The Malabar Special Police (MSP) is a paramilitary unit of the State Police of

Kerala Kerala ( ; ) is a state on the Malabar Coast of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, following the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, by combining Malayalam-speaking regions of the erstwhile regions of Cochin, Malabar, South ...

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

. This unit also trains new recruits and also helps the local police units to maintain law and order during emergencies. During emergencies, this unit forms the

riot police Riot police are police who are organized, deployed, trained or equipped to confront crowds, protests or riots. Riot police may be regular police who act in the role of riot police in particular situations or they may be separate units organize ...

platoons fully equipped with

riot gear Riot control measures are used by law enforcement, military, paramilitary or security forces to control, disperse, and arrest people who are involved in a riot, unlawful demonstration or unlawful protest. If a riot is spontaneous and irration ...

. This police unit is known for its extraordinarily tough training, and the high quality of its firing and military drills.

History

Formed in 1884, the MSP were initially known as the Malappuram Special Police, having been quartered in

Malappuram Malappuram (also Malapuram) () is a city in the Indian state of Kerala, spread over an area of including the surrounding suburban areas. The first municipality in the district formed in 1970, Malappuram serves as the administrative headquarter ...

. Its initial personnel consisted of 80 Constables, 4 Native Head Constables, 4 Sergeants, a Bugler and a European Inspector, who were temporarily drafted into a special force to deal with periodical outbreaks by native Muslims

Moplah Mappila Muslim, often shortened to Mappila, formerly anglicized as Moplah/Mopla and historically known as Jonaka/Chonaka Mappila or Moors Mopulars/Mouros da Terra and Mouros Malabares, in general, is a member of the Muslim community of same ...

s. The squad was made permanent in 1897. In the 1921 Moplah Revolt, Malabar (the present districts of

Kannur Kannur (), formerly known in English as Cannanore, is a city and a municipal corporation in the state of Kerala, India. It is the administrative headquarters of the Kannur district and situated north of the major port city and commercial hu ...

Wayanad Wayanad () is a district in the north-east of Indian state Kerala with administrative headquarters at the municipality of Kalpetta. It is the only plateau in Kerala. The Wayanad Plateau forms a continuation of the Mysore Plateau, the southern ...

Kozhikode Kozhikode (), also known in English as Calicut, is a city along the Malabar Coast in the state of Kerala in India. It has a corporation limit population of 609,224 and a metropolitan population of more than 2 million, making it the second l ...

Palakkad Palakkad (), formerly known as Palghat, historically known as Palakkattussery is a city and municipality in the Indian state of Kerala. It is the administrative headquarters of the Palakkad District. Palakkad is most densely populated municipal ...

and parts of

Thrissur Thrissur (), formerly Trichur, also known by its historical name Thrissivaperur, is a city and the headquarters of the Thrissur district in Kerala, India. It is the third largest urban agglomeration in Kerala after Kochi and Kozhikode, and t ...

) witnessed a wave of popular unrest and other law and order problems. Mr. Hitchcock who was then the District Superintendent of Police, South Malabar realized the imperative need to raise a special force, organized, armed and equipped on the lines of an Indian infantry battalion to deal effectively problems threatening public peace. This suggestion, strongly endorsed by the District Magistrate, was accepted by the

Viceroy A viceroy () is an official who reigns over a polity in the name of and as the representative of the monarch of the territory. The term derives from the Latin prefix ''vice-'', meaning "in the place of" and the French word ''roy'', meaning " ...

's Government on 30 September 1921, which then sanctioned a strength of 6 British Officers, 8 Subedars, 16

Jemadar Jemadar or jamadar is a title used for various military and other officials in the Indian subcontinent. Etymology The word stems from Urdu (), which derives through Persian ''jam'dar'' from Arabic ''jamā‘a(t)'' 'muster' + Persian ''-dār' ...

s, 60

Havildar Havildar or havaldar ( Hindustani: or (Devanagari), (Perso-Arabic)) is a rank in the Indian, Pakistani and Nepalese armies, equivalent to sergeant. It is not used in cavalry units, where the equivalent is daffadar. Like a British sergeant, ...

s and 600 Constables to be formed into 6 companies of

Auxiliary Police Auxiliary police, also called special police, are usually the part-time reserves of a regular police force. They may be armed or unarmed. They may be unpaid volunteers or paid members of the police service with which they are affiliated. The po ...

. In the following year, members of the force were drafted into Madras Presidency to counter the rebellion in the Rampa area that was being led by Alluri Sitarama Raju. Local forces had been unable to match the guerilla tactics of Raju in the forested areas, for which the Malabar unit were considered to be specialists. On the eve of the linguistic reorganization of States in 1956, the MSP was divided into two. One half of the 6 companies and half of the Headquarters company fell to the share of Kerala and the other half allotted to Madras. Presently the MSP is headquartered at Malappuram.

References

{{Reflist

External links

*http://www.tn.gov.in/police/histone.htm Law enforcement in Kerala Kerala Police 1884 establishments in India Government agencies established in 1884