Chennai: The names of Variyamkunnath Haji and Ali Musaliar along with 387 leaders who were part of the pre-Independence Malabar Rebellion will be removed from Dictionary of Martyrs of India's Freedom Struggle to be re-published in October by Ministry of Culture, Government of India and the Indian Council of Historical Research (ICHR). According to reports, the names will be removed based on the suggestion of a three member panel who reportedly said that Malabar Rebellion was not an independence struggle but a fundamentalist movement in 1921 which promoted religious conversion.
The panel has also said that the 'rioters' did not raise nationalist or anti-british slogans during Independence movement, said a report from The Hindu. The Malabar Rebellion was reportedly acknowledged as a freedom struggle by the Kerala government. However, Right wing parties alleged that Hindus were 'massacred' by Muslims in the Malabar Rebellion and it’s not part of the freedom struggle.
All the more, the issue even ran into a controversy after Malayalam filmmaker Aashiq Abu announced a movie starring actor Prithviraj on Variyamkunnath Kunjahammed Haji.
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However, the first edition of the Dictionary of Martyrs of India's Freedom Struggle released by Prime Minister Narendra Modi was released with the names of the leaders including Variyamkunnath in 2019.
Talking to The New Indian Express, Historian Hussein Randathani said the removal of the names can only be seen as intolerance of the Sangh Parivar in the freedom struggle since their leaders did not have a role in the freedom struggle. The government should not publish if the names are removed, he said.
Also, the political party leaders in Kerala have also expressed their objection to the removal of the names of leaders. Parties including CPI(M)-led Left Democratic Front and Indian Union Muslim League criticised the move.