THUS THEY ABOLISHED SLAVERY IN TRAVANCORE

There Was Also Tax on Breasts

There is an unsung hero in the entire episode of the final abolition of slavery in Travancore-Rev George Mathen.He was the commission appointed to look into the discrepencies prevailed in the implementation of the abolition of slavery.Based on his report,the proclamation for the complete abolition of slavery was declared in Travancore on 1855. 

During second chera empire [800-1102] the pulayas enjoyed a high status.The Pulayanar Kottai of Trivandrum was the center of a Pulaya ruler who established his control over the surrounding parts.A pulaya princess, Kotha is said to have ruled over Kothamangalam of Nedumangad taluk But in course of time,by the seizure of power by the Nambudiris, this community was reduced to the status of slaves. 

Colonel John Munro

Most of the castes below the Nadars and Ezhavas, such as pulayas, Parayas, Paravas, Kuravas and Vettuvans were generally regarded as slaves.The wars between petty chieftains were followed by the capture of the vanquished.The vanquished were made slaves.During famine, the parents used to sell their children for petty sums of money to work in the houses or in the fields of the rich.Later they were converted as slaves. Women of higher caste, if found of relation with men of lower castes, were invariably reduced to the position of slaves. Victims of caste inquisition or Smartha Vicharam were sold to fisher men. 

There existed a custom known as “Pula Pedi” which pushed many into slavery.The debtors who could not pay loans sold themselves to creditors and served them as slaves till their liabilities were over.The Kings of Travancore sold members of the defeated king's family as slaves.Evidence shows that the women and children of eight Knights who were extirpated in 1730 were handed over to fisherman as slaves.

The Ettuveetil Pillamar (Lords of the Eight Houses) were nobles from eight Nair Houses in erstwhile Travancore in present-day Kerala state, South India. They were associated with the Padmanabhaswamy temple in Thiruvananthapuram and the Ettara Yogam. Their power and wealth grew until Marthanda Varma (1706–1758), the last king of Venad and the first King of Travancore, defeated them in the 1730s.The Ettuveetil Pillamar were known according to the villages in which they resided and all held the title of Pillai. The Eight Lords were Kazhakoottathu Pillai, Ramanamadhom Pillai, Chempazhanty Pillai, Kudamon Pillai, Venganur Pillai, Thazhaman Madhom Pillai, Pallichal Pillai and Kolathur Pillai.Kazhakkoottam and Chempazhanthi lie to the north of Thiruvananthapuram, the capital city, while Venganoor lies to the south, between Balaramapuram and Kovalam.

The Ettara Yogam ('King's Council of Eight'), an association consisting of the Pushpanjali Swamiyar, seven Potti families and the King of Venad administered the Sri Padmanabhaswamy Temple of Thiruvananthapuram. The Ettuveetil Pillamar, aided by the Ettara Yogam, became the supreme power in Travancore to such an extent that the sovereign needed their permission even to construct a palace for himself at his capital. With so much power in their hands they wished to do away with the Royal House.

 The earlier chroniclers of Travancore history state that their chief intention was to extirpate the Royal House and convert the state into a pseudo-republic under their control, and eventually under a monarchy under one of themselves. With this in mind they plotted and assassinated Maharajah Aditya Varma by poisoning him and set the Palace on fire.Five of Umayamma Rani's six sons were drowned under suspicious circumstances.But researches reveal that Adithya Varma died a natural death and umayamma Rani had no children.In the document of 1730 regarding the execution of the Pillamar the name used for the conspirators is Ettuveetil Madampimar and not Pillamar. Besides, of the eight Pillais, only Kazhakoothathu Pillai and Kulathur Pillai are mentioned, the remainder being totally different individuals. The remaining six families are not mentioned at all, and it is improbable that the King who personally made investigations would let any of them go free.

High caste females who were exposed to punishments when detected of immorality or breach of caste rules and regulations, immediately became untouchable and slave of the ruler. 

Records show that prisoners, ex-convicts released from jails after undergoing long years of punishment and people from depressed sections were generally victims of the inhuman practice.

The days of enslavement meant they were bound to obey orders of their masters without question. They were given a meagre subsistence allowance, too low for their hectic work.

Children born to slaves would become slaves for all practical purposes. Men and women were sold and bought like cattle once in the state.

European merchants also used to buy slaves from here and ship them to their colonies to make them work as bonded labourers.

Matriarchy ( Marumakkathayam ) system existed and the people had to pay an amount as fee called Adiyara. It amounted to one fourth of the value of the property. It was difficult to pay a fee to conduct and arrange marriages.A particular type of tax known as “Kuppakkache” in the nature of pole tax was imposed on Parayas and ezhavas in the Taluk of Thovalai.

The Breast Tax (Mulakkaram  in Malayalam) was a tax imposed on the lower caste and untouchable Hindu women by the Kingdom of Tranvancore,if they wanted to cover their breasts in public, until 1924.The lower caste and untouchable women were expected to pay the government a tax on their breasts, as soon as they started developing breasts.The lower caste men had to pay a similar tax, called tala-karam, on their heads.Travancore tax collectors would visit every house to collect breast tax from any lower caste women who passed the age of puberty. The tax was evaluated by the tax collectors depending on the size of their breasts. 

Gowri Lakshmi Bayi

There is a folklore about a Nangeli, a woman who lived in the early 19th century at Cherthala in the erstwhile princely state of Travancore in India who supposedly cut off her breasts in an effort to protest against the caste-based breast tax.

The village office came to her home to survey her breasts and collect the breast tax. Nangeli revolted against the harassment, cutting off her breasts and presenting them to him in a plantain leaf. She died soon from loss of blood.Nangeli's husband, Chirukandan, seeing her mutilated body was overcome by grief and jumped into her funeral pyre and committed suicide-a male Sati.

Following the death of Nangeli, a series of people's movements were set off. Soon the place she lived had come to be called as Mulachiparambu (meaning place of the breasted woman).The Marxists have time and agaun tried to give this folklore authenticity,but is not recognized in any of historical accounts.

The law resulted from Travancore's tradition, in which the breast was bared as a symbol of respect to higher-status people. The Nair women were not allowed to cover their bosoms while in front of the Namboodiri Brahmins or entering the temples, while the Brahmins bared their breasts only to the images of the deities. The women of the even lower castes, such as Nadars, Ezhavars and untouchables castes, were not allowed cover their breasts at all. With the spread of Christianity in the 19th century, the Christian converts among the Nadar women started covering their upper body, and gradually, even the Hindu Nadar women adopted this practice. After a series of protests, the Nadar women were granted the right to cover their breasts in 1859.

It was after the arrival of missionaries that a great change wss witnessed in the life of dalits. Missionaries appealed to Madras Government, and with the instruction of Madras Government, Travancore government decided to pass an Act for the emancipation of the slaves. Rani Gowry Lakshmi Bai,mother of Swati Thirunal,who was the Regent 1811-15),and who had a close relationship with the Resident dewan John Munro, issued two proclamations in 1815,when she was only 20. 

The first declaration said that Christians were exempted from taxation;the second said that the Christians were exempted from forced labour namely,Oozhiyam.This was only for the rescue of the Christians,not Hindus. 

Rev Charles Mead

The efforts of two lady missionaries,Johanna Celestina Horst Mead ( 1803-1848) and Martha Mault ( 1794-1870 ) marked a turning point in the life of Dalits. They started a Boarding schools at different parts of Travancore,admitting slave girls.Johanna was the wife of Rev Charles Mead, who shifted his Mission Head Quarters from Mylaudy to Nagercoil in 1818, on account of his civil appointment as Judge of the Nagercoil Court.Mead got Col.Munro's Traveller's Bungalow at Nagercoil, to reside at from Col. Munro.After her marriage with Rev Charles Mead of LMS, Mrs.Johanna Celestina Mead arrived at Nagercoil, Kanyakumari District with her husband in 1819.Mrs Mault,wife of Rev Charles Mault, arrived at Nageroil in 1819; as LMS missionaries to work with Rev Mead.

In the year 1818, at the age of 24, Martha married Rev .Charles Mault of Shropshire. Charles Mault had been trained for Priesthood at the Missionary Academy, Gosport near Portsmouth, England under the auspices of the London Missionary Society and also had been ordained as a LMS Pastor, before a week of their marriage . The review of the East India Company's Charter of 1813 had fully opened the closed door for missionary work in India.After marriage,as decided before Mrs, Mault along with her missionary husband Rev, Charles Mault, sailed towards the shore of India for missionary work in South Travancore,in December 1819.Their eldest daughter Eliza Mault married the famous Missionary, Linguist , Tamil Scholar, Writer, Historian and Bishop Dr. Robert Caldwell. in 1844, at the Home Church, Nagercoil.

Mrs. Johanna Celestina Horst Mead, Mrs Martha Mault, Mrs Miller , Mrs. Thompson, Mrs Norton, Mrs. Bailey and Mrs Baker were the pioneers connected with the Pioneer educational enterprise among the women of Travancore. In1819, Mr Mead and Mrs Mead planned and decided to establish one Boys' School and one Girls' School, at Nagercoil. Accodingly a Girls School was established at Nagercoil in 1819, and with great difficulty some girls were collected and admitted in the girls School. and the School began with 18 girls[CMA, p. 766.]. Mr and Mrs Mault came from England and stayed with Mr and Mrs Mead , the Girls' School was greatly improved. Mrs. Mead an Mrs Mault made mutual division of their work in the Girls School. Mrs. Mead taught the student in the Girls Boarding School, plain sewing, spinning knitting , etc, Mrs Mault taught them crochet and embroidery [in1821 inroduced the pillow lace].

After having moved to Neyyoor, Mrs Johanna Mead established a Girls Boarding School at Neyyoor in 1828 and this Girls Boarding School flourished for many years in many ways under the ardent and zealous care of her. The Girls Boarding School at Neyyoor played a crucial and significant role to spread education and self dignity among the women in and around Neyyoor and in the whole of South Travancore. The Girls Boarding School at Neyyoor and other Boarding Schools established by the Missionaries during that period of time were the means of training many girls and women in the habits of order, cleanliness, industry and useful leaning .Besides Scripture the girls students in Girls Boarding Schools were taught a fair knowledge of History , Geography, Arithmetic and elements of natural Philosophy was imparted in vernacular.In 1837 in South Travncore there were 15 Girls Schools containing 361 girls and in 1840 in the two districts of Neyyoor and Nagercoil out of 7540 school children 998 were girls.

The Girls' Boarding School at Nagercoil in 1820, was the first Girl's Boarding School in the whole of South India.

Martha Mault

By the treaties of 1795 and 1805 that were concluded between English East India Company and Travancore, the political power wrested with the Company,and the Travancore King was,infact,a slave.Under pressure from Col. Munro, Rani Gowry Lekshmi Bai introduced certain reforms which helped the slaves to get certain privileges denied to them. So by the proclamation of 1812, Rani Lakshmi Bai introduced a notification for the abolition of slavery. On 21 vrichikam 987 ( 1812) this proclamation was published. proclamation said:

“with reference to the natives and foreigners who for the sake of profit, buy at a cheaper rate, the boys and girls of several low caste people of this country and sell them for a higher prices, take them to a distant places and pay tolls at sea ports and thus make a regular bargain of them. As this is really inhuman and disgraceful custom, which ought to be checked, we here by noticed that no person shall, for purpose of cultivation buy or sell pulayas, kuravas, malayars, vetars, pariah and others in mortage, janmam or pattam, as is done in many places orarear title deeds with the prominent land holders of the place concerning them or engaged such people for cultivation and that no people of any other caste shall beyond this natural customs, buy or sell children of their own caste or pay toll to the sercar.if any one raise his voice against this proclamation and has a regular dealing of the slaves shall be subjected to sever punishment, their property should confiscated and they themselves banished from the country”. 

Many taxes such as ‘Thalayara,’ ‘Valayara’ were also abolished by the proclamation of 1815. 

In the same year another proclamation removed the taboo imposed on dalits in carrying umbrellas, lights and a knife chained with gold and wearing ear-rings.
In 1836, slaves who worked as bonded tenants in government lands in Travancore had been released. By 1843, slavery and slave trade had also been banned in British India. 

Missionaries continued their efforts,aimefd at catching the lower castes. They submitted a series of memoranda.The government felt that the earlier proclamation could neither abolish nor contain the evil; hence, a fresh legislation was issued in 1843,during Swati Thirunal's reign.

A report says that in 1847, the slaves were mainly used as agricultural labour, for which they were given food served on leaves placed in small pits in the ground. The Travancore government kept 15,000 slaves who were given to landlords on rental basis, who had the power even to kill slaves if they disobeyed orders. They also sold slaves to others. Young children were often taken to the markets, mainly by their parents, to be sold. Some European missionaries were reluctant to convert them to Christianity, as they feared that it may adversely affect their conversion plan of the upper castes and the image of their mission. Up to 1854, no baptism of these castes was done by the CMS church. 

The Governor General Lord Ellenborough and Council decided to enact another act in 1843 for the emancipation of the slaves.In 1847 the missionaries submitted a memorandum to Uthram Thirunal Marthanda Varma portraying the plight of the slaves for consideration. It was with this the demand for the abolition of slavery in Travancore began. Resident General William Cullen ( 1785-1862 ) forwarded the memorandum to the Raja for action. So on behalf of Maharaja, the Dewan Krishna Rao replied to the Resident that “his Highness would never fail to give his attention to the unfortunate class of people referred in the missionaries’ petition.The Resident was not satisfied by this.

General William Cullen

The missionaries continued their effort to compel the Resident. Finally on 13 March 1849 he passed on a memorandum to Dewan , “Recommending certain measures for improving the condition of slaves and for the gradual abolition of slavery in the state.” The Resident requested the Dewan to observe the provision of the act passed by the Indian government.The King expressed his willingness to look into this vital issue, prepared a draft proclamation and sent it to the Resident.The Resident found that the draft proclamation was inadequate. On 20 November 1852, the Dewan sent a revised draft largely observing the guidelines laid down by the Resident and submitted it for approval. In September 1853, the Travancore authorities prepared another draft of proclamation and the copies were sent to the Dewan of Cochin and the Resident for their consideration. The Resident approved. 

The drawback of the 1853 proclamation was so glaring, the Resident wrote a series of letters to the Dewan of Travancore. In one of the letters, he requested the Government to discontinue the tax levied on the sarkar slaves. In another letter,the Resident mentioned the cruel practice of selling free men as slaves. The Travancore Government was indifferent. As a solution, the Resident suggested the re publication of the proclamation of 1853 with modifications.On June 1855 another proclamation was issued,for the complete abolition of slavery.The final blow to slavery in India was struck by section 370, 371 of the Indian Penal Code, which came into force on January 1862, on the basis of which any person found to possess slaves became punishable. 

The abolition of slavery in Travancore in 1855 led to even more frustration among the upper castes who felt they were losing control.Uneasy with their social status, a large number of Nadars had embraced Christianity, and started to wear long cloths. When many more Nadar women turned to Christianity, many Hindu Nadar women also started to wear the Nair breast cloth. This led to violence between the upper caste and lower castes.

 In October 1859, riots broke out as Channar women were attacked in the marketplace and stripped of their upper clothes. Houses were looted and chapels burned. The government issued another proclamation permitting Channar women, whether Christian or Hindu, to wear a jacket, or cover their breasts ‘in any manner whatever, but not like the women of high caste’. 

Following the trails of Travancore, the neighbouring princely state Kochi also banned the practice in 1872. 

Rev. George Mathan ( 1819 – 1870), a.k.a. Rev. George Matthan, Rev. George Mathen, Geevarghese Kathanar or Mallapallil Achen,who was the commission to reprt on slavery was an Anglican priest (Kathanar), Malayalam grammarian and writer of the 19th century Kerala. 

Mathan was born on 25 September 1819 in the village of Kidangannoor, Kerala as the son of Chengannur Puthencavu Kizhakkethalackal Mathan Tharakan and Puthencavu Puthenveettil Annamma. His great grand-father Cherian and his grand-father Chummar had received Tharakan title from the Travancore king, as they were a wealthy family who supported the royalty in times of need. 

From childhood, he had shown great aptitude for learning. Since Mathan’s father had died at a very early age, his uncle Rev. Kurian Kathanar took charge of his education. Inspired by Kurian Kathanar, he became a Deacon and Kathanar of the undivided Malankara Syrian Church. 

Later, he received an offer from the C.M.S Anglican missionaries to pursue university education at the newly opened Madras University at Madras. He accepted the offer and after graduating from Madras University, he became an Anglican priest. He was the first ordained native priest of the Anglican church in South India. 

Mathan first started his ministry in the Mallapally area of Travancore and became known as "Mallapallil Achen," meaning father of Mallapally. He was instrumental in converting the first lower-caste family (headed by a man named Habel) to Christianity in Mallapally. This day is celebrated even today in Kerala as Habel’s Day. This family’s conversion into Anglican Christianity encouraged the conversion of a large number of lower-caste people into the faith. 

Rev George Mathan

Rev. Mathan was also a contemporary of Hermann Gundert, a German priest, who wrote the first dictionary in Malayalam. 

While ministering to the people, a full-time job, Mathan found time to write erudite treatises on grammar and local culture. He wrote the first book of Malayalam grammar called "Malayazhmayude Vyakaranam," which was published in 1863. His other works of longish essays include, "Satyavadakhedam," "Vedasamyukthi," and "Balabhyasam." It should me remembered that A R Raja Raja Varma,who got the sobriquet, 'Kerala Panini',was born on the year Mathan's grammar was piblished.Kerala Panineeyam,Varma's treatise on Malayalam grammar was published only in 1896.

Rev. Mathan was a keen educationist. He helped collect funds to build the Cambridge Nicholson Institute (CNI) and oversaw the construction of its building and facilities. Later on, he became the principal of the CNI, which was instrumental in spreading English medium education throughout the state of Kerala.
The Malayalam poet and littérateur Ulloor S. Parameswara Iyer stated in History of Malayalam Literature: "All in all, George Mathan built a permanent framework for Malayalam literature and thus made all Malayalis indebted to him, a fact beyond dispute." 

Rev. George Mathan died on 4 March 1870. He is interred at St. Thomas CSI church, Thalavady.

© Ramachandran