Malabar Rebellion
Encyclopedia
The Malabar Rebellion was an armed uprising in 1921 against British
authority in the Malabar
region of Southern India by Mappila
Muslims and the culmination of a series of Mappila revolts
that recurred throughout the 19th century and early 20th century. The 1921 rebellion began as a reaction against a heavy handed crackdown on the Khilafat Movement
by the British authorities in the Eranad and Valluvanad taluks of Malabar. In the initial stages, a number of minor clashes took place between Khilafat
volunteers and the police, but the violence soon spread across the region. The Mappilas attacked and took control of police stations, British government offices, courts and government treasuries. The largely kudiyaan (tenant) Mappilas also attacked and killed jenmi
(landlords) of the Hindu
Nair
and Brahmin
Nambudiri caste
s. In the later stages of the uprising, Mappilas committed several atrocities against the Hindu community, who they accused of helping the police to suppress their rebellion. Annie Besant
reported that Muslim Mappilas forcibly converted many Hindus and killed or drove away all Hindus who would not apostatize, totaling to one lakh (100,000).
The British Government put down the rebellion with an iron fist, British and Gurkha
regiments were sent to the area and Martial Law
imposed. One of the most noteworthy events during the suppression later came to be known as the "Wagon Tragedy
", in which 61 out of a total of 90 Mappila prisoners destined for the Central Prison in Podanur
suffocated to death in a closed railway goods wagon.
For six months from August 1921, the rebellion extended over 2000 square miles (5,180 km²) – some 40% of the South Malabar region of the Madras Presidency
. An estimated 10,000 people lost their lives, although official figures put the numbers at 2337 rebels killed, 1652 injured and 45,404 imprisoned. Unofficial estimates put the number imprisoned at almost 50,000 of whom 20,000 were deported, mainly to the penal colony in the Andaman Islands, while around 10,000 went missing. The most prominent leaders of the rebellion were Variankunnath Kunjahammad Haji
, Sithi Koya Thangal and Ali Musliyar
. Estimates of the number of forced religious conversions range from 180 to 2500; 678 of the 50,000 rebels were charged with this crime.
Contemporary British administrators and modern historians differ markedly in their assessment of the incident, debating whether the revolts were triggered off by religious fanaticism or agrarian grievances.
At the time, the Indian National Congress repudiated the movement and it remained isolated from the wider nationalist movement
. However, contemporary Indian evaluations now view the rebellion as a national upheaval against British authority and the most important event concerning the political movement in Malabar during the period.
In its magnitude and extent, it was an unprecedented popular upheaval, the likes of which has not been seen in Kerala
before or since. While the Mappilas were in the vanguard of the movement and bore the brunt of the struggle, several non-Mappila leaders actively sympathised with the rebels' cause, giving the uprising the character of a national upheaval. In 1971, the Government of Kerala
officially recognised the active participants in the events as "freedom fighters".
Malabar's agricultural system was historically based on a hierarchy of privileges, rights and obligations for all principal social groups in what British administrator William Logan
sometimes referred to as the "Father of Tenancy Legislation" in Malabar, describing it as a system of 'corporate unity’ or joint proprietorship of each of the principal land right holders:
s or rulers'. The rights conveyed by this janmam were not a freehold in the European sense, but an office of dignity. Owing to their ritual status as priests ( Nambudris ), the jenmis could neither cultivate nor supervise the land but would instead provide a grant of kanam to an indidual from the Kanikkaran
ethnic group in return for a fixed share of the crops produced. Typically, a jenmi would have a large number of kanikkaran under him.
community, were responsible for the security and supervision of the land and distribution of respective shares of produce. Like the jenmi, the kanikkaran was also a part-proprietor of the soil to the extent that one-third of the net produce was his. Each kanikkaran typically had a number of verumpattakkaran under him.
The net produce of the land was the share left over after providing for the cherujanmakkar or all the other birthright holders such as the village carpenter, the goldsmith and agricultural labourers who helped to gather, prepare and store produce. The system ensured that no jenmi could evict tenants under him except for non-payment of rent. This land tenure system was generally referred to as the janmi-kana-maryada (customary practices).
However, within 5 years, British took over Malabar defeating and ending Tipu's reign over the region. This allowed the Hindu landlords to return to their homes and regain the lands lost during the islamic aggression, with the help of the British government and its duly constituted law courts. The British superimposed several Anglo-Roman juridical concepts, such as that of absolute property rights, upon the existing legal system of Malabar. Up until then, such rights had been unknown in the region and as a result all land became the private property of the jenmis. This legal recognition gave them the right to evict tenants, which was in turn enforced through the British civil courts. In the words of William Logan:
As conditions worsened, rents rose to as high as 75–80% of net produce, leaving the verumpattakkar cultivators largely "only straw". This caused great resentment among the Mappilas, who in the words of Logan were "labouring late and early to provide a sufficiency of food for their wives and children". General resentment amongst the Muslim population led to a long series of violent outbreaks beginning in 1836. These always involved the murder of Hindus, an act which the disgruntled Mappilas regarded as religiously meritorious and as part of their larger obligation to establish an Islamic state. In 1921, for instance, the stated aim was not to oust the Janmi system, but to establish an Islamic nation in Malabar. The British administration referred to the outbreaks as "Moplah outrages", but modern historians tend to treat them as religious outbreaks or expressions of agrarian discontent. The massacre of Hindus and widespread sexual violence in 1921–22 sustained this tradition of violence in Malabar but with one crucial difference: this time it had also a political ideology and a formal organisation.
in 1916 that marked the rise of nationalist politics in the region. At the time, the League was largely dominated by Tamil Brahmin and educated lawyers from the Nair community. The conference opened with an oath of loyalty to the King and resolved to begin educating the people to create public opinion in favour of a system of Self-Government in India.
In 1920, the District Congress Committee was reorganised as the Kerala Provincial Congress Committee at the fifth District Conference held at Manjeri
in Ernad taluk. A conflict arose at the conference between two factions, one led by Annie Besant and supported by the landlords and the other by local leaders from the region with the backing of Mappila peasants. Huge numbers of the latter group attended the conference and a resolution demanding tenancy reforms was passed, despite the opposition of the landlords present.
, alleging that he stolen the pistol of a Hindu Thirumulpad
from a Kovilakam
(manor) in Nilambur
. A crowd of 2,000 Mappilas from the neighbourhood foiled the attempt, but on the following day a squad of police arrested a number of Khilafat volunteers and seized records at the Mambaram
mosque
in Tirurangadi
, leading to rumours that the building had been desecrated. A large crowd of Mappilas converged on Tirurangadi and besieged the local police station. The police opened fire on the crowd, triggering a furious reaction which soon engulfed the Eranad and Valluvanad taluks along with neighbouring areas and continued for over two months.
Following the mosque incident, the rebels attacked and seized police stations, government treasuries, and entered the courts and registry offices where they destroyed records. Some even climbed into the judges' seats and proclaimed the advent of swaraj
(self-rule). The rebellion soon spread to the neighbouring areas of Malappuram
, Manjeri
, Perinthalmanna, Pandikkad
and Tirur
under principle leaders Variankunnath Kunjahammad Haji
, Seethi Koya Thangal of Kumaranpathor and Ali Musliyar
. By 28 August 1921, British administration had virtually come to an end in Malappuram, Tirurangadi, Manjeri, and Perinthalmanna, which then fell into the hands of the rebels who established complete domination over the Eranad and Valluvanad Taluks. On 24 August 1921, Variankunnath Kunjahammad Haji took over command of the rebellion from Ali Musliyar. Public proclamations were issued by Variyankunnath and Seethi that no harm should come to Hindus and that those Mappilas who resorted to looting would receive exemplary punishments.
During the initial stages of the rebellion, the British military and police were forced to withdraw from these areas but by the end of August several contingents of British troops and Gurkha arrived. Clashes with the rebels followed, one of the most notable encounters taking place at Pookkottur
(often referred by the Moplahs as Pookkottur War), in which British troops sustained heavy casualties and had to retreat to safety.
During the early phase of the rebellion, the targets were primarily the jenmis and the British Government. Crimes committed by some of the rebels were punished by their leaders, and the general Hindu population was not affected. This changed after the proclamation of Martial law
and the arrival of the British army, when some members of the Hindu community were enlisted by the army to provide information on the rebels.
Once they had eliminated the minimal presence of the government, the Moplahs turned their full attention to attacking Hindus while Ernad and Valluvanad were declared Khilafat kingdoms.
By the end of 1921, the situation was brought under control. The British administration raised a special quasi-military (or Armed Police) battalion, the Malabar Special Police
(MSP), initially consisting of non-Muslims and trained by the British Indian Army. The MSP then attacked the rioters and eventually subdued them.
and C. Sankaran Nair
.
In one of her books, Annie Besant
stated:
Citing narratives available to him regarding the actions of the Mappilas during the rebellion, C. Sankaran Nair
wrote a strongly worded criticism of Gandhi and his support for the Khilafat Movement
, accusing him of being an anarchist. He was highly critical of the "sheer brutality" of the atrocities committed on women during the rebellion, finding them "horrible and unmentionable". In particular, he referred to a resolution under the Zamorin Raja of the time and an appeal by the Rani of Nilambur. He further wrote:
A conference held at Calicut presided over by the Zamorin of Calicut
, the Ruler of Malabar issued a resolution:
(near Coimbatore
). They were bundled into a freight wagon and the train set off. Pothanur jail was found to be full to maximum capacity, so orders were given to take the prisoners back. During the return journey, 67 of the 100 rioters suffocated to death in the closed iron wagon. Historian Sumit Sarkar
referred to it as the "Black Hole of Podanur".
According to official records, the British government lost 43 troops with 126 wounded, while 2337 rebels were killed, another 1652 injured and 45,404 imprisoned. Unofficial estimates put the number at 10,000 Mappilas killed and 50,000 imprisoned, of who 20,000 were deported (mainly to the penal colony in the Andaman Islands while around 10,000 went missing. The number of civilian casualties is estimated at between 500 and 600.
Official estimates of forced religious conversions were put at 180, but unofficial estimates suggest a figure of between 1000 and 1500. Arya Samaj
sources reported a number of 1766, adding that the total might exceed 2500, the highest estimate made. Out of a total of almost 50,000 Mappilas involved in the rebellion, 678 were charged with the crime of forced religious conversion, not all of who were guilty of involvement.
Within five years subsequent to the conflict the agricultural output was averaging slightly more than than prior to it. Qureshi has said that, "In short, contrary to popular belief, Malabar did not suffer a massive devastation, and even if it did the recovery was miraculous."
and written by T. Damodaran
, depicts the events of the rebellion. The film stars Mammootty
as Khadir, a retired Mappila soldier, alongside Madhu
as Ali Musliyar. The film won the Kerala State Film Award for Best Film with Popular Appeal and Aesthetic Value
in the same year.
The rebellion also spawned a large number of Mappila Songs
. Many of these describe the events surrounding the Khilafat movement in Malabar and offer a view of conditions in the area at the time. Ahmed Kutty composed the Malabar Lahala enna Khilafat Patt in 1925, which describes the events of the rebellion. Many of rebel prisoners such as Tannirkode Ossankoya composed songs in their letters to relatives.
Along with this monuments, abandoned graves of British officers who lost their lives during the Rebellion can be seen in Malabar. This include that of Private F. M. Eley, Private H. C. Hutchings (both died of wounds received in action against the Moplahs at Tirurangadi on July 22, 1921), William John Duncan Rowley (Assisstant Suprededent of Police, Palghat, killed at Tirurangadi by a mob of Moplahs at the outbreak of the Rebellion on August 20, 1921 - aged 28).
NY Times reports on the rebellion
11°04′00"N 76°04′00"E
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland was the formal name of the United Kingdom during the period when what is now the Republic of Ireland formed a part of it....
authority in the Malabar
Malabar District
Malabar District was an administrative district of Madras Presidency in British India and independent India's Madras State. The British district included the present-day districts of Kannur, Kozhikode, Wayanad, Malappuram, Palakkad , and Chavakad Taluk of Thrissur District in the northern part of...
region of Southern India by Mappila
Mappila
Mappila or Moplah refers to a Muslim community of Kerala, primarily in the northern region called Malabar, which arose in Malabar as a result of the pre and post Islamic Arab contacts. Significant numbers of the community are also present in the southern districts of Karnataka and western parts of...
Muslims and the culmination of a series of Mappila revolts
Mappila riots
Mappila Riots or Mappila Outbreaks refers to a series of riots by the Mappila Muslims of Malabar, South India in the 19th century and the early 20th century against Hindu landlords and the state. The Malabar Rebellion of 1921 is often considered as the culmination of Mappila riots. Mappilas...
that recurred throughout the 19th century and early 20th century. The 1921 rebellion began as a reaction against a heavy handed crackdown on the Khilafat Movement
Khilafat Movement
The Khilafat movement was a pan-Islamic, political campaign launched by Muslims in British India to influence the British government and to protect the Ottoman Empire during the aftermath of World War I...
by the British authorities in the Eranad and Valluvanad taluks of Malabar. In the initial stages, a number of minor clashes took place between Khilafat
Khilafat Movement
The Khilafat movement was a pan-Islamic, political campaign launched by Muslims in British India to influence the British government and to protect the Ottoman Empire during the aftermath of World War I...
volunteers and the police, but the violence soon spread across the region. The Mappilas attacked and took control of police stations, British government offices, courts and government treasuries. The largely kudiyaan (tenant) Mappilas also attacked and killed jenmi
Jenmi
Jenmi is the term used to refer to the landlords of the Nair and Namboothiris castes from Kerala. In the past the majority, if not all the land was owned by these Jenmimar , and it was not unusual for an aristocratic family to own up to of land...
(landlords) of the Hindu
Hindu
Hindu refers to an identity associated with the philosophical, religious and cultural systems that are indigenous to the Indian subcontinent. As used in the Constitution of India, the word "Hindu" is also attributed to all persons professing any Indian religion...
Nair
Nair
Nair , also known as Nayar , refers to "not a unitary group but a named category of castes", which historically embody several castes and many subdivisions, not all of whom bore the Nair title. These people historically live in the present-day Indian state of Kerala...
and Brahmin
Brahmin
Brahmin Brahman, Brahma and Brahmin.Brahman, Brahmin and Brahma have different meanings. Brahman refers to the Supreme Self...
Nambudiri caste
Caste
Caste is an elaborate and complex social system that combines elements of endogamy, occupation, culture, social class, tribal affiliation and political power. It should not be confused with race or social class, e.g. members of different castes in one society may belong to the same race, as in India...
s. In the later stages of the uprising, Mappilas committed several atrocities against the Hindu community, who they accused of helping the police to suppress their rebellion. Annie Besant
Annie Besant
Annie Besant was a prominent British Theosophist, women's rights activist, writer and orator and supporter of Irish and Indian self rule.She was married at 19 to Frank Besant but separated from him over religious differences. She then became a prominent speaker for the National Secular Society ...
reported that Muslim Mappilas forcibly converted many Hindus and killed or drove away all Hindus who would not apostatize, totaling to one lakh (100,000).
The British Government put down the rebellion with an iron fist, British and Gurkha
Gurkha
Gurkha are people from Nepal who take their name from the Gorkha District. Gurkhas are best known for their history in the Indian Army's Gorkha regiments, the British Army's Brigade of Gurkhas and the Nepalese Army. Gurkha units are closely associated with the kukri, a forward-curving Nepalese knife...
regiments were sent to the area and Martial Law
Martial law
Martial law is the imposition of military rule by military authorities over designated regions on an emergency basis— only temporary—when the civilian government or civilian authorities fail to function effectively , when there are extensive riots and protests, or when the disobedience of the law...
imposed. One of the most noteworthy events during the suppression later came to be known as the "Wagon Tragedy
Wagon tragedy
The Wagon tragedy was the death of 67 prisoners on 20 November 1921 in the Malabar region of Kerala state of India. The prisoners had been taken into custody following Mappila Rebellion against British Colonial rule and Hindu landlords their deaths through apparent negligence discredited the...
", in which 61 out of a total of 90 Mappila prisoners destined for the Central Prison in Podanur
Podanur
Podanur , is a town 6 km southeast of the city of Coimbatore in Tamil Nadu, India. Its history goes back to the creation of first and major railway station and colony during British rule. The station has lost its importance after the major railway stations were built at Coimbatore and Palakkad...
suffocated to death in a closed railway goods wagon.
For six months from August 1921, the rebellion extended over 2000 square miles (5,180 km²) – some 40% of the South Malabar region of the Madras Presidency
Madras Presidency
The Madras Presidency , officially the Presidency of Fort St. George and also known as Madras Province, was an administrative subdivision of British India...
. An estimated 10,000 people lost their lives, although official figures put the numbers at 2337 rebels killed, 1652 injured and 45,404 imprisoned. Unofficial estimates put the number imprisoned at almost 50,000 of whom 20,000 were deported, mainly to the penal colony in the Andaman Islands, while around 10,000 went missing. The most prominent leaders of the rebellion were Variankunnath Kunjahammad Haji
Variyan Kunnathu Kunjahammed Haji
Variyan Kunnathu Kunjahammed Haji was a Mappila rebel leader in the 1921 anti-British uprising in the Malabar region, South India. He ran a parallel government in defiance of the British government.Variyankunnath was a valiant fighter and a ruler par excellence...
, Sithi Koya Thangal and Ali Musliyar
Ali Musliyar
Ali Musliyar was one of the prominent leaders of the Moplah Rebellion of 1921 in Malabar, South India. He hailed from Tirurangadi. The rebellion was an uprising in 1921 against British authority and landlords in the Malabar by Mappila Muslims, and he was one of the three of the principal leaders of...
. Estimates of the number of forced religious conversions range from 180 to 2500; 678 of the 50,000 rebels were charged with this crime.
Contemporary British administrators and modern historians differ markedly in their assessment of the incident, debating whether the revolts were triggered off by religious fanaticism or agrarian grievances.
At the time, the Indian National Congress repudiated the movement and it remained isolated from the wider nationalist movement
Indian independence movement
The term Indian independence movement encompasses a wide area of political organisations, philosophies, and movements which had the common aim of ending first British East India Company rule, and then British imperial authority, in parts of South Asia...
. However, contemporary Indian evaluations now view the rebellion as a national upheaval against British authority and the most important event concerning the political movement in Malabar during the period.
In its magnitude and extent, it was an unprecedented popular upheaval, the likes of which has not been seen in Kerala
Kerala
or Keralam is an Indian state located on the Malabar coast of south-west India. It was created on 1 November 1956 by the States Reorganisation Act by combining various Malayalam speaking regions....
before or since. While the Mappilas were in the vanguard of the movement and bore the brunt of the struggle, several non-Mappila leaders actively sympathised with the rebels' cause, giving the uprising the character of a national upheaval. In 1971, the Government of Kerala
Government of Kerala
The Government of Kerala is a democratically elected body that governs the State of Kerala, India for a period of 5 years. The state government is headed by the Governor of Kerala as the nominal head of state, with a democratically elected Chief Minister as real head of the executive. The state...
officially recognised the active participants in the events as "freedom fighters".
Land ownership in Malabar
William Logan (Malabar Manual)
William Logan was a Scottish officer of the Madras Civil Service under the British Government. Before his appointment as Collector of Malabar, he had served in the area for about twenty years in the capacity of Magistrate and Judge. He was conversant in Malayalam, Tamil and Telugu...
sometimes referred to as the "Father of Tenancy Legislation" in Malabar, describing it as a system of 'corporate unity’ or joint proprietorship of each of the principal land right holders:
Jenmi
The Jenmi, consisting mainly of the Nambudiri Brahmins and Nair chieftains, were the highest level of the hierarchy, and a class of people given hereditary land grants by the NaduvazhiNaduvazhi
Naduvazhi refers to landlords, chieftains and descendants of royal households in Kerala, India.-Function:Prior to the British reorganisation of the area now known as Kerala, it was divided into around ten feudal states. Each of these was governed by a rajah and was subdivided into organisational...
s or rulers'. The rights conveyed by this janmam were not a freehold in the European sense, but an office of dignity. Owing to their ritual status as priests ( Nambudris ), the jenmis could neither cultivate nor supervise the land but would instead provide a grant of kanam to an indidual from the Kanikkaran
Kanikkaran
Kanikkaran is one of the important tribes who have settled down in large tribal communities in the whole state of Kerala, India. According to 2007 census there are 19,000 Kanikkars, living in several districts of Kerala and Tamil Nadu. They dwell in forests or near to forests in Thiruvananthapuram...
ethnic group in return for a fixed share of the crops produced. Typically, a jenmi would have a large number of kanikkaran under him.
Kanikkaran (Nairs)
The Kanikkaran, mostly members of the NairNair
Nair , also known as Nayar , refers to "not a unitary group but a named category of castes", which historically embody several castes and many subdivisions, not all of whom bore the Nair title. These people historically live in the present-day Indian state of Kerala...
community, were responsible for the security and supervision of the land and distribution of respective shares of produce. Like the jenmi, the kanikkaran was also a part-proprietor of the soil to the extent that one-third of the net produce was his. Each kanikkaran typically had a number of verumpattakkaran under him.
Verumpattakkaran (Mappilas)
the Verumpattakkaran, generally Thiyya and Mappila classes, cultivated the land but were also its part-proprietors. These classes were given a Verum Pattam (Simple Lease) of the land that was typically valid for one year. According to custom, they were also entitled to one-third or an equal share of the net produce.The net produce of the land was the share left over after providing for the cherujanmakkar or all the other birthright holders such as the village carpenter, the goldsmith and agricultural labourers who helped to gather, prepare and store produce. The system ensured that no jenmi could evict tenants under him except for non-payment of rent. This land tenure system was generally referred to as the janmi-kana-maryada (customary practices).
Land Reforms and Mappila Outbreaks (1836–1921)
During the Mysorean interlude (1788–1792), when the islamic invasion of malabar led to widespread atrocities on the Hindu population, the landowners were forced to take refuge in neighboring states. The tenants and the Nair armymen, who could not escape were forcibly converted into Islam as described in William Logan's Malabar Manual. Thus, the Malabar government under suzerainty of Tipu's Islamic Sultanate, having driven out the Hindu Landlords, reached accord with the Muslim Kanakkars. A new system of land revenue was introduced for the first time in the region's history with the government share fixed on the basis of actual produce from the land.However, within 5 years, British took over Malabar defeating and ending Tipu's reign over the region. This allowed the Hindu landlords to return to their homes and regain the lands lost during the islamic aggression, with the help of the British government and its duly constituted law courts. The British superimposed several Anglo-Roman juridical concepts, such as that of absolute property rights, upon the existing legal system of Malabar. Up until then, such rights had been unknown in the region and as a result all land became the private property of the jenmis. This legal recognition gave them the right to evict tenants, which was in turn enforced through the British civil courts. In the words of William Logan:
As conditions worsened, rents rose to as high as 75–80% of net produce, leaving the verumpattakkar cultivators largely "only straw". This caused great resentment among the Mappilas, who in the words of Logan were "labouring late and early to provide a sufficiency of food for their wives and children". General resentment amongst the Muslim population led to a long series of violent outbreaks beginning in 1836. These always involved the murder of Hindus, an act which the disgruntled Mappilas regarded as religiously meritorious and as part of their larger obligation to establish an Islamic state. In 1921, for instance, the stated aim was not to oust the Janmi system, but to establish an Islamic nation in Malabar. The British administration referred to the outbreaks as "Moplah outrages", but modern historians tend to treat them as religious outbreaks or expressions of agrarian discontent. The massacre of Hindus and widespread sexual violence in 1921–22 sustained this tradition of violence in Malabar but with one crucial difference: this time it had also a political ideology and a formal organisation.
Indian national movement
The nationalist movement came relatively late to 'sleeping Malabar'. Although a District Congress Committee was formed in 1908, it was the first Malabar District Conference of the All India Home Rule League under Annie BesantAnnie Besant
Annie Besant was a prominent British Theosophist, women's rights activist, writer and orator and supporter of Irish and Indian self rule.She was married at 19 to Frank Besant but separated from him over religious differences. She then became a prominent speaker for the National Secular Society ...
in 1916 that marked the rise of nationalist politics in the region. At the time, the League was largely dominated by Tamil Brahmin and educated lawyers from the Nair community. The conference opened with an oath of loyalty to the King and resolved to begin educating the people to create public opinion in favour of a system of Self-Government in India.
In 1920, the District Congress Committee was reorganised as the Kerala Provincial Congress Committee at the fifth District Conference held at Manjeri
Manjeri
Manjeri is a town and municipality in Malappuram District in the state of Kerala, India. It is the commercial capital of Malappuram District and is 28 km from an international airport and 50 km from Kozhikode railway station....
in Ernad taluk. A conflict arose at the conference between two factions, one led by Annie Besant and supported by the landlords and the other by local leaders from the region with the backing of Mappila peasants. Huge numbers of the latter group attended the conference and a resolution demanding tenancy reforms was passed, despite the opposition of the landlords present.
Rebellion and response
On 20 August 1921, the police attempted to arrest Vadakkevittil Muhammed, the secretary of the Khilafat Committee of Ernad at PookkotturPookkottur
Pookkottur is a village in Eranad taluk, near Malappuram town, Kerala, India. It is close to Nilambur. It is on National Highway 213, and there is a state road from the town to Manjeri....
, alleging that he stolen the pistol of a Hindu Thirumulpad
Thirumulpad
Tirumalpād or Thirumalpād is a Hindu Kshatriya title used in North and Central Kerala, India . The title is used independently by certain sections of Samanthan Nairs and Samanta Kshatriya as well as by some Namboothiri clans. Sāmantha Thirumalpād is investituted with a sacred thread and observes...
from a Kovilakam
Kovilakam
Kovilakam is a term that denotes to the principal manor/estate/palace of a princely lineages of Kerala, India. This is the residence, where all who have not succeeded to get Rajaship remain under the management of the eldest resident male or female member of that particular branch of the family...
(manor) in Nilambur
Nilambur
Nilambur is a municipality and a taluk in the Malappuram district of Kerala, South India. It is famous for its forests, especially its wildlife habitats, rivers, waterfalls and teak plantations. It is situated close to the Nilgiris range of the Western Ghats on the banks of the Chaliyar River...
. A crowd of 2,000 Mappilas from the neighbourhood foiled the attempt, but on the following day a squad of police arrested a number of Khilafat volunteers and seized records at the Mambaram
Mambaram
Mambaram is a small town situated on the shores of Anjarakkandy river in Thalassery taluk, Kannur district, Kerala state, South India.Famous education institutes like Mambaram Higher Secondary School, Mambaram English Medium School, Indira Gandhi Public School etc. are situated in this small town...
mosque
Mosque
A mosque is a place of worship for followers of Islam. The word is likely to have entered the English language through French , from Portuguese , from Spanish , and from Berber , ultimately originating in — . The Arabic word masjid literally means a place of prostration...
in Tirurangadi
Tirurangadi
Tirurangadi is a small town in Malapuram district of Kerala, South India. It is a historical old town which is much famed for its active participance in the freedom struggle, especially those dating back to 1920s. It is a panchayat as well as a taluk...
, leading to rumours that the building had been desecrated. A large crowd of Mappilas converged on Tirurangadi and besieged the local police station. The police opened fire on the crowd, triggering a furious reaction which soon engulfed the Eranad and Valluvanad taluks along with neighbouring areas and continued for over two months.
Following the mosque incident, the rebels attacked and seized police stations, government treasuries, and entered the courts and registry offices where they destroyed records. Some even climbed into the judges' seats and proclaimed the advent of swaraj
Swaraj
Swaraj can mean generally self-governance or "self-rule", and was used synonymously with "home-rule" by Gandhi but the word usually refers to Gandhi's concept for Indian independence from foreign domination. Swaraj lays stress on governance not by a hierarchical government, but self governance...
(self-rule). The rebellion soon spread to the neighbouring areas of Malappuram
Malappuram
Malappuram is a municipality in the South Indian state of Kerala, spread over an area of 33.61 km2. It serves as the administrative headquarters of Malappuram district. As per the 2011 census Malappuram urban agglomeration is the fourth largest UA in kerala with a total population of...
, Manjeri
Manjeri
Manjeri is a town and municipality in Malappuram District in the state of Kerala, India. It is the commercial capital of Malappuram District and is 28 km from an international airport and 50 km from Kozhikode railway station....
, Perinthalmanna, Pandikkad
Pandikkad
Pandikkad is a town near Manjeri in Malappuram district, Kerala State of India. It is situated in the middle of Manjeri-Karuvarakundu road. There is a Police Circle Inspector office. Pandikkad is a panchayath also.Nilambur is very near from here....
and Tirur
Tirur
Tirur is a town and a municipality in Malappuram district in the Indian state of Kerala spread over an area of 16.55 km2 . It is birth place of Thunchathu Ramanujan Ezhuthachan, the father of Malayalam literature. Thunchan Parambu is highly venerated and its sand is believed to be sacred. The...
under principle leaders Variankunnath Kunjahammad Haji
Variyan Kunnathu Kunjahammed Haji
Variyan Kunnathu Kunjahammed Haji was a Mappila rebel leader in the 1921 anti-British uprising in the Malabar region, South India. He ran a parallel government in defiance of the British government.Variyankunnath was a valiant fighter and a ruler par excellence...
, Seethi Koya Thangal of Kumaranpathor and Ali Musliyar
Ali Musliyar
Ali Musliyar was one of the prominent leaders of the Moplah Rebellion of 1921 in Malabar, South India. He hailed from Tirurangadi. The rebellion was an uprising in 1921 against British authority and landlords in the Malabar by Mappila Muslims, and he was one of the three of the principal leaders of...
. By 28 August 1921, British administration had virtually come to an end in Malappuram, Tirurangadi, Manjeri, and Perinthalmanna, which then fell into the hands of the rebels who established complete domination over the Eranad and Valluvanad Taluks. On 24 August 1921, Variankunnath Kunjahammad Haji took over command of the rebellion from Ali Musliyar. Public proclamations were issued by Variyankunnath and Seethi that no harm should come to Hindus and that those Mappilas who resorted to looting would receive exemplary punishments.
During the initial stages of the rebellion, the British military and police were forced to withdraw from these areas but by the end of August several contingents of British troops and Gurkha arrived. Clashes with the rebels followed, one of the most notable encounters taking place at Pookkottur
Pookkottur
Pookkottur is a village in Eranad taluk, near Malappuram town, Kerala, India. It is close to Nilambur. It is on National Highway 213, and there is a state road from the town to Manjeri....
(often referred by the Moplahs as Pookkottur War), in which British troops sustained heavy casualties and had to retreat to safety.
During the early phase of the rebellion, the targets were primarily the jenmis and the British Government. Crimes committed by some of the rebels were punished by their leaders, and the general Hindu population was not affected. This changed after the proclamation of Martial law
Martial law
Martial law is the imposition of military rule by military authorities over designated regions on an emergency basis— only temporary—when the civilian government or civilian authorities fail to function effectively , when there are extensive riots and protests, or when the disobedience of the law...
and the arrival of the British army, when some members of the Hindu community were enlisted by the army to provide information on the rebels.
Once they had eliminated the minimal presence of the government, the Moplahs turned their full attention to attacking Hindus while Ernad and Valluvanad were declared Khilafat kingdoms.
By the end of 1921, the situation was brought under control. The British administration raised a special quasi-military (or Armed Police) battalion, the Malabar Special Police
Malabar Special Police
The Malabar Special Police is a paramilitary unit of the State Police of Kerala, India. This unit also trains new recruits and also helps the local police units to maintain law and order during emergencies. During emergencies, this unit forms the riot police platoons fully equipped with riot gear...
(MSP), initially consisting of non-Muslims and trained by the British Indian Army. The MSP then attacked the rioters and eventually subdued them.
Reactions
At the time, the activities of the rebels were heavily criticised by leaders of the Indian national movement, including K.P. Kesava Menon, Annie BesantAnnie Besant
Annie Besant was a prominent British Theosophist, women's rights activist, writer and orator and supporter of Irish and Indian self rule.She was married at 19 to Frank Besant but separated from him over religious differences. She then became a prominent speaker for the National Secular Society ...
and C. Sankaran Nair
C. Sankaran Nair
Sir Chettur Sankaran Nair KCIE was the President of the Indian National Congress in 1897 held at Amraoti. Until present he is the only Keralite to hold the post.-Early life and education:...
.
In one of her books, Annie Besant
Annie Besant
Annie Besant was a prominent British Theosophist, women's rights activist, writer and orator and supporter of Irish and Indian self rule.She was married at 19 to Frank Besant but separated from him over religious differences. She then became a prominent speaker for the National Secular Society ...
stated:
Citing narratives available to him regarding the actions of the Mappilas during the rebellion, C. Sankaran Nair
C. Sankaran Nair
Sir Chettur Sankaran Nair KCIE was the President of the Indian National Congress in 1897 held at Amraoti. Until present he is the only Keralite to hold the post.-Early life and education:...
wrote a strongly worded criticism of Gandhi and his support for the Khilafat Movement
Khilafat Movement
The Khilafat movement was a pan-Islamic, political campaign launched by Muslims in British India to influence the British government and to protect the Ottoman Empire during the aftermath of World War I...
, accusing him of being an anarchist. He was highly critical of the "sheer brutality" of the atrocities committed on women during the rebellion, finding them "horrible and unmentionable". In particular, he referred to a resolution under the Zamorin Raja of the time and an appeal by the Rani of Nilambur. He further wrote:
A conference held at Calicut presided over by the Zamorin of Calicut
Saamoothiri
Zamorin is the title used by the Hindu Eradi Samanthan kshatriya rulers of the erstwhile late medieval feudal kingdom of Kozhikode located in the present day state of Kerala, India....
, the Ruler of Malabar issued a resolution:
Wagon incident
On 10 November 1921, when the uprising was on its last breaths, almost 90 detained Muslim rioters were despatched by train from Tanur to the Central Prison in PodanurPodanur
Podanur , is a town 6 km southeast of the city of Coimbatore in Tamil Nadu, India. Its history goes back to the creation of first and major railway station and colony during British rule. The station has lost its importance after the major railway stations were built at Coimbatore and Palakkad...
(near Coimbatore
Coimbatore
Coimbatore , also known as Kovai , is the second largest city in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is a major commercial centre in Tamil Nadu and is known as the "Manchester of South India"....
). They were bundled into a freight wagon and the train set off. Pothanur jail was found to be full to maximum capacity, so orders were given to take the prisoners back. During the return journey, 67 of the 100 rioters suffocated to death in the closed iron wagon. Historian Sumit Sarkar
Sumit Sarkar
-Background:He belongs to one of Bengal's most enlightened and progressive Brahmo families. His father was Professor Susobhan Chandra Sarkar, a Head of Department of History at Presidency College, Calcutta and the founder Head of Department of the Department of History, []...
referred to it as the "Black Hole of Podanur".
Statistics
| Name of Taluka | Moplah population (1921) | Native Hindu population (1921) |
|---|---|---|
| Calicut | 88393 | 196435 |
| Chirakkal | 87337 | 25498 |
| Cochin | 4999 | 7318 |
| Eranad | 237402 | 163328 |
| Kottayam | 55146 | 175048 |
| Kurumbranad | 96463 | 259799 |
| Palghat | 47946 | 315432 |
| Ponnani | 229016 | 281155 |
| Walluvanad | 133919 | 259979 |
| Wayanad | 14252 | 67845 |
According to official records, the British government lost 43 troops with 126 wounded, while 2337 rebels were killed, another 1652 injured and 45,404 imprisoned. Unofficial estimates put the number at 10,000 Mappilas killed and 50,000 imprisoned, of who 20,000 were deported (mainly to the penal colony in the Andaman Islands while around 10,000 went missing. The number of civilian casualties is estimated at between 500 and 600.
Official estimates of forced religious conversions were put at 180, but unofficial estimates suggest a figure of between 1000 and 1500. Arya Samaj
Arya Samaj
Arya Samaj is a Hindu reform movement founded by Swami Dayananda on 10 April 1875. He was a sannyasi who believed in the infallible authority of the Vedas. Dayananda emphasized the ideals of brahmacharya...
sources reported a number of 1766, adding that the total might exceed 2500, the highest estimate made. Out of a total of almost 50,000 Mappilas involved in the rebellion, 678 were charged with the crime of forced religious conversion, not all of who were guilty of involvement.
Within five years subsequent to the conflict the agricultural output was averaging slightly more than than prior to it. Qureshi has said that, "In short, contrary to popular belief, Malabar did not suffer a massive devastation, and even if it did the recovery was miraculous."
Popular culture
The 1988 Malayalam language film 1921 or Ayirathi Thollayirathi Irupathonnu (English title: "Nineteen Twenty One") directed by I. V. SasiI. V. Sasi
Irruppam Veedu Sasidaran, better known as I. V. Sasi, is a Malayali Indian film director who is known for his films of the 1970s, 80s and early 90s. He has directed about 150 films in various South Indian languages and Hindi. He is known as the "veteran" or the "guru" filmmaker in Malayalam...
and written by T. Damodaran
T. Damodaran
T. Damodaran is a screenwriter of Malayalam cinema. He has scripted some of the biggest blockbusters in Malayalam cinema. Damodaran and director I. V. Sasi teamed up to produce many hit movies, including Angadi, Eee Nadu, Vartha, Avanazhi, Inspector Balram, 1921, Adimakal Udamakal, and Balram vs....
, depicts the events of the rebellion. The film stars Mammootty
Mammootty
Mammootty is an Indian film actor and producer who works mainly in Malayalam cinema. He has also acted in a few Tamil, Hindi, Telugu, and Kannada films. During a career spanning more than three decades, he has acted in more than 360 films, and is only next to Prem Nazir in the number of lead roles...
as Khadir, a retired Mappila soldier, alongside Madhu
Madhu
Madhu may refer to:* Madhu, a term in Hindi-Urdu, Sanskrit, and other languages for honey and alcohol * Madhu, in Hindu mythology, one of the asura brothers Madhu-Kaitabh, killed by Lord Vishnu...
as Ali Musliyar. The film won the Kerala State Film Award for Best Film with Popular Appeal and Aesthetic Value
Kerala State Film Award for Best Popular Film
The Kerala State Film Award for Best Film with Popular Appeal and Aesthetic Value winners:-References:**...
in the same year.
The rebellion also spawned a large number of Mappila Songs
Mappila Songs
Mappila Paattu or Mappila Song is a folklore Muslim song genre rendered to lyrics in colloquial Mappila dialect of Malayalam laced with Arabic, by the Mappilas of Malabar. Mappila songs have a distinct cultural identity, while at the same time, remain closely linked to the cultural practices of...
. Many of these describe the events surrounding the Khilafat movement in Malabar and offer a view of conditions in the area at the time. Ahmed Kutty composed the Malabar Lahala enna Khilafat Patt in 1925, which describes the events of the rebellion. Many of rebel prisoners such as Tannirkode Ossankoya composed songs in their letters to relatives.
Monuments
The Variyankunnath Kunjahammad Haji memorial town hall in Malappuram Municipality is named after the leader of the rebellion while the Tirur Wagon Tragedy memorial townhall commemorates the eponymous incident. The Pookkottur war memorial gate is dedicated to those killed in the Pookkottur battle.Along with this monuments, abandoned graves of British officers who lost their lives during the Rebellion can be seen in Malabar. This include that of Private F. M. Eley, Private H. C. Hutchings (both died of wounds received in action against the Moplahs at Tirurangadi on July 22, 1921), William John Duncan Rowley (Assisstant Suprededent of Police, Palghat, killed at Tirurangadi by a mob of Moplahs at the outbreak of the Rebellion on August 20, 1921 - aged 28).
See also
- Persecution of HindusPersecution of HindusPersecution of Hindus refers to the religious persecution inflicted upon Hindus. Hindus have been historically persecuted during Islamic rule of the Indian subcontinent and during the Goa Inquisition...
- Moplah
- Murder of Collector ConnollyMurder of Collector ConnollyMurder of Collector Connolly refers to the murder of Lt Henry Valentine Connolly, District collector and magistrate of Malabar, British India at the Collector's residence at West Hill Bungalow, Calicut on 11 September 1855 by a Mappila trio as a part of the Mappila Outbreaks in Malabar...
- KhilafatKhilafat MovementThe Khilafat movement was a pan-Islamic, political campaign launched by Muslims in British India to influence the British government and to protect the Ottoman Empire during the aftermath of World War I...
- anti-Hinduism
- Malabar Special PoliceMalabar Special PoliceThe Malabar Special Police is a paramilitary unit of the State Police of Kerala, India. This unit also trains new recruits and also helps the local police units to maintain law and order during emergencies. During emergencies, this unit forms the riot police platoons fully equipped with riot gear...
- Freeman Freeman-Thomas, 1st Marquess of WillingdonFreeman Freeman-Thomas, 1st Marquess of WillingdonMajor Freeman Freeman-Thomas, 1st Marquess of Willingdon was a British Liberal politician and administrator who served as Governor General of Canada, the 13th since Canadian Confederation, and as Viceroy and Governor-General of India, the country's 22nd.Freeman-Thomas was born in England and...
- John Burnett-StuartJohn Burnett-StuartGeneral Sir John Theodosius Burnett-Stuart GCB KBE CMG DSO was a British Army General in the 1930s.-Military career:Educated at Repton School and the Royal Military College, Sandhurst, John Burnett-Stuart was commissioned into the Rifle Brigade in 1895. He saw service on the North West Frontier of...
- Dorset RegimentDorset RegimentThe Dorset Regiment was an infantry regiment of the British Army from 1881 to 1958, the county regiment of Dorset. Until 1951 it was formally called The Dorsetshire Regiment, although usually known as "The Dorsets".-History:...
External links
- The Malabar Campaign (Moplah Rebellion)
- A rare photograph of Ali Musaliyar
- A rare photograph of Moplah prisoners taken after a battle with the government troops
NY Times reports on the rebellion
- Military Occupy Riot area in India – Published: August 28, 1921, The New York Times
- Moplahs a menace for several years Published: September 4, 1921, The New York Times
- 64 out of 100 Moplah prisoners suffocated in a closed car on Train in India – Nov 22, 1921, The New York Times
- More Moplah disorders – Published: September 14, 1921, The New York Times
- Ambush British in India – September 2, 1921, The New York Times
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