Malabar Rebellion.- Richard Howard Hitchcock

An original file containing handwritten and typed notes by or related to Richard Howard Hitchcock, district superintendent of police in Malabar during the 1921 rebellion in Malabar, including: a five-page description of the beginning of the rebellion “The arrest of the leaders in Tirurangadi was attempted on August 19^th. On the same day a very clever false rumour was spread from Tirurangadi that the Mampuram shrine had been desecrated. This is the most sacred shrine in Malabar, Hindus as well as Mappillas acknowledge its prowess. This rumour for a few days brought in all Mappillas; when the first excitement subsided, and the rumour was known to be false, several Mappillas backed out leaving more or less well-defined gangs. The few days during which all Mappillas lost their heads were responsible for most of the wanton and senseless destruction of public offices and records” and listing the religious groups that were involved in the disorders, signed by Hitchcock and dated 29 November 1921; a 45-page typed draft of a report with handwritten amendments and additions, detailing the political situation and events in South Malabar prior to the beginning of the rebellion from February to early August 1921; typed official reports on the military operation in Malabar, one covering the beginning of the rebellion until 16 October 1921, the other covering the events from October 1921 to “the conclusion of operations and the withdrawal of Martial Law” in early 1922, also saying of Hitchcock “If the term indispensable could be applied to any one, I think it would well describe this office…It was through him and the system he had set up in this Police Force that all information was obtained, without which the whole force would have been blind”; fourteen hand drawn maps of the territories involved in the rebellion; ten black and white vintage photographs featuring Hitchcock and fellow officers; a copy of “Report by His Excellency General Lord Rawlinson of Trent…on the Operations in Malabar for the Period 20^th August 1921 to 25 February 1922”; soiling and age-related wear overall, some chipping and tears to page edges, early 1921-early 1922 (quantity)