Trupti Desai’s Activism for Women Long Predates Sabarimala Entry

From an early start into activism to forming the Bhumata Brigade, here’s Trupti Desai’s story.

Social Activist Trupti Desai is in headlines this week for her pledge to enter Kerala’s Sabarimala Temple, amid protests against the Supreme Court’s order. A few weeks ago, the SC lifted the draconian ban on women of menstrual age entering the temple.

Despite facing pressure and threats from parties and right-wing groups, who have warned her that they will do everything in their power to obstruct her journey into the Sabarimala, Desai, who is also the founder of a Pune-based social activist organisation called Bhumata Brigade, has remained resilient.

“Times are finally changing and empowerment for women has won over the old school of thought,” she had said, when the Supreme Court had first lifted the ban.

While the country watches Desai make her way to the temple gates - some with trepidation, some with hope, and some with anger - here’s the backstory of the woman who has sworn that she won’t return home until getting darshan (blessings) at the Sabarimala Temple.

An Activist Since School

Born in Nipani Taluka on the border of Karnataka and Maharashtra, Desai has her roots in Kolhapur, but moved to Pune at the age of eight, The News Minute reported.

Studying home-science from Shrimati Nathibai Damodar Thackersee College, Desai dropped out of college in her first year due to family problems, but because of her strong personality, was made president of an organisation called Krantiveer Jhopdi Vikas Sangh. This was her first venture into activism, the report said.

“I used to work on social issues since I was in class 10. In 2003, I started working with Krantiveer Jhopdi Vikas Sangh and used to work for people living in slum areas. We generally used to help them with their day-to-day problems like providing ration cards, dealing with unemployment, legal problems and so on.”

Trupti Desai told The News Minute

The Formation of Bhumata Brigade

In 2007, she had her first fight with corruption, when she called out Ajit Cooperative Bank with NCP leader Ajit Pawar as its chairman, for allegedly carrying out a fraud of Rs 50 crore.

Desai formed the Ajit Bank Sangharsh Samiti, as a base for the movement against the bank, where she claims about 35,000 people who deposited their money were cheated.

“I formed Ajit Bank Sangharsh Samiti and after a rigorous battle of four years, I managed to get back the money of 29,000 depositors,” she told The News Minute.

Following the success of her campaign against the bank, people began to recognise her as a strong name in the realm of social activism and encouraged her to form her own social organisation, which led to the creation of Bhumata Brigade on 27 September 2010, the report added.

While the organisation is for both women and men, there is a special wing for women known as Bhumata Ranragini Brigade, which gave women a base to gather momentum and fight for their right to enter shrines where they were not allowed, starting with Shani Shingapur.

Leading the Fight for Women’s Entry to Temples

Long before Sabarimala, Desai had led the agitation for women to be given the freedom to enter all temples, starting with shrine of Shani Shingnapur Temple, where Desai along with a few female members of the Brigade, entered forcibly on 8 April 2016.

Following this, she turned her attention to the Mahalakshmi Temple in Kolhapur, where the temple management committee allowed her to enter but the priests turned violent and five of them attacked Desai and her fellow protestors, The News Minute reported.

She also attempted to enter the inner sanctum of the Trimbakeshwar Shiva Temple near Nashik and the Haji Ali Dargah in Mumbai, but was unable to do so due to the angry crowds, who even offered her death threats in the case of the Dargah entry, the report added.

Desai may have faced plenty of opposition in her attempt to ensure women enter temples from which they have been banned, and being married with an 8-year-old son, receiving threats has certainly been a worrisome factor in her life.

However, unphased, her determination to enter Sabarimala Temple, where attempts made by other women post the apex court verdict have been thwarted, is commendable and a strong message for women in the state and across the country.

(With inputs from The News Minute.)