Overview

• The Travancore Devaswom Board, with the Kerala government, plans the Global Ayyappa Sangamam on September 20 at Pampa as part of its 75th anniversary.
• SNDP Yogam welcomed the conclave, calling it a boost for livelihoods tied to Sabarimala and urging support that cuts across politics, religion, and caste.
• NSS said it supports the initiative only if Sabarimala’s customs are preserved and any committee remains free of political influence and led by Ayyappa devotees.
• SNDP leader Vellappally Natesan said the event should not violate rituals, adding there is no present push from the state for women’s entry at the shrine.
• Senior BJP leaders continued to criticize the plan as a commercial venture, while the TDB president publicly welcomed the NSS stance as encouragement for the effort.