Offbeat: Dalit women had to pay tax for covering their breasts, this is India's black law, knowing which will blow your mind

Before Independence, India had many laws that targeted marginalised communities. Among them, the most humiliating was the “Breast Tax” (Mulakkaram) implemented in the Travancore region of Kerala. Under this cruel tax, Dalit women had to pay tax to cover the upper part of their body i.e. breasts. Failure to comply was met with severe punishment.

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Under this law, lower caste women were required to bare their breasts in public in front of higher caste men or officials. If they wished to cover their bodies, they had to pay a tax based on the size of their breasts, which added to their humiliation. This custom, enforced by the rulers of Travancore with the support of their advisors, was strictly enforced.

Women who opposed this had to face severe consequences which will send chills down your spine. A Dalit woman named Nangeli opposed this atrocity and was killed. Let us tell you, the cruelty of breast cutting shook the entire society. Her sacrifice became a symbol of resistance, sparking widespread outrage and uniting oppressed communities against this inhumane system.

Diwan German Das in his book 'Maharani' mentions that during the reign of Travancore, women of a particular community in Kerala had to follow strict rules regarding their clothing. These rules were so strict that one's caste could be guessed by looking at one's clothes. For more than 125 years, this practice continued despite increasing opposition and intervention by British officials.

British Governor Charles Trevelyan again ordered the abolition of this practice in 1859. In such a situation, Nadar women protested by dressing like the upper class. Finally in 1865, everyone got the freedom to wear upper garments.