The Ministry of Culture has withdrawn the 5th volume of the Dictionary of Martyrs from its website which was published in collaboration with the Indian Council of Historical Research. As we had reported earlier, the 5th volume in question eulogised the chief architects of the Moplah Massacre, Variankunnath Kunhamad Haji and Ali Musliyar, and deemed them to be martyrs. The 5th volume has now been withdrawn from its website.
The 5th volume of the book, that contained the problematic portions, was withdrawn following the intervention of the state unit of the BJP and the central government. The website of the ministry that has all the books, now does not display the 5th volume of the series that was mentioned in the article.
The Moplah Massacre was a campaign of Jihad against Hindus that led to the murder of hundreds and thousand of Hindus and forced countless more to leave Kerala. Sexual violence and the desecration of Hindu Temples was rampant during the massacre. Luminaries such as Babasaheb Ambedkar and Annie Besant condemned the campaign of Jihad that it was. The 5th Volume of the ‘Dictionary of Martyrs’ described its chief architects as martyrs. It has now been withdrawn from its website.