Socio-cultural Processes and Livelihood Patterns at Tirurangadi - CDS

The impact of the Thangal legend was further demonstrated when the decision to deport
Sayyid Fasl was taken by the British Government, after the spate of Mappila revolts from
1849 to 1852. Sayyid Fasl had testified before the British that he did not encourage
fanaticism or rebellion against the Government, and that he was obliged to receive and
bless the masses who came to his residence to do him reverence. It was his misfortune if
any evil-intentioned people, who received his blessing, committed any atrocity, which in
their perverted minds was considered a service to God. It is clear from the statement of
Spayed Fasl and the acts of the Mappilas during the period of the Thangals and after their
deportation that praying at the tomb of Sayyid Alawi and receiving blessings was
considered the necessary sanction to do their acts, and we have seen that the murderers of
Connolly also prayed at the tomb of the Thangal. The news of deportation had attracted
tens and thousands of people to the residence of the Thangal, and apparently any action
by the crowd was prevented because Sayyid Fasl and his family had decided to leave.
About 8000 people had assembled at Parappanangadi, from where Sayyid Fasl took his
boat for the journey to Egypt, where he was to spend the rest of his life. On March 19,
1852 Sayyid Fasl set sail for Arabia. This obviously led to the belief among the people
that Thangal had departed, and not deported.
The British had accused the Thangals of fanning fanaticism, and modern Historians have
pointed out in various ways the central role of the Thangals in the Mappila revolts, but
the revolts themselves will have to be understood from the material conditions outlined
before. The two incidents from the region outlined above in detail, and the numerous
other incidents are related to the miserable conditions in which not only the Muslims, but
also the downtrodden castes lived in, and it is clear that the landlords were seen as the
perpetrators of social and economic oppression and they were abetted by the machinery
of the British. As in the case of Kaprat Panikkar, these two agencies were combined into