Term Moplah Rebellion as genocide: RSS-backed outfit

NEW DELHI: An RSS-affiliated think tank demanded on Wednesday that the Moplah Rebellion of 1921 be termed as a "genocide and a memorial be set up".

The government should build a "genocide memorial" to mark the 1921 Malabar killings that took place 100 years ago in Kerala''s Malappuram and mark September 25 as the "Malabar Hindu Genocide Day", the all-India convenor of Prajna Pravah, J Nandakumar, said.

Underling that the Sangh has been opposing the recognition of the Malabar killings as part of an uprising against the British or landlords, he said it was "targeted killings of Hindus".

"Annie Besant and C Sankaran Nair, who was the president of the Indian National Congress, called it a genocide. But after 1975, it was illegally deemed as part of the freedom struggle," Nandakumar said.

He said the Kerala government has not considered their demand, but they are hopeful that the Centre will look into it.

The Indian Council of Historical Research (ICHR) formed a three-member committee recently to study the Moplah Rebellion.

The panel reportedly recommended removal of several hundred names from the list of the victims.

The RSS-backed organisation will be organising an exhibition and a memorial programme for the victims in Delhi as well as in every block in Kerala on September 26.