Mulakkaram, literally translated as breast tax, was a poll tax imposed on women belonging to Nadar, Ezhava and other lower caste communities by the erstwhile Kingdom of Tranvancore (in present-day Kerala state of India), and was not applicable to upper caste women of Travancore.
[note 3][note 4] The "breast tax" (mulakkaram or mula-karam in Malayalam) was a head tax imposed on the Nadars, Ezhavars and lower caste communities by the Kingdom of Tranvancore (in present-day Kerala state of India).
"[web 5][3][9] According to the legend, she cut off her breasts and presented them to the tax collector in a plantain leaf, then died of blood loss.
Victorian standards of morality penetrated into the society decades later under British colonial influence, which led to subsequent class-struggles for the right to wear upper-body clothing.
[web 7] He believes Nangeli to have protested against an oppressive tax regime that was imposed upon all lower castes, which got appropriated with the passage of time, in pursuit of a different patriarchal fight for the preservation of female dignity.