British India

Ali Musliyar (c. 1861-1922) was an Islamic religious leader in Malabar, imam of the Tirurangadi mosque from 1907 and the principal religious authority of the Malabar Rebellion of 1921-22. His role in the uprising remains contested in Indian historiography. He was executed in February 1922.

Aligarh Muslim University grew out of the school founded by Syed Ahmad Khan in 1875, which became the Muhammadan Anglo-Oriental College in 1877 and a university by Act of the Indian legislature in 1920. It was the central institution of the Aligarh Movement.

Hyder Ali (1720-1782), the self-made military genius who rose from a minor officer to become the effective ruler of Mysore, transforming it into the most powerful state in southern India and mounting the first serious indigenous military challenge to British colonial expansion.

Sir Syed Ahmed Khan (1817-1898) was an Indian Muslim reformer and educator who founded the Muhammadan Anglo-Oriental College at Aligarh in 1875, which became Aligarh Muslim University. His Aligarh Movement sought to reconcile Islamic faith with Western scientific education.

Tipu Sultan (1750-1799), the Tiger of Mysore, was a military innovator, administrative reformer, and one of the most formidable opponents of British colonial expansion in India, whose resistance and death at Srirangapatna made him an enduring symbol of defiance.

Variyankunnath Kunjahammad Haji (c. 1875-1922) was the military leader of the Malabar Rebellion of 1921-22, establishing a short-lived parallel government in the Ernad and Valluvanad taluks. He was captured and executed in January 1922. His characterisation remains contested.