Ayyappa Sangamam: Plan is to make Sabarimala like Tirupati, says Kerala CM

Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Saturday (September 20) slammed critics of the Ayyappa Sangamam, dismissing attempts to portray the global conclave as politically motivated. Pinarayi Vijayan, in his inaugural speech, mentioned that there were plans underway to develop Sabarimala to make it a global pilgrimage site, such as Madurai and Tirupati, by 2050.

Speaking at the inaugural session in Pampa, he said the Supreme Court restrained those trying to misrepresent the government’s initiatives.

“Real devotees understand the spirit of this gathering. Those who wear the garb of devotion only to pursue narrow agendas cannot derail it,” he remarked.

Also Read: SC refuses to stop global conclave of Ayyappa devotees in Kerala

Sabarimala - a rare symbol of secular spirituality

Framing his address against growing criticism, Pinarayi Vijayan underlined that Sabarimala is not merely a temple but a rare symbol of secular spirituality.

“It is a shrine that welcomes all, transcending caste and creed. Pilgrims enter through Vavar Nada — representing Islam — and offer at the Arthunkal Church before proceeding to the hills. The Harivarasanam song sung every night at the sanctum is composed by an atheist and rendered by a Christian. Where else in the world can one find such harmony?” he asked.

Vijayan invoked the dictum Tat Tvam Asi — You are that — to stress that Sabarimala’s message is one of inclusivity, erasing the very idea of the ‘other’. He linked this tradition to reformers such as Sree Narayana Guru, Chattampi Swamikal and Ramana Maharshi, and noted that the temple has long stood as a beacon of religious coexistence.

Also Read: CPI(M) shifts stance on Sabarimala women's entry issue as Ayyappa Sangamam nears

Vijayan slammed the media

The Chief Minister lashed out at sections of the media for spreading “deliberate distortions” about a so-called minority conclave. “What is actually planned is a series of 33 departmental seminars in October as part of preparing Kerala’s vision for 2031, the platinum jubilee of statehood. Each department will hold one seminar under its minister, and the minority affairs department is only one among them. To pick that alone and misrepresent it is dishonest,” he said.

Turning to the core agenda of the Ayyappa Sangamam, Vijayan presented the state’s ambitious Sabarimala master plan. Framed after years of consultations and in response to calls from devotees abroad, the plan aims at comprehensive development of the shrine, its approaches, and its base camps, without disturbing the ecological balance of the Western Ghats.

Also Read: Global Ayyappa Sangamam: Faith, politics, and battle for narrative

Master plans to develop Sabarimala

The master plan envisages phased investments of over ₹1,033 crore for the Sannidhanam, Pamba and the trekking routes. The first phase (2022-27) at Sannidhanam alone carried an outlay of ₹600 crore, followed by ₹100 crore in the second phase (2028-33) and ₹77 crore in the third (2034-39). Pamba is to be developed as a transit camp with a circulation system to ease crowding, requiring an estimated ₹207 crore, while the trekking path development is budgeted at nearly ₹48 crore.

Key projects include a safety bridge across the Pamba, expansion of Nilakkal base camp, a dedicated drinking water pipeline , fire safety installations at Sannidhanam, a prasadam production and distribution complex, and measures to conserve local water resources. “Every proposal respects the temple’s heritage and Kerala’s traditional architecture, while ensuring safety and aesthetics,” Vijayan said.

Listing past allocations, Vijayan said the government had spent ₹148.5 crore on development since 2011-12 under the master plan, and between 2016-17 and 2025 sanctioned ₹650 crore for modernisation of devaswom institutions. Of this, Travancore Devaswom Board received ₹145 crore, the Cochin Board ₹26 crore, the Malabar Board ₹305 crore, while additional sums were granted to the Sree Padmanabhaswamy temple, Koodalmanikyam and the Hindu Religious Institutions Department.

Sabarimala alone, he pointed out, received ₹84 crore under the master plan, ₹22 crore for sanitation, and ₹116 crore for transit facilities, apart from over ₹10 crore in the last four years for festival management. “The propaganda that the government siphons temple revenue is false. On the contrary, government support ensures that lamps remain lit even in temples with meagre income,” Vijayan said, recalling how state aid of ₹140 crore had rescued the Travancore Devaswom Board during the Covid crisis.

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Global pilgrimage centre

Responding to demands that temple management be left solely to devotees, the Chief Minister reminded that it was precisely the collapse of earlier community-based administration that had led to the formation of devaswom boards. “If the boards and government step back, do critics want temples to return to the days of neglect?” he asked.

Concluding, Vijayan said the Ayyappa Sangamam was not an overnight plan but the outcome of long deliberations, including inputs from devotees in Malaysia and Singapore. “By 2050, Sabarimala must stand as a global pilgrimage centre like Tirupati or Madurai. This conclave is to gather ideas, refine the master plan and move forward with unity. Those who seek to divide are betraying the very spirit of Sabarimala,” he said.

Devaswom minister V N Vasavan read out the messages from UP chief minister Yogi Adityanath and Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin in the inaugural session. Tamil Nadu Minister for the Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments Department, PK Sekharbabu and Palanivel Thiagarajan, Minister for Information Technology are at the conclave.