Aura of Abdu Rahiman Sahib in Forming Community Consciousness and National Pride (Identity) (Among the Muslims) in Colonial Malabar
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Science, Technology and Development ISSN : 0950-0707 Radical, Progressive, Rationale: Aura of Abdu Rahiman Sahib in forming Community Consciousness and National Pride (Identity) (among the Muslims) in Colonial Malabar Dr. Muhammed Maheen A. Professor. Department of History University of Calicut, Kerala Abstract: The Khilafat movement which started as an international Muslim agitation against the sovereignty of the British colonial forces all over the world had its repercussions in India also, and its effects were felt among the Muslims of Malabar too. The Malabar Rebellion which started as a violent protest against the exploitation of the feudal landlords, who were mostly Hindus and the supporters of the British colonial rule, soon turned into a part of the freedom struggle and gathered momentum. But unfortunately due to the misguided directions of religions leadership what started as a struggle for freedom against oppression and exploitation soon deteriorated into the horrors of a series of communal conflicts. An examination of the Khilafat movement in Malabar would reveal that the Muslims of Malabar began to identify themselves as part of the National Muslim Community only by the dawn of the 20 th century. The political scenario of Malabar from 1920 to 1925 is specifically marked by the life and activities of Muhammed Abdurahiman. The present paper is an attempt to examine the political life of Abdurahiman. Keywords: Nationalism, Khilafat, Non-Cooperation, Simon commission, Mappila. I. INTRODUCTION In the history of the development of Indian nationalism in the 20 th century, especially in Malabar, the role of Muslims like Muhammed Abdurahiman can be remembered only with great pride and honour 1. The non-cooperation movement started under the leadership of Mahatma Gandhi attracted the attention and participation for a large number of Muslims in Malabar. The Khilafat movement 2 which started as an international Muslim agitation against the sovereignty of the British colonial forces all over the world had its repercussions in India also, and its effects were felt among the Muslims of Malabar too. The Malabar Rebellion which started as a violent protest against the exploitation of the feudal landlords, who were mostly Hindus and the supporters of the British colonial rule, soon turned into a part of the freedom struggle and gathered momentum. But unfortunately, due to the misguided directions of religions leadership what started as a struggle for freedom against oppression and exploitation soon deteriorated into the horrors of a series of communal conflicts. An examination of the Khilafat movement in Malabar would reveal that the Muslims of Malabar began to identify themselves as part of the National Muslim Community only by the dawn of the 20 th century. It included the discursive and non-discursive practices of colonial governmentality, improved means of communication like printing technology, colonial education, Islamic reform movement, increased tension between Hindus and Muslims in the post-rebellion phase, national movement etc. These factors contributed to slow but steady growth of concrete community identity among the Mappilas during the 20th century. In this context, the life and works of Muhammed Abdurahiman, the secular-minded Muslim leader of Malabar deserve special attention. For a period of twenty-five years from 1920 to 1945, Muhammed Abdurahiman dominated the political scenario of Malabar as a nationalist leader actively participating in the country's struggle for freedom from British colonial rule. 3 During the 1920s the nationalist sentiments were slow to develop in the regions of Malabar. There was no nationalist political agitation there till 1916, the year of the formation of the Home Rule Volume X Issue II FEBRUARY 2021 Page No : 144 Science, Technology and Development ISSN : 0950-0707 League. The only remarkable incident was the establishment of the District Congress Committee in 1910. 4 In 1920 Tenancy issues were gathering momentum in Malabar, and the Khilafat and non- cooperation movements developed into matters of national interest. 5In places like Calicut and Kondotti the Khilafat issue was under heated discussion among the Muslim population. Pamphlets were issued by the Central Khilafat Committee at Karachi, and religious leaders had signed the Khilafat fatwa. The Congress meeting at Manjeri in 1920 accepted both Khilafat and non- cooperation movement as anti-British agitations, and used the opportunity to strengthen Hindu- Muslim unity. In due course, the religiousleadership of Malabar gave the Khilafat movement a purely religious or communal colour. ⁶ It is in this situation that Abdurahiman Sahib had the role to organize the Muslims of Malabar, and to lead them towards the freedom movement. He actively participated and gave courageous leadership to all activities of agitation organized by the Indian National Congress, during the period from 1920 to 1945. The activities of Abdurahiman Sahib in Malabar's Socio-Political scenario for about a quarter-century could create nationalism and the feeling of oneness among the people of Malabar. In terms of the impact created in the minds of the people, his activities have added a glorious chapter in the history of Indian struggle for independence.⁷ Muhammed Abdurahiman was a native of Kodungallur in Malabar. He was born in a village called Eriyad, near Azhikode on 13 th May 1897 as the eldest son of Panakka Parambil Abdurahiman and Kochaisumma. ⁸ It is believed that his ancestors were the descendants of the family of Kunjali Marakkar, the heroic sea captain of the Zamorin of Calicut. ⁹ After completing primary and secondary education at Azhikode and Kodungallur he went for higher education to Madras. After Madrasa education at Vaniyampadi, Abdurahiman studied at Basal Mission College, Calicut and later at Mohammadan College, Madras. He was a student of the Presidency College, Madras for BA (Honours) in History, during his student days in Madras Abdurahiman was inspired by the speeches of national leaders like Moulana Azad, Maulana Shaukath Ali and fascinated by the appeal of Mahatma Gandhi to boycott educational institutions, he left the Presidency College in 1920. ¹⁰ However, he continued his studies at Jamia Millia Islamia where he was fortunate to be the disciple of Azad and the Ali Brothers. He was also in constant contact with national leaders such as M.A. Ansari, Hakkim Ajmal Khan, Khwaja Abdul Hameed and others. ¹1 In 1920, while at Jamia Millia Abdurahiman could participate in the Nagpur session of the Indian National Congress as a student delegate. In that meeting, a motion was moved by the famous leader from Kerala K. Madhavan Nair, which was seconded by Abdurahiman, on December 1920. It was a demand for the formation of the Kerala Provincial Congress Committee (KPCC) consisting of all Malayalam speaking areas of Kerala, and the demand was accepted by the session.¹² II. KHILAFAT AND MALABAR REBELLION 1. In 1921, Abdurahiman discontinued his studies and joined the non-cooperation agitation in Malabar, as a part of the Khilafat Movement. It was the Ottappalam Provincial Conference (1921) that brought Abdurahiman into the middle of the freedom struggle in Malabar. 1³The British Government had resolved to crush the Khilafat movement in Malabar using brutal police force. Both the Khilafat and the non-cooperation movements were severely dealt with. All meetings were banned in Ernad and Valluvanadu Taluks under Section 144 by the District Magistrate E.F. Thomas. Many of the more famous leaders were arrested. ¹⁴ The police tried to cause provocations by arresting the leaders and violently driving away from the people who had gathered to express their protest. Amid this unrest and police atrocities, Abdurahiman tried desperately to convince the people the importance of non-violence. He realised that it was not a suitable time for declaring war against the British Government. He knew that the consequences of such a move would be disastrous to the people. He reminded the people: "Your wives will be molested, your mothers and children will be thrown to the street". ¹5 He reminded them that he too was a Muslim and he was also ready for martyrdom. But the time for action was not suitable. In a pamphlet, he declared that the rebellion was un-Islamic, and it was also against the interests of the nation. ¹⁶ He openly stated that the rebellion of Malabar was against the ideology of the Khilafat, and the principle of non-cooperation, which was non-violence. ¹⁷ Volume X Issue II FEBRUARY 2021 Page No : 145 Science, Technology and Development ISSN : 0950-0707 The effects produced by the Malabar Rebellion, which had deteriorated into a communal riot, were disastrous to the nationalist movement in general and the freedom struggle in particular. ¹⁸ Both the Khilafat movement and the non-cooperation agitations were weakened at the national level. Mahatma Gandhi stopped the non-cooperation movement in February 1922 due to the causes and course of the rebellion also. ¹⁹ The reason why the Malabar rebellion took a communal turn towards the end, was the suspicion that the Hindu landlords had sided with the British. ²⁰ Though the rebellion was anti-colonial anti-feudalistic, when it reduced itself into a communal riot, it could produce far- reaching damage to the National Movement by creating a rift between the two communities. ²¹ At the same time, the religious leaders who had taken an adamant stand on the dogmatic principles of the Khilafat and the Malabar rebellion had the belief that the Congress leadership had betrayed the Muslim cause, and had thrown them into the hands of the British military forces. ²² In short, this propaganda had the effect of alienating, the Muslims from participating in the National Movement in Malabar. Despite all these drawbacks, the Malabar rebellion historically had some positive effects also. Among them, the first and foremost was the acceleration given to the land reforms in Malabar. ²³ As a result of the rebellion, in 1927 the British government constituted a Tenancy Committee to reform the tenancy system in Malabar.