By Abdul Basith, TwoCircles.net,
In Kerala, anyone who was not a Nambudiri, was treated by them as an untouchable. It was not only the Nambudiris who practiced untouchability in Kerala and instead the royal families, the temple employees and the Nair class who are closely associated with the Nambudiris too considered it impure to touch or make any physical contact with the lower classes of the society. They had different rules regarding the degrees of pollution for the different classes, likewise the Veluthedans washed the clothes of a Nambudiri whereas those belonged to the Ezhava class were supposed to keep at least a 24 feet distance from the Nambudiri’s. Kerala is thus known to have practiced the most extreme forms of untouchability compared to other parts of India.
Though there raised reformation movements against such social evils, most were suppressed by force and resistance and often lacked mass support as the Indian National Congress [INC], took least care to resist such social evils. The INC, then not just a political party and instead having mass support and credibility as a national movement was able to take up untouchability as a major topic of discussion only in the 1923 Cocanada [now Kakinada] session of INC, when Maulana Mohammed Ali became the president.
It was since then the Indian National Congress formed a special committee in Kerala with K Kelappan as General convenor, PK Madhavan and Shankaran Namboothiripad as committee members, in order to fight social evils like untouchability.
Khadi as a symbol of Swaraj and national emancipation had played an important role in shaping the Indian national identity. Muhammad Abdur Rahiman Saheb, the great freedom fighter and Indian National Congress leader from the Malabar region of Kerala had great love for the fabric as he very well knew the revolutionary impact it could bring about. Mahatma Gandhi who started the Khadi movement in 1918, during the pre-independence days was more like a god like icon than just a national symbol. None dared to criticise him, nor did any one go doubtful against him. It is under these circumstances a speech made by Muhammad Abdur Rahiman Saheb, with regards to the Khadi movement in Kerala gains importance.
Courtesy: Muhammed Abdur Rahiman Facebook page
Gandhiji was off to attend the round table conference at London while Muhammad Abdur Rahiman made this speech at Kozhikode and he was found saying, “Mahatmaji has gone to London for attending the round table conference. There are chances that he might visit Lancashire and learn about the unemployment problems faced by the mill employees there. Based on this learnings Mahatmaji might make some requests to us, even when that happens, I strongly recommend you not to wear any foreign dress.”
The nation and its people were the first priority for Muhammad Abdur Rahiman Saheb and this was an occasion where he went on to doubt even the Iconic Gandhi on issues affecting the freedom movement.
It was during the war period of 1943 the Cholera epidemic and famine took thousands of lives from the lower strata of the Kerala society. About 25,000 of the total one crore population lost their lives. The orphaned children from the Malabar region were taken to a Bala Raksha Mandiram at Valapattu and one among those orphaned kids staying at the Bala Raksha Mandiram was found singing a heart touching pain filled poem.
കപ്പലണ്ടിപ്പിണ്ണാക്കില്ലെങ്കില് ജനങ്ങള് പണ്ടേ ചത്തേനെ…
ഇങ്ങിനൊരു ബി എ കാരന് വന്നില്ലെങ്കില് ഞങ്ങളും ചത്തേനെ…
[people would have died if there were no peanut oil cakes…
We too would have died, if this BA graduate didn’t come for our rescue…]
The BA graduate to which the orphaned kid was referring to was Muhammad Abdur Rahiman Saheb, who sacrificed everything he had to look after the victims of famine and cholera epidemic.
It was the Mappila Muslims, who were subjected to extreme tortures under the British military expansions to Malabar in the early 1900’s. Manjeri Ramayyar, a well renowned Advocate of then Malabar was found saying, “There were no provisions to win bail for a detained Mappila Muslim. No recommendations worked out in favour of him. None among the witnesses dared to give statements in favour of a Mappila Muslim, while they were trialled under riot charges by the British. When somebody came up to give statements in favour of the Mappila Muslim detained under trial, he too was made a culprit under similar charges. Once the Mappila Muslim gets detained under riot charges, he was obliged to prove his innocence on his own rather than the one’s making accusations proving him guilty” [As published in the Malayalam Book Keralavum, Congressum].
The case was not much different from the provisions under the present day draconian laws like UAPA, which asks the accused to prove themselves innocent instead of those making the accusations proving them guilty.
The Indian National Congress activities in Kerala until the 1930’s often got confined to get-togethers which ended up in pleasantry/friendly talks by merely passing some resolutions against the British regime. It was only after 1930’s the Congress Committee in Kerala was able to make some impact in the freedom struggle in Kerala, and the change was advocated by the brave Mappilas of Malabar who got attracted to civil disobedience, non-cooperation and Khadi movements as the Khilafat leaders started extending their solidarity with the Congress leadership of Malabar. Muhammad Abdur Rahiman Saheb through his speeches and writings played a major role in attracting the Mappila Muslims to the civil resistance movements undertaken by the Kerala Congress Committee in Malabar.
And this is evident from the 1930, April 26th published article in Mathrubhumi daily under the title ‘Kerala Muslimkalum civil niyama lankhanavum’ [Kerala Muslims and civil disobedience] which says, “Kerala Muslims were not second to anybody else with regards to their desire for freedom, patriotism and sacrificing mentality. Despite the fact that Police Raj was declared in South Malabar as part of British Military regime and curfew was imposed by the govt considering them as riot regions, the Mappilas as a single unit took part in the non-violent, civil resistance movements put forward by Congress, despite the recognitions that, it could result in further bloodshed” [Mathrubhumi daily, April 26th 1930].
It was during this time K Kelappan again got proclaimed as Kerala Gandhi and Muhammad Abdur Rahiman Saheb being the President of Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee [KPCC] and a member of All India Congress Committee [AICC] was against the very idea of such individual worships. He wrote a letter in the form of a circular to the then AICC president Jawaharlal Nehru acknowledging his disagreements with K Kelappan. The letter provoked other top congress leaders from Kerala like K Madhavan Nair and EM Shankaran Namboodiripad and a KPCC meeting was called upon to discuss the issue. Nehru had sent Mr Acharya Kripalani, the then AICC general Secretary to preside over the meeting and he requested Muhammad Abdur Rahiman to withdraw the circular.
During the meeting K Madhavan Nair asked Abdur Rahiman that whether the letter was sent by the KPCC or by the KPCC President? Abdur Rahiman put up a bold reply saying that “the letter was not from KPCC/KPCC President and instead from Muhammad Abdur Rahiman.” Madhavan Nair had to then soften his stand after this bold unexpected reply from Abdur Rahiman.
Muhammad Abdur Rahiman felt humiliated by the request to withdraw the letter and he decided to resign the post of KPCC President. “With regards to the circular, it is the goodwill of the one who has sent it, that now came under question. It is harsh when the goodwill of a public worker comes under question. It is almost impossible to serve the public under such testing circumstances. The Nation – India has a Gandhi and now it is being told that Kerala too is having a Gandhi. But I strongly believe that the Congress party and freedom struggle is above all Gandhi’s. It is in order to prove this point, I am resigning the post of KPCC President” said Abdur Rahiman. [Al Ameen daily, April 30, 1930]
With inputs from:
1. Mathrubhumi daily, April 26th 1930
2. the Book Keralavum Congressum, Authored by Pilla A.K. Barrister (Krishnapilla)
[1986, Prabhat Book House]
3. Al Ameen daily, April 30, 1930