Moplah Rebellion of 1921

Introduction

Moplah Rebellion 1921, also known as Mappila Rebellion, this is a riot event happened in Malabar between Muslims and Britishers and Hindu renters in the 19th and 20th Century. Moplahs were known to be the land cultivators of Kerala who were Muslim in origin. They were mostly dominated caste by the Hindus and later by the British government except during Hyder Ali’s reign.

Initially, this event was an agricultural matter, but things went a bit out of control, which then resulted into a public movement. The ascendants of Moplahs were Muslim traders who travelled across the Arabian Sea. These ascendants then settled in Malabar and married local women. The Malayalam meaning of Moplah is son-in-law and the continuous torture against them and nepotism towards the upper-caste Hindus led them towards the Moplah rebellion of 1921.

What was the Moplah Rebellion?

The Moplah Rebellion or the Mappila Riots of 1921 were known as a set of riots by Moplah or Mappila Muslims of Kerala. These riots happened during the 19th century and early 20th century against the British authorities and Hindu landlords of the Malabar Coast.

As per the official books, there were at least 10,000 deaths approximately and more than 1 lakh Hindus were propelled to leave Kerala amid the Moplah Rebellion event. The notable Moplah leaders who led this rebellion were Variyamkunnath Kunjahammed Haji and Ali Musliyar.

Moplah Rebellion: Background

The Muslims first visited Kerala during the 7th century AD through the Arabian Sea for trading purposes. The Muslim traders were allowed to do trading and settle down there by the local rulers. They also married local Keralian women and the descendants were named the Moplahs. The word Moplah means son-in-law in the Malayalam language.

• Tipu Sultan’s Reign − There was a traditional land system in Malabar where the Jenmi or landlord decided upon which land for sowing. In addition, a total of three levels of ownership upon land production including the cultivator were there according to the norms. The Muslim armies attacked Malabar which was situated in north India under the leadership of Tipu Sultan. The Moplahs become the cultivator during this system and the Jenmi were the upper-caste Hindus.

• Hyder Ali’s Reign − Many Hindu Jenmis ran from Malabar to other areas when Hyder Ali invaded Malabar. He invaded Malabar in the 18th century and the upper- caste Hindus ran away due to the fear of persecution and forced religious conversions. Many Moplahs got the right to own lands during this period.

• British Reign − Malabar went under British Raj after the Fourth Anglo-Mysore War in 1799. It became a part of the Madras Presidency and the British restored the rights of the Jenmi’s ownership of the lands completely. The Moplahs started getting charged high rents for the lands which led to their low security. The Moplahs became highly dissatisfied with this injustice and started killing government officers and landlords. The Moplah riot is a series of riots that took place from 1836 to 1896 by the Moplahs.

Moplah Rebellion: Course

The Indian National Congress (INC) supported the Khilafat movement of India in 1919. This movement happened to support the caliphate restoration in Turkey. These Khilafat meetings that happened in Malabar ignited a communal feeling within the Moplahs. The whole movement was led from the front by Maulana Shaukat Ali, Maulana Muhammad Ali, Hakim Ajmal Khan and others.

These meetings as a result became a communal movement against the British Raj and the Hindu landlords of Malabar which previous was an agrarian movement. These rebellions included systematic brutal large-scale murders of the Hindus and British officials. They destroyed many temples and homes.

Moplah Riots happened in two stages; the leaders of the first stage were Mahadev Nayar, Gopala Menon and Yakub Hasan. They were Congress leaders who got arrested due to the National movement. Mahatma Gandhi also supported the Moplah movement and in return told them to join the Satyagraha Movement.

The leaders of the second stage were Ali Musliyar, Kalathingal Mammad and Kunjahammed Haji. This time Moplahs choose the leaders among themselves and the chosen leaders led the battle. The British continuously suppressed the Moplah Movement after they lost support from Congress.

The rebels sustained control of Malabar till 1921 but at the end of that year, the British crushed the rebellion. They raise a special battalion to control the riots of Malabar and used it against the Moplahs. Almost 10,000 Moplahs got killed during this rebellion and they never took part in any riot again. In November 1921, almost 70 Moplahs died by suffocation and this incident was known as the Wagon tragedy.

Moplah Rebellion: Consequences

There were various debates regarding the type of the Moplah rebellion. Some critics said it was a nationalistic movement against the British government. Others thought it was a series of rebellions that were communally charged. The ex-president of INC Sir C Shankaran Nair criticised the support of Gandhi in the Khilafat movement. He mentioned that due to this support, the Moplahs faced bigger acts of violence during their riots.

Conclusion

Many National Congress leaders supported the Moplah Rebellion including Gandhi Ji. However, the Indian Council for Historical Researches disagreed to count the Moplah Movement as India’s freedom movement. Only two British soldiers were murdered and most of the Hindu landlords were targeted during this movement. In 2021, the Moplah Rebellion marked its 100th anniversary, but this movement was subjected as one of the attempts to distort history.

FAQs

Qns 1. What was the Pookkottur War?

Ans. Pookkottur War was included in the series of the Mappila riots that happened by the Moplahs. This battle took place during the anti-colonial struggles in 1921 against the British Raj.

Qns 2. How many people died during the Pookkottur battle?

Ans. Almost 300 Moplahs died during the Pookkottur battle at the hand of the British army. Many British soldiers too died along with their Commander Lancaster and the vice-captain. This battle made the British soldiers tighten up as they used to think Moplahs did not stand a chance against them.

Qns 3. What was the Wagon tragedy?

Ans. A total of 70 Moplah prisoners were killed on the 19th of November 1921. They got shipped to the Central Prison in Podanur from Tirur where they were suffocated to death. This incident is known as the Wagon Tragedy.