- Took place in 1921 in Kerala, also known as Moplah uprising.
- Led by – Variya Kunnath Kunjahammed Haji.
- It was an armed revolt staged by the Mappila Muslims of Kerala in 1921.
- In response to Gandhiji’s call (when he visited Calicut during Khilafat Movement and Non-co-operation), a Khilafat committee was formed in Malabar.
- Mappilas, under their religious head Mahadum Tangal of Ponnani pledged support to Non-Cooperation Movement.
- In 1920, farmers and low-class tenants were oppressed by the landlords (who were patronized by the British.) The Indian National Congress (INC) asked the Mappila cultivators to support both the agrarian reforms and independence actively.
- Resulting in agitation against the Hindu landlords (locally referred to as jenmis) and the British government. Their grievances were related to renewal fees, high rents, the security of tenure, and other unfair exactions of the landlords.
Response of British Government
- British brought Ghurkha regiments to suppress it and impose martial law.
- They responded with aggression.
- A tragedy took place known as “the wagon tragedy,” In which approximately 60 Mappila prisoners on their way to prison were suffocated to death in a closed railway goods wagon.
- The Malabar Rebellion in 1921 started as resistance against the British colonial rule and the feudal system in southern Malabar but ended in communal violence between Hindus and Muslims.
