Wagon tragedy
| Wagon massacre | |
|---|---|
 Wagon Massacre Memorial at Tirur | |
| Details | |
| Date | 10 November 1921 |
| Location | While in transit from Tirur to Podanur Junction, British India |
| Country | British India |
| Line | Shoranur–Mangalore section, Jolarpettai–Shoranur line |
| Operator | Madras and Southern Mahratta Railway |
| Incident type | Asphyxiation |
| Cause | Overcrowding |
| Statistics | |
| Trains | Prisoner transport train |
| Deaths | 64; 6 after hospitalisation |
The Wagon massacre or Bellary train tragedy was the death of 70[1] prisoners on 19 November 1921 in the Malabar region of Kerala state of India. The prisoners had been taken into custody following the Mappila Rebellion against British in various parts of Malappuram district. Their deaths through apparent negligence discredited the British Raj and generated sympathy for the Indian independence movement.
In order to attract more Muslim support to the Indian National Movement, Mahatma Gandhi and the national leaders of India initially supported the Khilafat movement and merged it to the famous Non Co-operation Movement. This succeeded in bringing almost all sections of Indians under one flag for a Pan-Indian movement for the first time. The southern Malabar district welcomed this movement in a great spirit. However, in Eranad and Walluvanad taluks it took the form of an armed rebellion by the Muslim Mappila community.
On 19 November 1921, when the uprising was near its end, almost 100 people were sent by train from Tirur to the Central Prison, Bellary in the Madras Presidency. When opened the wagon in Podanur, 64 of them had died : 60 Mappilas and 4 Thiyyas. Six from those hospitalised died later.[2] Historian Sumit Sarkar referred to it as the "Black Hole of Podanur". A monument to this event can be seen at Tirur.[3]
Wagon Massacre victims and memorial[]
The people who were killed in the tragedy were mainly from southern India.Tirur, Kerala, where exists a monument for the remembrance of event.
See also[]
References[]
- ^ Panikkar, K. N., Against Lord and State: Religion and Peasant Uprisings in Malabar 1836-1921
- ^ Anglo Mappila Yudham 1921, AK Kodoor, page 262
- ^ "It was a wagon massacre, not tragedy!" The Asian Age daily, 21 November 2011
- Dr. Sivadasan P., Wagon Tragedy: Kanalvazhiyile Koottakuruthi, National Book Stall, Kottayam, 2011 (ISBN 9788192282206)
External links[]
- Protests in British India
- Massacres in British India
- Massacres committed by the United Kingdom
- Political repression in British India
- Indian independence movement
- Military scandals
- Mass murder in 1921
- 1921 in British India
- 1921 in India
- April 1921 events
- History of Kerala
- Indian independence movement in Kerala