Chapter 18 towards the future

Renjith looked at the clock of his laptop it was 4:06PM it was moody and cloudy out side

He  had a bit of  dejavu  he  was now  lost in thought  he  remembered  the  old days how an IAS aspirant  became  a business man and a multiple Pulitzer price wining author

He   rembered that life changing   discussion with his grandfather and his research 

As he was lost in thought   he felt a small hand come and close his eyes from behind

He smiled it was his son Arjun, Renjith smiled and peered his son’s hands from his eyes

All had happened quickly that Renjith felt that it had just happened yesterday 

His marriage with Bhairavi Singh was a shock to his family she was a Kachwa Rajput princess whom Renjith had fallen in love with

He proposed to her in the city palace at Jaipur which she duly accepted there was some resistance at first on both ends but then finally it was accepted and a whirlwind marriage of 21 days happened

Both Renjith and Bhairavi operated as a team they were so synced that each knew what the others were thinking

To the people she was like a goddess earning him the sobriquet Amma tampurati or Queen mother

She returned the love she got from her adopted subjects by playing an active part in the community

The Prince and princess had 3 more kids other than Arjun two more Boys Kartaveera Arjun and Vishnu Guptan and one Girl who Bhairavi named Gayathri Devi in honor of one of her ancestors the Queen Mother of Jaipur Gayathri Devi

As the years passed the prince was counted as one of the most brilliant business men India had ever seen with investments ranging from education to oil and gas

With wide ranging business interest the prince  spun off his foreign business interest under the name the Royal Malabar international  in time the for princes and princess grew in to well-groomed lady and gentlemen who were the  apple in the  eyes  of the people of kovilanagdi

Arjun eased in to his family business two of his brothers joined the defense services 

And rose to high positions within the service all were married to royal women

With Arjun and Kartaveera Arjun marrying from the same family as his mother and his younger brother marrying from the aristocratic family of dogras

Gayathri Devi was married to the family of Jaisalmer

With his kids settled and happy married Renjith and his wife withdrew one step at a time form the public lime light

As their respective ages had started to get to them unbenousend to any one

Renjith had made a quaint little cottage for him and his wife to retire to

He had Sanju draft up a will of transfer which invested all of the defacto powers in

His eldest son Arjun this was done after much debate within the family and after knowing the opion of the people

Everyone had agreed that Arjun would be the right candidate for the job 

After having drawn up the will the fateful day came when the sixth Prince and princess abdicated in favour of the younger ones

Renjith and biravi was in no way poor he had judiously invested in retirement plans for both him and her

So that they would be independent of their kids.

They had a happy life  in their  cottage in kodug from they used to visit their kids and  vice versa as Renjith and  Biravi were religious  they would travel to far off  pilgrimage sites like the harimadir sahib or the  vishno devi temple

They met their end while on a trip to Armarnath when terrorist ambushed the bus they were travelling but they were inseparable even in death as both had died while propecting each other from the shower of bullets

It also kind off seemed fitting in a macabre sort of way that Renjith and biravi were also killed by the same kind of ideology that had been the fuel for the Mappila riots all those years ago only the names changed the places changed but the idea and supporters hadn’t changed so in a way they were the latest victims of the Maphilla rebellion.

 

Chapter 17 the 6th lord

They say that every high is followed by a low Renjith was not low but devastated

He had lost his biggest source of support was gone his grand dad was dead

He had passed away in the dead of the night in his sleep truth be told Renjith thought that his granddad had a good and peaceful death

But still  a  loss is  a loss  no  matter how so  ever you look at it  as far as the  family was concerned a  grand old tree had fallen

Renjith was bought up in the English aristocratic tradition of the stiff upper lip

And that stiff upper lip was on full display as Renjith took total control of the situation

Arranging all the things needed for cremating and other death related rituals

But what showed his leadership the best was in dealing with the mourning relatives

And workers of the estate

16 days after the death of Sachindra Shanmukham Raman Nair the 5th prince of Vadakaka kolikal, Vadakan tirur kovilanagdi amsham, Eranadu

Renjith had been  busy with work  in the coconut plantation  that  was owned  by his family firm the Royal eranadu Group of he  got an urgent  call asking him to  come  back home 

When  he reached home  he saw his friend  Mr sanju standing along  with the head priest of  his family deity temple His holiness  Parameshwaran  standing and  discussing  some thing 

As Renjith approached the house he was greeted by the said gentlemen and his extended family

Sanju  who  was  now posted  as  Renjith’s Family  lawyer  handed  him a letter addressed  to him  by his late grand  dad 

But there was a difference in the tone in which he was handed over the letter by his friend

He opened his letter and started to read

Dear Renjith,

If you  are reading this letter that has been handed to you  by the family lawyer accompanied by the  head priest of our temple  then that means I have  departed from this mortal  world  and  have   gone  to join  my family in the realm of the dead

I just wanted you to know that you are now the 6^th Prince yes you are a prince now 

Now I know that you will be thinking that what I can do with a titular position

What’s the use right?

No  dear you  are an  Important    part in  that  society  people our people  will  look up to you  for guidance and leadership

Do not fail them my dear Prince you have the strength of your ancestors with you and my blessings go forth and claim your destiny

Your coronation will happen on the exact date one year from now

You shall be crowned prince of Vadakaka kolikal, Vadakan tirur kovilanagdi amsham, Eranadu

Always remember a good leader is one who have conquered the hearts of the people

And earned their trust may the gods guide you

Regards

The Right Honrable Sachindra Shanmukham Raman Nair the 5th prince of Vadakaka kolikal, Vadakan tirur kovilanagdi amsham, Eranadu ICS/IAS/IFS

Days passed quickly for Renjith 2018 came to  fast for his liking and  so did the 20^th of November  but the real reason was that he had been real busy in looking after the family and its  business  interest  that he hadn’t noticed  that time flew by him

The day came fast it was a grand ceremony with elephants and people  from all over  Kovilanagdi  gathering at the old palace at tirur the people were awe struck at the condition of the “old” palace it was truly renovated and bought up to speed

It stood up to its designation as a palace

A herald came up to the assembled crowd and said presenting

His Most serene Highness the Right Honorable Renjith Raman Nair the 6th prince of Vadakaka kolikal, Vadakan tirur kovilanagdi amsham, Eranadu

He was flanked by his extended family and friends he sat with the élan of a true king

Renjith silently made a vow to protect his people no   matter what the cost 

He was now the 6th Lord of the house of kovilanagdi

After the coronation the young prince   returned back to his world duties as the MD and chairman of the royal Eranadu Group

He  followed  the same  work  ethic  as his  granddad  hard  work and spirituality went  hand in  hand  for  the prince

Under  his tutelage the  RE group diversified in to  a multitude  of  industries  including but not limited  to logistics,  supermarket  chain under the name  of  farm yard  which  specialized  in providing “Naturally” grown  products  from vegetables  to meat 

He also diversified in to plantations, shares, defense manufacturing and financing

Renjith was also named the Founding chairman of the northern Tirur Commercial bank which was sponsored by the central bank of India

He saw to it that the Royal Eranadu Group became the biggest employer in the area 

The Sachindra Shanmukham Raman Nair memorial  school  was also  established  by a  generous  gnat from  the 6^th  prince  and soon a  state of the art college  and hospital  was  also added

All this won him the affection of the people and the 6^th Lord had truly earned his place in the hearts of his subjects and of the greater state as a man of the people

The future was indeed looking rosy and hopeful 

But in between all this Renjith never forgot his mission for justice for the   victims of the malabar rebellion

He  constantly tracked  the government and   applied  force  in  nonviolent means  to get  the recommendations  of the malabar  commission  implemented on the ground

He did his own little  things like he  upgraded  his  blog the   Clarion call to a  full-fledged   website  he published  his  resrech as book  under  the  name  of malabar 1920 a revisit which  garner him  wide  acclaim   with the book  going in  to  no  2 in the  Penguin must read collection he also  released a Malayalam  translation of the same  under the same name this time  published by DC  books  of Kottayam

Such was the depth of the research that his books were designated must read as a supplementary to BA in Kerala History by the University of Kerala

But as fame came calling Renjith still remained the same old down to earth person that his family and his subject loved over all he still remembered the words spoken to him in absentia by   his predecessor His granddad it echoed to him “Always remember a good leader is one who have conquered the hearts of the people And earned their trust”

Thinking such the young prince drifted to sleep

Chapter 16 in the courts

Early next morning   Renjith woke up and prepared the Preliminary case bulletin a and emailed it to sanju.

Sanju was stunned at the  detail encased in the bulletin what shocked him even more was  that Renjith wanted to apply chapters of the IPC  not sections as in other cases

These chapters where as follows

Chapter VI sections 122 thru 130 except sections 125 and 126

Chapter V A section 120B

Chapter V sections 107 thru120

Chapter VIII Sections 153,153A, 153B

Chapter XV Section 295,295A thru 298

Also including chapters XVI, XVII & XXII

Sanju elaborated on the bulletin and registered the case in the Supreme Court            

The case was to be heard by the Honorable court on the next day

To say that the case caused a stir would be putting it very lightly

The case caused a shockwave in the media an article in a leading

Newspaper summed it up the best it red “malabar 1920 a rebellion or a riot? New case set to ask haunting questions on the so called rebellion”

The  court room was  nothing short of  a tether  with prosecution counsel  Sanju tearing in  to  the defence  lead by some of  the  most  eminent lawyers of the  land 

The defence  was trying its best to get the whole case quashed  citing the same doubts that had haunted sanju but the  defense  counsel made strong arguments to the  counter

The drama was not only limited to the court room the hashtag #Justiceformalabr was the top trending in twitter for the duration of the case

Both Renjith and sanju found themselves at the center of a lot of attention both good and bad

Mostly bad since they had dared to take on the system they often ridiculed by a section of the media

The situation in the court room was also not that different for sanju everything that he had earned and got was on the line

The defense was stooping to new lows every day it even went till the extant to call the evidence presented by sanju as false and fabricated 

With almost borderline personal attacks but through all these two men stood firm and also had the support of their respective families

But on the other hand they were hailed as the defenders of the truth by most of the rightwing leaning section of both the mainstream print and social media

Such was the  Public  interest generated by the case that the court not only  forwent its winter brake but also constituted a special bench  headed by the chief justice of  India  to hear the case   at Calicut the  central  government  on advice  of the attorney general and consolation with the supreme court upgraded this  bench to a judicial commission it  was  known as the   Malabar commission

The commission through its special reporter Mrs. Sheba the commission poured over mountains of archival material as most of the victimized   families was long dispersed 

It was hard and long process and to add to that the resistance encountered by the reporter   in areas affected by the riots from the local population was enormous

And in some places violent  but the special  roving reputure  made submitted the her report to the chair of the commission at Calicut  on the 6^th of November  2017

the commission further  submitted its findings  to the court  the Honrable court communicated that he final verdict  would be passed on the 20^th of November 2017

Both Renjith and sanju were by now   media darlings and were comfortable with the media glare that this case had bought in to their lives   but behind it all both men were

Nervous wrecks on the impending   final verdict of the case on the day of the verdict the   both the parties were present at the court and the Honrable bench red out the verdict

“Let it be known that in the Renjith Sachindra Raman Nair V/s others case 

Case 2021/12/2017delivered on the 20^th day of the 11th month of the year 2017

The honorable court delivers the following judgement

That the defense  having failed  to convince the court comprehensively on the non-validity of the  case  the  court  took up the case and after  much  thought and deliberation  have  come to the conclusion in the light of the  report of the commission  thus constituted along  with the  special additional report  by the commissions  special roving reputure who visited the said areas

The court orders that following measures be taken

1.      the victims  of the  said rebellion  be remembered  through a memorial

2.      a complete database be  made of the  victims

3.      the  state government remove the status of freedom fighters  from any remaining members   actually involved in the said  rebellion

4.      the political parties in question  are to  delete all reference to the said rebellion as part of the wider national struggle

5.      the victims families shall be paid a onetime payment of 10 cores as compensation payment

6.      all  properties thus found to be illegally claimed and  legalized post-independence remains quashed the lands are to  be  returned back to the descendants of the said  family albite under norms of the  land ceiling acts in force

Finally the court would like to put on record its appreciation for both Mr Renjith and Mrs. Sheba for their respective dedication in their fields 

The court also likes to make a special mention of its appreciation of both the defense and prosecution lawyers for their spirited defense of their respective case

The court stands adjourned in the case

The following verdict came as a shock to the establishment in the malabar region overnight many “rich” Families lost their houses and estates as the effects of the case were discussed surprisingly even on   Pakistani news channels with a certain Hamid crying horses about the how the Hindu banyan has struck once again and how unjust India was to his brethren

While all this was happening Renjith was sound asleep in his home in the arms of victory and safe in the knowledge that he had won his war for justice not only for his family but particularly for his grand old man

But little did he know that the grand old man had passed him the mettle of the chief of the family that night

Chapter 15 justice at last

Renjith looked at the  clock it was only  10:16 pm he thought just then he  had  an idea  why not take  all the research he had  done  to  the courts  and  force the government to acknowledge the victims of this barbarity and  build them  a  memorial .

He searched through his contacts list looking for a   suitable friend to look in to the legal side then it struck him.

He took his mobile and rang up Mr Sanju chandran an ace lawyer and a close friend of his   the two had met coincidently during their time at the Victoria College at Palakkad.

There was only one issue the man  was a  wild  card and his busy schedule  meant that getting him was a hit and miss  affair , but still  Renjith  gave a try he  dilled the number and got a busy tone  at first ,  he kept the mobile  and waited and tried at sanju’s home .

This time he was lucky sanju picked up the phone and started to speak

“Hello Sanju chandran speaking how may I help you

Renjith:  hi man renju here

Sanju: o hi man long time no see how are you man?

Renjith: I am fine what about you?

Sanju: I am fine dear

Renjith :man I need a  favour  I wanted to  know  which  all sections of  the IPC cover the act of  rioting ??

Sanju: why are you going to appear for your bar exams?  Just joking

Renjith: no man this is for a serious matter you remember the project I told you about ya the one about the malabar rebellion I am planning to launch a case against two prominent parties for their role in covering up the brutalities   that was committed in the name of the independence movement

Sanju  was stunned  to silence his friend wanted to  file a case against two prominent political parties   was he out of his mind or had he gone  bonkers he  though Renjith wanted to dig up  a case  where most of the criminals were dead or  dying and were designated  “freedom fighters” and over that the bugger wanted to make two of the oldest political parties as parties to this case sanju knew that the case would be massive this  was what he called a  name maker  or a name barker case and he was always a risk taker .

While he was absent in this thought he heard Renjith calling him “brother you there??

I know what the hell you are thinking why is this guy going to dig up long dead cases and waste the courts and your time right?”

Renjith continued “it will not  be  a  waste I  swear this  case will  be land mark case in your career and the  legal history of this country look at it  from a  humanitarian   point of view  man this is  about bringing peace to the  victims of a long forgotten tragedy 

It is to give them justice at last what do you say man?”

After a few seconds that felt like eons for Renjith the line on the other end crackled to life

 Fine I will take the case as for your query this very case will have a multitude of sections covering it but as for rioting it is covered by section 146 of the Indian penal code

Renjith was filled with joy and thanked his friend profusely he told sanju that he would provide him with a prilimery case bulletin and along with the chapters under which this case should he fought  

 Who knew that with this conversation the rusted wheels of justice would be set in motion for a forgotten set of people who lost their lives in a largely forgotten rebellion that was but a foot note in Indian History?

Chapter 14 Coming to terms

It has been  9 months sinces Renjith  had started this  project of his he had  dug up a lot of   skeltons  in the  process

But he knew  could not stop it any longer he had resolved   himself to fight for the deceased and wronged of malabar

For him  he  had come  to  see this  as his sacred  duty  not only to his  family but also  to  the thousands  of  families that  lost a lot in that dance of the  macabre  called so coolly  as  the malabar rebellion

To  this  end he  started   a  blog  on  the web called  the  clarion call he made a pain statking blog of all that he had  studied about the malabar  rebellion

Renjith had been shook to the core   the transformation  was  plain to  see 

He  asked  uncomfortable  questions  about the rebellion and also  started pages on

Social media sites  questioning the  official  version of the  rebellion

at this  time  he  had  abandoned  his IAS aspirations  and dived in  to  historical  enisles of the malabar rebellions

He was  now more  involved in  the family business and spent more time  at the home  tending to  the commercial interest of  the family

But   finally Renjith had come to terms  with loss of a generation of a  family

Though he could  still  come to  terms with the hushed  hused  tune that the  Hindu victims were attributed

As if they were the perpetrators and not the victims

Chapter 13 roots

He reached the dining room of his home and gestured   for everyone to listen to him

He spoke with command in his voice “tomorrow I and grandfather are going back to tirur”

This sent shock waves albite solemn and silent one   through the family Renjith had uttered the T word   but everyone knew that Renjith once decided can’t   be turned back from his decision

So they   quietly agreed to the proposal   but as always there was bound to be a voice of descent  

This time it was his cousin Ram Nair who considered this all just a folly 

 He jeered at Renjith   as he spoke “well   why we are going behind some Oldman’s

All  this is a waste of time  and money  why  the heck  do we care  those who are dead  are  dead  and besides  they  were  just oppressive  despots who had it coming for  them and their  women folk and besides it  hastened  the end of British rule

So I see the  rebellion as a good thing  and  the  freedom  fighters  who died as true martyrs  so yes  I don’t support this ill-conceived  sham of an  expedition”

To this tirade Renjith reacted with a simple quote

“Beware those who twist history shall themselves be twisted by history”

And made his way to his room for some sleep

 Early next morning Renjith was on his way to his ancestral home grounds or what used to be his ancestral   home as he and his grandfather made their way to area Renjith was unnaturally silent

It seemed that the weather was also mirroring his mod as   dark  clouds crowded the horizon  waiting  on the car stereo he switched on to his favorite song

In between all this   he took out a photoset of an article   from an old defunct newspaper called the Liberator dated of 26^th August 1926

“"The original resolution condemned the Moplas wholesale for the killing of Hindus and burning of Hindu homes and the forcible conversion to Islam. The Hindu members themselves proposed amendments till it was reduced to condemning only certain individuals who had been guilty of the above crimes. But some of the Moslem leaders could not bear this even. Maulana Fakir and other Maulanas, of course, opposed the resolution and there was no wonder. But I was surprised, an out-and-out Nationalist like Maulana Hasrat Mohani opposed the resolution on the ground that the Mopla country no longer remained Dar-ul-Aman but became Dar-ul-Harab and they suspected the Hindus of collusion with the British enemies of the Moplas. Therefore, the Moplas were right in presenting the Quran or sword to the Hindus. And if the Hindus became Mussalmans to save themselves from death, it was a voluntary change of faith and not forcible conversion—Well, even the harmless resolution condemning some of the Moplas was not unanimously passed but had to be accepted by a majority of votes only."

As his mind was lost in the cross examination of the said article he heard his

Grandfather call out to him that they had reached the place

As he stepped out of the car it started to rain heavily but some how 

Renjith did not want to   go fetch an umbrella he just wanted to enjoy 

For him and his grandfather   they were at their roots 

They didn’t mind getting wet at all in the rain as both the men stared at the desolate mansion 

Renjith had an urge to explore   the remains as for the older man it was a macabre home coming 

As both crossed the precinct of the ancient house the outer courtyard was covered in all kind of weeds and grasses

But standing proudly   in between all this was a square walled holy basil shrub

As they crossed the threshold of the entrance they saw that the home was stuck in a

Time warp  with  it becoming an in veritable  time capsule  for  Mr. Nair  it was  like he had  stepped  back to his  childhood 

For Renjith here was where the bloodiest chapter in his family’s history was written

As he  continued straight on  he exited  out the back off  the house leading  right to the well and a bit  further on he found that the  house  had a  small serpent shrine and

A great bath somehow neither Renjith nor his father wanted to go but they knew they had too

As they were about to leave Renjith inadvertently knocked open a door 

The older man recognized it as his room all was still there all the furniture that was needed for a set of princes and princesses

As they gingerly entered the room they found a picture frame with all the members of the extended family that was killed in the genocide 

Mr. Nair took that photo away with him as a keepsake  

As both the gentlemen made their way to the car it was still raining

As Renjith drove of he could swore he saw a women standing and staring at them

From the front verandah he quickly   stopped the car and looked back but there was no one there

He thought that it was just a delusion   that happened to him because he had been involved in this project with all his heart 

he  closed the driver side door and  carried  on back  to his home  but in  his mind the fore lone  face of that lady on  the verandah would stick with him  for a long time

At that time he took a solom vow   to get back this house and the adjoining estate no matter whatever the cost

Chapter 12 Insult to injury

Renjith woke up the next   morning  after his  daily  rituals which  surprisingly   which included a visit to  the family  temple he  had changed   he  had become more religious and more concentrated  on  family matters

He had a gut feeling that his grandfather was grooming him to take over the   family  

But he decide to play along all that aside he reached   for his grand dad’s dairy from 1971

He started to read the same

Dear dairy,

Today is  a  black day in my life not only mine but  every  victim of  the  malabar rebellion of 1920-23 today the  government of  Kerala  yes my  home state  has  notified that due to its magnitude and extent, that it was an unprecedented popular upheaval, the likes of which has not been seen in Kerala before or since. And that while the Mappilas were in the vanguard of the movement and bore the brunt of the struggle, the fact that several non-Mappila leaders actively sympathized with the rebels' cause, gives the uprising the character of a national upheaval therefore the Government of Kerala officially recognizes the active participants in the events as "freedom fighters".

That is not all The Variyankunnath Kunjahammad Haji memorial town hall which will be built in Malappuram Municipality shall be   named after the leader of the rebellion while the Tirur Wagon Tragedy memorial town hall will commemorate the incident. The Pookkottur war memorial gate will be dedicated to those killed in the Pookkottur battle

They  call the death of 67 rebels as a tragedy  so what about my mother my siblings  and my  siblings the thousands  of  dishonored  women and flayed men the number of  dishonored  temples 

Wasn’t that a tragedy for these people?

Or is it ok because it was the Hindu that bore the brunt of this barbarity???

A spific case comes to mind when I   write this entry

...it was not mere fanaticism, it was not agrarian trouble, and it was not destitution, which worked on the minds of Ali Musaliar and his followers. The evidence conclusively shows that it was the influence of the Khilafat and Non-co-operation movements that drove them to their crime. It is (his which distinguishes the present from all previous outbreaks. Their intention was, absurd though it may seem, to subvert the British Government and to substitute a Khilafat Government by force of arms. (Judgement in Case No. 7 of 1921 on the file of the Special Tribunal, Calicut.)

But  I hope  that one  day  the wrongs  that were committed on  us  will  be  bought to light

And the restless spirits given closure and deliverance from their pain

Regards

S.S. Raman Nair

This  was not  all even  after  years  of  this barbaric  revolt  Renjith found it  hard to stomach  the  fact that

The Maphillas and  not the Hindus  were the  heroes and the victims he found it  confusingly   bizarre that history would  be  twisted in such   a  brutal and sick  way  but  what  he  felt  even more sickening  is the  fact that

There was that such lies were being taught to young kids   because it was the “truth”

He felt that this was wrong   no  he  knew it  was  wrong   and  from now on he  would  no  stone unturned  to deliver justice  to  the  wandering souls of the  victims  of the  so  called rebellion

He  promised on  his life  and walked  a head to  announce the same to  his  extended  family  who had now  settled in  the grand dining room of  his ancestral palace.