Malabar Rebellion: 94 Years Hence

Today was the 94th anniversary of Malabar Rebellion, an episode that has been shaded both as farmers’ uprising and communal riot. Members of both Hindu and Muslim communities were subject to numerous tortures. However, the incongruity of the episode lies in the fact that while those who instigated the riot were adulated, the names and fate of victims remained conveniently forgotten.

There are many who dub the rebellion as ‘Farmers’ Rebellion’. Others say it as part of the Indian Independence Movement. But there are many others who also state that the rebellion was nothing but sheer injustice towards the Hindu community of Kerala- an incident which speaks of loot, murder and rape aimed purely at the Hindus. Those who speak of the episode have ample references and testimony too.

There are individuals like Advocate Kutty Shankaran, who partook in the freedom struggle, who opine that the movement was definitely not related to the independence movement. He was one among those who denounced the pension meant for freedom fighters, the minute those insurgents who took part in the ‘Mappila Riots’ were made eligible for the same.

Malabar Rebellion was stifled by the British Army. However, the kith and kin of those scores who were slaughtered remain neglected, with no help or aid ever offered by the government, even after 94 years.

Or do we think that they were consciously omitted or shorn of a place in history?

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