The Devadasi System and Intersectional Feminism
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.47611/jsrhs.v12i3.4879Keywords:
indian history, dance, devadasiAbstract
The devadasi system, originating in medieval India, began to serve the temple in the form of dance and rituals. Eventually, they served as sacred sex workers for the diety's sexual needs. The Devadasi were typically Dalits (the lowest caste), and thereby face a unique struggle as both Dalits and women in a religiously rooted system. Due to the lack of published works detailing the implications of overlapping identities and feminism on the Indian reform movement legislation, this paper aimed to examine the extent to which the introduction of intersectional feminism influenced South Indian postcolonial legislation regarding the devadasi system. It found the hypothesis to be supported. Thematic analysis was conducted as part of the initial research. Then, the results were quantified, through individual connotation scores that considered separate thematic elements and an overall score. The overall intersectionality score, a weighted average of the elements, for all prohibition legislation was significantly different from the control Panel Code, based on error bar analysis. Therefore, it can be concluded that the influence of intersectional feminism on the acts quantitatively supports the conclusion that the development of intersectional feminism in post-colonial South India influenced Devadasi legislation significantly.
Downloads
References or Bibliography
Amrit Srinivasan. “Reform and Revival: The Devadasi and Her Dance.” Economic and Political Weekly 20, no. 44 (1985): 1869–76. http://www.jstor.org/stable/4375001.
Anthias, Floya. “The Intersections of Class, Gender, Sexuality and ‘Race’: The Political Economy of Gendered Violence.” International Journal of Politics, Culture, and Society 27, no. 2 (2014): 153–71. http://www.jstor.org/stable/24713310.
AROLE, MEERA. “THE INSTITUTION OF DEVADĀSĪS IN LITERATURE AND ARCHAEOLOGY.” Bulletin of the Deccan College Research Institute 50 (1990): 135–40. http://www.jstor.org/stable/42931375.
Arya, Sunaina. “Theorising Gender in South Asia: Dalit Feminist Perspective.” CASTE: A Global Journal on Social Exclusion 1, no. 2 (2020): xi–xxiv. https://www.jstor.org/stable/48643560.
Beloso, Brooke Meredith. “Sex, Work, and the Feminist Erasure of Class.” Signs 38, no. 1 (2012): 47–70. https://doi.org/10.1086/665808.
Cho, Sumi, Kimberlé Williams Crenshaw, and Leslie McCall. “Toward a Field of Intersectionality Studies: Theory, Applications, and Praxis.” Signs 38, no. 4 (2013): 785–810. https://doi.org/10.1086/669608.
Diwakar, Jyoti. “Sex as a Weapon to Settle Scores against Dalits: A Quotidian Phenomenon.” CASTE: A Global Journal on Social Exclusion 1, no. 2 (2020): 121–34. https://www.jstor.org/stable/48643569.
Gopaldas, Ahir. “Intersectionality 101.” Journal of Public Policy & Marketing 32 (2013): 90–94. http://www.jstor.org/stable/43305317.
Jeevanandam, S. “EXPLORING BHARATHANATYAM: A REFORMULATED DANCE FORM OF DEVADASI TRADITION IN THE 20TH CENTURY.” Proceedings of the Indian History Congress 77 (2016): 735–47. https://www.jstor.org/stable/26552703.
Kalpana Kannabiran. “Judiciary, Social Reform and Debate on ‘Religious Prostitution’ in Colonial India.” Economic and Political Weekly 30, no. 43 (1995): WS59–69. http://www.jstor.org/stable/4403368.
Lalitha, V. “Religious Prostitution : The Problem of Jogins in Telengana.” Proceedings of the Indian History Congress 49 (1988): 511–15. http://www.jstor.org/stable/44148439.
Menon, Nivedita. “MARXISM, FEMINISM AND CASTE IN CONTEMPORARY INDIA.” In Racism After Apartheid: Challenges for Marxism and Anti-Racism, edited by Vishwas Satgar, 137–56. Wits University Press, 2019. https://doi.org/10.18772/22019033061.11.
Nair, Janaki. “The Devadasi, Dharma and the State.” Economic and Political Weekly, vol. 29, no. 50, 1994, pp. 3157–67. JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/4402128. Accessed 1 May 2023.
Prasad, Awadh Kishore. “DEVADASIS IN KARNATAKA.” Proceedings of the Indian History Congress 44 (1983): 149–54. http://www.jstor.org/stable/44139831.
——— “FUNCTIONS AND GRADATIONS OF DEVADASIS.” Proceedings of the Indian History Congress 45 (1984): 192–99. http://www.jstor.org/stable/44140198.
——— “ORIGIN OF THE DEVADASI SYSTEM.” Proceedings of the Indian History Congress 60 (1999): 129–36. http://www.jstor.org/stable/44144079.
Ramberg, Lucinda. “When the Devi Is Your Husband: Sacred Marriage and Sexual Economy in South India.” Feminist Studies 37, no. 1 (2011): 28–60. http://www.jstor.org/stable/23069882.
Ratnam, K.Y. “The Dalit Movement and Democratization in Andhra Pradesh.” East-West Center, 2008. http://www.jstor.org/stable/resrep06475.
REGE, SHARMILA, J DEVIKA, KALPANA KANNABIRAN, MARY E JOHN, PADMINI SWAMINATHAN, and SAMITA SEN. “Intersections of Gender and Caste.” Economic and Political Weekly 48, no. 18 (2013): 35–36. http://www.jstor.org/stable/23527306.
Sarkar, Tanika. “A Prehistory of Rights: The Age of Consent Debate in Colonial Bengal.” Feminist Studies 26, no. 3 (2000): 601–22. https://doi.org/10.2307/3178642.
Sreenivas, Mytheli. “Creating Conjugal Subjects: Devadasis and the Politics of Marriage in Colonial Madras Presidency.” Feminist Studies 37, no. 1 (2011): 63–92. http://www.jstor.org/stable/23069884.
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
Copyright (c) 2023 Ananya Uddanti; Lee Conrad
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
Copyright holder(s) granted JSR a perpetual, non-exclusive license to distriute & display this article.
