breast tax
Breast tax
The breast tax (Malayalam:, mulakkaram or mul-akram) was a tax imposed on low caste and untouchable Hindu women in the state of Travancore (present-day Kerala, India) until 1924. The government had to pay this tax for lower caste women to cover their nipples in public with breast augmentation. Lower caste men paid a tax called Tala-Karam to cover their heads. The tax chiefs of Travancore went to every house to collect tax from pubescent women. Breast size chai tax was determined. But historical data on the cause of this tax and its relationship with breast size are scarce. Manu S. Pillai and other scholars have debunked the association of this tax with breasts and commented that it was a general tax collected from all lower-caste women.
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Head tax
Many historians have recorded that exposing the breasts of lower caste women was a tradition in Travancore as a mark of respect for the upper castes. In order not to defy caste classification, the government imposed a ban on breast covering. Mainly because of this the lower caste people rebelled several times.
Read More; How to touch a woman's breast properly?
Brahmin rulers there allegedly imposed a breast tax or mulakkaram on lower-caste Hindu women. According to this rule, they had to pay a tax to cover their breasts in public and the tax was determined according to the size of the breasts. However historical data on the cause of this tax and its relationship with breast size are scarce. Manu S. Pillai and other scholars have debunked the association of this tax with breasts and commented that it was a general tax collected from all lower-caste women.
After several revolts, Hindu Nadar women were allowed to cover their breasts in 1859.
The story of Nangeli
According to this story, in the early 19th century, Nangeli and her husband Chirukandan of the Ezhava race lived in the village of Charthala in Travancore. They were childless. One day the Prabathiyar (village headman) of Travancore came to Nangeli's house to collect taxes after examining the breasts. Naegeli contradicted this and cut her own nipples and gave them to the chief in a banana tree and died of profuse bleeding. Nangeli's husband Chirukandan could not bear the death of his wife and committed suicide by jumping on her pyre. This is the first case of male chastity in India.
After Nangeli's death, the common people started a revolt. Similar folklore has been found elsewhere. After this, the breast tax was abolished in Travancore. The place where Nangeli lives are known as Mulachiparambu (the place of the woman with breasts).
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