Kagganapalli Radha Devi is an Indian activist who successfully protested against a Hindu temple that would only employ male barbers. The

Venkateswara Temple, Tirumala The Venkateswara Temple of Tirumala or Sri Venkateswara Swami Temple is a Hindu temple situated in the hills of Tirumala, Tirupati Urban Mandal in the Tirupati district of Andhra Pradesh, India. The temple is dedicated to Venkateswara, a for ...

, which gathers over a ton of hair every day, agreed to also employ female barbers to carry out the ritual tonsuring. Devi received the

Nari Shakti Puraskar The Nari Shakti Puraskar () is an annual award given by the Ministry of Women and Child Development of the Government of India to individual women or to institutions that work towards the cause of women empowerment. It is presented by the presi ...

in recognition of her work.

Life

Radha Devi was the President of the Association of Andhra Pradesh Women Barbers. She was also the President of the

Tirumala Tirupathi Devasthanams Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD) is an independent government trust in India managed by the Government of Andhra Pradesh. The trust primarily oversees the operations and finances of the richest and the most visited religious center Venkatesw ...

Women Barbers and these barbers were concerned that they were prevented in cutting hair at a Hindu temple because they were women. Radha Devi decided to champion their case. Many devotees have their head tonsured daily as an offering to God at the Venkateswara Temple in Tirumala in

Andhra Pradesh Andhra Pradesh (ISO 15919, ISO: , , AP) is a States and union territories of India, state on the East Coast of India, east coast of southern India. It is the List of states and union territories of India by area, seventh-largest state and th ...

. The amount of hair collected every day weighs over a ton. The hair is collected and stored in large warehouses and it is sold internationally creating a substantial profit for the temple. The hair is high quality and commands prices as high as $166/kg as it is used to make wigs outside of India. The hair-cutting tradition comes from a story that is told in which

Venkateswara Venkateswara (, ), also known as Venkatachalapati, Venkata, Balaji and Srinivasa, is a Hindu deity, described as a form or avatar of the god Vishnu. He is the presiding deity of Venkateswara Temple, Tirumala, Venkateswara Temple, Tirupati. Hi ...

's head was hurt by a cowherd and his scalp had a bald patch. This was noticed by Neela Devi, a

Gandharva A ''gandharva'' () is a member of a class of celestial beings in Indian religions, such as Hinduism, Buddhism, and Jainism, whose males are divine performers such as musicians and singers, and the females are divine dancers. In Hinduism, they ...

princess who cut a portion of her hair and she transplanted it to his head. Venkateswara then announced that at the place where it happened, his followers should cut their hair and give it as an offering. In 2004 there was a reaction from Orthodox Jews when they were told that they could not wear wigs made from this ritually gathered hair. Many wigs were destroyed but the price of the hair remained stable. Traditionally the barbers employed to do the tonsuring were male and members of the Nayee caste. This caused some discrimination and requests from women that they would prefer a female barber. A protest led by Radha Devi overturned the objections and she was recognized with the

, presented by

Ram Nath Kovind Ram Nath Kovind ( ; born 1 October 1945) is an Indian politician and lawyer who served as the president of India from 2017 to 2022. He is the first person from Uttar Pradesh to serve as the president. He is a member of the Bharatiya Janata Pa ...

, the

President of India The president of India (ISO 15919, ISO: ) is the head of state of the Republic of India. The president is the nominal head of the executive, the first citizen of the country, and the commander-in-chief, supreme commander of the Indian Armed ...

. The awards were made at the President's palace,

Rashtrapati Bhavan The Rashtrapati Bhavan (, ISO: ''Rāṣṭrapati Bhavana''; ; formerly Viceroy's House (1931–1947) and Government House (1947–1950)) is the official residence of the President of the Republic of India at the western end of Rajpath, Rai ...

, in

New Delhi New Delhi (; ) is the Capital city, capital of India and a part of the Delhi, National Capital Territory of Delhi (NCT). New Delhi is the seat of all three branches of the Government of India, hosting the Rashtrapati Bhavan, New Parliament ...

International Women's Day International Women's Day (IWD) is celebrated on 8 March, commemorating women's fight for equality and liberation along with the women's rights movement. International Women's Day gives focus to issues such as gender equality, reproductive righ ...

2019. She met the minister

Maneka Gandhi Maneka Gandhi (also spelled Menaka; ''née'' Anand) (born 26 August 1956) is an Indian politician, animal rights activist, and environmentalist. She served as a member of the Lok Sabha, the lower house of the Indian parliament, and is a member ...

and afterwards she met the Prime Minister

Narendra Modi Narendra Damodardas Modi (born 17 September 1950) is an Indian politician who has served as the Prime Minister of India, prime minister of India since 2014. Modi was the chief minister of Gujarat from 2001 to 2014 and is the Member of Par ...

References

https://www.deccanchronicle.com/nation/in-other-news/110922/tirumala-brahmotsavams-1189-barbers-to-be-roped-in-for-tonsure-servi.html {{DEFAULTSORT:Devi, Kagganapalli Radha Living people Barbers Nari Shakti Puraskar winners Activists from Andhra Pradesh Indian women activists Year of birth missing (living people) Place of birth missing (living people)