Kakkad Koikkal Sree Dharmashasta: SNDP Breaking Temple Traditions

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PATHANAMTHITTA: On March 23, 2025, at the Kakkad Koikkal Sree Dharmashasta Temple in Perunad Under Travancore Devaswom Board (TDB). People from the SNDP (Sree Narayana Dharma Paripalana Yogam) Joint Committee went inside wearing shirts, breaking an old rule. They said it was a protest about a discrimination at another temple, Koodalmanikyam in Irinjalakuda is Under Koodalmanikyam Devaswom Board, where the temple priest had decided to stay away from rituals following the appointment of a man belonging to a other caste as kazhakam -- a temple staffer assigned to make floral garments for the deity and to oversee preparations for rituals. 

The tradition of male devotees removing their shirts before entering is not a relic of oppression but a symbol of humility and surrender before the divine, deeply rooted in the temple’s spiritual ethos. At Kakkad Sree Dharmashasta, which is connected to Sabarimala, The SNDP ignored it, and their leader, VK Vasudevan, said "Devaswom board is showing discrimination towards SNDP. When PSC provides a post to someone, they are being targeted. We are protesting against it," VK Vasudevan, a leader of the joint union said.

The Left government always support Swami Sachidananda from Sivagiri Mutt (Sree Narayana Guru) . He said temples he controls should drop strict dress rules. The SNDP used his words to act here, but Kakkad Sree Dharmashasta is under the TDB, not them. If the SNDP truly sought justice, why did they not engage in dialogue or legal recourse? Why, instead, did they choose to disrupt the traditions of another temple, one unrelated to the original grievance? 

Critic's Argue that If this keeps going, Kerala’s temples becomes tools for the Left Politics.