Stop glorifying devadasi system, says CPI state secretary M Veerapandian

CHENNAI: CPI state secretary M Veerapandian condemned remarks allegedly supporting the devadasi system by poet A Vennila and writer Jeyamohan at a recent event in Chennai, describing them as contrary to the progressive cultural changes in Tamil Nadu.

In a statement, Veerapandian said the devadasi system involved girls, particularly from certain marginalised communities, being assigned to temple-related duties on the basis of caste and across generations. Girls aged between eight and 11 were allegedly forced into the system through rituals such as 'pottukattuthal', he said.

The women were subjected to severe labour exploitation and were also sexually exploited by landlords, temple officials and dominant sections of society, besides facing various forms of abuse, he said.

Progressive forces had fought for decades against the patriarchal and caste-based system that deprived women of their rights and dignity and reduced them to a state of servitude, Veerapandian said.

He recalled the role of leaders including Dr Muthulakshmi Reddy and Moovalur Ramamirtham Ammaiyar in campaigning against the practice. Their efforts contributed to the enactment of the Madras Devadasis (Prevention of Dedication) Act in 1947, which legally prohibited the practice in the then Madras Presidency, he said.

Veerapandian said regressive forces had opposed the legislation at the time and that the history of the struggle against the system could not be forgotten.

"It is strongly condemnable that some writers are now speaking in support of the devadasi system after a practice that violated women's rights has been abolished," he said.

He appealed to progressive forces to counter what he described as "toxic views" supporting the devadasi system and urged Tamil society to reject such views.