Wagon Tragedy awaits apt memorial
November 21, 2011 By John Mary DC Kozhikode
Tags: Wagon Tragedy
As many as 70 anti-British agitators, mostly Muslims, locked up in a goods train and sent to Central Prison at Podannor near Coimbatore on November 19, 1921, were found dead in the wagon the next day. This is etched in Kerala anti-colonial struggle as the Wagon Tragedy.
However, 90 years later, the memory of the tragic chapter has grown dim in the Kerala's social psyche.
The new generation has no clue to the local uprising except the humble memorials-the Tirur municipal hall, a replica of the wagon and a library at Kurumvambalam, to which belonged 35 of the victims.
The political climate was oppressive that the kin of the dead lived in abject fear of the colonial masters. The world learnt of the tragedy from a news report in Coimbatore, which was not under the martial law.
The commemoration of the tragedy is fortuitous as Deccan Chronicle rolls out of the press on the anniversary.
However, the whole saga of the freedom struggle in Malabar cannot be encapsulated in the narrative of the ill-fated wagon.
Possibly a composite museum, capturing valiant struggles, including the salt satyagraha at Payyannur and many other uprisings, could be an idea worth exploring during the Archeological Society of India’s Heritage Week.
Yet the Wagon tragedy is a perpetual reminder of cruelty. History records that the even the Nazis packed only 50 in a wagon while sending the Jews to Auschwitz.
Sunday, November 27, 2011
It was a wagon massacre, not tragedy!
It was a wagon massacre, not tragedy!
November 21, 2011 By K.P. Sethunath DC Kozhikode
Illustration: P.K. Job
RELATED ARTICLES
Britons' symbols of pride list
Wagon Tragedy awaits memorial
As many as 70 anti-British agitators, mostly Muslims, locked up in a goods train and sent to Central Prison at Podannor near Coimbatore on November 19, 1921, were found dead in the wagon the next day. This is etched in Kerala anti-colonial struggle as the Wagon Tragedy.
The quest for memory is the search for one’s history – Pierre Nora, French historian
No one consciously creates a tragedy. However, whenever one does such a thing it should no more be called a tragedy. The British who ruled the country, however, had been clever.
By using the suffix ‘tragedy’ they lessened the intensity of the inhuman crimes they committed. The Jallianwala Bagh shoot-out was not a tragedy; nor the stuffing of 101 persons inside a railway goods wagon. The Wagon Tragedy of 1921, in fact, should’ve been known as Wagon Massacre.
Although 90 years have passed, the Wagon Massacre still remains as an event largely ignored by the official discourses of anti-colonial struggle at the regional and national levels. Even, survivors of the victims of the tragedy have no concrete memory of an event which represented one of the bloodiest chapters in the oppressive British regime in Malabar.
The run up to the inhuman incident has to be traced through the narrative of Mappilla Rebellion which gripped Eranad and Valluvanad taluks of the then Madras Presidency under the British rule. The nature and character of the rebellion is a controversial issue in the historiography of Malabar in particular and Kerala in general.
Wagon Tragedy is one of those incidents, which deserves a treatment such as Event, Metaphor and Memory; Chauri Chaura 1922-92, the path breaking study done by Shahid Amin on Chauri Chaura incident in which rebellions peasants in Uttar Pradesh burned down a police station killing 22 policemen.
The study by Amin is an attempt to unravel the complex interplay of an event which transforms into a memory and metaphor in the interstices of history.
Unfortunately, no such study is made about the Wagon Tragedy and the fate of the 71 people, who suffocated to death in an air-tight wooden railway freight wagon. It is still mired as a footnote in the overall narrative of the Mappilla Rebellion.
On the fateful day of November 19, 1921, 101 persons rounded up by the British military from various parts of south Malabar were put in to the freight wagon to transport them to Poddannur near Coimbatore. The arrests were made as part of the British efforts to suppress the rebellion of the Musilm peasants raging in the region.
The Congress and khilafat coming together had ignited the simmering discontent amongst Muslim tenant peasants against the British rule which had imposed high land revenue on peasants. The rebellion which broke out in August 1921 following the British police raiding a mosque in Thirurangadi raged for nearly six months. By November most of the leaders were arrested and the British imposed martial law in the region.
Thousands of people were arrested from the region and it was a common practice to transport them to the neighbouring Tamil Nadu in railway freight wagons as prisons in Malabar was overflowing with the arrested persons. But, mostly these were done in open wagons. However, on the fateful day 101 persons were dumped in to a closed wagon and send to Coimbatore.
According to the narrative of a survivor, “we were perspiring profusely and we realized that air was insufficient and we could not breathe. We were so thirsty that some of us licked the perspiration from our clothes. I saw something like gauze over the door with very small holes so that no air could come in. Some of us tried to put it away but we were not strong enough”.
To cut the long story short, when train reached Podannur the next day and the wagon was opened 64 persons were found dead, while seven others died on their way to hospital or in the hospital. The remaining 30 people were tried and sentenced to imprisonment ranging from seven years to 14 years.
The British government glossed over the inhuman treatment of the issue and punished the wagon manufacturer, the transport officer and sergeant as culprits. The top officials of the British military administration in Malabar responsible for the heinous crime were left scot-free.
The only solace was that the dependents of those killed were given a compensation of 300 rupees, perhaps a substantial amount when we take in to account the rate of inflation during the past 90 years.
‘Nobody thought of its political significance’
EMS Namboodiripad, Marxist ideologue and first chief minister of Kerala: “Nobody then had even thought of Wagon tragedy in Malabar as something politically significant at all-India level.
The division created within the (khilafat) as a result of transformation of Malabar rebellion, that took off initially as tenant political movements, into ‘Mappila rebellion’ resulted in the failure among a large section of people to condemn and sense the depth of the cruelties by British authorities."
(The Khilafat movement (1919-1924) was a pan-Islamic, political campaign launched by Muslims in British India to influence the British government and to protect the Ottoman Empire in the aftermath of World War I. The shrewd Mahatma Gandhi merged the Khilafat movement and the Non-Cooperation Struggle against colonial Britain)
M.Gangadharan: “When you consider months of torture, the horrific incident of Wagon tragedy of November 19-20 will seem trivial. “However now we will have to ferret out information through researches on the tortures held in places under ‘Martial law’."
“When we look at the whole tragedy stories of Malabar riots, it does not belong to a particular community or community group or torturer or victim alone. Like Hindus, Muslims were also present on both sides.”
Prof. M.G.S. Narayanan, former chairman of Indian Council of Historical Research: “Only through great efforts could we understand the real meaning of incidents that take place around us. Even an incident that seems to be very simple might have many perspectives to it. In this sense, the local people due to their laziness were unable to comprehend even the Mappilah riots in recent times."
Source: Wagon Tragedy Souvenir published in 1981
Those names still glitter
Wagon tragedy martyrs and places they belonged;
Mambad:
Illikkal Idru
Thrikkalangode:
Puthiyarakkal Koya
Kuttithodi Koyakkutty
Kunnappally Achuthan Nair
Unnippurayan
Cholakkapparambil Chetty Pichu
Meledath Sankaran Nair
Payyanad:
Pulakkat Thodi Moideen
Malappuram:
Mankarathodi Thalappil Idru
Mankarathodi Moideen Haji
Vallikkappatta Mohammed
Peruvankuzhy Kutty Hassan
Peruvankuzhy Meeran
Melmuri:
Parachottil Ahammed Kutty Musliar
Porur:
Madurakkariyan Kathli
Arikkuzhiyan Seithali
Punnappala:
Manikattavan Unni Moideen
Keenathodi Muhammed
Moozhikkal Athan
Kappakkunnu Ahmed
Kappakkunnu Mootha
Kappakkunnu Abdulla
Kappakkunnu Cheriya Unnimeyi
Kappakkunnu Kunjali
Manikettavan Pokkaru Kutty
Polakkad Idruman
Kappakkunnu Valiya Unneen Haji
Nilambur:
Asarithoppiyitta Ahmed
Chakiripparamban Alavi
Kuruvambalam:
Vayalpalayi Meeran
Ponakkattu Marakkaru
Vadakkeppattu Kunju Muhammed
Orakkottil Enadhi
Kureethodi Yousuf
Puthan Veedu Kunjahammed
Kallethodi Ahmed
Peringodan Abdu
Cheeran Puthur Kunjayamu
Athanikkal Moideen Haji
Nallan Kinattingal Muhammed
Parayan Palliyalil Kunjayamu
Panagodan Thodi Muhammed
Punayan Palliyalil Seithali
Madathil Ahmed Kutty
Kongat Moideen
Peringodan Khadar
Korakkottil Ahmed
Kolakkandathil Moideen Kutty
Koottappilakkal Koyama
Appamkandan Ayamootti
Poolakkal Nodika Kunjayamu
Erasseni Palliyalil Aali
Kongot Cheriyan Moideen
Tharakkuzhiyil Eni
Melethiyel Kunjalavi
Valayilthod Kunjayan
Mankavil Koomath Ahmed
Thekketh Alavi
Melethil Valiya Moideen Kutty
Melethil Cheriya Moideen Kutty
Kollithodi Korakkottil Avaran Kutty
Koripparambath Idruman
Puthanpeedikkal Meeran
Perumbali Kunju Moideen
Chemmalassery:
Erukkuparambu Seithali
Thattan Thoppiyitta Ahmed
Thekkethil Moideen
Thazhathil Kutty Hassan
Thekkethil Moideen
Veluthangodan Kunjayamu
November 21, 2011 By K.P. Sethunath DC Kozhikode
Illustration: P.K. JobRELATED ARTICLES
Britons' symbols of pride list
Wagon Tragedy awaits memorial
As many as 70 anti-British agitators, mostly Muslims, locked up in a goods train and sent to Central Prison at Podannor near Coimbatore on November 19, 1921, were found dead in the wagon the next day. This is etched in Kerala anti-colonial struggle as the Wagon Tragedy.
The quest for memory is the search for one’s history – Pierre Nora, French historian
No one consciously creates a tragedy. However, whenever one does such a thing it should no more be called a tragedy. The British who ruled the country, however, had been clever.
By using the suffix ‘tragedy’ they lessened the intensity of the inhuman crimes they committed. The Jallianwala Bagh shoot-out was not a tragedy; nor the stuffing of 101 persons inside a railway goods wagon. The Wagon Tragedy of 1921, in fact, should’ve been known as Wagon Massacre.
Although 90 years have passed, the Wagon Massacre still remains as an event largely ignored by the official discourses of anti-colonial struggle at the regional and national levels. Even, survivors of the victims of the tragedy have no concrete memory of an event which represented one of the bloodiest chapters in the oppressive British regime in Malabar.
The run up to the inhuman incident has to be traced through the narrative of Mappilla Rebellion which gripped Eranad and Valluvanad taluks of the then Madras Presidency under the British rule. The nature and character of the rebellion is a controversial issue in the historiography of Malabar in particular and Kerala in general.
Wagon Tragedy is one of those incidents, which deserves a treatment such as Event, Metaphor and Memory; Chauri Chaura 1922-92, the path breaking study done by Shahid Amin on Chauri Chaura incident in which rebellions peasants in Uttar Pradesh burned down a police station killing 22 policemen.
The study by Amin is an attempt to unravel the complex interplay of an event which transforms into a memory and metaphor in the interstices of history.
Unfortunately, no such study is made about the Wagon Tragedy and the fate of the 71 people, who suffocated to death in an air-tight wooden railway freight wagon. It is still mired as a footnote in the overall narrative of the Mappilla Rebellion.
On the fateful day of November 19, 1921, 101 persons rounded up by the British military from various parts of south Malabar were put in to the freight wagon to transport them to Poddannur near Coimbatore. The arrests were made as part of the British efforts to suppress the rebellion of the Musilm peasants raging in the region.
The Congress and khilafat coming together had ignited the simmering discontent amongst Muslim tenant peasants against the British rule which had imposed high land revenue on peasants. The rebellion which broke out in August 1921 following the British police raiding a mosque in Thirurangadi raged for nearly six months. By November most of the leaders were arrested and the British imposed martial law in the region.
Thousands of people were arrested from the region and it was a common practice to transport them to the neighbouring Tamil Nadu in railway freight wagons as prisons in Malabar was overflowing with the arrested persons. But, mostly these were done in open wagons. However, on the fateful day 101 persons were dumped in to a closed wagon and send to Coimbatore.
According to the narrative of a survivor, “we were perspiring profusely and we realized that air was insufficient and we could not breathe. We were so thirsty that some of us licked the perspiration from our clothes. I saw something like gauze over the door with very small holes so that no air could come in. Some of us tried to put it away but we were not strong enough”.
To cut the long story short, when train reached Podannur the next day and the wagon was opened 64 persons were found dead, while seven others died on their way to hospital or in the hospital. The remaining 30 people were tried and sentenced to imprisonment ranging from seven years to 14 years.
The British government glossed over the inhuman treatment of the issue and punished the wagon manufacturer, the transport officer and sergeant as culprits. The top officials of the British military administration in Malabar responsible for the heinous crime were left scot-free.
The only solace was that the dependents of those killed were given a compensation of 300 rupees, perhaps a substantial amount when we take in to account the rate of inflation during the past 90 years.
‘Nobody thought of its political significance’
EMS Namboodiripad, Marxist ideologue and first chief minister of Kerala: “Nobody then had even thought of Wagon tragedy in Malabar as something politically significant at all-India level.
The division created within the (khilafat) as a result of transformation of Malabar rebellion, that took off initially as tenant political movements, into ‘Mappila rebellion’ resulted in the failure among a large section of people to condemn and sense the depth of the cruelties by British authorities."
(The Khilafat movement (1919-1924) was a pan-Islamic, political campaign launched by Muslims in British India to influence the British government and to protect the Ottoman Empire in the aftermath of World War I. The shrewd Mahatma Gandhi merged the Khilafat movement and the Non-Cooperation Struggle against colonial Britain)
M.Gangadharan: “When you consider months of torture, the horrific incident of Wagon tragedy of November 19-20 will seem trivial. “However now we will have to ferret out information through researches on the tortures held in places under ‘Martial law’."
“When we look at the whole tragedy stories of Malabar riots, it does not belong to a particular community or community group or torturer or victim alone. Like Hindus, Muslims were also present on both sides.”
Prof. M.G.S. Narayanan, former chairman of Indian Council of Historical Research: “Only through great efforts could we understand the real meaning of incidents that take place around us. Even an incident that seems to be very simple might have many perspectives to it. In this sense, the local people due to their laziness were unable to comprehend even the Mappilah riots in recent times."
Source: Wagon Tragedy Souvenir published in 1981
Those names still glitter
Wagon tragedy martyrs and places they belonged;
Mambad:
Illikkal Idru
Thrikkalangode:
Puthiyarakkal Koya
Kuttithodi Koyakkutty
Kunnappally Achuthan Nair
Unnippurayan
Cholakkapparambil Chetty Pichu
Meledath Sankaran Nair
Payyanad:
Pulakkat Thodi Moideen
Malappuram:
Mankarathodi Thalappil Idru
Mankarathodi Moideen Haji
Vallikkappatta Mohammed
Peruvankuzhy Kutty Hassan
Peruvankuzhy Meeran
Melmuri:
Parachottil Ahammed Kutty Musliar
Porur:
Madurakkariyan Kathli
Arikkuzhiyan Seithali
Punnappala:
Manikattavan Unni Moideen
Keenathodi Muhammed
Moozhikkal Athan
Kappakkunnu Ahmed
Kappakkunnu Mootha
Kappakkunnu Abdulla
Kappakkunnu Cheriya Unnimeyi
Kappakkunnu Kunjali
Manikettavan Pokkaru Kutty
Polakkad Idruman
Kappakkunnu Valiya Unneen Haji
Nilambur:
Asarithoppiyitta Ahmed
Chakiripparamban Alavi
Kuruvambalam:
Vayalpalayi Meeran
Ponakkattu Marakkaru
Vadakkeppattu Kunju Muhammed
Orakkottil Enadhi
Kureethodi Yousuf
Puthan Veedu Kunjahammed
Kallethodi Ahmed
Peringodan Abdu
Cheeran Puthur Kunjayamu
Athanikkal Moideen Haji
Nallan Kinattingal Muhammed
Parayan Palliyalil Kunjayamu
Panagodan Thodi Muhammed
Punayan Palliyalil Seithali
Madathil Ahmed Kutty
Kongat Moideen
Peringodan Khadar
Korakkottil Ahmed
Kolakkandathil Moideen Kutty
Koottappilakkal Koyama
Appamkandan Ayamootti
Poolakkal Nodika Kunjayamu
Erasseni Palliyalil Aali
Kongot Cheriyan Moideen
Tharakkuzhiyil Eni
Melethiyel Kunjalavi
Valayilthod Kunjayan
Mankavil Koomath Ahmed
Thekketh Alavi
Melethil Valiya Moideen Kutty
Melethil Cheriya Moideen Kutty
Kollithodi Korakkottil Avaran Kutty
Koripparambath Idruman
Puthanpeedikkal Meeran
Perumbali Kunju Moideen
Chemmalassery:
Erukkuparambu Seithali
Thattan Thoppiyitta Ahmed
Thekkethil Moideen
Thazhathil Kutty Hassan
Thekkethil Moideen
Veluthangodan Kunjayamu
90th anniversary of Malabar Revolt observed
90th anniversary of Malabar Revolt observed
Submitted by admin4 on 1 March 2011 - 5:19pm
Indian Muslim
By TCN News,
Malappuram: The 90th anniversary of the Malabar Revolt of 1921 was observed at the Ali Musliyar Nagar in Tirurangadi. The three-day programme ended yesterday at the PSMO College.
The people of Malabar can be proud that the tactics used by Kunjali Marakkar in the wars of yore are still followed by the Indian army, said Dr KKN Kurup, famous historian and former VC of the Calicut University. He was delivering the chief address on the topic ‘in memory of the Khilafat leaders’.
Gate at Pookkottur to commemorate the famous battle
Panakkad Sadiqali Shihab Thangal inaugurated the valedictory function in memory of the Khilafat leaders. Dr EK Ahmed Kutty, Dr Husain Randathani, N Abdulla Musliyar Cherur, SM Muhammed Koya and Dr Vasu Thilleri spoke. Abdussamad Samadani presided over the session in which CH Musa Master welcomed and Prof P Mahmud delivered the vote of thanks. A Mappila Kalamela was held afterwards in which Firose Babu and Faisal Elettil led a song fest.
The three-day programme was inaugurated by Central Minister of State for Home Affairs Mullappally Ramachandran on Saturday. He said that the Malabar Revolt was freedom struggle and not just a Mappila rebellion. People took part in the revolt with nationalistic and secular spirit. Muslims were brutally tortured in the revolt and so they gave everything for it. He added that a serious research and factual investigation should be conducted about the Revolt.
A hall in memory of the martyrs of the Malabar Revolt was inaugurated on Sunday by Kerala Assembly Speaker K Radhakrishnan at the Tirurangadi Young Men’s Library. Mr Radhakrishnan said that the fighters of the Malabar Revolt gave their lives for the freedom of the country. It is the same freedom that the feudalism of that time and the imperialism of the present time are trying to destroy, he added. Muslim League general secretary PK Kunhalikkutty inaugurated the family get-together of the Malabar revolutionaries and the history seminar. ET Muhammed Basheer, MP, distributed the mementos for the families of the revolutionaries. Central Minister of State for External Affairs E Ahmed inaugurated the seminar on ‘Mappilas and the multi-cultural society in Kerala’ in which journalist CP Saidalavi delivered the chief address. Dr KN Ganesh, Dr Mustafa Kamal Pasha, AK Mustafa, Prof P Mammed and CP Abdurahman Kutty spoke among others.
The EMS Study and Research Centre had organized a ‘history development seminar’ as part of the 90th anniversary observations of the Malabar Revolt on February 18 at Tanur. Similar programmes were reportedly held at Vailathur and Niramaruthur on February 20 and 21.
The Malabar Revolt took place in Malabar, especially in the Ernad and Valluvanad talukas, in 1921. It was a culmination of the peasant uprisings in the region for about a century against the landlords and the British authorities. The Mappila Outrageous Act used to torture the Mappilas (Muslims of Malabar) also led to the unending hatred towards the government-landlord nexus. The Revolt of 1921 took place when the peasants, mainly Mappila Muslims and low caste Hindus, got a public venue of the Khilafat – Non Cooperation Movement of the Congress led by Mahatma Gandhi and the Ali Brothers. There were battles at different places such as Pookkottur, Tirurangadi, Malappuram, Manjeri, Perinthalmanna, Pandikkad and Tirur etc from August 1921 onwards. Historic facts say that the British rule was absent in several places of Malabar for about six months after which the revolt was crushed with the help of Gurkha regiments from north India. The leaders of the rebellion such as Ali Musliyar and Variyankunnath Kunjahammed Haji were executed. Those who participated in the revolt were jailed, exiled to the Andamans or executed. Though the revolt was mainly against the British government, the fighters also attacked and looted money of the landlords and those who helped the British, who were mainly upper caste Hindus. This has led to some historians terming it as a Mappila Rebellion against Hindus, though major historians disagree.
Submitted by admin4 on 1 March 2011 - 5:19pm
Indian Muslim
By TCN News,
Malappuram: The 90th anniversary of the Malabar Revolt of 1921 was observed at the Ali Musliyar Nagar in Tirurangadi. The three-day programme ended yesterday at the PSMO College.
The people of Malabar can be proud that the tactics used by Kunjali Marakkar in the wars of yore are still followed by the Indian army, said Dr KKN Kurup, famous historian and former VC of the Calicut University. He was delivering the chief address on the topic ‘in memory of the Khilafat leaders’.
Gate at Pookkottur to commemorate the famous battle
Panakkad Sadiqali Shihab Thangal inaugurated the valedictory function in memory of the Khilafat leaders. Dr EK Ahmed Kutty, Dr Husain Randathani, N Abdulla Musliyar Cherur, SM Muhammed Koya and Dr Vasu Thilleri spoke. Abdussamad Samadani presided over the session in which CH Musa Master welcomed and Prof P Mahmud delivered the vote of thanks. A Mappila Kalamela was held afterwards in which Firose Babu and Faisal Elettil led a song fest.
The three-day programme was inaugurated by Central Minister of State for Home Affairs Mullappally Ramachandran on Saturday. He said that the Malabar Revolt was freedom struggle and not just a Mappila rebellion. People took part in the revolt with nationalistic and secular spirit. Muslims were brutally tortured in the revolt and so they gave everything for it. He added that a serious research and factual investigation should be conducted about the Revolt.
A hall in memory of the martyrs of the Malabar Revolt was inaugurated on Sunday by Kerala Assembly Speaker K Radhakrishnan at the Tirurangadi Young Men’s Library. Mr Radhakrishnan said that the fighters of the Malabar Revolt gave their lives for the freedom of the country. It is the same freedom that the feudalism of that time and the imperialism of the present time are trying to destroy, he added. Muslim League general secretary PK Kunhalikkutty inaugurated the family get-together of the Malabar revolutionaries and the history seminar. ET Muhammed Basheer, MP, distributed the mementos for the families of the revolutionaries. Central Minister of State for External Affairs E Ahmed inaugurated the seminar on ‘Mappilas and the multi-cultural society in Kerala’ in which journalist CP Saidalavi delivered the chief address. Dr KN Ganesh, Dr Mustafa Kamal Pasha, AK Mustafa, Prof P Mammed and CP Abdurahman Kutty spoke among others.
The EMS Study and Research Centre had organized a ‘history development seminar’ as part of the 90th anniversary observations of the Malabar Revolt on February 18 at Tanur. Similar programmes were reportedly held at Vailathur and Niramaruthur on February 20 and 21.
The Malabar Revolt took place in Malabar, especially in the Ernad and Valluvanad talukas, in 1921. It was a culmination of the peasant uprisings in the region for about a century against the landlords and the British authorities. The Mappila Outrageous Act used to torture the Mappilas (Muslims of Malabar) also led to the unending hatred towards the government-landlord nexus. The Revolt of 1921 took place when the peasants, mainly Mappila Muslims and low caste Hindus, got a public venue of the Khilafat – Non Cooperation Movement of the Congress led by Mahatma Gandhi and the Ali Brothers. There were battles at different places such as Pookkottur, Tirurangadi, Malappuram, Manjeri, Perinthalmanna, Pandikkad and Tirur etc from August 1921 onwards. Historic facts say that the British rule was absent in several places of Malabar for about six months after which the revolt was crushed with the help of Gurkha regiments from north India. The leaders of the rebellion such as Ali Musliyar and Variyankunnath Kunjahammed Haji were executed. Those who participated in the revolt were jailed, exiled to the Andamans or executed. Though the revolt was mainly against the British government, the fighters also attacked and looted money of the landlords and those who helped the British, who were mainly upper caste Hindus. This has led to some historians terming it as a Mappila Rebellion against Hindus, though major historians disagree.
Monday, August 13, 2007
Pookkottur War
On August 20, 1921 a battalion of military started from Kannur via Calicut to Malappuram. This information received by the central committee of khilafat was communicated to their pookkottur unit. The trumpet for war was given. Bold Muslim rebels prepared themselves for a war. Vadakkeveetil Mohammed and Karathu Moideenkutty Haji gave the leadership. They constructed barricades in calicut-Malappuram road by cutting down trees and also destroyed some bridges. But military overcame all these obstructions and reached Aravankara on Aug.25. Since a bridge at pappattungal mosque was destroyed they returned to kondotty. On August 26, Friday military made a temporary bridge using trees meant for construction of a mosque and continued their journey with vehicles.
The rebels consisting of about 2000 in number waited for the military convoy. They hid themselves in the paddy fields between pookkottur and Pilakkal, and in the canal on the East and behind a heap of soil. Apart from the people of pookkotturAmsom, people of podiyadu, Melmuri, Valluvambrum, Pullara, Veembur, Aanakkaayum, panthallur, pandikkad, pappinippara and Malappuram were also there. They put up many barricades in the road.
Military came in 22 Lorries and 25cycles. The rebels strategy was to fire at the first lorry of the military convoy when it reached Pilakkal and then to encircle them from 4 sides. But parancheri kunjarammutty and Ayamu who were out of station did not know this strategy. They reached there only late. Kunjarammutty who was hiding behind the heap of soil fired at the lorry when two or three Lorries just reached the paddy field. Hearing the gunshots military Lorries backed out. Soldiers alightened there and threw smoke bombs .Due to smoke rebels couldn’t use their guns properly. Bullets lost their targets. But even then they made heavy causalities to the military. Under the screen of smoke military set machine guns to fire. When the smoke subsided about ten soldiers walked on the road by foot towards Pilakkal. Without knowing that this was a trap bold Muslim rebels eagerly came forward to capture them .Soldiers suddenly turned back and hid behind the machine guns and started firing. All the rebels who followed them were killed. This was tried two times and military killed a number of Muslims. Kunjarammutty and Ayamu who fired the first shots came out when their100 bullets were over and became martyrs. Pookkottur hero Shri.Vadakkeveetil Mohammed also was killed. The war continued for more than 3 hours and 400 people became martyrs. All of them died due to bullet injuries on their chest. This shows their abundant courage and spirit to fight the foreign occupation. Their biggest weapons were self prestige and firm belief.
After the war military went to Malappuram. In the front military lorry police supdt. Berstan Lancaster and 4 soldiers were traveling. At kummalippadi a Muslim soldier Mankara Thodiyil Kunjahmmed climbed upon a tree and threw a grenade into the lorry in which police supdt and soldiers were traveling. Lancaster and soldiers were killed. The Muslim soldier who had tied himself to the tree was shot dead by the military. The military which won the war put fire on all the houses on the road side. 60 dead bodies were put on fire by them in the compound of Cherukappil Moosa kutty.
After the war was over people went to the battleground and took the dead bodies and buried them. A number of encounters occurred afterwards at Mongam, konompara, Vallluvambram, Pothuvettippara, Melmuri etc. Military captured and took away a number of people. Some where hanged, some were sent to Andaman’s and some where sent to Salem,Bellary and Trichirappilli jails. .Villages were levied heavy fines.
The sacrifice of the people in this violent war against British colonialism still continues to be an inspiration and self respect to the young generation.
http://www.pookkotturpanchayath.org
The rebels consisting of about 2000 in number waited for the military convoy. They hid themselves in the paddy fields between pookkottur and Pilakkal, and in the canal on the East and behind a heap of soil. Apart from the people of pookkotturAmsom, people of podiyadu, Melmuri, Valluvambrum, Pullara, Veembur, Aanakkaayum, panthallur, pandikkad, pappinippara and Malappuram were also there. They put up many barricades in the road.
Military came in 22 Lorries and 25cycles. The rebels strategy was to fire at the first lorry of the military convoy when it reached Pilakkal and then to encircle them from 4 sides. But parancheri kunjarammutty and Ayamu who were out of station did not know this strategy. They reached there only late. Kunjarammutty who was hiding behind the heap of soil fired at the lorry when two or three Lorries just reached the paddy field. Hearing the gunshots military Lorries backed out. Soldiers alightened there and threw smoke bombs .Due to smoke rebels couldn’t use their guns properly. Bullets lost their targets. But even then they made heavy causalities to the military. Under the screen of smoke military set machine guns to fire. When the smoke subsided about ten soldiers walked on the road by foot towards Pilakkal. Without knowing that this was a trap bold Muslim rebels eagerly came forward to capture them .Soldiers suddenly turned back and hid behind the machine guns and started firing. All the rebels who followed them were killed. This was tried two times and military killed a number of Muslims. Kunjarammutty and Ayamu who fired the first shots came out when their100 bullets were over and became martyrs. Pookkottur hero Shri.Vadakkeveetil Mohammed also was killed. The war continued for more than 3 hours and 400 people became martyrs. All of them died due to bullet injuries on their chest. This shows their abundant courage and spirit to fight the foreign occupation. Their biggest weapons were self prestige and firm belief.
After the war military went to Malappuram. In the front military lorry police supdt. Berstan Lancaster and 4 soldiers were traveling. At kummalippadi a Muslim soldier Mankara Thodiyil Kunjahmmed climbed upon a tree and threw a grenade into the lorry in which police supdt and soldiers were traveling. Lancaster and soldiers were killed. The Muslim soldier who had tied himself to the tree was shot dead by the military. The military which won the war put fire on all the houses on the road side. 60 dead bodies were put on fire by them in the compound of Cherukappil Moosa kutty.
After the war was over people went to the battleground and took the dead bodies and buried them. A number of encounters occurred afterwards at Mongam, konompara, Vallluvambram, Pothuvettippara, Melmuri etc. Military captured and took away a number of people. Some where hanged, some were sent to Andaman’s and some where sent to Salem,Bellary and Trichirappilli jails. .Villages were levied heavy fines.
The sacrifice of the people in this violent war against British colonialism still continues to be an inspiration and self respect to the young generation.
http://www.pookkotturpanchayath.org
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