r/IndianHistoryThread

The Malabar Rebellion of 1921, also known as the Moplah Rebellion, was an armed peasant revolt by Muslim Mappila tenants and one of the most gruesome act of violence against Hindus by radical Islamists to Enforce Sharia Law initially sparked by longstanding agrarian grievances against Hindu jenmi landlords and colonial revenue extraction, but rapidly evolving into a religiously motivated jihad targeting British officials and Hindus alike, characterized by brutally slaughtered atleast 2500 Hindus, forcibly converted atleast 2500, hundreds of women raped and sexually assaulted, 26000 Hindus fled as refugees and more than 100 Hindu temples destroyed.

The brutalities included violating the modesty of women, butchering children and pregnant women, and forcing Hindus into submission and death. These atrocities were reported in international news dailies and accounts of the police, district magistrates and other officials.

The horrors have been described in the testimonials of Hindu victims of 1921 Moplah genocide in a Letter to Lady Reading :

"𝘗𝘳𝘦𝘨𝘯𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘸𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘯 𝘤𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘱𝘪𝘦𝘤𝘦𝘴 & 𝘭𝘦𝘧𝘵 𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘳𝘰𝘢𝘥𝘴𝘪𝘥𝘦 & 𝘫𝘶𝘯𝘨𝘭𝘦𝘴 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘶𝘯𝘣𝘰𝘳𝘯 𝘣𝘢𝘣𝘦 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘵𝘳𝘶𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘭𝘦𝘥 𝘤𝘰𝘳𝘱𝘴𝘦; 𝘰𝘧 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘪𝘯𝘯𝘰𝘤𝘦𝘯𝘵 & 𝘩𝘦𝘭𝘱𝘭𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘥𝘳𝘦𝘯 𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘯 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘢𝘳𝘮𝘴 & 𝘥𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘥𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘩 𝘣𝘦𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘦𝘺𝘦𝘴 .. & 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘩𝘶𝘴𝘣𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘴 & 𝘧𝘢𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘴, 𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘦𝘥, 𝘧𝘭𝘢𝘺𝘦𝘥 & 𝘣𝘶𝘳𝘯𝘵 𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘷𝘦."

"𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘮𝘶𝘳𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘥𝘳𝘦𝘯 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘥𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘩 𝘢𝘨𝘰𝘯𝘪𝘦𝘴 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘪𝘯 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘴 ... 𝘞𝘦 𝘳𝘦𝘮𝘦𝘮𝘣𝘦𝘳 𝘩𝘰𝘸 𝘸𝘦 𝘤𝘩𝘰𝘬𝘦𝘥 & 𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘧𝘭𝘦𝘥 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘣𝘢𝘣𝘪𝘦𝘴 𝘤𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘴 𝘭𝘦𝘴𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘣𝘦𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘺 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘩𝘪𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘤𝘦."

"𝘞𝘦𝘭𝘭𝘴 & 𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘬𝘴 𝘧𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘥 𝘶𝘱 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘮𝘶𝘵𝘪𝘭𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘰𝘧𝘵𝘦𝘯 𝘰𝘯𝘭𝘺 𝘩𝘢𝘭𝘧 𝘥𝘦𝘢𝘥 𝘣𝘰𝘥𝘪𝘦𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘯𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘵 & 𝘥𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘵 𝘰𝘯𝘦𝘴 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘳𝘦𝘧𝘶𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘢𝘣𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘢𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘰𝘧 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘍𝘢𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘴....𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘤𝘦𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘴𝘩𝘪𝘱 𝘥𝘦𝘴𝘦𝘤𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘥 & 𝘥𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘰𝘺𝘦𝘥... 𝘪𝘮𝘢𝘨𝘦𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘦𝘪𝘵𝘺 𝘴𝘩𝘢𝘮𝘦𝘧𝘶𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘪𝘯𝘴𝘶𝘭𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘪𝘭𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘴𝘭𝘢𝘶𝘨𝘩𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘤𝘰𝘸𝘴"

The riots led by Haji and Ali started as a protest against the overthrowing of the Turkish Caliphate. The Islamist rioters aimed to establish "the Caliphate rule" in India by establishing a Khilafat Army consisting of over 60,000 Muslim soldiers with Turkish Caliphate flags. The slogans were merely against the "Kafirs," non-believers of Islam, specifically against Malabar Hindus and even the British.

Dr. B R Ambedkar, a champion of social justice and freedom, described the massacres, forcible conversions, desecration of temples, and other barbaric acts as "indescribable" by the Moplahs.

Regarding the atrocities committed by the Moplah jihadists in Malabar, the then Viceroy wrote: “The Moplah rioters committed horrific atrocities on Hindus for no reason. Their only crime was that they were infidels. For this crime, they were hacked to death and their houses were burnt down. Those who could not flee from their homes were forcibly converted. Their places of worship were destroyed, their women were shamefully stripped and after being converted, they were handed over to the Moplah rebels.”

Sources:

1. byjus.com/free-ias-prep/moplah-rebellion-1921/
2. Moplah Rebellion - Hansard - UK Parliament
3. The Moplah Rebellion of 1921-22 and Its Genesis.
4. Moplah genocide of Hindus: When 38 Hindus were slaughtered, thrown into Thuvoor well
5. Remembering the Malabar Hindu Genocide of 1921 - INSIGHT UK
6. in 1921 Moplahs massacred Christians, too
7. hussainrandathani.in/assets/admin/word/9be1b3bf23cd5142765771401c437fdf.htm
8. https://www.dharmadispatch.in/history/hindu-voices-from-the-graveyard-unearthing-the-tragic-stories-of-the-malabar-hindus

On October 26 1947, the Maharaja of Kashmir signed the Instrument of Accession, marking a significant turning point in the history of Jammu and Kashmir. As we commemorate this event, here are some intriguing and lesser-known facts:

1. The Instrument of Accession was signed, merging Jammu and Kashmir into the Dominion of India, a move that shaped the region's future.

2. The accession came at a crucial time, just as tribal militias and Pakistani forces invaded Kashmir, leading to the first India-Pakistan war.

3. Jammu and Kashmir was granted special autonomy under Article 370 of the Indian Constitution until it was revoked in 2019.

4. Jammu and Kashmir is a land of diverse cultures and languages, including Dogri, Kashmiri, and Ladakhi, making it a melting pot of traditions.

5. Beyond politics, Jammu and Kashmir boasts breathtaking landscapes, from the serene Dal Lake to the majestic Himalayas.

6. The region has faced its share of challenges, but its people have shown incredible resilience.

Remembering this day is not just about history but also celebrating its people's cultural richness and strength.

Photo: Kingdom of Kashmir accession to Dominion of India document 10/26/1947 State Department library

In the 1940s, the Communist Party published a series of cartoons about Bose.

In one, Japan Premier Tojo was seen riding a donkey Bose.
In another one, Joseph Goebbels was seen raising a cat/dog Bose for a broadcast.
In a third one, Tojo was walking with a puppet Bose.
And in a fourth one, a bomb Bose was seen falling on starving Indians.

Following Germany's attack on the USSR in June 1941 (Operation Barbarossa), the Communist Party of India (CPI) shifted its stance from opposing the British to supporting them as part of the "People's War" against Fascism. During this period, the CPI's mouthpiece, People's War magazine, published several cartoons and articles maligning Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose for his alliance with the Axis powers.

The communists implied independence as the deliverance of the working classes from bourgeois exploitation which could be attained by overthrowing of the capitalist order through a socialist revolution and substituting it with the ‘dictatorship of the proletariat’.

The Congress and the communists were always at ideological loggerheads with each other. The communists perceived the Gandhian movement as a bourgeois struggle and transfer of power as replacement of colonialism with that of neo-colonialism, where imperialist interests would be served better.

When the clamour for Pakistan by the Muslim League, on the basis of Jinnah’s two-nation theory was warming up, and Congress leaders were in jail following the uprising of August 1942, the CPI released a ‘thesis’, drafted by Gangadhar Adhikari. 

The substance of the thesis was that there was no such nation as India, that India was really a conglomeration of as many as eighteen different ‘nationalities’ and that each one of these nationalities had the right to secede from the conglomeration. The communist understanding was that Muslims would be oppressed by the Hindus in united India and that the League had become ‘progressive’.

Supporting Jinnah’s demand for Pakistan, the communists argued that secession, far from dismembering the country, would “lead to still greater and more glorious unity of India, the like of which India has not seen in her history.”

source:
https://www.scribd.com/document/638683092/G-Adhikari-thesis-1942

https://www.scribd.com/document/638683088/G-Adhikari-Communist-thesis-for-partition-1942

https://www.marxists.org/subject/india/cpi/pakistan-national-unity/nat-unity-now.pdf

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My own opinion after reading all this: basically, CPI is saying that india shouldn't get freedom unless Muslim League's demand are fulfilled because in that case "Rights" of indian muslim will be taken away.

There are saying that formation of ML is not formed because Ethnology-religious Ideologies i.e. "Reactionary" but to protect the interest of indian muslims from imperialist Hindu Congress and Mahashabha.

MGS Narayanan: History, Art, Culture and People is a commemorative volume dedicated to the memory of Prof. M. G. S. Narayanan, one of India’s most eminent historians. Published on the occasion of his first death anniversary on 26 April 2025, the volume pays tribute to his extraordinary contributions to Indian history, historiography, and cultural studies.