The Shanar Agitation, also known as the Channar Lahala or Melmundu Samaram, was a landmark social struggle in Travancore demanding the right of lower-class women to wear upper garments to cover their chests.
Before this agitation, lower-caste women, particularly those belonging to the Nadar (Shanar) community, were legally forbidden from wearing upper clothes in the presence of upper-caste people.