Ali Musliyar

On 21 February 1922 a man of about sixty went to the gallows in Coimbatore prison. He had spent his life as a teacher and prayer leader.

His name was Ali Musliyar. He is remembered as a spiritual guide of the Malabar rebellion of 1921.

1Who was Ali Musliyar?

Ali Musliyar was born around 1862 at Nellikuth, in the Malabar region. His full local name was Erikkunnan Palattu Mulayil Ali. His mother, Kotakkal Amina, came from the Maqdoom family of Ponnani.

His grandfather had been one of the Malappuram martyrs of earlier Mappila risings. So the memory of resistance was in the family. It shaped how he saw British rule.

He studied at the Ponnani Darse, a famous centre of Islamic learning. Then he went to Mecca. He spent about seven years there before returning home.

He later served as Chief Qazi of Kavaratti in the Lakshadweep islands. In 1907 he became the chief musliyar of the Mampuram mosque. Some older accounts call it the Tirurangadi mosque. Both places lie in the same area.

He joined the Indian National Congress. He also became a leader of the Khilafat movement in Malabar.

• Born about 1862 at Nellikuth, Malabar.
• Studied at Ponnani, then about seven years in Mecca.
• Chief Qazi of Kavaratti.
• Chief musliyar of Mampuram mosque from 1907.
• Member of the Congress and a Khilafat leader.

2What was the Kudiyan Sangham?

Malabar had a hard land system. Most farmers were tenants. A small group of landlords held the land, and many of them were upper-caste Hindu families.

The British courts backed the landlords. A tenant could be evicted at short notice. Renewal fees and rents rose. Many farmers fell into debt.

In 1920 Ali Musliyar formed the Kudiyan Sangham. It spoke for landless farmers and labourers. Its main cause was protection from eviction and unfair demands.

This was the same year Gandhi launched Non-Cooperation. In Malabar the Khilafat cause and the tenants’ cause began to run together. That mix of farm anger and religious feeling is key to the story.

• Formed in 1920: the Kudiyan Sangham.
• Members: landless farmers and labourers.
• Target: evictions and landlord power backed by the British.
• Khilafat and tenant anger merged in Malabar.

3How did the 1921 rebellion begin?

The rebellion began on 20 August 1921 at Tirurangadi. Police came to search for a Khilafat leader and for arms. A clash followed, and the crowd turned on the police.

Rumours spread that the Mampuram mosque had been attacked. That belief drew crowds from many villages. Soon the unrest spread across Eranad and Valluvanad.

The violence hit British officers, police stations and offices. Wealthy Hindu landlords and others were also attacked. Some Hindus were forced to convert, and many fled. Historians still debate how widespread this was.

Variyamkunnath Kunjahammed Haji, whom Ali Musliyar had guided, led a parallel government. It had its own passes, taxes and courts. It lasted only a few months.

The British answered with martial law and army columns. Thousands of rebels died. The toll is disputed. British figures are lower than the numbers given in later Malabar accounts.

One tragedy shocked the country. In November 1921 prisoners were packed into a closed goods wagon. It travelled by rail to Coimbatore. Many suffocated by the time it reached Podanur on 20 November.

• Start: 20 August 1921, Tirurangadi.
• Spark: a police search and a rumour about the Mampuram mosque.
• Spread: Eranad and Valluvanad taluks.
• Parallel rule under Variyamkunnath Kunjahammed Haji.
• Reply: martial law and army columns.
• The wagon tragedy reached Podanur on 20 November 1921.

4What happened at his trial?

Ali Musliyar was among about a dozen leaders arrested. He was tried by a special tribunal at Calicut. The trial is said to have opened in November 1921.

He was charged with waging war against the King. He was found guilty and sentenced to death. Some accounts say other prisoners were tried with him.

He was hanged at Coimbatore prison on 21 February 1922. Some sources give a slightly earlier date, so the safe answer is February 1922. A photograph taken in March 1922 is often linked with his last days. Check dates in your own notes against standard texts.

The rebellion left Malabar scarred. Relations between communities were badly strained. The Khilafat movement itself faded soon after. In 1922 Gandhi called off Non-Cooperation after Chauri Chaura.

• Tried by a special tribunal at Calicut.
• Sentence: death.
• Hanged at Coimbatore prison, February 1922.
• Non-Cooperation was called off after Chauri Chaura, 1922.

5Why is he still debated?

The Malabar rebellion is read in more than one way. Some call it an anti-colonial and anti-landlord revolt. Others stress the attacks on Hindus and call it communal.

His name appears in volume 5 of the Dictionary of Martyrs of India’s Freedom Struggle. This is a government publication on freedom fighters. In 2021 a review committee of the ICHR looked at the entries on the Malabar rebels. The matter caused a public row.

Critics of the entries point to the forced conversions and killings. Defenders say the revolt began against British rule and landlords. They say the communal violence was real but not its core. Many scholars reject the label that it was only anti-Hindu.

For exams, stay with the facts. Know the dates, the places and the people. Do not take sides in an answer. Use neutral words like rebellion or uprising.

• Named in the Dictionary of Martyrs, volume 5.
• An ICHR committee reviewed the Malabar entries in 2021.
• Views differ: anti-colonial, agrarian or communal.
• Use neutral wording in answers.
• Read about Variyamkunnath Kunjahammed Haji.

6What are the exam traps?

Keep the dates and groups straight.

• The rebellion began at Tirurangadi on 20 August 1921.
• The Kudiyan Sangham dates from 1920, not 1921.
• Ali Musliyar was hanged at Coimbatore, not at Calicut.
• The wagon tragedy ended at Podanur, in November 1921.
• Kunjahammed Haji led the parallel state. Ali Musliyar was his guide.
• The Khilafat movement backed the Caliph. It joined Non-Cooperation.
• Read about Khilafat and Non-Cooperation.
• Read about Mappila and other uprisings.