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Exploitation of Women As Devadasis and Its Associated Evils

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Exploitation of Women As Devadasis and Its Associated Evils Exploitation of Women as Devadasis and its Associated Evils Submitted to National Commission for Women New Delhi By Dr. V. BHARATHI HARISHANKAR Dr. M. PRIYAMVADHA Professor and Head Assistant Professor Department of Women Studies Department of Criminology University of Madras University of Madras DECLARATION We declare that the report entitled “EXPLOITATION OF WOMEN AS DEVADASIS AND ITS ASSOCIATED EVILS” submitted to the National Commission for Women, carried out by us during the period from 2015 – 2016, has not formed part of any previous research projects conducted for any Organisation, University or any other similar Institution of higher learning. Dr. V. Bharathi Haraishankar Dr. M. Priyamvadha (Principal Investigator) (Co-Investigator) Place : Date : TABLE OF CONTENTS Acknowledgement List of Tables…..….. ................................................................... i List of Charts………. ................................................................. ii Chapter 1: Introduction……….. .................................................................... 1 Chapter 2: Review of Literature .................................................................... 4 Introduction ........................................................................................ 5 From sacred spouses to common prostitutes: a socio-cultural History of the Devadasi system .......................................................... 6 Legend on the Devadasi system ............................................. 10 Devadasi System Worldwide ................................................. 11 Pan Indian Presence of Devadasi System ............................... 12 Reasons for the Emergence of Devadasi System .................... 13 Status of devadasis during Pre and Post British Periods ......... 14 Pre-British period ................................................... 15 British-colonial ...................................................... 16 After independence ................................................ 17 Current Status of Devadasis ................................................... 20 Contributing Factors ....................................................................... 22 Poverty .................................................................................. 22 Religious and Superstitious Beliefs ........................................ 24 Caste System ......................................................................... 25 Hereditary Practice ................................................................ 27 Social Pressure ...................................................................... 28 Prevalence of Devadasi System ........................................................ 28 Cultural Discourses on Devadasi System .......................................... 29 Dancing Girls in Sacred Literatures and Myths ...................... 29 Depiction of Devadasis in Bhakti Literature .......................... 31 Cultural Position of Devadasis in the Twentieth Century ....... 34 Devadasis in the Cultural Imagination ................................... 36 Representative Literary Narratives on/by Devadasis ............. 36 State of the Devadasi Artist Today......................................... 43 Devadasis in Prostitution .................................................................. 43 Legislation for Devadasis in Prostitution .......................................... 47 Rehabilitation of Devadasis .............................................................. 52 Karnataka ............................................................................. 52 Maharashtra ......................................................................... 54 Andhra Pradesh ..................................................................... 54 Tamil Nadu ......................................................................... 55 Rehabilitation Work Done by NGOs ..................................... 55 Conclusion ....................................................................................... 57 Chapter 3: Methodology.............................................................................. 58 Objectives ....................................................................................... 58 Secondary Data Collection ............................................................... 58 Primary Data Collection ................................................................... 59 Universe ......................................................................................... 59 Locale of the present study .................................................... 59 Sampling Design ................................................................... 60 Identification of Stakeholders ................................................ 60 Identification of Variables for Primary Data Collection ......... 62 General Description of Devadasis and Prevalence of Devadasi System ............................................................... 62 Dedication ............................................................................. 62 Contributing Factors ............................................................. 62 Problems of Devadasis. ......................................................... 62 Children of Devadasis ........................................................... 62 Legislations ........................................................................... 63 Policy and Programmes ......................................................... 63 Rescue, Rehabilitation and Reintegration .............................. 63 Prevention ............................................................................. 63 Policy Recommendation ........................................................ 64 Construction and Finalization of Tool.................................... 64 Details of Interview-Schedule ............................................... 64 Case Study Method ............................................................... 66 Statistical Analysis ......................................................................... 66 Implications ......................................................................... 67 Output ................................................................................... 67 Outcome ............................................................................... 67 Policy Recommendations ...................................................... 67 Chapter 4: Results and Discussions ............................................................. 68 General Description of Devadasis and Prevalence of Devadasi system ........................................................................ 68 Karnataka, Maharashtra, Andhra, Telangana and Tamil Nadu .......... 68 Stakeholders ............................................................................... 71 Prevalence Districts in all Four States......................................... 72 Names of Devadasis in Each State .............................................. 75 Status of Devadasis .................................................................... 78 Identification of Devadasi Women............................................. 81 Dedication ...................................................................................... 83 Religion and Community which has Prevalence of Dedication .. 83 Community wise Prevalence of Dedication................................ 86 Dedication Ceremony in Various States .................................... 89 Dedication to Gods and Goddesses ............................................ 94 Decision Making for Dedication ............................................... 95 Contributing Factors ..................................................................... 102 Contributing Factors of Dedication .......................................... 102 Problems of Devadasis .................................................................. 110 Devadasis Getting Married ...................................................... 110 Devadasis in Marriage ............................................................. 111 Till what age do devadasis practice prostitution ....................... 114 Source of Income for Devadasi ................................................ 116 Various Forms of Abuses ........................................................ 121 How do the Stakeholders Identify the Problems of Devadasis? .... 127 Children of Devadasis ................................................................. 129 Status of Devadasi Children ..................................................... 129 Policies and Programmes for the Children of Devadasis ........ 133 Inheritance of Property by Children ......................................... 138 Legislations ................................................................................. 138 Central Legislations ................................................................. 138 State Legislations .................................................................... 144 Implementation of Legislations................................................ 146 Suggestion for Improvement in Legislations ........................... 147 Supreme Court’s Initiative on Public Interest Litigation ......... 148 Policies and Programmes ............................................................. 149 Intervention from Government ................................................ 151 Schemes for Devadasis ............................................................ 151 Implementation of Schemes
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