Once upon a time in Travancore, modern day south Kerala and northwest Tamil Nadu, to wear the munda (kilt) appeared modest and democratic in that both lower caste men and women showed both bare leg and breast.
Over time, it became part of the caste system.
In time it became to represent oppression of women after colonization by the British in the 1700s since a woman was barred from covering her upper body.
Then in 1859, the Channar Lahala or the Upper Cloth Revolt (Channar Mutiny) occurred after 50 years of violent struggle in the name of women's liberation for the right of women of all castes to cover their upper bodies.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Upper_cloth_revolt
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