Views on the Malabar Riots - 1921

The central thesis of my analysis of the Malabar riots is that the disturbances began in response to the general discontent and dispossession felt by the Muslim peasant class. Initially sparked by religious fervor, these riots escalated into large-scale violence where innocent non-Muslims were indiscriminately massacred, plunging the region into anarchy. It is indisputable that the peasant class in late 19th and early 20th century Malabar suffered significant exploitation from wealthy Hindu landowners and the indifferent British rulers. Lower caste Hindus were similarly exploited and impoverished under the same social system as the Muslims. In fact, conversions to Christianity and Islam were often due to the rigid caste system and lack of social mobility among lower castes.

The fact that lower caste Hindus, who were more numerous in Malabar, faced similar exploitation and poverty as lower-class Muslims, raises questions about why only Muslims, particularly from Ernad and Valluvanad Taluks, initially rebelled against the British. The islamic religious violence by the "mappilas", often glorified in Malabar Muslim 'Badr' songs, had a long history of sporadic outbreaks against landlords and British authorities, driven by religious martyrdom ideologies. This fact was recognized by both the British and the larger populace, as evidenced by the numerrous accounts of the attacks. Until around 1920, such violence remained localized and moslty targeted wealthy landlords, rather than the real ruling class, who were the British.

The echoes of national politics eventually reached Malabar against the backdrop of rising Indian nationalism in the aftermath of World War I and upon the dissolution of the Ottoman Empire. The dissolution of Turkish Ottoman empire, which ruled Arab region, deeply offended Muslims who viewed the abdication of Ottoman Khalifa and his forced exile as an insult to their religious identity. Often Muslims rallied under the banner of Islam, often overlooking other identities such as nationality and community. To take this religious movement into the national main stream as in the freedom struggle against the British rule, the Khilafat movement soon became a rallying cry for Indian Muslims against the British rule, supported by Mahatma Gandhi and other nationalist leaders who sought unity through this cause.

Gandhi's visit to Malabar in 1920 marked a turning point when tensions slowly started getting escalated into riots. The Khilafat movement in Malabar soon turned violent as uneducated Muslims, driven by religious sentiments, instigated looting and killings and disregarded order. The arrest of a prominent Khilafat leader from Thiroorangady's mosque was the spark that ignited the sequence of events leading to the Malabar riots. A protest march demanding his release escalated into a violent mob that attacked a local police station, killing officers and seizing weapons and money. With little initial response from British authorities, the emboldened mob, led by a few individuals, expanded their attacks on government establishments across Ernad Taluk.

The British eventually organized a response, but the riots had already spread and intensified, reflecting a complex interplay of socio-economic grievances, religious fervor, and nationalist sentiments.