Advocate K.V.Dhananjay raises a question here; a question that he was asked – men perform the role of priests in Hindu temples; women have been traditionally and customarily barred from this role. Do women have a constitutional right to demand assignment of priest roles to them? Of course, in Hindu temples administered by the State Governments?

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These days are said to be a testing time for Hindu religious beliefs and practices. Two days ago, a women’s rights activist group met me with a question – can women who could show competence in the Vedas and the temple rituals stake a claim to priestly roles in temples administered by the State Governments?

I am raising that very question here. I invite readers to express their views.

Thousands of Hindu temples in South India are administered and managed by the State Governments; almost all the major temples in the South are the property of the State. So, do these temples incur a constitutional duty to allow women also to perform the role of the priests? What if a particular expression of this duty is opposed to the long-standing religious doctrine?

I am not expressing my opinion here.