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Malabar Special Police

The Malabar Special Police, (MSP, henceforth) in its current form was formed on 30th September 1921 with the sole aim of crushing the Malabar rebellion. It was sanctioned a total strength of 6 British officers, 8 subedars, 16 jamedar, 60 havildars and 600 constables in 1921 within a month of its formation, meaning 6 companies with hundred men each. MSP was remembered through the 1920s for its notoriety and inhuman treatment meted to people of the Malabar region, for their participation in the rebellion and their resistance against the British as well as the landlord class.

Formation

It was formed in 1884. As noted by historian David Arnold, “in 1884 a Special Force of a hundred officers and men was formed at Malapuram in Ernad Taluk with the sole task of keeping watch on the Moplahs, but the Madras government maintained that British and Indian troops should also remain in the district both for their ‘moral effect’ on the Moplahs and to crush any risings.” It’s predecessors lay in the specially recruited auxiliary police forces mainly from the local Hindus (both high caste Nairs and lower caste Tiyyas) and Christian converts.
Once the uprising in Malabar retreated and was eventually crushed, it was H G Stokes, a civil servant appointed to investigate the role of armed police in 1923 who regarded the MSP as a ‘striking’ force.

Other engagements

Since its inception, as a corps meant to control the rebellion, it had specialised in guerrilla tactics and had been used to suppress many rebellions since, including Rampa Rebellion in the Godavari Agency of Madras presidency (1922). As outbreaks remained in check in Malabar, the MSP was used for occasional services during South Indian Railways Strike (1928), and in 1928-29 to prevent disturbance during the visit of Indian Statutory Commission.

Discipline and training in MSP were approximately at par with the army, and the pay was higher than in district reserves and ordinary police. From 1932, Moplahs were allowed to enlist in the MSP, even though they remained an overwhelming minority in the forces.

Later on, with its’ participation during the annexation of the princely state of Hyderabad in 1948, it became the first police force in history to jointly participate in an operation of infantry nature with the Military. It was also commissioned along with Assam Rifles and Bihar Military Police into Nagaland by the Indian Union.

Present

Today, it is a paramilitary wing of the State Police of Kerala, which is also called during emergencies, as special riot police. It has an active sports wing, as well as runs a hospital and a football academy. During the 2021 centenary celebrations, the overwhelming focus on the positive contributions of the MSP without discussing it’s colonial legacies evoked criticisms from diverse quarters.

References

  • David Arnold. “The Armed Police and Colonial Rule in South India, 1914–1947.” Modern Asian Studies, Vol. 11, No. 1 (1977): 101–125.
  • K. P. Saikiran. “Beating the Retreat: The Malabar Special Police is No Longer the Trigger-Happy Unit.” Times of India (10 October 2020). Link (accessed 10 June 2022).
  • Malabar Special Police – Kerala Police (accessed 15 June 2022).
  • “Malabar Special Police.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation (ed. 11 June 2022) (accessed 15 June 2022).
  • “MSP Gets Scant Respect After 90 Years of Service.” The New Indian Express (16 May 2012) (accessed 15 June 2022).
  • Muraly Atluri. “Alluri Sitarama Raju and the Manyam Rebellion of 1922–1924.” Social Scientist, Vol. 12, No. 4 (April 1984): 3–33.
  • Muhammed Sabith. “Kerala: A Tale of Two Centenary Celebrations.” The Wire (12 March 2021). Link.