A day after The Karnataka Devadasi (Prevention, Prohibition, Relief and Rehabilitation) Act was passed in the State Legislative Assembly on August 20, the mood was celebratory at Sakhi Trust, a Non-Governmental Organisation in Hosapete, Vijayanagara district, which has been working over the past decade for the law to be changed so that the oppressed women and their children can live better lives. The relatively backward Vijayanagara has 8,931 devadasis, the most in Karnataka according to a survey conducted in 2008. Under the institutionalised devadasi system which is prevalent in rural north Karnataka young girls and women of some oppressed castes were forced to become devadasis in the name of tradition and religion which limited their agency in a rural milieu and pushed them into having sexual relationships with dominant caste men. Devadasis’ children are not acknowledged by the men who fathered them and receive no paternal inheritance. The new law seeks to do away with the Devadasi system altogether and address the problems faced by the community.
Ramya (name changed), 24, who is a Madiga (a Dalit caste) from Sandur taluk of Ballari district, was consecrated as a devadasi eight years ago when she was in class 9, at the Huligemma Devi temple in Koppal district. She said, “I did not want to become a devadasi but my mother ensured that the consecration (muttu kattuvudu) happened secretly in the middle of the night—because there are no male children at home and she wanted me to remain unmarried and be with her. If I had not become aware a few years ago and not ignored by mother’s diktat, I would have been forced to get into a sexual liaison by this point.”
Muttu Kattuvudu
Muttu Kattuvudu is a devadasi initiation ceremony in which a priest or jogappa (transgender follower of Goddess Yellamma) ties a string of interwoven red and white beads around a girl’s neck, symbolising her marriage with the goddess. Ramya was “married” to Goddess Huligemma but a girl could be “married” to another deity as well, depending on geographical location, village culture and the family’s traditional practice, according to some devadasis in Hosapete. In some consecratory traditions, a tattoo (mudre) is inscribed above the girl’s left breast or her hair is matted . Once consecrated as a devadasi, the girl is forbidden from marrying.
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“The previous Act (The Karnataka Devadasis (Prohibition of Dedication) Act, 1982; amended in 2010) was implemented poorly and I hope that this new Act will ensure that no devadasis are consecrated in the future,” said Ramya, who has discarded her brief identity as a devadasi despite facing criticism from superstitious fellow villagers.
Usha, 27, who is also from the Madiga caste, from Vaddarahalli village in Hosapete taluk, is the daughter of a devadasi. She said her mother was the only girl among her grandmother’s six children and was forced to continue the family tradition. Like most devadasis who establish long-term monogamous relationships, her mother was involved with a married man who used to visit her from the faraway Uttara Kannada district. This man is Usha’s father but he never helped her mother financially even though he visited his “second” family often. Initially, in Usha’s official documents, her uncle’s (her mother’s brother) name was mentioned in place of her father’s but she later realised that he was not her father. “When I was asked who my father was, I did not know what to say,” said Usha. The 2025 Devadasi Act declares that children of devadasis need not provide their father’s names for any purpose, and this comes as tremendous relief for Usha and others like her.
Lakshmi, 25, who prefers to use only one name, is from Kariganuru on the outskirts of Hosapete. Her mother is a devadasi from the Valmiki Scheduled Tribe unlike most devadasis who are from the Madiga Scheduled Caste. Lakshmi’s father abandoned his devadasi partner and children, leaving the single mother to raise her and her two sisters by working as a construction labourer. “I never included my father’s name in any documents through my schooling but a problem arose when I enrolled in college as the authorities demanded my father’s name. When I did not provide this, I missed my scholarship for a year.” Lakshmi is happy with the new law as its draft was based on feedback from devadasis and their children. “I was part of a team of surveyors who went door to door in villages in Hosapete taluk, speaking to devadasis and their children. Many of them said that they knew who their father was but could not state it openly. A major demand from devadasis’ children was that they should not be compelled to state their father’s name.”
New law addresses grievances
As the responses of these young women in the office of Sakhi Trust revealed, their grievances have been addressed by the new law. This was a rare instance in which a Bill was drafted after consultations with the community for which it was enacted. According to Professor Babu Mathew of the National Law School of India University (NLSIU), which was involved in preparing the draft Bill along with community partners, “The outstanding aspect of this act was the participatory process of law making through a bottoms-up consultative process. There have been laws that have come up through the consultative process with civil society such as the National Food Security Act, Mahatma Gandhi NREGA, the Right to Information Act, the Forest Rights Act and the Right to Education Act, but in my entire experience, the Devadasi law has been unique because it was based entirely on the opinions of devadasis and their children, especially daughters, who were very clear about what they wanted.”
Three generations of devadasis pose for a photograph in Mariyammanahalli village of Hosapete taluk. (From left to right) Malagi Nagamma (95), her daughter, Malagi Lalithamma (64) and her granddaughter Malagi Lakshmi (44). The woman in a cream dress is Lakshmi’s sister, Manjula Malagi, but education was her way out of the devadasi system.
| Photo Credit:
VIKHAR AHMED SAYEED
The process was kick-started in 2018 when a conclave was organised by the Centre for the Study of Social Exclusion and Inclusive Policy at NLSIU where devadasis and their children articulated their concerns after which a draft legislative bill was prepared. Even before this, from 2013 onwards, devadasis had organised themselves under the aegis of a forum called the Vimuktha Devadasi Mahila Matthu Makkala Vedike with the aid of civil society organisations. This was followed by surveys of devadasis and consultations at the taluk and district levels, which led to the recognition that the existing law was severely inadequate.
While the draft bill received the support of Siddaramaiah who was the Chief Minister at the time in 2018, subsequent political developments—during which the Congress government lost power—meant that the devadasis and their children had to wait till 2023 for the draft bill to be placed before the Legislative Assembly. With the act now in place, devadasis are hoping that their lives will improve and that the practice will be consigned to history.
A salient feature of the 2025 Act that sets it apart from the previous Act (the 1982 Act and the 2010 Amendment) is that it aims for the total abolition of the devadasi system in Karnataka. While the previous laws focussed on criminalising the devadasi system and strengthened enforcement mechanisms, the new act goes several steps further: It aims to “conscientise society about the practice of dedicating women as devadasis,” to “liberate” devadasis from all forms of exploitation, ensure that their children can overcome the taboo of their identities, identify fathers (through even DNA testing if required), and claim a share of their paternal property. Aiming to improve vigilance and implementation, the 2025 Act also establishes multi-tier committees at the taluk, district, and State levels. The panels must include devadasis and their children, the act states, and, importantly, puts the onus on the State to undertake rehabilitative measures.
Said R. V. Chandrashekar Ramenahalli, who is with NLSIU’s Centre for the Study of Social Inclusion and Inclusive Policy and who played a crucial role in getting the Act passed: “The 2025 Act is a holistic and rights-based legislation rooted in constitutional morality, intersectionality, and community participation going beyond mere prohibition to address inter-generational justice, identity, healthcare, education, and dignity. While the 1982 Act’s focus was on criminalising the devadasi system and the 2010 Amendment added administrative teeth and a rehabilitative mandate, the 2025 law goes several steps further.”
The 1982 Act, for instance, stated that devadasis undertook sex work because of their pitiable condition but the 2025 Act has done away with this flawed understanding of the devadasi system and has, instead, emphasised the “sacred” roots of the practice institutionalised in the culture of north Karnataka, which is truer to the facts on the ground. All the devadasis that Frontline spoke to emphasised the monogamous nature of their alliances although in most cases, the men had abandoned them after childbirth and returned to their married families. While the older laws criminalised the adults who “dedicated” girls to the devadasi practice, convictions were rare and the practice of consecrating devadasis continued, which clearly revealed their failure.
M. Bhagyalakhsmi, the Executive Director of Sakhi Trust, said, “The old law was limited in its scope and was not even implemented properly. There were clauses pertaining to prohibition but there was nothing about rehabilitation and about devadasi children. That is why the practice continues. Sixty-eight girls were consecrated as devadasis in the past four years in Hosapete taluk alone. No one voluntarily becomes a devadasi, because of which rehabilitation is important. Without the provision of facilities such as housing, education, and adequate pensions, the practice will not cease. This act is revolutionary and the credit for this must go to the community (devadasis and their children), members of the State government, and civil society organisations.”
Manjula Malagi, the Devadasi Helpdesk Coordinator at Sakhi Trust, said, “When we spoke to devadasis and their children during the surveys which we undertook 8-10 years ago, all of them said that the devadasis’ association with prostitution had to be removed as it was wrong and made them feel inferior. The inclusion of concrete policies to rehabilitate devadasis and their children in the new act is a landmark step. The 2025 Devadasi Act is the result of 10 years of struggles of the devadasi community and I never expected that our struggle would bear fruit. I remember how we used to go to all the Legislative Assembly sessions in both Bengaluru and Belagavi to convince politicians that there are still young devadasis and the practice was continuing.”
A. Honnamma of Hallikeri village in Harapanahalli taluk, who is blind in one eye, was consecrated as a devadasi when she was a child.
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VIKHAR AHMED SAYEED
The new act also provides for a fresh survey of devadasis, which has been a long-pending demand. Chief Minister Siddaramaiah announced on September 4 that a fresh survey would commence on September 15. The last survey was conducted in 2008 and identified 46,660 devadasis spread across 14 districts (now 15 after Vijayanagara district was carved out of Ballari in 2021) in north Karnataka but, according to NGOs that work for the rehabilitation of devadasis, there are more than two lakh devadasis in Karnataka. The 2008 survey also restricted itself it to devadasis who were 45 years or older at the time. Hundreds of girls have since been made devadasis. This was also evident in the conversations that Frontline had with devadasis in Vijayanagara and Ballari districts.
A group of 16 devadasis, of ages 30 to 80—all Madigas—had gathered at Anjaneya Temple in Hagaribommanahalli in Vijayanagara district around 40 kilometres from Hosapete. They had gathered there from several villages situated in Ballari and Vijayanagara districts to convey their opinions to Frontline on the new Act. While 13 of them wore strings of red and white beads, three of them had matted hair. Of the 16, only two raised their hand when asked if their names were included in the 2008 survey.
The oldest devadasi in this group was A. Honnamma from Hallikeri village in Harapanahalli taluk who was blind in one eye. That was also the reason why she was consecrated as a devadasi when she was just a child. According to Honnamma, there are nine devadasis in Hallikeri but only one was included in the survey. While Honnamma is unaware of the finer points of the new act, the illiterate septuagenarian, who had come to Bengaluru twice to participate in meetings and conferences as part of the process of lobbying for the 2025 Act, was happy that a fresh survey would be undertaken to include all the devadasis. She hoped that with this, “no one will be made into a devadasi in the future” and that “benefits would be provided to devadasis to lead a respectable life”.
In Mariyammanahalli, a village in Hosapete taluk, Frontline met three generations of Madiga devadasis who lived together and laboured on their five-acre farm growing a variety of millet grains rotationally. Malagi Nagamma (95), her daughter, Malagi Lalithamma (64), and her granddaughter, Malagi Lakshmi (44) lived in a small house in the middle of their fields. These are just three devadasis among the 321 who were identified in Mariyammanahalli. While welcoming the new act, Nagamma explained that Lakshmi was the seventh-generation devadasi in the family. This long-standing practice went on because the family, until recently, never had any male children and one girl child in each generation was made a devadasi so that the family line would continue and their agricultural property would remain within the family.
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While Lakshmi, consecrated in 2008, was the last devadasi in the family, her sister, Manjula, went on to complete her education, earning a degree in social work, and is now the Devadasi Helpline Coordinator at Sakhi Trust. She is married to a lawyer. Manjula’s example showed how education and determination could ensure that someone who came from the doubly marginalised community of devadasis—being from the oppressed Scheduled Castes—could break free of the clutches of tradition despite all the odds. “I was the first person from my village to complete my M.A. degree,” she proudly said.
In 114 Danapura (the number is part of the village’s name), of Hosapete taluk, there are 35 devadasis, although only 12 have been listed in the 2008 survey. Anjinamma, the 29-year-old pregnant daughter of a devadasi, said she was delighted with the new law. Anjinamma had often come to Bengaluru over the past few years along with other devadasis to pressurise politicians and bureaucrats to ensure passage of the 2025 Act. Her mother Huligemma hovered in the background, as Anjinamma expressed appreciation for the new act’s rehabilitation provisions, including concrete measures such as the grant of Rs. five lakh for a devadasi’s daughter at the time of her marriage. “Earlier no one wanted to marry devadasi children but men now want to marry devadasis’ daughters as that payment is an incentive for marriage,” she said.
These conversations with devadasis show that the many expectations that they had with the 2025 Act, for which they struggled for many years, have been met but, as Bhagyalakshmi stated, the onus continues to remain on the state government to ensure that the Act is implemented effectively and the rehabilitative measures reach all the beneficiaries. She said, “The Act is revolutionary but yes, we will continue to pressurise the government to implement it effectively so that the devadasi system is completely eradicated.”
