The Calicut University has begun a hunt for a rare film on the Malabar Revolt of 1921, made by the British government in 1922.
P. Sivadasan, head of the university’s Department of History, told The Hindu that they had obtained information about the film, titled Malabar Rebellion , from the State Archives Department of Tamil Nadu. “We have documents to prove that a film of great historical significance was made by the British soon after the Malabar Rebellion. We have begun a search for that film, which we believe can give us a whole lot of information about the rebellion,” he said.
The film, depicting the agrarian revolt of the Mapilas against the British and those who supported the British Raj that took place between August 1921 and January 1922, was made by the Films Division of the erstwhile Madras Government.
Documents of the Madras Publicity Bureau say that its distribution rights were sold in Calcutta on December 22, 1922.
Shows British suppressionDr. Sivadasan said letters belonging to Atome Cinemas, which took the film for distribution in Europe, stated that it showed how the British had brutally suppressed the rebellion. “We are confident about retrieving the film,” he said.
The department is planning research on the 1921 episode of the anti-British freedom movement as the centenary of the rebellion is only about five years away.
