Interesting Facts from History: Moplah

What is the meaning of Moplah? The Moplah sword is a sword used by the Muslim population in the Malabar Coast in southwestern India. The Moplah sword has been used since the 17th Century, both as a weapon and a tool. It was involved in several uprisings, including the Moplah uprising of 1921–22 against the British colonialists.

Also Read:- Rebellion and Response: Moplah - Malabar-end of RIOTs : Mappilas

What is the Moplah genocide? Image result for Moplah The Moplah Hindu Genocide, or the Malabar Rebellion, or the Mappila Rebellion, or the Moplah Riots refer to a series of incidents in the history of mankind, where Hindus were not only butchered, but the entire incident was either wiped out from history in entirety or twisted to fit a pre-decided story.

Where is Moplah? Malabar District Malabar region Malabar rebellion/Locations

What do you know about Moplahs? Islam, with the Moplah (Mapilla) people of the Malabar Coast constituting the state's largest Muslim community. Christians, who account for nearly one-fifth of the population, belong broadly to the Syrian Orthodox and Roman Catholic churches as well as to various Protestant denominations.

What were the causes of the Moplah rebellion? There were several causes of these movements; the major being an increase in land tax, security of tenure and exploitation of the poor peasantry by the landlords. The big and middle peasants also participated in the movements. Most of the movements, leaving aside Moplah, were characterised by non-violence.

History of Malabar Rebellion

The Malabar rebellion happened from August 20, 1921, to 1922 in the Malabar region of Kerala, India. The Malabar rebellion of 1921 (also known by the names Moplah riots, Mappila riots) started as a resistance against the British colonial rule in the Malabar region of Kerala. The popular uprising was also against the prevailing feudal system controlled by elite Hindus. The British had appointed high caste Hindus in positions of authority to get their support, this led to the protest turning against the Hindus.

For many scholars, the rebellion is primarily a peasant revolt against the colonial government. During the uprising, the rebels also attacked various symbols and institutions of the colonial state, such as telegraph lines, train stations, courts and post offices. The main leaders of the rebellion were Ali Musliyar, Variankunnath Kunjahammad Haji, Sithi Koya Thangal, M. P. Narayana Menon, Chembrasery Thangal, K. Moideenkutti Haji, Kappad Krishnan Nair, Konnara Thangal, Pandiyatt Narayanan Nambeesan, and Mozhikunnath Brahmadathan Nambudiripad.

There were a series of clashes between the Mappila peasantry and their landlords, supported by the colonial government, throughout the 19th and early 20th centuries. The heavy-handed suppression of the Khilafat Movement by the colonial government was met by resistance in the Eranad and Valluvanad taluks of Malabar. In the initial stages, the movement had the support of Mohandas Gandhi and other Indian nationalist leaders, and a number of clashes took place between Khilafat volunteers and other religious communities, but the violence soon spread across the region.

The Mappilas attacked and took control of police stations, colonial government offices, courts and government treasuries. Though the crowds who attacked and destroyed the public offices in Eranad, Valluvanad, and Ponnani Taluks were Mappilas, sometimes Nambudiris, Nairs and Thiyyas also acted as leaders in many parts of Valluvanad. British historians, on the other hand, referred to the rebellion as the Mappila revolt.

The colonial government took a heavy-handed approach towards the rebellion. Colonial troops were sent to the area and martial law was imposed. One of the most noteworthy events during the rebellion later came to be known as the "Wagon Tragedy", in which 67 out of a total of 90 Mappila prisoners destined for the Central Prison in Podanur suffocated in a closed railway goods wagon.

For six months from August 1921, the rebellion extended over 2,000 square miles (5,200 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.

Contemporary colonial 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, some contemporary Indian evaluations now view the rebellion as a national upheaval against colonial rule 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 national upheaval. In 1971, the Government of Kerala officially recognised the active participants in the events as "freedom fighters"