An article on 7th century Alvar saint Andal by award winning lyricist and writer Vairamuthu has sparked controversy. Andal, one of the 12 Alvars (poet-mystics) in the Vaishnavite sect of Hinduism is the only female in the group. Andal is known for her excellent poems which are full of love and devotion to god. The article by Vairamuthu published in a leading Tamil daily eulogised Andal for her contribution to Tamil poetry. In the course of his appreciation of Andal the author had quoted a line from a study undertaken by a researcher from Indiana University, which referred to Andal as a Devadasi. This reference has kicked up the controversy.
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Devadasi is a female servant of god who as a girl is dedicated to worship and service a deity or a temple for the rest of her life. In addition to taking care of the temple and performing rituals these women learned and practiced classical artistic traditions like Bharatanatyam and Odissi dances. In reality devadasis had high social status since dance and music were crucial part of temple worship in those days. As temples deprived of patrons the Devadasi system began to crumble and many Devadasis were forced into prostitution. At the end of 19th century social movements sought the abolition of Devadasi system calling it a social evil and laws were made to ensure this oppressive practice was not in force anymore.
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Over this issue BJP leader from Tamil Nadu H Raja launched a scathing attack on Vairamuthu and Hindu religious groups also joined him. “What Vairamuthu has said is poisonous” Raja said in a tweet. Following the strong reaction the newspaper took down the article from its website and issued an apology. Vairamuthu also apologised on Twitter. He said that everybody knew that the views he had expressed about Andal talked only about her greatness. But the opposition to his remark was unrelenting.
Some Tamil writers felt that there was nothing controversial about Vairamuthu’s reference to Andal being a Devadasi. They said that Raja was converting this into a controversy. TM Krishna, the noted carnatic musician and writer, said that the controversy was deeply disturbing and those who have taken offence have shown scant respect to the Devadasi community.
According to Krishna the reactions imply that Devadasis are lowly beings, outcastes sans any moral or ethical moorings. The reactions seem to be coming from the feeling how can such a pure divine soul such as Andal be referred to as a Devadasi? This is so very problematic. Krishna has posed this question; does Andal become lesser if she was a Devadasi? In our subconsciouslymisogynic society a lot will be unravelled through such questions.
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Devadasi system continues to flourish in rural areas of Telangana and Andhra Pradesh. According to a report submitted by one-man commission recently,
the two states together have about 80,000 Devadasi women. This was much over the estimated number of the AP social welfare commission, which put the figure at 24,273.
A one-man commission headed by Justice Raghunath Rao, a former judge, has found that the age-old social menace is prevalent in all districts in both the states.
Devadasi system is a religious practice in south India mostly in Karnataka and Telangana, and partly in Andhra Pradesh. Parents, `marry’ off their daughters to a local deity or a temple.
This system is known by different names in different areas.
Religious beliefs, caste and male domination, and poverty are main reasons behind this social problem.
The National Commission for Women convened a meeting with women commissions of Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, AP and Telangana where they discussed the Devadasi system and how to curb it. They suggested that the Centre should come out with a legislation banning Davadasis.