On one hand, India is acing towards establishing bullet trains, roping in most advanced technologies to bait against the leading countries. On the other hand, there are parts of our country that are unable to discard the age-old social evils like Devadasi System and Mathamma Offerings.
Now when it comes to South India, sadly, there are as many intelligent people as dumb ones, the same state from which eminent mathematicians and scientists emerged, there are social evils embarking the out layered intelligence, it is none other than Tamil Nadu. Though many laws are passed and many are amended, no authority is successful rusticating the Devdasi System from grass-root level.
Meanwhile, this year, soon after so many complaints were registered at the National Human Right Commission (NHRC), the officials has issued notices on 25th of this month ordering the governments and police chiefs of Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh over the alleged inhuman treatment that has been meted out to girls and women who are forcibly taken to temples as part of an old ritual.
Authorities noted that these women in which teen girls are even included were allegedly taken to the temples of Goddess Mathamma as an “offering”, the girls are dressed up as a bride, and once the ceremony is over, their clothes are removed by five boys, leaving them naked at the end.
In a bid to wipe this out, a four-week deadline is slapped on the chief secretaries and the director general of police of Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh and the district magistrates and superintendents of police of Thiruvallur and Chittoor, Andhra Pradesh to take the sever action at the moment. When contacted about the actual events there, Jaimini Kumar Srivastava, Deputy Director (Media and Communication), confirmed that some of these girls were minors.
NHRC in its statement added, “They are denied to live with their families and have an education. They are forced to live in Mathamma temple deemed to be like a public property and face sexual exploitation.”
Post the ritual, these girls are called ‘Mathammas’ and are forbidden to marry and must earn their living by dancing at the pilgrim places. At the venue, young girls after being initiated into the practice are left bare-chested with only garlands and jewels covering them, while in others they are made to carry liquor as part of the celebrations.
On a note, the rights panel has also observed that if the allegations turn out to be true, these will amount to a violation of human rights, including the right to education, rights to life and dignity and children’s rights. In a way, this practice is alleged as “another form of Devadasi system”, which is still practiced in some parts of Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh.
In a dark shade, there are lots of speculation that the women who become Devadasis will be sexually exploited by many locals. Back in 2015 December, the Union Home Ministry demanded all states to take firm action against those involved in the heinous practice which is against the dignity of women in every possible way.