Is this Hinduism? Girls’ dress removed in temple, forced to remain topless

News Network
September 27, 2017

The pictures and video clippings of minor Hindu girls participating in a ritual wherein they are forced stay bare-chested for a fortnight at Madurai’s Yezhaikatha Amman temple have sparked outrage on social media.

According to the temple’s tradition, the priest selected the seven girls between ages of 10 and 14 and ‘offered’ them to the deity for a fortnight beginning the last Tuesday in the Tamil month of Aavani. Girls from 62 villages are paraded before the priest of the temple before seven are selected.

Meanwhile, the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) has issued notices to the Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh chief secretaries and the director generals of police over allegations of continuance of the Devadasi system that includes offering girls as slaves to goddess Mathamma.

"Allegedly, as part of the ritual, the girls are dressed as a bride and once the ceremony is over, their dresses are removed by five boys, virtually leaving them naked. They are denied to live with their families and have the education. They are forced to live in Mathamma temple deemed to be like a public property and face sexual exploitation," the statement issued by NHRC said.

The commission observed that the allegations made in a complaint as well as a media report about the continuance of this practice were serious in nature, and if true, these amount to violation of human rights including rights to education, life and dignity besides children's rights.

Threat calls to editor

Meanwhile, the editor-in-chief of news website in Coimbatore has lodged a complaint with Coimbatore police claiming that she has been receiving threatening calls ever since it ran a story on this bizarre ritual in Madurai’s temple.

“I had to switch off my phone as there was a volley of life threats and several hate calls ever since we posted the story and Madurai district administration reached the spot to probe,” Vidyashree Dharmaraj, editor-in-chief of Covai Post said.

Comments

Suthakar
 - 
Wednesday, 28 Nov 2018

This story is totally wrong. All girls are under 11. under 11 years kids are public  topless common in India. we are respecting all females. Always parants staying with kids  those days. kids never stay alone anytime

Ram Nigahen
 - 
Saturday, 6 Jan 2018

This is the right thing. Finnally, Indians realize their fault. If men are topless, so should women be topless.

ahmed
 - 
Thursday, 28 Sep 2017

tiz is the reality of HINDUISM 

Prakash
 - 
Thursday, 28 Sep 2017

Is this Hinduism shame on the dirty religion....day by day decreasing its charm and more and more people attracting towards Islam

Common Man
 - 
Thursday, 28 Sep 2017

The same people are talking about Burkha and Triple thalak. its strange

vim
 - 
Thursday, 28 Sep 2017

Is this Islam? Housewifes are made prostitutes under garb of nikah halala

Muzzamil
 - 
Wednesday, 27 Sep 2017

Need another Tipu sultan to stop these practices

Add new comment

  • Coastaldigest.com reserves the right to delete or block any comments.
  • Coastaldigset.com is not responsible for its readers’ comments.
  • Comments that are abusive, incendiary or irrelevant are strictly prohibited.
  • Please use a genuine email ID and provide your name to avoid reject.
News Network
December 16,2024

hajabba.jpg

In a significant milestone, the Dakshina Kannada Zilla Panchayat Higher Primary School in Newpadpu, Harekala, has introduced a bilingual Kannada-English medium this academic year, a move spearheaded by Padma Shri awardee Harekala Hajabba. The school has so far received 13 admissions for its Class 1 bilingual program.

This initiative is part of a broader effort by the state government, which approved 38 schools across the district to launch bilingual mediums. Expressing his delight, Hajabba shared that he had been advocating for a bilingual school for years. "The bilingual medium will greatly benefit students in this region who otherwise rely on private schools. However, we currently face a shortage of classrooms. Construction of two additional classrooms is underway, and once completed, we expect higher admissions," he said.

The school had previously been permitted to introduce LKG and UKG classes in the last academic year. According to the school’s headmistress, Rajeshwari, while the pre-primary sections have seen good enrolment, the bilingual Class 1 faced challenges, securing only 13 students. She attributed this to the late notification of permission, which arrived a month after the academic year began, leading many children to enroll elsewhere.

Rajeshwari remains optimistic about the future. "We expect better admissions next academic year as awareness about bilingual education at this government school grows," she said, adding that the classroom shortage will soon be addressed.

Deputy Director of Public Instruction (DDPI) Venkatesha Subraya Patagara noted that bilingual schools across Dakshina Kannada have generally received a positive response, with some schools enrolling more than 100 students. The effort to offer bilingual education in government schools marks a step forward in providing affordable, quality education to underserved regions.

Comments

Add new comment

  • Coastaldigest.com reserves the right to delete or block any comments.
  • Coastaldigset.com is not responsible for its readers’ comments.
  • Comments that are abusive, incendiary or irrelevant are strictly prohibited.
  • Please use a genuine email ID and provide your name to avoid reject.