A Tamil Nadu ban on temple visitors wearing western wear like jeans, skirts and shorts has been temporarily suspended by the Madras High Court until January 18th.
Tamil Nadu’s Kapaleeshwar temple
A Tamil Nadu ban on temple visitors wearing western wear like jeans, skirts and shorts has been temporarily suspended by the Madras High Court until January 18th.
The dress code had been implemented by a single judge, Justice Vaidyanathan, of the Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court in an order on 26th November 2015. It came into effect on January 1st this year.
The order specified a dress code for devotees visiting all temples run by the Hindu Religious & Charitable Endowments department in Tamil Nadu.
The dress code was imposed while hearing a petition seeking the court’s permission to hold a cultural program at a temple in Trichy district. The single judge order had then observed that a dress code was necessary to restrict devotees from wearing improper clothing.
It prescribed a dress code of pyjamas, pants or dhotis with shirts for men and saris, churidar suits, with shawls and stoles for women visiting temples in the state.
This meant that western wear or clothes that revealed arms or legs were not permissible. This ruled out most tourist attire like T- shirts, skirts, leggings, shorts or lungis. Essentially this court order banned all such clothes as “inappropriate” for spiritual worship – and it was aimed at both locals as well as tourists wearing such attire.
Hindu temples in the state began putting up boards announcing this dress code. They also started turning away devotees, for wearing western clothes from 1 January due to this court order.
Authorities and staff in Tamil Nadu’s nearly 6,000 temples were on alert for spotting and turning away people flouting the ban.
The Tamil Nadu government challenged this November order last week saying it was not possible to follow a uniform dress code.
Several women’s groups also joined the government in challenging this order.
Due to this, the earlier order by Justice Vaidyanathan was stayed by a division bench allowing a temporary reprieve until January 18th from the dress code.
In its appeal, the state government said the court’s order was not in consonance with the existing Tamil Nadu Temple Entry Authorization Act, 1947 which permits religious institutions to frame their own dress code, as per local customs.
JUSTICE VAIDYANATHAN’S ORDER:
Single Judge Order
Madurai Bench of Tamil Nadu Court
Passed on November 26th 2015 and came into effect from 1stJanuary 2016.
Affects all temples run by the Hindu Religious & Charitable Endowments department in Tamil Nadu.
The order quotes from the New Testament which says that we should dress for public worship in an appropriate way. It says standards of dress may vary but we should avoid dress styles that are offensive or send a message opposing the church’s community values.
It also quotes Islamic norms that insist on a dress code. For women, sleeves should reach the wrists and the head should be covered by a scarf. This means revealing, clingy or tight clothes especially pants or skirts should not be worn. Men can wear long pants, plain shirts without messages or slogans. Short sleeves are acceptable as long as the sleeves are not shorter than average.
Prescribed Dress Code: Shirts, Dhotis and Trousers for men and saris and traditional attire for women.
Proscribed Dress Code: Lungis or wraparounds, Bermuda shorts, jeans, tight leggings, and skirts.
ENTRY BASED ON CLOTHES/ HABITS & GENDER
Hindu temples and other religious sites like dargahs and churches have long restricted devotees and casual visitors from entering their religious premises – for a host of reasons ranging from dress, eating habits (vegetarian or non-vegetarian) as well as gender.
Recently the Supreme Court questioned the age-old tradition of banning entry of women of menstrual age group in historic Sabarimala temple in Kerala. The judges’ bench hearing the case called the barring of entry of women to any place of worship “unconstitutional”, but reserved final judgment until the case was heard in court in February.
In Mumbai too, a women’s rights group is fighting legally to overturn a four-year ban on entry of women to Haji Ali Dargah, a Muslim shrine, where menstruation is cited as the reason for keeping women away.
