Tue Sep 16 01:30:00 UTC 2025: Okay, here’s a news article summarizing the provided text, focusing on the issues surrounding the devadasi survey in Karnataka, India:

**Karnataka Devadasi Survey Plagued by Confusion, Document Demands**

**Bengaluru, September 16, 2025** – The third survey aimed at identifying and supporting devadasis in Karnataka has commenced amidst confusion and controversy, activists claim. The survey, initiated on Monday, has been hampered by unclear documentation requirements, leading to many women being turned away from registration centers.

The Karnataka government is seeking to identify devadasis and their families who were previously excluded from similar initiatives or are deceased. The government is requiring a extensive list of documents, including family trees. This requirement is generating anxiety among devadasis, as it may take more than two weeks to obtain and may prevent many from accessing much-needed benefits.

Devadasis are women dedicated to temple service. The Karnataka Devadasis (Prohibition of Dedication) Act of 1982 outlawed the practice, but it persists in some regions. Previous surveys in 1993-94 and 2008-09 identified over 70,000 devadasis. The current survey comes as a response to a State Human Rights Commission directive.

Critics like Yamanurappa Halavagli, State coordinator of the Karnataka Vimuktha Devadasi Mahila Matthu Makkala Vedike, have raised concerns about transparency and lack of training for district committees overseeing the process. The insistence on a family tree document is proving to be a hurdle, said Shobha S. Gasthi, a member of the government-appointed Belagavi district committee.

R.V. Chandrashekar, the petitioner before the SHRC, pointed out that despite demands to remove age criteria, the survey app still incorporates the rule. However, government officials in Bengaluru maintain that a self-declaration is sufficient and a family tree is not mandatory. They also indicated that a separate verification process is in place for applicants not identified in previous surveys.

Authorities have suggested that the devadasi system no longer exists as a widespread social issue, implying that the new survey is being conducted to deliver benefits. The survey is currently underway in 15 districts across North and Central Karnataka.

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