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Indian Express
7 days ago
- Politics
- Indian Express
When the Nadar women in 19th-century Travancore revolted to reclaim public space
Public space in India has always been an ambiguous concept. While it generally implies an area accessible to all members of a community, the reality is far from it. Lower castes and women, in particular, have historically held the least claim to such space. Any attempt to alter this course has been met with resistance and often, revolt. One such instance was the uprising by the Nadar women in the 19th-century princely state of Travancore Doubly burdened by their caste and gender identity, the Nadar women of Travancore fought for their right to public presence—dignified public presence—in a historic struggle for the freedom to cover their breasts in public. The Nadars were a large subcaste in Travancore whose traditional occupation, according to author John Restakis in his book Civilizing The State: Reclaiming Politics for the Common Good (2002), was climbing trees to harvest coconuts and palm leaves. They would scale anywhere between 30 and 40 metres, often meeting with deadly accidents. Nadar women, however, were targeted for not just their lower-caste identity but also their gender. Like women of other low castes, like the Parayans who are at the bottom of the caste hierarchy in Kerala, they were prohibited from covering their breasts. 'Exposed breasts were a humiliating mark of subservience,' says Restakis. The disgrace did not end with that; Nadar women were also subject to 'Mula karam' or a breast tax. Restakis explains that an official would go from door to door collecting taxes from lower caste women, over the age of puberty, who wished to cover their breasts. The taxes levied, he notes, were determined based on the size of the woman's breast. Unable to put up with such atrocities, several women from the Nadar community converted to Christianity as it allowed them to adorn an upper garment. Having converted, they started covering their bodies with a blouse. This, however, led to severe backlash from upper caste Hindu men. The situation deteriorated, and in 1822, a group of Nadar women were stopped on their way to church and had their blouses ripped. 'Irrespective of the fact that they had converted to another religion, the presence of a Dalit body in a public place…was at once a threat to the Brahminical control over these spaces,' asserts S Harikrishnan in Social Spaces and the Public Sphere: A Spatial History of Modernity in Kerala (2023). This culminated in a series of revolts in several regions of Travancore in 1858, known as the Channar Revolt, the Channar Lahala, or 'Maru Marakkal Samaram'. Not only did the men tear clothes from the women's bodies, there were also instances when they 'attached machetes to long poles and sliced the clothing from the women's bodies while standing at a safe distance,' Restakis notes. Missionary schools were burnt down and their books destroyed. In another incident that took place at the Neyyattinkara market in Travancore in 1859, referred to by Harikrishnan, a Channar woman's breast-cloth was ripped, and she was abused by an upper caste-Hindu. There were also instances where officials stripped and hanged Nadar women from trees. The women responded in similar rage. They attacked upper-caste neighbourhoods and looted their stores. In this, they were also joined by Hindu lower caste women. The movement gained momentum and spread from Kerala to Tamil Nadu. 'The dam of caste privilege was cracking, and the floodwaters of reform were seeping through,' Restakis remarks. On July 26, 1859, the then Travancore king, Uthram Thirunal Marthanda Varma, issued a decree granting Nadar women the right to cover their breasts. While the decree granted 'complete freedom to wear any cloth of their choice according to their dignity,' cites Harikrishnan, 'they are not to imitate the clothes worn by higher caste women'. In other words, Nadar women were allowed to wear breast cloth but in ways that appeared different from the upper-caste women. As Harikrishnan concludes, it was a demand for equality in letter, not spirit. Further reading: Civilizing The State: Reclaiming Politics for the Common Good by John Restakis Social Spaces and the Public Sphere: A Spatial History of Modernity in Kerala by S Harikrishnan Nikita writes for the Research Section of focusing on the intersections between colonial history and contemporary issues, especially in gender, culture, and sport. For suggestions, feedback, or an insider's guide to exploring Calcutta, feel free to reach out to her at ... Read More
The Print
28-04-2025
- Politics
- The Print
As 2 ministers resign, Stalin applies poll arithmetic in Tamil Nadu cabinet reshuffle ahead of 2026
The Nadar community is dominant in the southern districts, a region where the ruling DMK (Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam) and Opposition AIADMK (All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam) are fighting to widen their support base. The region has previously been a stronghold of the AIADMK. Thangaraj is the ruling party's MLA from Padmanabhapuram and, according to government sources, is likely to be given the milk and dairy development ministry that he held between 2023 and 2024. Chennai: With Tamil Nadu headed for assembly elections next year, Chief Minister M.K. Stalin has rejigged his cabinet, keeping political considerations in mind. Following the resignation of K. Ponmudi and V. Senthil Balaji as ministers Sunday, Stalin Monday reinducted former minister Mano Thangaraj from the Christian Nadar community, increasing the count of Nadars in the cabinet to four. The incumbent cabinet has three ministers from the backward Nadar community, as well as the assembly speaker. The milk and dairy development ministry is currently held by R.S. Raja Kannappan, who is likely to be allotted the forest and khadi departments that were held by Ponmudi. Raja Kannappan hails from the backward Tamil Yadavar community—another group dominant in the southern districts. The Tamil Nadu cabinet reshuffle had been necessitated after Balaji and Ponmudi resigned in the wake of adverse comments made by courts against them this month. Balaji held the electricity, prohibition and excise departments. Ponmudi and Balaji have been facing allegations of graft, while four other DMK ministers face charges of having disproportionate assets. Government sources said that state transport minister S.S. Sivasankar, from the Vanniyar community, is likely to be given the additional charge of electricity, while minister for housing and urban development S. Muthusamy, from Kongu Vellalar community, is to be given prohibition and excise as an additional department. The swearing-in ceremony of the new ministers will take place Monday evening at Raj Bhavan. According to political analysts, the reinduction of Thangaraj, from southern Kanyakumari district, and reshuffle of prominent departments to Raja Kannappan ahead of the election points to the DMK's desperation to retain its southern support base won over in the previous state election. Political analyst Raveendran Duraisamy told ThePrint that DMK leader Stalin's move was meant to appease voters in the southern districts in the wake of the AIADMK making efforts to win back its lost fort in Tamil Nadu's south. 'The 10.5% (internal) reservation (among the Most Backward Classes) for the Vanniyars (given by the AIADMK and later struck down by court), and breakaway of TTV Dhinakaran from the AIADMK had cost the party dearly in the southern districts of Tamil Nadu. Thus, its performance in the 2021 assembly election and 2024 Lok Sabha election was poor in the southern region,' he explained. 'But now, they are slowly regaining their lost support as they have formed a strong alliance, which includes Dhinakaran. Hence, the DMK is also giving prominence to leaders in the southern district,' he added. Also Read: DMK minister Ponmudi removed from party post amid row over vulgar remarks on Shaivism & Vaishnavism Fight for southern Tamil Nadu According to political analysts, the southern districts of Tamil Nadu have favoured AIADMK since the 1970s, and this support increased in the late 1990s. Raveendran said the support of Thevars (an Other Backward Class community dominant in the southern districts) dwindled after the demise of AIADMK supremo and former CM J. Jayalalithaa in 2016, and was gained by the DMK in the 2021 election. Out of 60 seats contested in the southern districts, the AIADMK that year managed to win only 16. Raveendran asserted that the DMK's move to bring in a Nadar community member (Thangaraj) into the cabinet, and give prominent departments to another minister from the southern parts (Raja Kannappan) was meant to consolidate its support base. 'AIADMK's Thevar vote bank is now split into multiple parties and the only way to gain majority in the state is with the help of other communities in the region. The move to give additional importance to Nadar and Yadavar will help the DMK ahead of the 2026 polls,' he told ThePrint. According to political analyst Arun, it all started with former CM M.G. Ramachandran, who had first made Thevar Jayanthi a government-sponsored event in 1979. He was the first CM to participate in the event, largely celebrated by the people of the Thevar community. 'Although electoral politics is based on caste calculations, M.G.R.'s move to celebrate Thevar Jayanthi as a government-sponsored event got him more support from the community. Subsequently, the support increased in the late 1990s, after the DMK government took some serious action against caste violence in the southern districts,' Arun told ThePrint. (Edited by Nida Fatima Siddiqui) Also Read: With statue of 'genius' Karl Marx in Chennai, Stalin looks to nurture Dravidian-Left movement link
