The Indian Council for Historical Research (ICHR) recently formed a three-person team to review the entries in the book “Dictionary of Martyrs: India’s Freedom Struggle 1857-1947,” which Prime Minister released on 7th March 2019. This comprehensive work chronicles the lives and sacrifices of Indian martyrs from India’s First War of Independence in 1857 up until India’s Independence in 1947.
Background on the Review
Thet detailed review was commissioned by the Ministry of Culture and tasked to the ICHR to coincide with the 150th anniversary commemoration of the uprising of 1857. The review report, submitted to the ICHR in 2016, controversially suggested removing 387 names, including victims of the Wagon Tragedy and leaders of the Malabar/Moplah Rebellion.
In 2021, the contentious issue has been thrust back into the spotlight, paralleling the upcoming 100th anniversary of the Malabar rebellion of 1921 and the recent controversy surrounding a related film premiere.
Controversies and Issues Raised
Among the key arguments raised in the 2016 report stated that the Moplah outrages were predominantly communal actions committed against Hindu society as an act of sheer intolerance. The report argued that those who perished in the Wagon Tragedy were not freedom fighters for India. They had hoisted the Khilafat flag and established Khilafat courts for a brief period, allegedly forcing conversions of Hindus into Islam.
Contrastingly, numerous historians see these events as one of the first instances of nationalist uprisings in Southern India.
Malabar Rebellion or Moplah Uprising 1921: Causes and Consequences
Several factors triggered the Malabar Rebellion of 1921. After Tipu Sultan’s death in the Fourth Anglo-Mysore War in 1799, new tenancy laws, introduced by the British in Malabar, skewed in favor of landlords known as Janmis and against peasants. This discrepancy led to an exploitative system depriving peasants of their rights and landed ownership, essentially making them landless.
The conflict was fueled further by communal differences, as most landlords were Namboodiri Brahmins, while most tenants were Mapillah Muslims. Propelled by anti-British sentiments and speeches by Muslim religious leaders, the Mopillahs launched a violent rebellion against the British and the Hindu landlords. Although initially supported by Mahatma Gandhi and other Indian nationalist leaders, the increasing violence led them to distance themselves from the revolt.
The Wagon Tragedy and the Khilafat Movement
Nicknamed the ‘wagon tragedy,’ in November 1921, 67 Moplah prisoners suffocated while being transported from Tirur to the Central Prison in Podanur in a closed freight wagon.
The prisoners were part of the Khilafat movement, which began in India in 1919, led by Muhammad Ali and Shaukat Ali. The movement advocated for the control of Turkish Caliphate over Islamic sacred places in the former Ottoman Empire, Muslim sovereignty over certain territories, and sufficient territory for the Khalifa to defend the Islamic faith. The Indian National Congress supported the movement with Mahatma Gandhi hoping to unite Hindus and Muslims against British rule.
About the Indian Council of Historical Research (ICHR)
The ICHR, established under the Societies Registration Act,1860 in 1972, operates autonomously under the Ministry of Education. Its objectives include bringing historians together, giving national direction to objective and scientific historical writing, and promoting research in history. The council also provides grants and fellowships for historical research.