IN August 1921 the Mappilas of Malabar rose in revolt, killing the upper caste Hindu landlords and destroying British government offices and judicial courts. It was not the first time the Mappilas had taken up arms; this uprising was only the culmination of a series of revolts during the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. What were the causes of these sporadic outbursts of violence? Contemporary British administrators sharply differed in their assessment; so do modern historians. The point of debate has been whether these revolts were triggered off by religious fanaticism or agrarian grievances. Posed as a riddle, the answers have emphasised the one or the other. Like many other scholars, Stephen Dale was also initially drawn into 'Mappila history
