Channar revolt: Kerala
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A brief history
The Hindu, April 8, 2016
Sartorial assertions for change
G.S. Jayasree
Channar Revolt revolves around the violation of sartorial norms imposed by caste practices.
Both these agitations were assertions of social aspirations, in which the clothes and ornaments of women were pivotal in subverting the structures of identity and social order.
The Channar Revolt or the Upper Cloth Movement that took place in 19th century Travancore posed an audacious challenge to social hierarchies based on caste. In the Channar Revolt, women of the Nadar or Channar caste, who were converted to Christianity, started wearing the upper-cloth in the fashion commonly adopted by the Hindu Nair women. In Kerala, till the late 19th century, women belonging to lower castes were not allowed to cover their breasts. When the lower caste Channar women started wearing the upper-cloth, they were attacked for two reasons: firstly, for covering their breasts and secondly, for emulating the styles of attire used by privileged upper caste Nair women.
The agency of Channar women, who were instrumental in bringing about a significant social change, is grievously underestimated in all these accounts.
