Malabar Rebellion

Ali Musliyar (c. 1861–1922) was an Islamic religious leader in the Malabar district of southern India who served as imam of the Tirurangadi mosque from 1907 and became the principal religious authority of the Malabar Rebellion of 1921–1922. His role in the uprising — whether it constituted anti-colonial resistance, a communal conflict, or both — remains intensely contested in Indian historiography. He was executed at Coimbatore Prison on 21 February 1922.

Variyankunnath Kunjahammad Haji (c. 1875–1922) was the military leader of the Malabar Rebellion of 1921–1922 in southern India. He established a short-lived parallel government in the Ernad and Valluvanad taluks of the Malabar district, organised guerrilla resistance against British forces for approximately six months, and was captured and executed on 20 January 1922. Like Ali Musliyar, his characterisation as either a freedom fighter or a communal leader remains intensely contested in Indian historiography.