Was The Moplah Uprising Of 1921 Part Of Independence Struggle And Was It Anti-Hindu?

A recent report published in The Hindu says that the Indian Council of Historical Research (ICHR), sought the removal of the names of Moplah leaders from the Dictionary of Martyrs: India’s Freedom Struggle 1857-1947 saying that the 1921 uprising against the British was never part of the independence struggle but a fundamentalist movement focused on religious conversion.

This comes close on the heels after former BJP national general secretary Ram Madhav last week said the Moplah rebellion of 1921 was one of the first manifestations of the Taliban mindset in India. 

Little is known about Moplah Uprising, outside of Kerala, which is described by historians as the first nationalist uprisings in southern India.

So, who were the Moplahs, what was the Moplah uprising, was the Moplah uprising anti-Hindu, as the BJP has alleged or was it as many describe a popular uprising against British occupation?

To answer this and more, we are joined by Khalid Noor Mohammed, a student of history, who has written extensively on the subject. He is currently pursuing his Master’s Program in the Department of History and Civilization at the International Islamic University Malaysia (IIUM).