The wagon tragedy also known as wagon massacre was an incident which occurred during the Malabar rebellion against British colonial rule in India that led to the deaths of 70 Indian prisoners. In 1921, a rebellion against British colonial rule by

Mappila Muslims 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 n ...

broke out in the

Malabar District Malabar District, also known as Malayalam District, was an administrative district on the southwestern Malabar Coast of Bombay Presidency (1792-1800) and Madras Presidency (1800-1947) in British India, and independent India's Madras State (19 ...

British India The provinces of India, earlier presidencies of British India and still earlier, presidency towns, were the administrative divisions of British governance on the Indian subcontinent. Collectively, they have been called British India. In one ...

. Following the rebellion, 100 Mappila prisoners who had been taken into custody were ordered by the colonial authorities to be transferred from the

Malabar Coast The Malabar Coast is the southwestern coast of the Indian subcontinent. Geographically, it comprises the wettest regions of southern India, as the Western Ghats intercept the moisture-laden monsoon rains, especially on their westward-facing m ...

Podanur Podanur or Pothanoor or Pothanur is a neighbourhood in the city of Coimbatore in Tamil Nadu, India. Its history goes back to the creation of a major railway station and colony during British rule. The station was a major hub and is functional ...

as the jails in the Malabar District were overcrowded. Thousands of Mappila prisoners were transported to other regions of British India during and after the rebellion via train, though they were typically transported in open-air carriages in order to prevent suffocation. However, for unknown reasons, the 100 prisoners (who were being transported in November of that year) were sent to Podanur in a closed train carriage by the

sergeant Sergeant (abbreviated to Sgt. and capitalized when used as a named person's title) is a rank in many uniformed organizations, principally military and policing forces. The alternative spelling, ''serjeant'', is used in The Rifles and other uni ...

and transport officer in charge of their detention and transfer. On November 10, they were moved into the carriage and the train set off for Podanur. Air soon ran out in the carriage and several prisoners began to die due to asphyxiation. By the time the train arrived at the

Podanur Junction railway station Podanur Junction(station code: PTJ) is a railway station in Podanur, Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu, India History It was the first railway station in the Coimbatore district, Kongu Region or Western Region, which opened in 1862 and third oldest ra ...

on November 19, the carriage was opened by local authorities which discovered that 64 prisoners had died. The 36 surviving prisoners were taken to a nearby hospital, where a further six died of the injuries their bodies had sustained, bringing the total death toll up to 70 people. A prisoner later described his experiences on the train while it was in transit: "we were perspiring profusely and we realized that air was insufficient and we could not breathe. We were so thirsty that some of us licked the perspiration from our clothes. I saw something like gauze over the door with very small holes so that no air could come in. Some of us tried to put it away but we were not strong enough." When news of the incident became public, there was a public outcry in British India at the colonial authorities over their perceived negligence. Several prominent Muslims dispatched telegraphs to British colonial officials in

Delhi Delhi, officially the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi, is a city and a union territory of India containing New Delhi, the capital of India. Straddling the Yamuna river, primarily its western or right bank, Delhi shares borders w ...

, including the

Earl of Cromer Earl of Cromer is a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom, held by members of the Baring family, of German descent. It was created for Evelyn Baring, 1st Viscount Cromer, long time British Consul-General in Egypt. He had already been cr ...

, demanding an investigation into the incident. The British responded by opening an inquiry into the deaths, which eventually convicted and sentenced the carriage manufacturer, transport officer and sergeant for negligence in sending the prisoners to Podanur in a close carriage instead of an open-air one. The incident ultimately contributed to an increase in support for the

Indian independence movement The Indian independence movement was a series of historic events with the ultimate aim of ending British Raj, British rule in India. It lasted from 1857 to 1947. The first nationalistic revolutionary movement for Indian independence emerged ...

. A memorial to the incident was subsequently constructed at

Tirur Tirur is a Municipality in Malappuram district in the Indian state of Kerala spread over an area of . It is one of the business centers of Malappuram district and is situated west of Malappuram and south of Kozhikode, on the Shoranur–Mangalor ...

.''Anglo Mappila Yudham 1921'', AK Kodoor, page 262

References

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External links

Events surrounding the Wagon Tragedy described at the Government of Kerala website
1921 in British India 1921 in India April 1921 events Railway accidents and incidents in Tamil Nadu Railway accidents in 1921 History of Kerala Indian independence movement in Kerala 1921 disasters in India

See also

References

External links