Upper Cloth Agitation

 

1. Dark Ages


     Kerala society had a long dark phase, which the present historians and leaders tend to forget for their convenience.  Those were the days when the foundations of our society were based on the Varna system; the Brahmanas controlled the society, the Kshatriyas held the political power, the Vaisyas or the middle class and the sudras tiled hard to feed the upper classes. The vast majority of people had no right to wear decent cloth or move about the thoroughfare. Any move to protect the basic human rights was portrayed as treason or radicalism. 


    In those days, slavery was common in the village society. Human beings were sold as though they were cattle or land. Even their shadow was considered to be impure, as it is described in the great poet Kumaran Asan’s “Chandala Bhishuki”. Hence, these people were kept away from the common society as “un-touchables”. They had no right even to worship in public places ear-marked for this.  But, it may be baffling to know that the so-called “upper caste” people, who pretended themselves to be the guardians of Kerala’s eternal moral values lived in a condition of immorality which anybody should be ashamed of. Polygamy (multiple wives), polyandry (multiple husbands), lose families where the father of the children had no right over them, etc., were the corner-stones of the order they preserved. Naturally, they thought it to be correct, when they denied the right for wearing upper-cloth to the women of lower castes.



2.  LMS Missionaries

 

    In a society baffled by the injustices, as mentioned earlier, it was natural for the common people to accept the light of Gospel, as it offered them emancipation. The protestant missionary activities in southern Travancore were mainly led by the “London Missionary Society”(LMS), which led tens of thousands of people to the miraculous light of Christ. Rigletaube, the first LMS missionary of Travancore, landed on this soil on 25th April, 1806. He was invited by Maharasan a native of Aralvaimiozhi, who was later known as Vedamanickam. God’s love, as introduced to the native people by Rigletaube, was accepted with eagerness everywhere he went. Such was the acceptance to Gospel accorded by the people that within 10 years, 7 churches were established in Travancore, mainly in present day Kanyakumari district of Tamil Nadu. 


    The headquarters of LMS was shifted from Aralvaimozhi to Nagercoil. The missionaries wished to shift it to Trivandrum, the capital of then Travancore. But their repeated requests for permission to begin a centre in Trivandrum were rejected by the king.



3.     John Munore


    Velu Thampi, the honest Dalawa or Dewan (Prime Minister) of Travancore was betrayed to the English East India Company, by the King of Travancore. Ummini, who succeeded him, was corrupt and dishonest. Hence, he was removed from the post.  John Munroe, the Company’s representative to the Travancore palace, was appointed the Dewan by the Regent Queen (Rani Gauri Bhai). Munroe’s efficiency and honest won the confidence of the Queen. He even undertook to clen the temple administration of corruption. 


    A man enlightened by the liberal attitude and a friend of missionaries, John Munroe issued an order in 1813 granting liberty to wear upper cloth by the Nadar women who accepted Christianity. Prior to this, only the women belonging to Namboothiri caste and some Nair families wore an upper cloth (uthariyam) when they occasionally ventured out of their homes. No other Hindu woman wore upper –clothes, as this was considered to be against sasthras. It may be interesting to know that men and women belonging to the Syrian Christian and Muslim communities of Kerala used to wear upper cloth, even from the very beginning of their separate history. Thus, the order issued by Munroe specifically mentioned that the Nadar women converted to Christainity would have right to wear upper cloth, as it is the practice of Christianity. 


    The order issued by John Munroe was an epoch-making event because it was the first measure in modern Indian history aimed at social reform.  William Bentick, the Governor General prohibited Sati only after 15 years.  Vaikunta Swami, who is often erroneously referred to as the leader of the Upper Cloth Agitation, was only four years old in 1813, when John Munroe permitted the Nadar women to wear upper cloth.



4.  Reactions


    The upper caste people, who posed themselves as the protectors of the social order, rose in revolt against the Dewan’s action. The people belonging to this community were attacked everywhere. The Nadars, who were well-trained in “kalari”, the traditional martial art of Kerala, organised themselves to resist the attack on their new found freedom. The whole of southern Travancore witnessed a law and order problem. As a result, Rani Gauri Parvathi Bhai, the Regent of Travancore, issued an order in 1818, which said if any “Channar” women wore upper cloth, her bosoms would be chopped off.  Channar was a term used to denote the backward caste people, especially the Ezhavas and the Nadars. In her order, the Regent described the behaviour of Nadar women as ‘disobedience’ or ‘akramam’. It may be most astonishing to know that this order was issued by a woman ruler. 


    The Christians of southern Travancore were resolved to continue their fight to live as human beings. In this, they were amply supported by the LMS missionaries. The people disregarded the Regent’s order and the women continued to wear upper cloth. Again, the missionaries approached the Dewan and presented a memorandum. The missionary named Charles Mead obtained another order from John Munroe in 1922, granting permission to Nadar women to cover their bosom.



5.  Fight for Justice

 

    This second order from Munroe did not solve the problems. Instead, the upper caste Hindus gathered all their might to protect the existing social order. It again resulted in social unrest and tensions. Many people belonging to the Nadar community were imprisoned. CSI Amaravila was set on fire many times during the period 1813-1859, when the Upper Cloth Agitation was going on. The upper caste people tortured those belonging to this community in as many ways as they could. They exercised their influence on the Regent. Once John Munroe went back to England, the Regent Rani Gauri Parvathi Bhai issued a second order prohibiting the Nadar women from wearing upper cloth (1829). 

    However, the Nadar community was not in a mood to obey the royal order. They continued to wear upper cloth. Hence the social tensions and oppressions continued. In the 1830s, Swathi Thirunal reigned over reigned over Travancore. He maintained a friendly relationship with the Christian missionaries because he wanted to provide western education to the royal family members. With the help of the missionaries, he founded the Maharaja’s school, which later became the University College, Trivandrum. English education was officially permitted in 1835. Utilising this opportunity, the missionaries obtained royal permission to shift the LMS headquarters from Nagercoil to Trivandrum. Kannammoola, which was a barren land, was given to the missionaries. Rev. John Cox worked hard to build up a mission centre here. 


    Nevertheless, Swathi Thirunal maintained a conservative outlook on social issues. He held the view that it was improper for the Nadar women to wear decent cloth. The agitation against the Regent’s order of 1829 continued throughout his regime. He was not ready to heed to their demand. Vaikunta Swami (Aiyya Vaikuntar), Hindu spiritual leader of Nadar community, provided ideological support to the agitation during his regime, which was going on under the LMS missionaries. Undoubtedly, his ideas were radical and ahead of his time. He can be rightfully called the first social reformer of South India.  But it would not be correct to call him the leader of the Upper Cloth Agitation. It may be noted that the Agitation began when he was an infant, and continued even after his death in 1851. Also, the agitation was only for the freedom of those women who were converted to Christianity, and not for the entire women of the community. (Finally, when the agitation ended in a success, the order by the Travancore Queen permitted only the Nadar Christian women to wear decent cloth, as befitting to the customs of their new faith). 



6.  Towards Light

 

    Despite the royal order prohibiting upper cloth, the Nadar women continued to wear decent cloth. Naturally, it resulted in resentment from the upper caste people. It culminated in 1856, when some Nair landlords cut off with sword the “rowka” ( a primitive type of blouse) worn by a Christian woman and hung it on the branch of a banyan tree in Thirupuram near Neyyattinkara. The lady was going to the church to attend the Sunday mass. The same day, the Christians in the nearby areas organised themselves and attacked in retaliation, the houses of the landlords involved in the morning’s violence. This was the beginning of a storm; agitation of an un-precedented level.  


    Thus far, the rulers of Travancore had looked upon the agitation only as a law and order problem, and considered the action of Nadar women wearing upper cloth as a disobedience of social custom and “adharma”. Gradually, it became evident to them that they cannot prevent the winds of enlightenment that has happened amongst the backward class and depressed class people. Further, John Trevelyan, the Governor of Madras, wrote to the Travancore Regent that the Nadars should be granted their rights or otherwise, he would interfere in the agitation. As a result,  Rani Gauri Lakshmi Bhai, the Regent of Travancore issued an order in 1859, permitting the Nadar Christian women to wear upper cloth, as it was the custom of the Syrian Christians. Gradually, Christian women belonging to other backward and Dalit castes also started to wear “rowka”. 


    However, the vast majority of Hindus were still denied the right to wear decent cloth. It happened only with the mass social reformation by the end of the 19th century.