The Devadasi Abolition Act, 1947, also known as the Madras Devadasis (Prevention of Dedication) Act, was passed by the Madras Presidency two months after India gained its independence. The Indian aristocracy and former colonisers viewed the system as immoral and a social scourge. The legislation’s objectives were to enable senior Devadasis to assimilate into mainstream society and stop young ladies from being exploited by being consecrated to temples. The community, however, was adamantly opposed to the proposal, claiming that its members were learned and reputable artists and that such restrictions would force them out of work as well as cast a terrible light on their line of work.
As the dance of the traditional practitioners was sanitised, the modern version of Bharatanatyam was born—a dance suited to a newly independent nation anxious about its morals. Rukmini Devi Arundale (along with E. Krishna Iyer) was credited with removing the eroticism from Sadir and making it “respectable”.
Bharatanatyam soared to fame when dancing became acceptable for upper-caste maidens to practise. Parallel to this, the original dancers lost their skill and were compelled to look for alternate sources of income. The community was destroyed by the Devadasi Abolition Act and the anti-nautch campaign in the early 1900s. Additionally, as some academics have noted, the Act effectively put an end to a variety of musical and dance knowledge systems, closing the musical and dance equivalent of various colleges.
Balasaraswati, who came from a family of traditional artists, is widely regarded as the greatest exponent of Bharatanatyam in post-Independence India. Although the Act prevented public performances, Balasaraswati took advantage of the revivalist movement to perform and teach Bharatanatyam in its pure form for nearly five decades.
The Madras Act paved the way for the Andhra Pradesh Devadasi (Prevention of Dedication Act) in 1947, the Karnataka Devadasi (Prevention of Dedication) Act in 1982, and the Maharashtra System Abolition Act, in 2005. In spite of the laws and rehabilitation schemes in place, reports filed as recently as 2016 with the National Commission for Women and media reports indicate that there are numerous cases of former Devadasis who have become destitute and, worse, that the practice continues in a tragically exploitative form.
(Source The Hindu)
