Related Papers
Absence in Presence: Dalit Women’s Agency, Channar Lahala, and Kerala Renaissance
2021 •
Manosh Manoharan
In the patriarchal milieu of Kerala, the woman’s world is overshadowed by male suppression and cowed silence; the Dalit woman, however, seems to never take it lying down. As is evident from the Channar revolt of the 19th century, Dalit women have never been silent victims in history. This is in stark contrast to the upper-caste women who tend to succumb to caste patriarchy in silence. Drawing on the Channar or Shannar women’s historic revolt for the right to cover their breasts, this paper engages with the question of Dalit women's agency in the social reform movements during the period of the Kerala renaissance. Dalit women have been essentialized into silence in Dalit and ‘Dalitist’ writings. The writings of gendered Dalits characterize the emergence of Dalit women’s voices in literary discourses. This paper seeks to demonstrate that the newly emergent Dalit feminism in Kerala has an unrecorded and unrecognized tradition of its own in the early caste struggles such as the Chan...
Absence in Presence: Dalit Women’s Agency, Channar Lahala, and Absence in Presence: Dalit Women’s Agency, Channar Lahala, and Kerala Renaissance Kerala Renaissance Absence in Presence: Dalit Women’s Agency, Channar Lahala , and Kerala Renaissance
2021 •
MANOSH MANOHARAN
In the patriarchal milieu of Kerala, the woman’s world is overshadowed by male suppression and cowed silence; the Dalit woman, however, seems to never take it lying down. As is evident from the Channar revolt of the 19 th century, Dalit women have never been silent victims in history. This is in stark contrast to the upper-caste women who tend to succumb to caste patriarchy in silence. Drawing on the Channar or Shannar women’s historic revolt for the right to cover their breasts, this paper engages with the question of Dalit women's agency in the social reform movements during the period of the Kerala renaissance. Dalit women have been essentialized into silence in Dalit and ‘Dalitist’ writings. The writings of gendered Dalits characterize the emergence of Dalit women’s voices in literary discourses. This paper seeks to demonstrate that the newly emergent Dalit feminism in Kerala has an unrecorded and unrecognized tradition of its own in the early caste struggles such as the Cha...
SHODH SARITA
The Breast Cloth Struggle In Kerala : Missionaries, Community and Women
2018 •
Sreebitha P V
th In the available discourse on dress reform in the 19 Century Kerala, the caste question and conversion is subsumed into other questions regarding women's agency, sexualisation of women's body and women as desiring subjects. An attempt is made here to critically analyse the historian's role in subsuming the lower caste women's resistance, anti-caste movement and the question of conversion into other discourses. The paper argues that "breast cloth" struggle can be considered as a site of enquiry to understand how the question of women and community is inseparable for subaltern communities. The paper is divided into two sections. Beginning with an examination of missionaries' role in the breast cloth struggle asMissionaries were active among the Nadars/Shanars of Tamil Nadu and the Shanars association with them facilitated the community's upward mobility, the paper looks at the oral historical narrative to recount lower caste women's agency in the breast cloth struggle. In the available discourse on dress reform in Kerala, the caste question and conversion is subsumed into other questions regarding sexualisation of women's body and women as desiring subjects etc. An attempt is made here to critically analyse the historian's role in subsuming the lower caste women's resistance, anti-caste movement and the question of conversion into other discourses. The paper argues that "breast cloth" struggle can be considered as a site of enquiry to understand how the question of women and community is inseparable for subaltern communities. The paper is divided into two sections. While the As noted by Rowena Robinson, throughout the nineteenth century, Nadars were engaged in a struggle for social mobility; appropriation of the appellation Nadar in place of Shanar and their attempt to prove that they were of Kshatriya lineage were part of these efforts. Conversion was, for some of the Nadars, part of the attempt to attain upward social mobility. Caste rules prohibited Nadar women from covering the upper part and lower part (below the knee) of the bodies and the breast cloth movement ensured their right to cover their bodies. first section examines missionaries' role in the breast cloth struggle asMissionaries were active among the Nadars/Shanars of Tamil Nadu and the Shanars association with them facilitated the community's upward mobility, the second section looks at the oral historical narrative to recount lower caste women's agency in the breast cloth struggle. Conversion and Mobility of Lower Castes : Breast Cloth Controversy Scholars like Hardgrave, Rowena Robinson and Abhimanyu have clearly mapped the historical significance and the Christian missionaries' contribution to the upward mobility of Shanar/Nadar community. They have considered breast cloth struggle as the major site of enquiry to understand the complex working of c o n v e r s i o n a n d m o b i l i t y o f t h e l o w e r castes/communities. According to Hardgrave, Nadars's move from caste to community for upward mobility with a high degree of self-consciousness was facilitated by the "breast-cloth controversy". Uncovering breast was considered as a sign of respect at the same time the
Zeichen
Socio-Spatial Relations and Hierarchization in Kerala: Revisiting the Histories
2022 •
Sanya A. S
A social identity is shaped/reproduced/reinforced/restricted by the interwoven threads of gender, caste, religion, socioeconomic status, belief systems, existing socio-cultural norms, and age among many others. All these social categories manifest themselves in space, both bodily and social spaces. This paper explores the socio-spatial relations and hierarchization processes related to casteism in the context of colonial Kerala and the specificities of the socio-religious movements of the period.
Economic and Political Weekly
Reimagining History: The Politics of Representation in Nangeli's Tale
2024 •
Dr. V.K. Karthika
Sphoorthi Theatre
Bare Upper body as a Rule for Women in Kerala20190504 122929 uodne0
2012 •
Padmini Rangarajan
The present paper is an outcome of attending a National Seminar at P.S.Telugu University in 2012. The seminar focused on “Literature and Dalit culture”. One of the session themes was “Women and Culture”. One paper presenters Smt MariaKutty Joseph who can be contacted through email id- joseph.mariakutty@yahoo.com presented a paper on prevalent of “Bare Upper body rule in Kerala for women for centuries”. This paper made to do some basic research on the same. Kerala –God’s own land has been very distinct in its culture, language, food and art forms. One could wonder or even get to see the rural women clad in two piece attire. This social evil prevented womenfolk of Travancore to keep their upper bodies completely bare of clothing. It was a struggle that lasted for many centuries, especially a century and a half, and finally abolished after the English passed a law, and eventually paved the way for a more intelligent and modern state of Kerala
REVISITING THE MISSIONARIES IN THE WAKE OF NEW HISTOROIGRAPHIES: A BRIEF STUDY OF SOCIAL TRANSFORMATION IN CENTRAL TRAVANCORE (1800-1900
eappen varghese
it deals with western mission and the emergence of social space in nineteenth century Kerala
Religions
Religions, Women and Discourse of Modernity in Colonial South India
2022 •
Christhu doss
Shanlax International Journal of English
Body as Revolt: The Myth of Nangeli, the Woman who Covered her Breast
Kishore Ram
The paper deals with the myth of Nangeli, a Dalit woman who stood against the improper tax structures that prevailed in the Kingdom of Travancore in Kerala. The paper also talks about the question of gender equality and the way women claim for equal opportunity with men by going topfree. The paper discusses the portrayal of the Nangelimyth in various art forms like paintings, fiction, film and graphic novels.
Maazinama, Volume 1
Resistance of Bengal School of Art and Introduction of non- academic western art in India: movements and instances of resistance
2022 •
Bhavya Srivastava
