Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan’s hard-hitting and enlightening speech at Sivagiri Mutt cautioning against the appropriation of Sree Narayana Guru by the Sangh Parivar and his critique of Sanatana Dharma as a tool to perpetuate caste discrimination has grabbed national headlines. It has also checkmated the charges that the recent postures of Pinarayi and his comrades against Muslim fundamentalism are intended to appease Hindus leaving the Left fold towards the BJP. Whatever else one may accuse him of, Pinarayi Vijayan stands apart from today's leaders vying to be the blue-eyed boys of religious and caste leaders.

However, the question remains: Will Pinarayi walk the talk? An immediate opportunity is now ready for him to seize and uphold what Guru stood for. A firm decision by him and the government can put to end a longstanding discriminatory convention against backward castes at the Sabarimala shrine. The hill shrine, considered the most secular, remains Kerala's only temple where the Travancore Devaswom Board (TDB) officially enforces the exclusionary convention by a written guideline that only Malayala Namboodiris can become priests.

The ending of this discrimination - not just a social relic but a violation of the constitution - would be a historic New Year gift to Kerala. It may also help the state reclaim its radical legacy and an achievement for the Left when the Indian Communist party enters its centenary this year. Its immediate political significance would also be decisive when an anti-incumbency wave stares the LDF ahead of the panchayat and assembly elections.

The state should act now as the Supreme Court has sought its response in a Special Leave Petition (SLP) filed by candidates belonging to the Ezhava caste whose applications to the Melsanthi post were rejected by the TDB citing its notification that mandates Malayala Namboodiri reservation. The SLP followed the Kerala High Court’s dismissal in February 2024 of the plea against the TDB notification that it amounted to untouchability proscribed by the Constitution. Among the candidates who were rejected was also Shaji Aravindan, the chief priest at the temple belonging to the Cheerappanchira family of Muhamma, Alappuzha where Lord Ayyappa is believed to have trained in martial arts. The girl of the family who fell in love with the young Lord is venerated as Malikappurathamma at Sabarimala. (Cheerappanchira has a Communist connection also as Susheela Gopalan, the late CPI(M) leader and wife of........

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