Bizarre stories abound in India, but the "breast tax" is truly unbelievable.
Lower-caste women, when encountering nobility, had to expose their chests; otherwise, they would be deprived of the right to wear clothes, and the larger their breasts, the higher the tax.
What are the intentions behind such measures, and are there any other conspiracies involved?
Apart from the "breast tax," what other peculiar tax types exist?
Decline of Women's Rights in Ancient India
In early Indian civilization, the region was once a matriarchal society.
During this period, women enjoyed a higher status and rights in the family and society.
They could freely engage in agricultural, commercial, and other productive activities, as well as participate in rituals and major decisions.
Some important goddesses, such as the goddess Ushas, symbolizing dawn, were widely worshipped.
In the early stages of Indian civilization, women played crucial roles in spiritual and social life.
However, this relatively high status of women's rights began to reverse around 2000 BCE.
At that time, Aryans from Central Asia entered the Indian subcontinent in large numbers and settled there.
As a patrilineal clan society, the Aryans implemented a strict caste system, dividing the entire society into four main varnas: Brahmins, Kshatriyas, Vaishyas, and Shudras.
In this new caste system, the Brahmin caste was considered the highest, overseeing religious rituals and enjoying the highest privileges.
Next were the ruling Kshatriya caste, mainly composed of aristocrats and warriors.
The Vaishya caste comprised the commoner class, mainly engaged in agriculture and commerce.
The Shudra caste was considered the lowest service caste.
Additionally, Indian society also had outcastes known as "untouchables."
The implementation of the caste system deprived people of lower castes of most basic rights, such as inheritance, occupational choice, and education, creating a strictly hierarchical society.
Caste status determined a person's social status, power, and opportunities.
As Aryan Hinduism flourished, the religious authority dominated by the Brahmin caste gradually became established.
Around 200 BCE, the Brahmin caste enacted the harsh Manusmriti, further depriving and suppressing the rights of Indian women.
The Manusmriti made extremely unfavorable provisions regarding women's lives and rights: women must be under the guardianship of male relatives in adolescence, youth, and old age, unable to be independent;
Women were deprived of the right to independently inherit property and wealth;
They were not allowed to receive formal education or study classical texts; husbands had the power to punish their wives, and even beating wives was not considered a crime;
After the husband's death, widows were marginalized by society and often buried alive (known as "Sati" custom).
This code greatly deprived Indian women of their basic rights in family and society, confining them to the burdens of household and reproduction, becoming victims of a male-dominated society.
The authoritative status of the Brahmin caste was further consolidated, becoming the pillar of the strict caste system of Hinduism.
Breast Tax
During British colonial rule in India, some local nobles implemented an extremely cruel and humiliating "breast tax" and "clothing tax" to obtain more taxes.
According to records, this "breast tax" mainly targeted low-caste women.
Lower-caste women had to pay a special tax to cover their upper bodies, the amount of which was determined by the size of their breasts.
It can be imagined that this is undoubtedly a blatant discrimination and exploitation of poor women.
As the lowest-caste group in Indian society, they were already suffering from exploitation and poverty under the long-term oppression of the caste system.
Now, with such humiliating clothing and breast taxes, their suffering is undoubtedly exacerbated.
According to records, there was a lower-caste woman named Nangeli who, to express her anger and protest against this unfair tax system, used her breasts as the tax object and ultimately died from severe bleeding.
Nangeli's tragic incident undoubtedly further fueled the strong dissatisfaction and resistance of lower-caste women.
Meanwhile, in India, some lower-caste women began to be influenced by Christian doctrine.
Christian missionaries taught them that all people are born equal and should oppose any humiliating customs.
Therefore, some educated lower-caste women began to openly refuse to comply with the naked tax rules imposed by the nobility, leading to conflicts with tax collectors.
Faced with the anger and resistance of lower-caste women, some local rulers began to feel uneasy.
They feared triggering greater unrest and losing control, so they reluctantly made some concessions.
According to records, it was in this context that some kings in certain regions were forced to issue decrees allowing lower-caste women to wear clothes in public places, exempting them from the obligation to pay "breast tax" and "clothing tax."
However, surprisingly, besides India's "breast tax," there were also Rome's "urine tax" and ancient Egypt's "property tax."
Absurd Taxes
In ancient societies, rulers imposed excessive taxes to gain more wealth, leading to some very absurd and bizarre tax types.
This not only increased the burden on the people but also reflected the shortcomings of the society at that time and the plight of the people.
The Roman "urine tax" and the ancient Egyptian "property tax" are two typical examples.
The Romans found that urine had excellent cleaning and bleaching properties, so there was a growing industry of collecting and selling urine.
To make more profit, the ruling class began to tax it.
In 37 AD, the Roman Emperor Vespasian issued the "urine tax" decree, requiring every adult citizen to donate a certain amount of urine to the state every year.
This tax law not only deprived Romans of their basic personal freedom and dignity but also caused many people to be punished because it was difficult to estimate due to physiological needs.
Therefore, this tax sparked strong dissatisfaction among the people and gave birth to a group of "urine merchants" specialized in collecting and transporting urine.
It can be said that the "urine tax" reflects the decadent nature of rulers in seeking personal gain by any means necessary.
Similarly, in ancient Egypt, there was also a bewildering "property tax."
At that time, Egypt's rulers levied excessive property taxes on commoners.
However, because the taxation was too heavy for the common people to bear, they deliberately built their houses to look like "unfinished buildings" to evade taxes.
This behavior led to the phenomenon of the "city of unfinished buildings" in Egypt.
In this city, there were various unfinished buildings and endless construction sites everywhere.
At the same time, it gave birth to a group of "watchmen" who were responsible for guarding these unfinished properties.
Faced with the "cunning" tax evasion methods of the people, although the rulers tried to enforce tax collection forcefully, they could not fully enforce the law due to the large scale, and could only tacitly allow the existence of this phenomenon.
These examples show that absurd taxes make ordinary people victims, increase their burdens, and violate their basic rights.
Therefore, any good tax policy should adhere to the principles of fairness and justice, neither increasing the burden on the people nor infringing on their basic rights.
Only in this way can society truly embark on the path of benign development.
Absurd tax types that disregard humanity and ignore public opinion will eventually be condemned and abandoned in the long river of history.
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