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New Indian Express

Devadasis in Karnataka seek inclusive re-survey

BENGALURU: Devadasi women and children from 15 Karnataka districts have come together to form a forum and have demanded the immediate implementation of the Karnataka Devadasi (Prevention, Prohibition, Relief and Rehabilitation) 2018 Bill and called for a re-survey of all Devadasi women without an age limit. The Karnataka State Human Rights Commission, in a directive dated June 23, instructed the Chief Secretary to complete a statewide survey of all Devadasi women and submit a report by October 24. In response, the Department of Women and Child Development is preparing for a survey. However, the department's proposal to include only women aged 45 and above has drawn strong criticism. Former minister H Anjaneya, highlighting the problems in the past surveys in 1982 and 1993-94, said, 'The surveys did not capture the full scale of Devadasi women and their children, as many Devadasi women fear coming forward due to the fear of punishments, leading to their exclusion from support schemes.' In light of past surveys that failed to capture all Devadasi women due to age-based limitations and other factors, the community has demanded that the upcoming re-survey be more comprehensive. Yamanurappa, a member of the forum, said, 'We want the government to drop the proposed age limit of 45 for its upcoming re-survey.' He further stated that the government should conduct door-to-door surveys instead of relying on in-office enumeration.