Isolated, Bindu Ammini Fights A Lone Battle Against Orthodoxy

The youngest of five siblings, Bindu was raised by a single mother. In her growing years, the family faced a lot of hardships but Bindu then went on to secure both a graduate degree as well as a Masters in law from the Government Law College in Ernakulam and the Kerala University respectively. She taught law in several institutions before moving to the Government Law College in Kozhikode as a guest lecturer. 

Bindu who now lives in Poyilkavu, Kozhikode, with her husband Hariharan and daughter Olga, was also the state secretary and central committee member of the Communist Party of India (Marxist–Leninist). She disassociated herself from the party in 2010 due to political differences. 

Bindu Ammini has been abandoned by the Leftists who once supported her, say her friends.

Two women had been identified entering Sabarimala in 2019 – Bindu and Kanaka Durga, a government employee. But of the two, Bindu says, she has borne the brunt of right-wing rage with little backing from activists and liberals.

“That may be because I was the one who orchestrated the temple entry. People fear being attacked for supporting me. Being a government employee, there are limits to how much Kanaka Durga can do or say,” says Bindu. “Some liberals who benefit from political affinity may not want to miff party leaders.” 

Activists who support Bindu alleged that having supported the entry of women into the shrine, the ruling Left Democratic Front lost its nerve and refused to back her or protect her. “Bindu dared to take the risk of entering the temple because the Left Government was supportive of women entry and even the police facilitated it,” says Sonia George, secretary of the Self-Employed Women’s Association (SEWA). “However, this was followed by the expression of outrage by groups led by prominent kulasthrees (‘family women’, the conservative notion of ideal). Bindu’s Dalit identity is another major reason for the apathy of mainstream society. She was attacked more than six times. Had this happened to a kulasthree, would society be this silent? I don’t think so,” says George.

The fact that the Congress-led United Democratic Front netted unexpected wins in Kerala in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections was interpreted as a popular vote against the LDF for its stance on temple entry. “This triggered the social boycott against me,” says Bindu. 

R Bindu, Kerala’s state minister for social justice and the lone voice from the government to condemn the attack on Bindu Ammini, says the administration will always support the activist. “Bindu should trust the government and its systems first. Social justice is the top priority of this government. It is unfair to assume that the government has backtracked from the cause of gender politics. For a while it was Sabarimala, next it will be some other campaign. That doesn’t mean that we have abandoned the cause,” she says. 

The minister points out that her Facebook post welcoming Bindu’s entry into Sabarimala in 2019 was widely used by her opponents to attack her during the Assembly election.