From Sacred Servant to Profane Prostitute discusses the devadasi reform movement as a window on changing social, religious, and political values in India between 1857 and 1947. The devadasis were women married to Hindu deities for whom they danced and sang. They frequently became the concubines of either wealthy landholders or Brahmins at a time when such behavior was socially acceptable in India. For centuries, Hindus regarded the devadasis as sacred servants of ...
