Moplah Rebellion: Background, Causes, Events, Leaders & Impacts | UPSC

The Moplah Rebellion is a historical event that occurred a century ago. India is celebrating the centenary year of the Moplah rebellion (1921-22). The Moplah Rebellion was led by Variyamkunnath Kunhamed Haji, who was the main protagonist of the Malabar Rebellion of 1921.

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In this article on Moplah Rebellion UPSC, we will understand various aspects of the Moplah Rebellion, including the reasons behind the outrage and its consequences on India's freedom struggle. You can also enroll and prepare for History topics through Testbook's flagship UPSC History Optional Coaching Program. Join the UPSC coaching today and boost your preparation.

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What is the Moplah Rebellion of 1921?

The Moplah Rebellion is also called the Mappila Rebellion or Malabar Rebellion by the British. In the 19th and early 20th centuries, Mappila Muslims of Kerala started revolting against Malabar's British and Hindu landlords. Several riots were organized in the southern taluks of Malabar in August 1921. This rebellion took the shape of guerrilla-type attacks on Janmis. The rebellion considered Upper caste Hindu feudal landlords, the police, and troops as Janmis. The Moplah Rebellion was an armed revolt. The leader of this rebellion was Variyamkunnath Kunjahammed Haji. In January 1922, the government troops captured Haji, who was the hero of the Moplah Rebellion.

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Moplah Rebellion Background

There were generations of resentment in the community, including Muslims of the Moplah community of the Malabar region of Kerala against the local landlord elite, the upper caste Hindu Nairs and Brahmins. Some uprisings were experienced in the area in the 19th century as a result of the following reasons:

• Land Ownership System in Malabar: Malabar followed a hierarchical system of agriculture where Jenmis were designated as the land owners, mainly Namboothiri Brahmins and Nair chieftains who enjoyed hereditary land tenure. They sublet the land to tenants, sharing the produce, since they could not farm it.
• Invasion of Hyder Ali: Hyder Ali of Mysore conquered Malabar in the late 1700s; consequently, Hindu landlords escaped Malabar in fear of being persecuted and forcibly converted. Consequently, this gave the Moplah tenants more control over the fields in which they worked.
• Conquest by the British: On the defeat of Tipu, in the 4th Anglo-Mysore war, Malabar was conquered and annexed to the Madras Presidency. The Jenmis, with the help of the British, regained their ground and conquered back.
• Land Reforms: After the British had enacted new laws to acknowledge the status of Jenmis land as privately held property, the Moplah tenants could eventually be evicted by the Jenmis and the rent was hiked enormously. This saw a lot of conflicts and riots in the years 1836 to 1896.

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Moplah Rebellion Causes

The Revolt of the Moplahs in 1921 was one such rebellion against local Muslim tenants, the Hindu landlords, and the British administration. It resulted in the socioeconomic and religious fusion and political will. The Khilafat and the Non-Cooperation movements, with Mahatma Gandhi as their leader, also caused their revolt. The most obvious reasons for the rebellion are the following:

• Land Tenure System and Agrarian Discontent: The British-imposed land tenure system favored the landlords, imposing high rents (as high as 75–80% of net produce) and harsh conditions on tenants, leading to widespread exploitation.
• Economic Hardship: Tenants were often evicted without compensation, leading to extreme financial hardship, poverty, and frustration among the Mappilas.
• Impact of Khilafat Non-Cooperation Movement: The Mappilas, like the rest of the Indian Muslims, were linked to the Khilafat movement to save the Ottoman Caliphate. The unrest increased due to the failure and abolishment by the Turkish government of the Caliphate in 1924. The non-cooperation movement of 1920 in Malabar had occurred due to an anti-British feeling amongst the Mappilas, who had resentments against the British colonialist rule.

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Moplah Rebellion Events

On August 20, 1921, the Moplah Rebellion broke out in the town of Tirurangadi when a bloodshed clash was witnessed between the Moplahs and the British police. This resulted in an uprising among the Eranad and Valluvanad areas of Malabar. Insurgents looted their homes and targeted the residences of the Hindu landlords and attacked the general offices. The British government reacted harshly, and in response to the revolt, they used the Malabar Special Force to suppress it. At the beginning of 1922, the rebellion was mostly suppressed.

Moplah Rebellion Leaders

The effects of the collapse of the Ottoman Empire created insecurities and frustration among the Moplah, justifying the revolt. Most of these leaders emerged and engaged in aggression against the Hindu landlords and the British authorities. The following are some of the leading figures who took a lead in the Moplah Rebellion:

• Variyamkunnath Kunjahammed Haji: A parallel Khilafat government was established by Variyamkunnath Kunjahammed Haji in the Nilambur area. He tried to give the revolt a secular character by ensuring that the Hindus were not assaulted or subject to looting.
• Ali Musaliar: He was a spiritual leader and Khilafat supporter who emerged as one of the prominent leaders of the rebellion. Eventually, he was captured and executed by the British.
• Sayyid Alavi Tangal: A religious leader who inspired Moplahs to fight against British colonialism and Hindu landlords.

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Moplah Rebellion Impacts

The Moplah Rebellion started as a peasant movement against the oppressive landlords, but quickly assumed a religious colour. Over time, it was interrelated with the larger struggle against British rule, which was anti-colonial. Its moves were wide-ranging, not only around communal relations but also on the freedom movement.

• Communal Tension: The Moplah Rebellion created a communal rift between the Hindu landlords and the Muslim peasants.
• Growth of Nationalism and Anti-Colonial Sentiment: Although it started as a local peasant uprising, it was linked with the Khilafat Movement and the Non-Cooperation Movement, both aimed at resisting British rule.
• Deviation from Non-Cooperation: Gandhi's Non-Cooperation Movement was based on nonviolent resistance against British rule. The Moplah Rebellion's turn towards violence and departure from Gandhian principles of peaceful protest led Gandhi to distance himself.
• Wagon Tragedy: When the rebellion was near its end, on November 10, 1921, almost a hundred Muslim detainees were transported from Tirur to the Central Prison in Bellary via rail. Out of the 100 inmates, 70 of them died by suffocation inside the closed railroad wagon.

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