Abstract
Travancore was the then princely state, which existed in South India and its Reeling House was perhaps the oldest in India. It was seated in the extreme south-west portion of the Indian Peninsula. Trivandrum is the Capital of Travancore situated in the South Travancore. It was the seat of the ruling family. Here are the native government, and the chief courts and offices. In 1956, Indian States were reorganized, the South Travancore divided into four taluks namely Vilavancode, Kalkulam, Thovalai and Agastheeswaram formed Kanyakumari District and were integrated with the state of Madras which later becomes Tamil Nadu. The socio-economic mosaic of Travancore in the 18th and 19th centuries was one of the extreme contrasts existing side by side power –bondage, notion of purity and pollution, over-lordship and subservience, landedness and landlessness, prosperity and poverty, knowledge and ignorance, the power of women and the degradation of women immunities and slavery. The emancipation of females of South Travancore was the fruit of the timely and tireless efforts undertaken by the Christian Missionaries, especially the London Missionary Society. The educational endeavours of the Missionaries exploited the myth that only the higher castes were destined to learn. It also laid strong foundation for the cultural renaissance, which had been taking place in the society. Because of the educational reforms made by L.M.S. the females wanted to ascertain their social rights. The female section of the inferior caste, who were house ridden for centuries and social mute boldly came forward along with their men to voice for common social rights.
Travancore was the then princely state, which existed in South India and its Reeling House was perhaps the oldest in India. It was seated in the extreme south-west portion of the Indian Peninsula. It was bounded on the north by Coimbatore and the East by the Western Ghats and the districts of Madurai, Ramanathapuram and Tirunelveli. The Indian Ocean and the Arabian Sea formed the Southern and Western boundaries respectively1. Tharma Bhoomi, Vanchi Bhoomi, Cherannadu, Malayalam, Malai Nadu, Keralam are some other names for Travancore State2. The Travancore State was divided into four divisions namely Padmanabhapuram division, Thiruvananthapuram division, Kollam division, Chartali division. And Padmanabhapuram division and Thiruvananthapuram division constitute South Travancore3. Trivandrum is the Capital of Travancore situated in the South Travancore. It was the seat of the ruling family. Here are the native government, and the chief courts and offices4. In 1956, Indian States were reorganized, the South Travancore divided into four taluks namely Vilavancode, Kalkulam, Thovalai and Agastheeswaram formed Kanyakumari District and were integrated with the state of Madras which later becomes Tamil Nadu5.
The Condition of Women before 1800
The condition of women, in South Travancore before 1800, was in pitiable and backward condition. Their social and educational progress were blocked from all directions and were not only suppressed but doubly and terribly halted. Girls were never allowed to go to School in Travancore6. Girls were married very early in Travancore. Among the Nairs it was compulsory for girls to be married young though the consummation came much later. This often led to early widowhood and widow re-marriage was prohibition even if the widows were child brides whose marriages had not consummated. Early marriages, lack of education and prejudices against widowhood lowered the status of women of the high and low castes like7. A profound and realistic observation made by Reingeltaube, the first protestant missionary to South Travancore, in his reply to the queries of Colonel Munro in 1813, throws light on the attitude of society to women.
The dowry system has been prevalent among different communities in kerala in some form or other. The Dowry prohibition Act came into force on July 1961, but the institution of dowry is so deep-rooted that legislation in this regard had not had the desired effect8. South Travancore consists of spectrum of castes. The important castes are Brahmins, Nairs, Nanchilnad Vellalas, Nadars and Krishnavakakkars. They are generally Hindus9. Among them Brahmins, Nairs and Vellalas were considered as higher class while others are treated as the untouchable low class people. Apart from women deprivation, women who belonged to the untouchable, caste, experienced all sort of cruel and inhuman treatments under upper castes. Apart from its dowry system, early child marriage, the practice of polyandry and polygamy, illiteracy etc., were in practice in South Travancore in a deplorable and pathetic condition. Travancore was a land of female degradation10. The arrival of Rev. William Tobias RingelTaube, the first L.M.S. Missionary at Mylaudy, situated east of Nagercoil, in South Travancore, on April 1806, revolutionalized the social, educational and economical scenarios of South Travancore. The London Missionary Society played a memorable and undeletable part to emancipate the women in South Travancore from the manacles of illiteracy, Ignorance, Slavery, Malevolent and other social evils.
The L.M.S Missionaries opened the gate of education to the daughters of South Travancore and it marked a turning point in the field of education liberated the women of South Travancore from the shackles of ignorance and illiteracy and filled their minds with new enlightenment. The year 1806 is a turning point in the history of South Travancore when William Tobias Ringeltaube the first Protestant Missionary made his era making entry in to Travancore through the Aramboly pass who was responsible to lay the foundation for the introduction of western education between the year 1806-181611. In 1816, when Rigeltaube lifted the “Mission”, there were congregations and schools in seven villages. When Charles Mead arrived in Mylaudy at the end of 1817 to take over the work left behind by Ringel Taube it became apparent to Mead, that his work among the people gathered by his predecessor was to be one of the Liberation from ignorance, Supersition, oppression, Squalor and Poverty. The earlier systematic attempt in female education was made by Mrs. Mead who in 1819 established a Boarding School for girls at Nagercoil, meant primarily for Christian Children. Her logic was “to give a plain instruction united with a Christian and moral education”, along with reading, writing and arithmetic12.
During those days, parents were quite unwilling to send their girls to school. These initial difficulties were overcome, when the advantages of board and clothing were soon provided. The poverty of parents was another great hindrance. In spite of such discouragements the school began with 14 girls13. Mrs. Mault and Mrs. Mead made a mutual division of work in the Girl’s School. Mead taught them crochet and embroidery work in 1821 introduced pillow case. This new industry of lace making was gradually enlarged when greater facilities for disposing of the lace were secured. The South Travancore Lace is known in India and abroad.
The lace and embroidery industry in Neyyoor and Marthandam has been functioning exceedingly well14. More women have been to read for employment. In 1827, a proposal was made to divide the working area of the London Missionary Society, in South Travancore in to two Districts. Districts namely Eastern Division and Western Division, each was under the charge of a European Missionary, Mr. Mault remained at in charge of Eastern Division and Mr. Mead removed to the Western Division, taking up his temporary residence at Mandaikadu, until the requisite building should be completed at Neyyoor15. In 1828, when Mr. Mead came to Neyyoor, opened a Girl’s Boarding School there too, and it flourished many years under the zealous care of Mrs. Mead, bearing excellent results.
It is interesting to note that amidst many efforts made by the Missionaries to encourage the natives of Travancore to educate their girls one was the publication of a Tamil tad of 12 pages “On the advantage of female Education” printed at L.M.S. press at Nagercoil in 1831 as Tract No. 31 and freely distributed in the country. In page of this tad, the people of Travancore are exhorted to send their girls to schools as the Hind of Bengal, Bombay and Madras have already sent their girls to schools being convinced of the innumerable advantage of female education. She devoted much attention to girl’s education. From 1872 to 1876 she took much pain to establish caste girl’s school in and around Neyyoor16. In 1837 there were in the south 15 girl’s schools containing 361 girls and in 1840 in to two Missionary Districts of Nagercoil and Neyyoor. Out of 7450 children under education 998 were girls17. The missionaries started Boarding Schools for girls at Santhapuram, Parassalai, Nedumangad, Marthandam and other places. It was the desire of the Missionaries to establish such schools in every Mission Station, but as thus was not possible; they introduced co-education in the village schools. Many young girls were taught to read and write in the Sunday Schools.
While such were the activities displayed by the Missionary ladies in the early part of this century of female education in Travancore, the native government was supremacy indifferent in the matter. Even in the capital city Trivandrum there were no government schools for girls, even forty years after the work had been begun by the Missionaries. Only by the efforts taken by Rev.Mead, in about 1858 a school for girls chiefly for Eurosians and Native Chrisitians was formed in the cantonments. This school was upgraded as a High school in 1888, and in 1897 the school was raised to the status of a 2nd grade college. The credit of introducing literacy to high caste women in the Nagercoil District goes to Rev. Devadason, one day while Rev. Devadason was preaching in on open meeting at “Kottar” a learned high caste men requested him to send some learned person to teach his wife and sister so that they would became literate. Rev. Devadason accordingly sent a learned Sudra widow to teach them. That was dawn of education among the high caste women, who were shut up inside their homes socially18.
Schools for high caste Hindu girls were started at Kottar, Vadasery, Krishnankoil, and Nagercoil by the wives of the Missionaries. There was no systematic attempt made to educate slave caste children. Except the few slave girls who were trained in Boarding Schools, no tangible effort has been made to bring slave children in today school to educate them. The L.M.S Missionaries made various attempts to provide relief to the slaves. Industrial education was one of the means. Mrs. Mault and her successors taught little slave girls to make lace and by their earnings to purchase freedom19. The education of the outcaste classes had results which have produced perhaps more impression than anything else that Christianity has done upon the imagination of the most thoughtful and patriotic people. It is probable that the most striking public witness from education hither to born especially in South Travancore, the witness which has most impressed even hostile native observers in South Travancore, the witness which has most impressed even hostile native observers, has been the power which the education has exhibited by means of education to raise the lowest classes, the pariahs or out castes of the community. This has been especially noticeable in South Travancore.
The L.M.S Movements helped to increase the educational opportunities for women, the percentage of female literacy increased. The Constitution granted equality of educational opportunities to all. The education of the girls and women was just as strong here elsewhere in India. The female literacy has been found to influence, Economic Status, Dowry System, Child Marriage, Devadasi System, Upper Class Movement, Infant mortality rates, Family Planning and several other social institutions. Thus L.M.S. Missionaries waged an untireless against all types of social evils and emancipated the female of South Travancore from the fetters of slavery, ignorance and all types of backwardness. The socio-economic mosaic of Travancore in the 18th and 19th centuries was one of the extreme contrasts existing side by side power – bondage, notion of purity and pollution, over-lordship and subservience, landedness and landlessness, prosperity and poverty, knowledge and ignorance, the power of women and the degradation of women, immunities and slavery.
Dr. K.K. Thanammal M.A., M.A., M.Phil., Ph.D
References
- Travancore Administration Report, 1929-1947, Trivandraum, 1948, p.1.
- Samuel Zecharioh, The London Missionary Society in South Travancore 1805-1855, Nagercoil, 1897, p.111.
- Ibid., p.iv.
- Samuel Matteer, The Land of Charity, London, 1870, p.10.
- Joy Gnananadasan, A Forgotter History, Madras, 1994, p.4.
- Agur C.M., Church History of Travancore, Madras, 1903, p.596.
- Joy Gnananadasan, op.cit., pp.34-35.
- Sreedhara Menon A., Social and Cultural History of Kerala, Madras, 1979, p.115.
- District Census Hand book, Kanyakumari, 1981, p.10.
- Joy Gnananadasan, op.cit., pp.36.
- Yesudhas R.N., A People’s Revolt in Travancore, Trivandrum, 1976, p.63.
- Velupillai, T.K., The Travancore State Manual, Vol.III,Trivandrum, 1940, p.692.
- Agur, C.M., op.cit., p.766.
- London Missionary Society Report, 120th, p.31.
- Agur C.M., The Land of Charity London, 1870, pp.273-274.
- Hacker H.I., A Hundred Years in Travancore, London, 1908, p.88.
- Agur C.M., op.cit., p,770.
- Hector S.S., History of the Church Kanyakumari Diocese 1806-1907 (T), Vol.I, Nagercoil, P.48.
- Jacob J.A., History of the London Missionary Society in the South Travancore, Trivandrum, 1990, p.119.