The Moplah rebellion (also known as the Mopla riots,Maappila Lahala in malayalam) was a British-Muslim and Hindu-Muslim conflict in Kerala that occurred in 1921. During the early months of 1921, multiple events including the Khilafat movement and the Karachi resolution fueled the fires of rebellion. A rumour spread amongst the Moplahs that the British rule had ended and the Islamic Caliphate had been re-established at Delhi. According to one view, the reasons for the Moplah rebellion was religious revivalism among the Muslim Moplahs, and hostility toward land-owning Hindu Nair community and the British administration that inevitably supported the latter.
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Rebellion and response
On Aug 20, the first incident of the rebellion occurred at Tirurangadi when the District Magistrate of Calicut with the help of troops attempted to arrest a few Moplah leaders who were in the possession of arms, resulting in clashes. Arsonists took to the street, burning and destroying government property. The initial focus was on the government, but when the limited presence of the government was eliminated, Moplahs turned their full attention on the Hindus. One Mohommed Haji was proclaimed the Caliph of the Moplah Khilafat and flags of Islamic Caliphate were flown. Ernad and Walluvanad were declared Khilafat kingdoms. By the end of 1921 the situation was brought back under control. The British administration raised a special quasi-military (or Armed Police) battalion, the Malabar Special Police (MSP). These police recruits were trained by the British Indian Army, and during its initial days the recruits were non-Muslims. The MSP attacked the rioters, eventually subduing them. Arrested Muslim rioters were to be transferred to the Central Prison in Pothanur (near Coimbatore). They were bundled into a Goods/Freight wagon, and the train started its journey. At Pothanur it was found out that the jail was full to its maximum capacity, and the prisoners were ordered to be taken back. During this time, 66 of the 100 or so rioters had suffocated to death in the closed iron wagon. According to official records, the government lost 43 troops with 126 wounded while the Moplahs lost 3,000 (with Moplah accounts putting the number at over 10,000). The rebellion was considered as a jihad against all non-Muslims (Hindu and British) to impose Islamic rule in the area. Annie Besant stated: "They Moplahs murdered and plundered abundantly, and killed or drove away all Hindus who would not apostatise. Somewhere about a lakh (100,000) of people were driven from their homes with nothing but their clothes they had on, stripped of everything...Malabar has taught us what Islamic rule still means, and we do not want to see another specimen of the Khilafat Raj in India."[1]
Interpretation
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It is important to note that the Moplah riots came just after the all-India Khilafat agitation supported by Muslim leaders and Mahatama Gandhi to avoid the elimination of the Islamic Caliphate. The Islamic caliphate was eventually abolished in 1924 by Mustafa Kemal Attaturk the dictator, strongman and father of Modern Turkey. When Attaturk did that he "pulled out the rug" from the whole Khilifat movement. This offers a strong indication that a large section of the Moplahs also saw the affair as a jihad or holy war against the British. But Hindus(kafirs) were target and killed. Nearly 30,000 Hindus were killed, thousands of innocent Hindu women were raped and thousands converted forcibly.
Notes
- ^ Besant, Annie. The Future Of Indian Politics: A Contribution To The Understanding Of Present-Day Problems P252 (in English). Kessinger Publishing, LLC. ISBN 1428626050.
