CHAPTER III THE ASSERTION OF SOCIAL RIGHTS

Transcription

1 CHAPTER III THE ASSERTION OF SOCIAL RIGHTS Upper Cloth Disturbances The resistance that the low caste women put up to the tyranny of upper caste people in the first half of the 19 th century has come to be termed as Upper Cloth Disturbances. The lowly women s bold resistance had the powerful backing of the missionaries Rev. Mead and Rev. Mault. The missionaries in turn had enjoyed the backing of the British administration of the Madras province. The Upper Cloth Disturbances were one of the most important social upheavals in the 19 th century Travancore. It aimed at ending an inhuman custom imposed upon the unprivileged sections of people by castedominated tradition. By an age-old custom, women of certain low castes had always been forbidden to wear an upper cloth or ornaments like those used by the high castes. 1 The women who covered their bosoms, contrary to the custom, were punished very severely. 2 The Rani of Attingal, ordered the breasts of a woman to be cut off, as she appeared in her presence with 1 C.M. Agur, op.cit., p J.W. Gladstone, op.cit., p

2 covered breasts. 3 Col. Munro, the British Resident, issued various orders out of pity, permitting the women in question to cover their bosom. 4 But these humane laws were not strictly enforced by the native officers who took all efforts to perpetuate the old customs. The lady missionaries did not like the native Christian women moving about with their breasts exposed like their non-christian friends. They directed them to wear loose jackets which they had designed and made for them. In addition to the jacket, the Christian women started sporting a scarf or cloth called Thol Cheelai (Shoulder cloth) over the shoulders like the women of higher castes. 5 Thus they displeased their neighbours, especially the Nairs who started giving trouble to them in various ways in markets and on public paths. Another reason that provoked the anger of the higher castes was the growth of Christianity and the progress of the neo-christians. Nearly half a century after the introduction of Protestant Christianity in South Travancore, the Christians came up tremendously in education and allied fields, and their life style and standard of life improved a lot. 6 The Annual Report of the L.M.S. for the year 1850 says that in South Travancore there 3 Ibid. 4 C.M. Agur, op.cit., p Ibid. 6 John A. Jacob, A History of the LMS in South Travancore, , Nagercoil, p

3 were seven congregational districts, nine missionaries, 219 churches, Christians and 894 Catechists (teachers of Christian religion). 7 More than 5000 boys and girls had been in the schools run by the missionaries. People who had been bonded for hundreds of years got liberation in June As a result, the Christians refused to do uliyam in temples on Sundays. Brahmin women only enjoyed the right to cover their bosom when they went out. But they were bare-breasted at home. 8 Also it was custom with Nair women to expose their bosom in the presence of members of the royalty or persons of high rank and on occasions like religious processions. 9 The system had a deep-rooted past. Caste rules controlled the dress of women in Travancore. For centuries, it was considered an insult to the people of upper castes if a lower caste woman covered her breasts before them. In the 5 th and 6 th centuries, women of all castes used to cover their bosom with a piece of cloth. 10 But in the 16 th century, the foreign traveller, Sainuddin, who visited Travancore has pointed out that the Hindus of Travancore wore 7 Ibid. 8 V. Nagam Aiya, op.cit., Vol. II, p Ibid. 10 Elamkulam Kunjan Pillai, Keralam Anchum Arum Noottandukalil (Malayalam), Kottayam, 1967, p

4 nothing above their waists. They just wore a piece of cloth around the waist. 11 This drastic change must have happened between 6 th and 16 th centuries. During the 18 th and 19 th centuries, caste- based rules were in vogue and they were enforced rigidly. As such, Nair women were expected to expose their bosom in the presence of a Brahmin or a member of the Royalty. 12 The reaction of the depressed classes to these tyrannical rules and customs found expressions in three uprisings which the historians describe as revolts. The First Upper Cloth Disturbance 1822 The fact that Col. John Munro, the Resident, issued an order in 1812 permitting the women converts to Christianity to cover their bosom as found among Christians of other countries 13 is a clear evidence that the women converts to Christianity started clamouring for the right to cover their bosom as early as the first decade of the nineteenth century. But his order was seldom implemented. In those days, Syrian Christian women, Muslim women and Fisher women put on a type of jacket called kuppayam to cover their breasts. 14 But by 1822, the Nadar women, as encouraged, 11 V. Panikkesseri, Keralam Pathinanchum Pathinarum, Nootandukalil, pp C.M. Agur, op.cit., pp G. Parker, History of Mission Fields, Nagercoil, 1900, p T.K. Velu Pillai, op.cit., vol. II, p

5 educated and enlightened by the missionary ladies, went about in the public not only in the Kuppayam but also with an additional piece of cloth to cover the shoulders. 15 Besides, many of the low caste people migrated to Tirunelveli District in the Madras Province of the British India in search of employment in certain seasons of the year and there the women were free to use the upper cloth. They continued to wear the upper cloth even after their return to Travancore. The Nairs viewed this type of dressing as an insult to them and very strongly reacted to it. Nadar women in the Kalkulam and Ereniel taluks of South Travancore were ill-treated in May 1822, because they appeared in the markets and other public places with their upper parts of the bodies covered. 16 Consequently, a communal riot took place in the two taluks. The Nadar women were stripped of their jackets and upper cloth. In the course of the first upper cloth disturbance, a few Nairs joined together one day and went to the LMS Church at Kothanavilai near Colachel. The church service was going on at that time, and the Nair men called out a few of the Nadar men who were attending the church service. They told the Nadar men to perform some work in their temple. 17 The Nadar men flatly 15 J.W. Gladstone, op.cit., p C.M. Agur, op.cit., p John A. Jacob, op.cit., p

6 refused to comply with their order and the Nair men brought them before some other men for what they called an enquiry and finally their Nadar victims were tied to a tree and beaten severely. 18 They were also compelled to pay tax for collecting juice from the palmyrah trees. Those who refused to pay the tax were tortured and imprisoned. 19 Rev. Mead in whose districts these disturbances took place lost no time in making complaints of this outrage to the Padmanabhapuram court. But to his disappointment, redressal was withheld. 20 He then appealed to the Resident. As a result, immediate inquiry was ordered. 21 The Christian Judges of Nagercoil and Padmanabhapuram were required to report on this matter. 22 They were once more reminded by the Resident, Col. Newell, that the appointment of Christian Judges to the courts of Travancore was to afford protection to the Christian Community. The Padmanabhapuram court pronounced a verdict in 1823 in favour of Nadar Christians. It declared that no tax or rent should be collected for the palmyrah juice (padini) or toddy, and the Christian women could wear their thol cheelai (shoulder cloth) in tune with their 18 Ibid. 19 Ibid. 20 C.M. Agur, op.cit., p Ibid. 22 Ibid 102

7 improved standard of life and life style. 23 Following the court verdict, Christian women were emboldened to wear thol cheelai in all public places knowing well that they were driving the upper caste zealots to burn themselves with jealousy and anger. 24 Thus there prevailed uneasy peace and tranquility for a short period. However, the same region witnessed another round of disturbances six years later in The Second Upper Cloth Disturbances ( ) Rev. Charles Mead had completed ten years of selfless service to the suppressed people in South Travancore by the year 1828, when the Second Upper Cloth Disturbances began. He had the satisfaction of witnessing improvement in all the Mission establishments. 26 There was a rapid growth of Christianity among the Nadars in South Travancore after One of the reasons for the steady growth was the protective measures taken by Rev. Mead during the first Upper Cloth Disturbances. The schools and churches continued to flourish. 28 Every year their number got doubled and in some years they got trebled. All these roused the 23 John A. Jacob, op.cit., p Ibid. 25 Ibid. 26 C.M. Agur, op.cit., p Ibid. 28 John A. Jacob, op.cit., p

8 jealousy of the high caste people. 29 In the machinations against the Christians, Nairs, Muslims and Romanists joined together. Brahmins and other high caste people greatly helped them. Thus they easily mobilized a great number of people against Christians. Their leader was one Easara Pillay, the Adikai (Revenue Inspector) of Kannanoor. 30 In the beginning they carried out their wicked plans by setting fire to school buildings and chapels. They did this just to threaten the Christians from attending public worship and compel them to work on Sundays. They stormed the houses of the Christians and beat up the inmates. They harassed and molested Christian women in markets and public places. Many were thrown into prison after having been charged with false accusations. 31 The one-time deprived class of Nadars had by that time acquired the boldness to question the denial of any of their privileges. The Nairs who formed the dominant section of the society took the fertile lands of Nadars with the help of the police. Whenever the Nairs and other high caste people conspired against the Christians and mounted attacks on them, the local officials who were also Nairs by and large supported such perpetrators of violence. At one stage the attacks were concentrated on the Christians in the Neyyoor Mission District. The disturbances in this area were of great 29 C.M. Agur, op.cit., p Ibid, p C.M. Agur, op.cit., p

9 intensity. Christian women were beaten and stripped of their jackets and upper cloths. Many chapels were also burnt down. The organizers of the violence against the Christians in Attoor, Arumanai, Tirparappu, Kannanoor, Odayarvilai, Pulippunam and other centres of Neyyoor Mission District carried out a well-designed plan. The pidakaicars (village officers) of Attoor, Cherukol, Tiruvattar, Arumanai, Kalial and Tirparappu were the prime movers of the plot against the Christians. 32 Different groups of them marched from pidakai to pidakai, threatening and ill-treating the Christians. They employed many blacksmiths and carpenters to make pikes, hatchets, bows, arrows and swords to be used in their acts of violence against the Christians. In the course of their violence, they took the schoolmaster, Vedamonickam of Anbianvilai, and several other Christians, captives. After tying these captives with ropes, they gave the other ends of the ropes to the elephants, which they had brought with them. The animals held the ropes in their trunks and walked at the head of the victory procession. The poor Christians were thus paraded and taken to the Tana officer at Thuckalay where they were put in fetters. In their anger they beat and murdered another Vedamonickam of Pambadikonam of Attoor and buried him C.M. Agur, op.cit., p Ibid., p

10 The rich Nairs of Attoor and the surrounding places pooled in their contributions of money to build up a fund to organize violence against the Christians and also to protect the perpetrators of crimes. In Attoor alone a fund of ten thousand Fanams, which was a fabulous amount in those days, was mobilized for the evil design. There are many references in documents to the persecution of the unprivileged people in South Travancore. But the following few narrated by Rev. Mead highlight the agony of the Christians in due perspective. In Attoor, a large number of Nairs had got together on 23 rd December Guns, swords, cleavers, rice-beaters and sticks were their weapons. They planned to take the Christians to Padmanabhapuram. Regularly they gathered themselves at the market places to attack Nadar women. This barbarous attack was repeated for weeks. 34 People were terrified. Many went to the mountain sides for safety. Among the Christians who were seized at Attoor, Vedamonickam was a schoolmaster who had embraced Christianity a short while before. He was a very important man in the village. The rioters first plundered his house and then burnt it. Then they falsely accused another respectable man of a murder, plundered his house when he ran away, and seized his three sons. The murderers in another 34 Neettu, Vol. 20, No: 258, p.94; (Kerala State Archives, Thiruvananthapuram). 106

11 village seized the men, insulted the women and cruelly cut the ear of a woman of 90 years of age. 35 Many were imprisoned on false charges. After keeping them for many months, they flogged them and led them through the public streets. It showed that they had been determined to root out Christianity from the region. 36 The anxiety and anguish of Rev. Mead went high on hearing the sufferings of his new converts. On the complaints of the affected Christians, Rev. Mead visited Ereniel and Monday Market on 29 th December the same year and made some enquiries. 37 As a poor Christian man refused to do some uliyam, he was tied with a rope and dragged by an elephant and tortured. 38 The wrath of the Nairs in the course of the rebellion did not fail to turn against the Mission s friend, Raman Thampi, and they managed to put him in prison. Imprisonment of Raman Thampi Raman Thampi, a Nair landlord was hailed from Mecode near Neyyoor. Though the high castes were highly displeased with the work of the missionaries and spread of Christianity, Raman Thampi had a high regard for the missionaries and appreciation for their work. Overlooking the opposition of his fellow Nairs, he sold his precious Puthukattuvilai 35 C.M. Agur, op.cit., p Ibid., p John A. Jacob, op.cit., p Ibid. 107

12 lands to the Mission headed by Rev. Mead. 39 It is this Puthukattuvilai which Rev. Mead later rechristened as Neyyoor. In addition to selling his land to the Mission, he also helped Rev. Mead by supervising the construction of the Mission buildings at Neyyoor. All his initial help enabled Rev. Mead to build the beautiful Church called Dartmouth Chapel in 1830 along with the schools and boarding houses, the printing press and other buildings at Neyyoor. 40 The displeased Nairs plotted against Raman Thampi and finally got him imprisoned somewhere in Quilon. 41 For nearly seven years he languished in jail. The missionaries exerted themselves a lot to secure his release. 42 Rev. Mead also had to face the wrath of the Nair chieftains. 43 The rioters conspired to murder Rev. Mead at his residence at Mondaikkadu on 3 rd January However, the Missionary smelt it and immediately took some prompt counter steps. When he heard late in the evening that the conspirators were moving towards Mondaikkadu, he appealed to the headmen of the neighbouring fishing villages who gladly 39 Souvenir, 185th Anniversary, Rev. Richard Knill Memorial C.S.I.Church, Agastheespuram, 1998, p John A. Jacob, op.cit., p L.M.S. Report, 1836, p Ibid. 43 Ibid. 44 Souvenir, 185th Anniversary, Rev. Richard, Knill Memorial C.S.I. Church, Agastheespuram, 1998, p

13 agreed to stay in the Missionary s house that night as a bodyguard. 45 However, the danger was not over but gained momentum for a major explosion. Rev. Mead decided to appeal to the nearest military authorities for protection. At this crucial hour, one of the faithful Christians came forward to take his urgent letter to the commander at Fort Udayagiri at once. 46 As the letter from Rev. Mead was an urgent one, it was handed over to the person concerned though he had already gone to sleep. As soon as Captain Sibald read Rev. Mead s letter, he ordered the detachment of the 15 th Regiment of Madras Infantry to march rapidly to reach Mondaikkadu for the relief of his countryman in peril. 47 The enemies who were then engaged in a puja or worship to the Goddess Bhagavathi in the temple at Mondaikkadu, invoking her blessings for success to their sword, fled in all directions on hearing the sound of the advancing British detachment of the 15 th Regiment. 48 For two weeks, the army personnel remained there and gave protection to the missionary. While staying at Mondaikkadu, Captain Sibald despatched a few of his men to Neyyoor, Attoor and other places to protect the Christians and mission property there. He then requested Rev. 45 C.M. Agur, op.cit., p I.H. Hacker, A Hundred year in Travancore, London, 1908, p Ibid. 48 John A. Jacob, op.cit., p

14 Mead and his family to retire for the time being to Nagercoil or Trivandrum. 49 But staying with the new converts during the period of trouble was Rev. Mead s primary intention. Diwan and his inquiry On hearing about the barbarous attack on the Christians, the Resident deputed the then Diwan, Venkita Rao, to the south to maintain law and order. 50 An inquiry into the cause of the disturbances was also ordered. Accordingly, the Diwan went with his cutcherry (office) and held his court at Padmanabhapuram. As the affected women feared much, Rev. Ashdon accompanied them for encouragement to the court. 51 The soldiers on sentry duty at the entrance of Padmanabhapuram fort did not allow the women with their upper garments on. So they removed their upper clothes and then went there to narrate their grievances to the Diwan. After getting out of the fort, they again wore their upper clothes. Nairs were waiting there in angry mood to wreak vengeance on the Christians. When Rev. Ashdon came to meet the Diwan, he was graciously accepted. Also he permitted the women who accompanied him to have their clothes 49 C.M.Agur, op.cit., p Ibid. 51 Ibid., p

15 as they wished to wear. 52 After that, Diwan Venkita Rao advised the people to live peacefully. He advised them not to change the age-old customs and assured them to get a new official declaration on the use of upper cloth. Another outbreak of a similar act at Attoor was also avoided because of the effort of Rev. Mead. 53 Captain Sibald discovered a number of weapons in the houses of powerful Nair leaders. 54 An inquiry was ordered to find the cause of the riot. The Diwan held his court at Padmanabhapuram and conducted a regular investigation. It was strange that not even a single non-christian was accused of inciting and causing the riots and confined to prison. But many Christians on false charges were arrested and imprisoned. In the preliminary inquiry, it was understood that the converts had not observed the local customs and conventions. 55 A royal proclamation was issued on the 3 rd February It read like an uncivilized and retrograde proclamation which caused the third upper cloth movement in course of time. The proclamation did not give any concessions to the Christians on the issue of wearing of upper cloth, nor 52 John A. Jacob, op.cit., p C.M. Agur, op.cit., p Ibid. 55 Ibid., p Neetu, Vol.20, No. 123, pp , Proclamation of 3rd February 1829, Central Archives, Trivandrum. 111

16 did it show any other favour to them. 57 Instead it pointed out that the effort to change the age-old customs, attempt to wear upper cloth by the women and refusal to perform uliyam as major mistakes. 58 However, the proclamation directed the affected women to wear kuppayam (loose jacket) as used by the fisherwomen and not the upper cloth in the manner of high caste women. The proclamation exempted Christians from performing uliyam on Sundays. 59 In the preamble of the proclamation it was pointed out that the areas of the Second Upper Cloth Revolt were Kalkulam, Eraniel and Vilavancode Districts. 60 The Nair formed the major community who involved in the revolt. The decree of the court obtained by Rev. Mead in 1822 that gave freedom to the Christians to wear clothes of their choice was expressly cancelled. 61 The proclamation exhorted the Christian converts to deal with the higher castes according to the customs and conventions of the land with humility and obedience. 62 The proclamation also enjoined on all the citizens to obtain prior permission to build 57 John A. Jacob, op.cit., p Ibid. 59 Draft of the proclamation on the dress of women. (K.K.Kusuman, Slavery in Travancore (Trivandrum), 1973, Document A. English, XXVIII, p Joy Gnanadason, A Forgotten History, Madras, 1994, p C.M. Agur, op.cit., p Ibid., p

17 pagodas, churches, chapels, schools or mosques or other places of public worship. 63 Besides, it prevented the converts from making appeal to the local missionaries and directed them to make such appeals to the tribunals and the other government authorities. It also made it clear that the government officials found guilty of disturbing the peace would be punished. 64 However, the tone, tenor and the scope of the proclamation revealed that it was chiefly directed against the liberation and development of the suppressed people. 65 It proved to be a disgrace, and affected the progress of Christianity in Travancore. 66 After thirty years of this proclamation, Governor of Madras province, Sir Charles Trevelyan, warned the ruler of Travancore pointing out that those provisions in the proclamation of 1829 were unsuited to the present age and to an enlightened prince. Following this estimation, some modifications were made to the proclamation. Yet it did not improve matters much. The Christians argued that there was no meaning in asking the women of the lower orders to wear only a coarse cloth and that too horizontally across the breasts. Also the Christians of Travancore were a 63 Ibid. 64 Ibid., p Ibid. 66 P. Shungoony Menon, A History of Travancore, From the Earliest Times, Madras, 1878, pp

18 respectable body. Socially and morally they were in no way inferior to their Hindu neighbours. Again they pointed out that Travancore was under Her Christian Majesty s protection. Under such circumstances, a section of the people were denied the privileges that their brethren enjoyed elsewhere in the British India. 67 Despite the dissatisfactions of the Christians, peace prevailed in the region as a spell of uneasy calm before the storm in the form of the Third Upper Cloth Disturbances. Third Upper Cloth Disturbances ( ) The uneasy calm after the Second Upper Cloth Disturbances appeared a temporary one. During that period, the missionaries like Rev. Mead, Rev. Mault and Rev. Thomson had to struggle hard to get the release of their low caste people imprisoned on false charges. 68 For more than seven years the missionaries struggled hard day and night to get the relief for the affected natives. 69 Finally the slaves were given freedom in June Thus in every respect, there was development in the life of Christians. Hence in course of time, the Christians refused to do uliyam. 67 The Dewan to the Resident, dated Trivandrum, 17 May 1859, Cover File No : 2115, p Ivy Peter, Samya Thondarkalum Samudaya Marumalarchium, (Tamil), Nagercoil, 1999, p Samuel Zechariah, op.cit., p Madras Political Despatch to Court of Directors, 24 th December, 1855, Foreign Dept, No: 22, Foreign, Political Conserns, 14 th August, 1855, No:12, Appendix. IV. 114

19 The Christian Nadar women also started wearing coloured clothes and vests otherwise called ravukais just like the women of Brahmin and other privileged castes. 71 The proclamation of 1829 following the Second Upper Cloth Disturbances proved to be an uncompromising order. Hence the Christian Nadar women started wearing upper cloth like that of the Nair women over and above their loose jacket. The so-called high castes could not digest the low caste people going free and wearing the same type of upper cloth in front of them. 72 When the Nairs tried to prevent them from wearing upper cloth, the next round of the Upper Cloth Disturbances started in This time it spread throughout the southern part of South Travancore. According to the Nairs, the conversion of the lower caste people into Christianity was not a warranted one as it affected the caste dharma. As a result, they intensified the persecution of Christians. They even planned to assassinate the Missionaries. 73 In the meantime the information about the Sepoy Mutiny and its aftermath reached Travancore. 74 The proclamation that the Queen of Great Britain made after the mutiny said 71 Ibid., p Ivy Peter, op.cit., p The Diwan s letter to the Resident, L.M.S (UTC Archives) 74 John A. Jacob, op.cit., p

20 that her government would pay due respect to the ancient rights and customs of India. 75 The high caste Hindus wrongly interpreted the proclamation and claimed that it was an announcement against the preaching of the Gospel. They contended that the missionaries had no right to preach the Gospel. They strongly opposed the Christian Nadar women imitating their women s dress, especially the upper cloth. The Christians on the other hand argued that the Nadar women of Tirunelveli had no restrictions to wear dress above their waist, and so their Travancore sisters must also be allowed to wear clothes above their waist. 76 Unfortunately, the Resident of Travancore, Col. Cullen, as if to support the high castes, declared that there was no need for the preaching of the Gospel to the poor outcastes, and it was unnecessary for their women to wear any cloth above their waist. 77 While the situation remained in this way, a few untoward incidents occurred in some places. A Christian woman was assaulted and her jacket was torn in the public market at Neyyattinkara on 8 th October G.S. Chhabra, Advanced Study in the History of Modern India, Vol. II, ( ), New Delhi, 1984, p John A. Jacob, op.cit., p John A. Jacob, op.cit., p.67. (As Col. Cullen had lived in India for more than 50 years he had developed a mindset of high caste Hindus). 78 Travancore District Committee Report, 1858, p

21 Though a case was filed on this issue, the offender was let off with a small fine and this prompted him to commit many similar crimes. 79 On one Sunday some government officials compelled a few Christian men, who had assembled in a church at Neyyattinkara to attend the Sunday service, to carry some head load. When they refused to do it, one Catechist Arulanandam and a few others were beaten and tortured. 80 As the catechist argued with them, he was tied to a tree and his moustache was pulled out. Another man, Devasahayam, refused to do some labour in a temple without wage, and his tormentors got him, his wife and children imprisoned for his refusal. Due to severe torture in the jail, Devasahayam died in prison. 81 His wife and children were released from jail six days after his death. Similar tortures were carried out against many of the low caste people, especially Nadars. The government and the caste Hindus charged the Missionaries with encouraging the increased use of upper cloth by low caste women. 82 During the last few months of 1858, the atrocities that Nairs perpetrated on Christians went beyond limit. 83 A woman was 79 Ibid. 80 John A. Jacob, op.cit., p Ibid. 82 Missionaries denied this charge. They pointed out both Hindus and Christian Nadars were in the habit of visiting Tirunelveli to take wives and in search of employment where the Nadars as a whole wore upper cloth. 83 John A. Jacob, op.cit., p

22 attacked in one of the markets in Neyyattinkara one day during this period and her blouse was torn. When the incident was reported to the police, the culprit was given a light punishment. The Nairs claimed that the government had issued orders to tear the upper clothes of the Christian women. 84 They turned against Christians in markets, spat and threw sand on them. The same atrocities occurred in other places like Parassala, Neyyoor and Nagercoil. Riots in Parassala, Neyyoor and Nagercoil There were sporadic riots in the areas of Parassala, Neyyoor and Nagercoil Missions during the later days of 1858 and early days of In Parassala District, within a period of twenty days, the marauders set fire to three churches and three schools. In the Neyyoor District many poor people were tortured and their belongings were stolen. On 25 th December 1858 four Christians of Kallenkuzhy in Kalkulam taluk were asked to perform uliyam. On their refusal, they were beaten and imprisoned. They were released after a few days. 85 After two days, the miscreants of the locality set fire to the Kallenkuzhi church. Christian women were molested 84 Ibid. 85 John A. Jacob, op.cit., p

23 and ill-treated throughout the Neyyoor Mission District. 86 The Nadars were attacked at Monday Market on 10 th January 1859 and the chapel at Vadakkankarai was burnt down on the same day. The school building at Gonamkadu was burnt down on 14 th January. In January, many disturbances were reported from Trivandrum Mission District. 87 The violent attacks on the low caste Christians, especially the Christian Nadars, continued for five months. It very much affected the church services on Sundays. 88 Many cases were filed in the local courts and all the Nairs involved in the acts of violence were set free even in the proved cases. But the Nadars were charged with raising money and mobilizing men to attack Nairs. A police force was sent under Peishcar Shangunny Menon to restore peace in the troubled areas. But he failed to accomplish the task. Consequently, the Diwan himself proceeded to the south and deputed the Nair Brigade for the restoration of peace and order and issued a preliminary proclamation. In that he declared that it was wrong to violate ancient usage without authority. 89 The LMS missionaries in South Travancore sent a petition to the Maharaja on 7 th February This letter was sent through the British 86 Report of the Neyyoor Mission District for the year Ibid., pp John A. Jacob., op.cit., p Ibid., p

24 Resident in Trivandrum seeking protection to the Christian converts and immediate suppression of the disturbances. This piece of information appeared as a news item in the Madras Daily Times. Following this, Mr. Pycraft, the then Chief Secretary to the Government of Madras, sought an explanation from the Resident. 90 The reply of the Resident proved ineffective and the whole matter was communicated to Lord Stanley, the then Secretary of State for India, and to the Supreme Government. Lord Stanley ordered a prompt inquiry. On inquiry, it was revealed that justice was not done even in cases of murder. The then Governor of Madras Sir Charles Trevelyan, wrote to the Resident, Col. Cullen, regarding the shameful system that had been followed in South Travancore in the matter of the dress of low caste people. Later he asked the Resident to force the Diwan to change the existing custom with regard to dress. 91 The spirit of the letter was a proposal as well as an order. In his reply dated 17 th May 1859 to the Governor s letter, the Diwan promised to comply with the instruction. He sent his reply through the Resident. After approving the proposal, the Governor insisted on the early release of a proclamation and the implementation of the same. Accordingly, the proclamation was made on 26 th July It stated as follows: we hereby proclaim that there is 90 L.M.S.Report, 1859, p John A. Jacob, op.cit., p

25 no objection to Shanar women either putting on a jacket like the Christian Shanar women or to Shanar women of all creeds dressing in coarse cloth and tying themselves round with it as the Mukkuvathigal do or to their covering their bosom in any manner whatever, but not like women of high castes. 92 By specifying the difference, not like the women of high castes, the authorities safeguarded the prejudices of the upper castes. It is true that mere legislation could not root out the practice of centuries. Hence in many places the old system concerning dress continued to prevail. The proclamation of 1859 was the beginning, and a series of proclamations regarding the dress of women that followed, with regard to Ezhavas and other inferior castes a similar proclamation was issued later in Another order was also issued in In that order it was ordered that no woman servant in the palace need to expose her breasts in the presence of a higher official. 94 Thus the work of the missionaries enhanced the status of the Shanar women considerably. Growth of education played an important role in the progress of women. The Upper Cloth Disturbances weakened the caste system. The tireless work of the missionaries slowly and gradually changed the entire society. 92 L.M.S.Report, 1859, p Cover file no. 286, Slavery : its abolition and amelioration of the condition of the lower classes, , State Archieves, Trivandrum. 94 Samuel Mateer, op.cit., p

26 The Pulaya Movement The lowest section in the society of South Travancore was the Pulayas, who were considered as the slave caste. Mainly the Pulayas and the Parayas of South Travancore constituted this group. The term Pulaya is derived from pula which means ceremonial pollution, 95 taint or defilement. The Pulayas, though they became one of the most degraded castes, are proud of their glorious past. 96 It is believed that they were the earliest inhabitants of South India. About the Pulayas, Caldwell is even of the opinion that they were the earliest race of inhabitants in Travancore. 97 It is also believed that at one time the Pulayas had a king of their own who resided in a fort not far off from Trivandrum. The place is even now called Pulayanar Kotta, which means the Fort of the Pulayas. 98 Whatever the glory of their past and their ancestry might be during the early part of the 19 th century, they were slaves of the higher castes and 95 Ibid., p K.K.Kusuman, op.cit., p Quarted in J.W. Gladstone, Protestant Christianity and People Movement in Kerala , p Samuel Mateer, op.cit., p.35 and Edward Thurston, Castes and Tribes of Southern India, Vol. II, p

27 were bought and sold like cattle and not valued much higher. 99 The people of the slave castes were obliged to give the road to and to keep at a specific distance free man, more especially persons of high caste, in order to avoid pollution of the latter The masters also used to punish the slaves very brutally. The social system that existed there provided no opportunity for the emancipation of slaves. If a man was born into this caste, he was destined to live and die as a slave. If the owner of slaves happens to die without heirs, the slaves would become government slaves. 101 There were many sub-divisions among this caste, as in the case of most of castes in South Travancore. One of the sub-divisions is called Ina pulans. They consider themselves superior to the others, whom they called Veda or northern Pulayas. There was also another division called Tandu Pulayas, who used to wear grass and Kana Pulayas, who used to wear better and more artistically made aprons or jewels. 102 The two major divisions of this caste were the eastern and western Pulayas the former 99 Charles Mead, The Condition of Slaves in Travancore & Cochin, p Ibid. 101 J.W Gladstone, op.cit., p Samuel Mateer, op.cit., p

28 were found mainly in North Travancore and the other in southern Pulayas were more degraded than the western Pulayas. 103 The houses of the Pulayas were miserable huts formed of sticks cut out of the woods, with walls of reed or mud and thatched with grass or coconut-leaf, situated by the side of the rice swamps, or on mounds in their centre, to be out of the way of polluting respectable people. They had no admission to the markets and they had to stand apart at some distance and make purchases or sales as well as they could. 104 The Pulayas were not permitted to wear gold or silver ornaments. Their dress and habits were extremely filthy as no one is willing to wash for them, and they have no washerman of their own like other castes. 105 The work of the Pulayas was almost exclusively in the rice fields pumping them dry, making up embankments, hedging, diggings, manuring, ploughing, weeding, transplanting and reaping, yet the grain was not considered as polluted. 106 For their labour, they were paid at the 103 Ibid., p Ibid., p Ibid. 106 Ibid. 124

29 lowest possible rate that they could subsist on and they were usually paid in kind. 107 Edgar Thurston says, Receiving his daily pittance of paddy, the Cheruman enters his hut, and reserves A portion of it for the purchase of salt, Chillies, toddy, tobacco, and dried fish The other portion is reserved for food. The cheruman spends the greater part Of his wages on toddy. 108 Concerning the religion of the Pulayas, L.A. Krishna Iyer thinks, the Pulayas are animists, but are slowly coming on to the higher forms of worship. Their gods are Parakutty, Karinkutty, Chathan and the sprits of their ancestors 109 To these gods, they used to make offerings on certain specific festivals every year. For their worship, images were not used in the south, while small ones of a few inches in height and made of brass were quite common in northern parts of Travancore. 110 They were also worshippers of Goddess Bhagavathi, whose deity was represented by an image or a stone on a raised piece of ground in the open air. Their priests 107 The Pulayas in Travancore, CMI, April 1883, p E. Thurston, op.cit., Vol. II, p L.A. Krishna Iyer, op.cit., p Samuel Mateer, op.cit., p

30 came from among their own ranks. On New Year Day, they used to offer the fowls, fruits and toddy. 111 There were no temples built by or belonging to them. Temporary places of worship were formed by trees planted in a square, one at each corner. Very rarely in some temples, when there were festivals they were allowed to use the roads to reach the temples (granted a nearer approach) but on the whole, they were not even allowed to approach the roads leading to the temples at such times. 112 It is obvious that the social system made the Pulayas continued to be suppressed in the society for several years. Freedom was beyond their reach. With the services of LMS missionaries, the Pulayas became free. Slavery was abolished in 1855 through the services of the efforts of LMS missionaries. The Hill Arrians Another group of people who got the benefits of the social change were the Hill Arrians. 113 They were at home mainly in the mountains of the south-eastern part of South Travancore. The eastern boundary of Travancore is composed of a succession of high chains of ghats with bluff 111 E. Thurstan, op.cit., Vol. II, p Samuel Mateer, op.cit., p In the Census Reports and many other documents the name of this tribe has been written as Mala Arayan. Mala means hill. But they prefer to be called Mala Arrian or Hill Arrian. 126

31 ridges and conical peaks. It is on the sides of these high chains of mountain ridges that these people have their abodes. Unlike many other hill tribes, they had fixed villages. About their villages Henry Baker, the pioneer missionary to these people says : Their villages are often lovely spots, generally in the ravine not accessible to elephants, near to some gushing rivulet falling over rocks, and surrounded by gigantic trees and palms, rarely at a less elevation than 2000 or 3000 feet above the sea. 114 The Travancore Census Report of 1901 gives a fair description of them. It says, they are a class of hill tribes who are little more civilized than the Mannans, and have fixed abodes on the slpes of high mountain ranges. They are superior in appearance to most other hill tribes, but are generally short in status. 115 Many of them owned the land which they cultivated. 116 Though far away from the plains, even their abodes and the entire mountain region were supposed to be the property of the Brahmins who lived in the plains. They had to give certain amount of money to the Brahmins every year and a few of them used to go to work in the farms belonging to the landlords 114 Henry Baker, The Hill Arrians of Travancore, London, 1862, p Travancore Census Report, 1901, Part I, p Ibid. 127

32 living in the plains. 117 But on the whole they kept well within their hill places and seldom were they seen in the plains. Though they were known for their honesty and their lives secluded from the rest of the people. They were encountered by many enemies who did not hesitate to harm them for their gain. They were exacted by the officers and subordinates of the local Raja on false pretences. 118 They were severely oppressed by government officials who exacted free labour from them particularly for carrying products from hills to the plains. 119 Very often they were unjustly taxed both by the Travancore as well as by the Punncat Raja s officials. 120 Though they had no connection with the religious practices of the people living in the plains, the Nairs forced them to offer fowls, rice etc. at the annual festivals. 121 They were also exploited by the Syrian Christian and Muslim traders who went to their places to collect many articles from the jungle for export and trade Henry Baker, Report for the year 1854, The Church Missionary Record, 1855, p.253. E. Thurston says they seldom work for hire, or carry load. (E. Thurston, op.cit., Vol. IV. P. 388). Henry Baker must be correct, for he worked among the Hill Arrians. 118 W. J. Richard, A Visit to the Hill Arrians, CMI, August, 1879, p S. Mateer, Native Life in Travancore, p Minutes of a Meeting of Conference (CMS) held at the CNI Bunglow, Cottayam, January 30, 1889, CMSV. 121 A. F. Painter, op.cit., p W.J. Richards, A Visit to be Hill Arrians, CMI, August 1879, p. 485; A.F. Painter The story of the Mission to Hill Arrians, CMI, 1898, pp. 771ff. 128

33 Apart from the money which they had to pay to the Brahmins, each head man has to furnish a certain quantity of honey for the Rajah s birthday, dig a few elephant pits, and help, with bark ropes, to conduct the animals, when entrapped, into the taming cages. 123 They were a people open for the exploitation by many other groups, having no protectors to save them. For the next three years there was a fall in the number of Christian congregations and its contributions. 124 The missionaries put the entire blame for this recession on the Indian ministers and on other Indian workers of the mission. In 1872 the missionaries explained to their Directors in England that the Indian ministers do next to nothing among the heathen.in short a tendency to take things easy very easy. 125 The sudden halt of the mass movement had deeper reasons than the missionaries could see at that time. The government became more conscious about the rights of the lower caste people and issued some legislation during the 1860s. In fact, the proclamation regarding the question of dress after the upper cloth revolts provided legal sanction to 123 Hentry Baker, op.cit., p Duthie to Mullens, Letter, MS, dated February 20, 1872, TR-IL, Box 8, F2, JA, CWMA. 125 Ibid. 129

34 cover the upper part of the body not only for the Nadar Christian women, but also for Hindu Nadars. The government made a law in 1042 ME ( ) with regard to the Registration of Deeds. 126 By this enactment the lower caste people received sanction to own land legally. In the same year the government also prohibited the eviction of tenants by the landlords as long as they (tenants) pay the stipulated rent and other customary duties. 127 So by 1867 a stage was reached when the struggle of the Nadars for their rise in social life could be continued even without joining the new socio-religious order under the leadership of the missionaries. Moreover the threat of violent opposition from the higher castes was also reduced in the minds of the people. The religious motivation for conversion was neutralized by another factor. The missionaries began to pay more attention to the conversion of the Pulayas and the Parayas. The conversion of the 126 New Enactments, Report on the Administration of Travancore for the year, ME 1042 ( ), p Ibid., p. 34; This legislation was an extension of the Tenancy Legislation, Act X of 1859 for British India (Cf. G.H. Keene, History of India from the earliest times to the end of nineteenth Century, Vol. II, Edinburgh, *1893), 1906, p.242. The initiative for this legislation in Travancore and Cochin was also from the British Authorities. The reason for this was that in Travancore and Cochin the price of land had been increasing. This made many landlords evict their tenants. To save the tenants from such evictions, the British authorities forced Travancore and Cochin to pass the said legislation. 130

35 Pulayas and the Parayas was not welcomed by many of the Nadar Christians. 128 By about the same time, the Christian intelligentsia began to be critical about the domination of the missionaries. 129 All these factors contributed to the fall in the momentum of the mass movement among the Nadars. After this period there were reports about many conversions to Christianity from the Nadar caste. But never did they take the form of mass movements. However, by this time the Nadar Christians had consolidated themselves fairly well. In many of the congregations they paid their pastors and evangelists or at least met a major part of such expenses. 130 Thus the LMS missionaries prepared the local Christians to a certain extent to shoulder their own responsibilities. 128 S. Matter to Duthie (Secretary TDC) Letter, MS (copy) dated August 20, 1867, TR-IL, Box. 7, J B, CWMA. 129 Joy Gnanadhasan, op.cit., pp. 66ff. 130 J.E. Jones to J.O. Whitehouse, Letter, MS, dated November 2, 1874, TR-IL, Box 8, F3, JC, CWMA. 131