Telangana turns blind eye to Devadasis

Hyderabad: Despite an order from the Supreme Court asking all  state governments to act against the illegal practice of “dedicating” young girls as Devadasis, each district of Telangana still has around 100 Devadasis.

According to the Telangana State Commission for Women Dr Tripurana Venkata Ratnam, the state government is not serious in tackling the issue.

Quoting a survey conducted on this subject, she said Karimnagar, Nizamabad and Mahabubnagar have the highest number of Devadasis and officials are doing very little to stop it.

According to a report submitted by a former judge Justice Raghunath Rao, there are 24,273 Devadasis in Telangana in 2013.

Dr Ratnam says, “The numbers continue to rise as there are young women from the scheduled castes who are being forced into this profession. Even Dalit associations in the state are not willing to take up the cause of these young girls and fight against it.”

This system has many names such as Joginis in Medak and Warangal,  Shiva Parvati and Parvathulu in Karminagar and Ambabai  in the Ranga Reddy region.

“The tradition continues and is very strong in south Indian states. Hence it is imperative for the government to intervene and stop this illegal practice.”

At the same time, it was observed that the rape incident in Karimnagar and its videography requires to be strongly condemned and the police and courts must take up the case and ensure that the rapist is given the severest punishment, said Dr Ratnam.

Devadasis
Karimnagar: 5,861
Nizamabad: 5,666
Mahabubnagar: 2,879
Medak: 1,145
Adilabad: 906  
Hyderabad: 740
Rangareddy: 231