The Tirurangadi Taluk Office, also known as Hajur Kacheri, is a historic building located in

Tirurangadi Tirurangadi is a municipal town in Malappuram district of the Indian state Kerala. It is a historic town famed for its active participation in the freedom struggle, especially those dating back to the 1920s. It serves as a local taluk and i ...

Talk of

Malappuram District Malappuram (), is one of the List of districts of Kerala, 14 districts in the States and union territories of India, Indian state of Kerala, with a coastline of . The most populous district of Kerala, Malappuram is home to around 13% of the tot ...

in the

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

n state of

Kerala Kerala ( , ) is a States and union territories of India, 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 ...

. It houses the Tirurangadi Taluk Office since the post-independence

Malabar District Malabar District, also known as British Malabar or simply Malabar was an administrative district on the southwestern Malabar Coast of Bombay Presidency (1792–1800), Madras Presidency (1800–1950) and finally, Madras State (1950–1956) in ...

or British-era

Madras Presidency The Madras Presidency or Madras Province, officially called the Presidency of Fort St. George until 1937, was an administrative subdivision (province) of British India and later the Dominion of India. At its greatest extent, the presidency i ...

. The Taluk office, which was once the Hajur Kacheri (Huzur Office) under the British, was one of the major administrative centers of the

British government His Majesty's Government, abbreviated to HM Government or otherwise UK Government, is the central government, central executive authority of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.

in Malabar region. The building also functioned as the headquarters of a short-lived Khilafat government during the rebellion.Tirurangadi taluk office was Khilafat govt’s headquarters
/ref>

History

Tirurangadi was the capital of Cheranad taluk under the

British Raj The British Raj ( ; from Hindustani language, Hindustani , 'reign', 'rule' or 'government') was the colonial rule of the British The Crown, Crown on the Indian subcontinent, * * lasting from 1858 to 1947. * * It is also called Crown rule ...

, which was the epicenter of the Khilafat movement and

Malabar Rebellion The Malabar rebellion of 1921 (also called Moplah rebellion, and Mappila rebellion, Malayalam: ''malabār kalāpam'') started as a resistance against the British colonial rule in certain places in the southern part of old Malabar district of pr ...

(Moplah revolt) in 1921. The building was known as the Hajur Kacheri (Huzur Office) under the British, and was one of the major administrative centers of the post-independence British-era

. The building also functioned as the headquarters of a short-lived Khilafat government during the rebellion. According to historians, there was a fort of

Tipu Sultan Tipu Sultan (, , ''Sultan Fateh Ali Sahab Tipu''; 1 December 1751 – 4 May 1799) commonly referred to as Sher-e-Mysore or "Tiger of Mysore", was a ruler of the Kingdom of Mysore based in South India. He was a pioneer of rocket artillery ...

situated opposite the Hajur Kacheri. The land described in the records as 'Kottapparamba' does not have any trace of a fort today.Calicut Heritage
/ref> In the 1780s and 1790s, the British defeated the Mysore Army at Tirurangadi and after the treaty of Srirangapatnam in 1791, and took control of Tirurangadi and demolished the fort. It is said that the bricks and stones from the demolished fort were used for building Hajur Kacheri. The police station, offices of deputy

tehsildar In Bangladesh, India, and Pakistan, a tehsildar, talukdar, or mamlatdar is a land revenue officer accompanied by revenue inspectors. They are in charge of obtaining taxes from a tehsil with regard to land revenue. A tehsildar is also known as a ...

and sub registrar, post office and travelers’ bungalow functioned at this building. During the

Khilafat Movement The Khilafat movement (1919–22) was a political campaign launched by Indian Muslims in British India over British policy against Turkey and the planned dismemberment of the Ottoman Empire after World War I by Allied forces. Leaders particip ...

, the

Mappila Malabar Muslims or Muslim Mappilas are members of the Muslim community found predominantly in Kerala and the Lakshadweep islands in Southern India. The term Mappila (Ma-Pilla) is used to describe Malabar Muslims in Northern Kerala. Muslims sh ...

warriors, under the leadership of cleric Ali Musliyar and Variyam Kunnath Kunjahammed Haji (V K Haji), captured the taluks of

Eranad Eranad () also known as Ernad refers to the erstwhile province in the midland area of Malabar, consisting of Malappuram and nearby regions such as Anakkayam, Manjeri, Kondotty, Nilambur, etc. Currently Eranad Taluk is a Taluk in Malappuram dis ...

u and Valluvanadu from the British and established their own rule and turned the building into their administrative headquarters where they had the court, administrative section and even the office for the issuance of passports.

Premises

The building premises has the graves of British officers who had laid down their lives in the 1921 Moplah Revolt This includes that of Lt. William Rutherfoord Johnstone, Private F. M. Eley, Private H. C. Hutchings and William John Duncan Rowley who was the Assistant Superintendent of Police from Palghat who was killed at the outbreak of the Rebellion on 20 August 1921 at the age of 28. Though the building is under the Archaeological department, the Taluk office is still functioning. The Sub Registrar Office, Tirurangadi also works in the same compound. The state government is planning to declare it as a district

heritage site A historic site or heritage site is an official location where pieces of political, military, cultural, or social history have been preserved due to their cultural heritage value. Historic sites are usually protected by law, and many have been rec ...

and to convert it into a museum.

Tirurangadi Taluk

Tirurangadi Taluk comes under Tirur revenue division in

Malappuram district Malappuram (), is one of the List of districts of Kerala, 14 districts in the States and union territories of India, Indian state of Kerala, with a coastline of . The most populous district of Kerala, Malappuram is home to around 13% of the tot ...

. Its

headquarters Headquarters (often referred to as HQ) notes the location where most or all of the important functions of an organization are coordinated. The term is used in a wide variety of situations, including private sector corporations, non-profits, mil ...

is the town of

. Tirurangadi Taluk contains two municipalities -

, and

Parappanangadi Parappanangadi () is a major town and a municipality in Tirurangadi taluk of Malappuram district, Kerala, India. It is a coastal town located close to the Arabian Sea. Parappanangadi railway station is one of the oldest railway stations in Ke ...

. Most of the administrative offices are located in the Mini-Civil Station at

. The position of the Tirurangadi Taluk in

is given below: The Tirurangadi Taluk is composed of 17 villages. They are: *

Parappur Parappur is a village and townland two kilometers north of Kottakkal in Malappuram district in the state of Kerala, India. The village's landscape can be divided into six plains, slopes, valleys, plains, rivers and streams. Parappur Panchay ...

* Abdu Rahiman Nagar * Thenhipalam * Peruvallur *

Oorakam Oorakam is a census town in Malappuram district in the state of Kerala, India. Oorakam is located midway between Malappuram and Vengara. Oorakam is approximately 12 km from Malappuram. Demographics India census, Oorakam had a populati ...

* Nannambra * Vengara * Kannamangalam * Othukkungal * Vallikunnu * Moonniyur * Ariyallur *

* Neduva *

* Thennala * Edarikode * thanur * thanalur

Gallery

File:Tirurangadi Sub Registrar Office.jpg, Sub Registrar Office which is also located in the same compound File:Tirurangadi Taluk office.jpg, An old photo of the Tirurangadi Taluk Office File:Tirurangadi Graves.jpg, The epitaph read: William John Duncan Rowley, Assistant Superintendent of Police, Palghaut, who was killed at Tirurangadi by a mob of mappilas at the outbreak of the Mappila Rebellion on August 20, 1921 - aged 28 File:Tirurangadi Taluk Office Grave.jpg, Graves of British soldiers who had laid down their lives in the 1921 Moplah Revolt

References

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External links