Child Rights Commission suo motu registers case against ritual

Kerala State Commission for Protection of Child Rights today suo motu registered a case with regard to the 'Kuthiyottam' ritual held as part of the Pongala festivities at the famed Attukal Devi temple here.
Pongala has found a place in the Guinness Book of World Records as "the largest gathering of women" based on the 2.5 million turnout in 2009.
The festival is to held this year on March 2, in which lakhs of women from all over the country congregate to offer 'pongala' (a mix of rice, jaggery and coconut) in fresh earthen or metal pots as an offering to Attukal Devi, the presiding deity, in makeshift brick stoves.

The commission, which registered the case on the basis of newspaper reports, said in a statement that it would examine if the ritual violated child rights in any manner.
DGP R Sreelekha had kicked up a row yesterday by seeking to stop the traditional ritual.
"Kuthiyottam" is a ritual performed by boys below the age of 13 years after observing a seven-day 'vritham' (penance) as part of the annual festivities.

As the state is gearing up for the festival on March 2, the IPS officer said in a blog that the ritual was a "torture" for the boys as they have to go through 'rigorous mental and physical abuse" during the period.

"Causing physical and mental pain to children are offences under Sections 89, 319, 320, 349, 350, 351 of the Indian Penal Code," she said, adding that the Juvenile Justice Act and the Child Welfare Commission Act penalise it.
"Can we call it (the temple) Boy's Prison Cell?" she asked and said it was time to "stop this yearly crime in the name of faith!".
However, the temple authorities had rejected the charges, saying none was being forced by the shrine to participate in the ritual.
"Boys from the age of 5 to 12 are made to wear just a loin cloth, submerge in cold water thrice daily, eat measly morsels squatting on the floor and sleep on the bare temple ground," she said, adding that they are not even allowed to see their parents during this time.

And on the final day,each of them are decked up with yellow cloths, garlands, jewellery and makeup, including lipstick and made to stand in a queue for their "last unexpected torture", she said.
"An iron hook, tiny though it is, will be pierced into their skin on their flanks. They scream. Blood comes out. A thread will be symbolically knotted through the hooks to symbolise their bond with divinity."
"Then the hooks are pulled out and ash roughly applied on the wounds! All this for temple deity!" the DGP said.
Sreelekha had also compared the 'kuthiyottam' boys with thegoats to be sacrificed at Guwahatis Kamaakhya temple.

This year, over 980 boys are taking part in the ritual, temple sources said.