State Commission for Protection of Child Rights (KeSCPCR) had banned the ritual in an order issued on November 1 last year, the temple conducted it on the 'Kumbha Bharani' day in the Malayalam month of Kumbam (March) this year. In this peculiar ritual, either side of the midrib of minor children adopted from underprivileged families is pierced with a needle and golden strands by a pujari. The children are then made to walk to the temple accompanied by cheering devotees and a cacophony of flute and slogans on the day of Bharani festival.
When children reach the temple with the golden threads hanging loose from their bodies, the elders pull out the string from the bleeding fissures and offer it to the temple. At least two kids need to be subjected to the ritual with each set of Kuttiyottam. Mr Suresh Gopi MP was one among 14 devotees who offered the children as symbolic bali (sacrifice) when the TDB subjected 28 minor children to the ritual in March. The Sreedevi Vilasam Hindu Matha Convention backed by the RSS had filed a petition in the High Court challenging the KeSCPCR order. But the court on March 7 refused to quash the order. The court intervened after Sandhya Raju, counsel for petitioner A.K. Rajasree, brought the Deccan Chronicle report titled 'Chettikulangara temple to hold 'Chooral Muriyal' despite ban' published on March 3 to the attention of the court.
Ms Raju said, "we have decided to post the case before the court as an urgent matter as the Kumbha Bharani is a few months away." Collector T.V. Anupama said that the district administration would study the matter and consult all parties and departments concerned. "I will take up the matter seriously," she said. It's learnt that the devaswom secretary had submitted a statement earlier that the government was against such regressive practices. The KeSCPCR also filed an affidavit saying that the temple administration had defied its order.
Mr C.P. Ramaraja Prema Prasad, devaswom commissioner, said he had no knowledge of the matter. However, the KeSCPCR order had asked the commissioner to explain to the public that the ritual would not be allowed in the temple. It also suggested finding an alternative to the ritual. The KeSCPCR had told the police that if the children were used for the ritual, the temple authorities and parents should be sued under section 75 of the Juvenile Justice Act 2015. The commission found that each devotee who offers Kuttiyottam used to buy two minor children belonging to underprivileged/ lower caste families and offer them for sacrifice for the deity's blessings. The commission also observed that this kind of rituals should be abolished from society like 'Sathi' was eliminated centuries ago.
