Archive · 20 Sep 2025
Advocate B. L. Patil Champions Fight Against Devadasi System
Imagine a system where young girls are dedicated to a deity and often end up in difficult situations.
B. L. Patil saw this happening in India and decided to help.
He started an organization to fight against this system.
His group helps women and girls escape this practice by providing education, job training, and marriage opportunities.
He faced many challenges, including community opposition, but continued his work.
He also pushed for a new law to protect these women and give them a better life.
This law helps with healthcare, housing, and education, making sure everyone has a fair chance.
Advocate B. L. Patil has spent over three decades fighting against the devadasi system.
Patil founded the Vimochana Devadasi Punarwasati Sangha to rehabilitate women in the system.
The organization established a residential school that has educated over 700 children.
Vimochana provides vocational training and facilitates marriages and cooperative societies for former devadasis.
The Karnataka State Cabinet approved the Karnataka Devadasi Act 2025 to eradicate the system.
- Who
- B. L. Patil, an advocate and founder of Vimochana Devadasi Punarwasati Sangha.
- What
- Patil has worked for over three decades to eliminate the devadasi system and rehabilitate affected women.
- When
- Patil's work began in the early 1980s and continues. The Karnataka Devadasi Act 2025 was approved in August 2025.
- Where
- Karnataka, India, particularly in the Athani region.
- Why
- Motivated by witnessing social discrimination and the prevalence of the devadasi system.
- Advocate
- B. L. Patil
- Location
- Karnataka, India
- Organization
- Vimochana Devadasi Punarwasati Sangha
- Key Achievement
- Residential school for children
- Funding
- International donors
- Legislation
- Karnataka Devadasi Act 2025