Breast tax
The Breast Tax (or Mulakkaram) was a tax imposed on the untouchable caste women irrespective of the religion. It was one of the many inhumane taxes imposed on the lower caste population of Kerala. Some of the other taxes include thalakkaram(tax for head), anikkaram, thalavari, valakkaram,tharikkaram, noolkaram, thiruva, padappanam, vivahakkaram, azha, Kozha, kazhcha, pizha, ponnarippu, menipponnu, chethupattom, panthallkaram, mechilkaram, kottupattukkaram,abharanakkaram, ankakkaram, adimakkaram, vannarappattom, thallarappattom, rupavari, and rajabhogom. Women who belonged to the untouchable castes had to pay mulakkaram (breast tax). According to this law, all the avarna women were to pay tax to the Government for their breasts from the very time of their girlhood, when they start developing breasts. This infamous law that was in force in Travancore until as late as the first quarter of the 20th century. [1] [2].[3][4]
As per some historians, the mulakkaram had little to do with breasts other than the tenuous connection of nomenclature. It was a poll tax charged from low-caste communities, as well as other minorities. Capitation due from men was the talakkaram — head tax — and to distinguish female payees in a household, their tax was the mulakkaram — breast tax. The tax was not based on the size of the breast or its attractiveness, as Nangeli’s storytellers will claim, but was one standard rate charged from women as a certainly oppressive but very general tax. [5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14]
See also
References
- ^ Vijayalayam., Jayakumar, (1999). Sree Narayana Guru, a critical study. New Delhi: D.K. Printworld. p. 14. ISBN 8124601208. OCLC 41285286.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: extra punctuation (link) CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ K.S., Manilal (15 November 2012). "SIKHISM IN KERALA Forgotten Chapter in the Social History of the State". SAMAGRA (Centre for Research in Indigenous Knowledge Science and Culture (CRIKSC). 8.
- ^ Yesudas, R. N. (1980). The History of the London Missionary Society in Travancore, 1806-1908. Kerala Historical Society. p. 19.
- ^ RAVINDRAN, T.K. (1975). JOURNAL of KERALA STUDIES. Trivandrum: University of Kerala. p. 387.
- ^ Journal of Kerala Studies. University of Kerala. 2011. p. 93. Retrieved 13 October 2017.
One of the many social ills that is worth mentioning to high- light the plight of a person in those times is the breast tax or 'Mulakkaram". The lower caste women were proscribed by their high caste masters from covering their upper part of the …
- ^ Kattackal, Jacob (1990). Comparative Religion. Oriental Institute of Religious Studies, India. p. 144.
'low-caste' men had to pay a 'head-tax', and the 'low-caste women' had to pay a 'breast tax' ('tala-karam' and 'mula-karam') to the government treasury.
- ^ Renjini P and Dr. C Natarajan (2017). "Rani Gowry Lakshmi Bai: Abolition of slavery in Travancore" (PDF). International Journal of Home Science.
- ^ "Nine weird taxes from around the world". The Economic Times. 13 January 2017. Retrieved 10 March 2018.
- ^ "Remembering One Woman's Ultimate Tax Protest On International Women's Day". Kelly Phillips Erb. Forbes. 8 March 2016. Retrieved 10 March 2018.
- ^ DR. A. VANAJA (February 2015). "ROLE OF MISSIONARIES IN UPPER CLOTH RIOT IN KANYAKUMARI DISTRICT". Paripex - Indian Journal Of Research. 4 (2).
- ^ "History of women's caste struggle removed by CBSE". India Today. 27 December 2016. Retrieved 28 April 2018.
- ^ K. G. Daniel (1 January 1998). Let the Hills Rejoice: The Conversion of the Hill Arrians of Kerala and Its Effect on Evangelism. ISPCK. p. 10. ISBN 978-81-7214-416-6. Retrieved 28 April 2018.
- ^ Robert L. Hardgrave, Jr. (1968). "The Breast-Cloth Controversy: Caste Consciousness and Social Change in Southern Travancore". The Indian Economic & Social History Review. 5 (2): 176.
- ^ Manu S Pillai (18 February 2017). "The woman who cut off her breasts". The Hindu. Retrieved 19 February 2017.
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