User talk:Joshua Jonathan/Breast tax

Sources

Text:

The breast tax (mulakkaram or mula-karam in Malayalam) was a tax imposed until 1924 on the lower caste and untouchable Hindu women by the Kingdom of Tranvancore (in present-day Kerala state of India) if they wanted to cover their breasts in public.

Sources:

Konikkara, Aathira (2019-01-03). "Kerala's Women's Wall goes beyond the Sabarimala temple controversy". The Caravan. Retrieved 2021-10-15., quote It underscored the reformist character of the state’s history, with the mention of the Melmundu Samaram, a revolt by women of Scheduled Castes in the erstwhile kingdom of Travancore, where the mulakkaram, or breast tax, was imposed on women of backward castes who covered their breasts. - not [[WP:RS] for the dubious statement of covering the breasts. Removed.
"The CBSE Just Removed an Entire History of Women's Caste Struggle". The Wire. Retrieved 2019-11-13.
"The woman who cut off her breasts to protest a tax". BBC News. 2016-07-28. Retrieved 2019-11-13. - refers to a village story, that is, folkore.
"Nine weird taxes from around the world – Really absurd". The Economic Times. Retrieved 2019-11-13. - trivia, not WP:RS for this statement. Removed.
Allen, Charles (7 August 2018). "WHO OWNS INDIA'S HISTORY? A CRITIQUE OF SHASHI THAROOR'S". Asian Affairs. 49 (3): 355–369. doi:10.1080/03068374.2018.1487685. By the start of the 19th century the ordinary people of Travancore were being required to pay as many as 100 petty taxes, ranging from head tax, hut tax, marriage tax and taxes on the tools of one's trade to taxes on the family cow, goat or dog, wearing jewellery, staging festivals, growing moustaches, and above all what became known as the breast tax, mulakkaram, by which the women of lower social groups had to expose their breasts or pay a tax. The Brahmins, naturally, paid no tax at all. - dubious. Charles Allen is a popular history writer; his statements on the breast tax post-date the BBC-publication; no references.
Nair, Adoor K. K. Ramachandran (1986). Slavery in Kerala. Mittal Publications. p. 45. The Pooja Raja in Travancore made the Malarayans pay money at the rate of one anna, two pies (8 pies) a head monthly as soon as they were able to work, and a similar sum of presence money besides certain quotas of fruits and vegetables and feudal service....The head money was called Thalakaram in the case of males and Mulakaram (breast money) in the case of females. - this makes sense.

Joshua Jonathan -Let's talk! 04:36, 24 October 2021 (UTC)[reply]

The Wire is just a news source and there is consensus that it should not be used or used with attribution for controversial subjects per Wikipedia:Reliable sources/Noticeboard/Archive 248#The Wire. But we are better off without using it.

Adoor K. K. Ramachandran was not a scholar but a state editor dedicated to government publication. While it is correct that "The head money was called Thalakaram in the case of males and Mulakaram (breast money) in the case of females." It seems that the source is referring to the misnomer which is prone to misrepresentation. It can't be used to match with the misrepresentation going on since 2016, as discussed on Talk:Breast tax.

Other sources like Hardgrave, Cohn, make no mention of a "Breast tax".

The draft as it currently reads should be better titled as Taxing under Travancore kingdom. It can be expanded with sources like Converting Women: Gender and Protestant Christianity in Colonial South India which has been already mentioned. And also this old book which mentions "Narayanan was a talaikkanam , a profession tax on those engaged in the toddy trade , though the word literally means " head tax " and might have been a poll tax."

A separate section can be dedicated to the so called "breast tax". The sections about Nangeli and Channar revolt which was not about tax should be removed.

How does that sound? Wareon (talk) 05:57, 27 October 2021 (UTC)[reply]

No, breast tax is highly noteworthy to deserve its very own page.103.13.229.228 (talk) 09:42, 27 October 2021 (UTC)[reply]

Noteworthy on the expense of Nangeli. It's a hoax that does not deserve undue weight. We also have no article for Finland does not exist.[1] Noting that you are already familiar with entire argument, you should read WP:STICK. Azuredivay (talk) 10:56, 27 October 2021 (UTC)[reply]

This deserves an individual article. More soon. TrangaBellam (talk) 19:19, 27 October 2021 (UTC)[reply]

Expansion

@Joshua Jonathan: Without removing any content I have just made some expansion to the article and will expand further probably tomorrow. Let me know if you agree with my proposal. Wareon (talk) 11:17, 27 October 2021 (UTC)[reply]

No, not at all: undue and off-topic. My only intent was to resolve this issue about what exactly this 'breast-tax' was, not to expand it. And I don't mind merging it into Nangeli either. But let us be clear that the 'breast-tax' was not a tax on covering the breasts; that's just modern folklore. Joshua Jonathan -Let's talk! 11:33, 27 October 2021 (UTC)[reply]

Yes merging a summary of the 'tax' to Nangli is certainly better. Wareon (talk) 01:40, 28 October 2021 (UTC)[reply]

"Draft:Joshua Jonathan/Breast tax" listed at Redirects for discussion

A discussion is taking place to address the redirect Draft:Joshua Jonathan/Breast tax. The discussion will occur at Wikipedia:Redirects for discussion/Log/2021 October 27#Draft:Joshua Jonathan/Breast tax until a consensus is reached, and anyone, including you, is welcome to contribute to the discussion. Stefan2 (talk) 15:09, 27 October 2021 (UTC)[reply]