NANGELI AND HER REVOLT AGAINST THE BREAST TAX.

NANGELI AND HER REVOLT AGAINST THE BREAST TAX.

Many types of rulers ruled India. Every ruler made rules law according to his own and levied taxes to fill his treasury. In today's time it is difficult to believe that pilgrimage tax was also imposed at some time. In India itself, a very strange type of tax was imposed for a particular caste. In the early 19th century, women in Kerala (Kerala), located in the south of India, used to think Mula Karam / Breast Tax. If a woman covered her breast with clothes, she and her family had to pay this tax.

Casteism was so rooted in Kerala that women and men of lower castes were not allowed to cover breasts. Women of Nadar and Ezhava community were not allowed to cover chest in front of men of upper castes. Clothes were considered a sign of prosperity, and upper caste men felt insulting to cover the chests of lower caste people. Many kinds of taxes were levied on the lower castes and the people of the upper castes (Brahmin and Nair communities) exploited them and lived well. Women of the upper castes also had to go to the temple and remove their chest clothes. All these types of taxes were levied by the ruler of Travancore and the king's ministers made the living of the lower castes difficult.

NANGELI AND HER REVOLT AGAINST THE BREAST TAX.

That time there was a lady named Nangeli. She was a woman from the Edwa community. She lived in Cherthala, Travancore. Nangeli was married to Chirukandan. Nangeli began to cover her chest, disobeying the king's orders. Other women in the community knew that Nangeli would be punished for doing this. The top officials of the area were informed of the Nangeli incident. Pravathiyar (Gramadhikari) reached Nangeli's house and asked Nangeli not to cover her breast and asked for her breast. Nangeli refused to do so. Demonstrating their power, the Pravathiyar removed the cloth from the chest of Nangeli. She could not bear this insult and the next moment she laughed, cut off her breasts, placed it on a leaf and told the officers, 'This is what you wanted right, take this.'

Nangelis blood was washed away and she died shortly after. Nangeli's husband, Cheerukandan also gave his life by jumping on Nangeli's funeral . The sacrifice of Nangeli aroused the flame of protest and the revolution of the right to cover the breast (Channar Mutiny) started in the entire region. The king of Travancore had to remove this tax. In this way this cruel practice came to an end.

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