Clashes in India over women worshipping at shrine

Unrest persisted in the southern Indian state of Kerala on Thursday after two women broke a decadeslong ban by worshipping in one of the region’s largest Hindu pilgrimage sites. The Sabarimala temple has traditionally not allowed women inside because it is dedicated to a male Hindu figure who was believed to be celibate. The temple formally banned women of menstruating age from praying there in 1972, but a Indian Supreme Court ruling in September lifted the ban. Police escorted the two women in their 40s into the temple on Wednesday. Hindu hard-liners marched through the streets and threw stones as they clashed with police. Many demonstrators shut down their businesses to join the protests. Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said the demonstrators injured 39 police officers and destroyed 79 state-run buses in Kerala.