How a National Geographic Bulletin described Malabar in 1921

Malabar became a household word in 1921 because of the events associated with the so-called Moplah Rebellion. With an expected pro-Britain angle, the Western press reported in detail about the disturbances that took place in Malappuram and Ponnani.

Western dispatches and wire copies of violence also created a degree of curiosity about the place where these incidents took place. A bulletin published by the National Geographic Society in Washington, DC, in 1921 helped educate Americans about the economy, landscapes, and people of the then-restive region.

“Malabar, scene of rioting, is an India of human frictions, but otherwise an India of quiet backwaters, of luxuriant vegetation, of crocodiles, tigers, leopards and wild elephants-the East of traditions and dreams,” the bulletin said.

National Geographic mentioned the changing economic realities in places such as Calicut. “Malabar still has considerable commerce, but the large foreign trade has departed for ports, where steamships can safely anchor and dock,” it said. By 1921, Calicut had long lost its position as a primary port on the Kerala coast to Cochin. The city’s era as a major trading hub was a distant memory.

“Although Calicut gave its name to Calico, the weaving of this cloth has almost died out, and piece goods are among the most important imports,” the bulletin added. “Malabar’s paddy fields, backed by graceful coconut groves, which also fringe the coast, and its wealth of pepper, cardamoms, ginger, tea, coffee and teak, suggest the Orient to those who do not know of the imports of machinery, hardware, fabrics and kerosene which are changing a fairyland into a modern district.”

Though talking about the violence of the time, the bulletin still drew on the natural beauty of Malabar. “This small region, shut in between the towering mountains and the blue sea, perfumed with spices and rich with food, is the last place that one would look for rebellion or organised revolt,” it said. “But the Moplahs, who sell their lives dearly and are the type which delight the reader of adventure and harass the police and soldiery, are once more rallied beneath the green flag which the followers of the Prophet once carried to Spain and the gates of Vienna.”

It absolutely beggars belief that the events of 1921 were portrayed in such a simplistic manner, but then the (anonymous) writer who visited the region during the monsoons was briefed by the British ruling class.

Indian Everglades
It’s hardly surprising that this part of Kerala reminded the American writer of Florida. “Along the coast, there is a narrow everglade region made up of backwaters and lagoons, many of which are connected by canals, which are an important feature in the communications of the region,” the bulletin said.

It spoke of the flora of Malabar being luxuriant but added that malaria was common.

There were also mentions of the hilly areas of the district. “They consist of precipitous peaks with dark green ravines in which silver streams descend in numerous waterfalls, all uniting to form scenes of unrivalled beauty,” the bulletin said. “Malabar is the most beautiful, the richest and most fertile district of the Madras Presidency.”
The bulletin mentioned the Laccadive (Lakshadweep) islands, but the writer did not visit the chain.

Interestingly enough, the bulletin spoke of the region's prosperity over the ages. “Malabar has never known famine, and floods are rare,” it said. “Trade once distinguished the region and was carried on with the Phoenicians, with the Jews under Solomon, the Seleucid Syrians, the Ptolemaic Egyptians, the traders of Imperial Rome, the Arabs and the Italians, whose argosies representing Venice, Florence and Genoa once anchored within the shifting mudbank which provided calm roadsteads at Calicut, Quilandi (Koyilandi) and Cochin.”

While the National Geographic Bulletin’s main theme was the 1921 disturbances, it would have generated interest among American adventurers to travel to Malabar once peace was restored in the region. More than a century after this dark period in the region’s history, the inhabitants of Malabar have the maturity to talk about that time objectively. Mostly free from the mass tourism that southern Kerala is subject to, it greatly retains the kind of charm described in the 1921 bulletin.