REFORM, RESISTANCE, AND RENAISSANCE: THE CHANNAR MOVEMENT OF KERALA

Christian missionaries arrived in Kerala in the early part of the nineteenth century and succeeded in converting many to Christianity. The converted Channar women agitated for their rights and the agitation developed into a movement which is generally known as Channar Lahala. During that period Channar women were not allowed to wear cloths above the loins. Chanars or Shannars were an important community of South Travancore. The local society caste rules regulated the dress of the people according to the caste to which they belonged. In many parts of Southern India women of the privileged castes used to wear a light piece of cloth across the breast and over one shoulder called the ‘upper-cloth’. In an unprivileged caste if women covered her bosom it was considered an insult to the people of privileged castes. The pathetic plight of Kerala women then had been written by many. Hindu and Christian Channar women soon united in demanding the right to wear upper clothing, distinct from those worn by higher caste women. Despite submitting multiple memoranda to the Travancore government and later appealing to the Madras Presidency Government, they faced repeated rejections, highlighting the challenges they encountered in their quest for social equality and recognition. Three pivotal riots in 1822, 1829, and 1858-59 in Kerala were sparked by the denial of clothing rights to lower castes. Leaders like Putathankutty Channan, Ishakki Channatti, Yesudian of Kallivillai and Aromanayagum alongside mistreated women, spearheaded a courageous fight for equality.