Bindu Thankam Kalyani, a woman who attempted to climb the Sabarimala hill on 22 October, is planning to take legal action against those who have reportedly portrayed her as a Maoist, and also against those who have spread rumours that her name is Bindu Zachariah, and not Bindu Thankam Kalyani. She plans to approach the Supreme Court seeking justice.
Bindu Thankam said in Kozhikode that she is a Hindu woman, as against the misleading portrait that those calling her ‘Zachariah’, were trying to paint of her being Christian.
The circumstances forced Bindu to clarify that she is a Hindu woman married to a man named Vasu, and that she came from an ancestral home that had a temple in its compound, and that she is very well acquainted with Hindu rites and rituals.
It was first on social media that many users alleged that Bindu's real name is Bindu Zachariah and that she is a Naxal.
When Bindu returned to her native town of Kozhikode on 23 October, she had been asked to vacate her rented accommodation by her landlord due to unruly protesters gathered there. In a video she uploaded on social media, Bindu recounts what happened when she returned to Kozhikode.
“We left Muvatupuha police station at 4 am and reached my friend’s flat at Chalapuram. This morning, some BJP people came and spoke to the people at the building and forced the flat owners to tell us that we have to leave, since it is causing trouble for other residents and if we don’t leave, it would cause further problems. They came and caused a lot of trouble in the morning. We called the police, they came and then took us to another location. Now, I am at another friend’s house, I don’t know the exact location,” Bindu said.
The school where she worked as a teacher, the Medical College Grounds Higher Secondary School, had reportedly requested her not to come to work, saying that protesters would follow her to school if she attempted to return.
In the video, Bindu narrated, “Yesterday (23 October), they held a dharna at our school. The people of the school were very scared, and the principal has requested security deployment, asking ‘won’t it be a big problem when I come to the school?’ A teacher from the school called me and said I cannot work at the school, as it could cause problems to the teachers and students there. The two young people who accompanied me also cannot move about freely.”
The Kerala State Women’s Commission has since taken suo moto cognizance of the school telling Bindu not to report for duty.
(Published in arrangement with The News Minute)
(At The Quint, we question everything. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member today.)