Resurvey identifies 23,395 former Devadasis in Karnataka

Bengaluru: A state-wide re-survey has identified 23,395 former Devadasi women across 15 districts of Karnataka. The report also furnishes information on the social status of former Devadasis and their families up to the third generation.

The comprehensive survey by the Department of Woman and Child Development in co-ordination with the Karnataka State Women’s Development Corporation, conducted between September 15 and December 31, 2025, covering 90,092 family members belonging to the first, second and third generations of former Devadasis, was submitted to the state government on Tuesday. Woman and Child Development Minister Laxmi Hebbalkar has urged the government to announce a special package for the rehabilitation of former Devadasis, besides reiterating the need to end the prohibited practice. 

The five districts with highest number of former Devadasis are Bagalkot (4,189), Vijayanagara (3,876), Belagavi (2,649), Koppal (2,469) and Ballari (2,333). Following a series of meetings chaired by the minister, a web-based application through Seva Sindhu was developed with the help of the e-Governance and Citizen Services Delivery Directorate to collect data on those who were undocumented in the previous survey. 

Given that a majority of the former Devadasis hail from communities categorised under Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and the backward classes, the report recommends offering special scholarships and financial assistance for education. The report also called for doing away with the mandatory requirement of entering the father's name in school and college records. Access to residential schools and special coaching for competitive examinations were the other recommendations made in the report. 

Besides, the report highlights the need for skill development training, support for income-generating activities, distribution of Ayushman Bharat health cards, and coverage under pension and welfare schemes. The report also moots incentives for marriage, including inter-caste marriages for former Devadasi women and their children, besides sustained awareness programmes to ensure that the prohibited practice is not revived in any form.