No recognition for freedom fighters

Port Blair, Apr 29: The Mopla community in Andaman and Nicobar Islands is demanding proper recognition for their heroes, who played an indispensable role in India's freedom movement.

According to them, nearly 3000 Moplas from the Malabar region, who participated in the 'Mopla rebellion' (1792-1947), were deported to Kalapani jail here during British rule.''We have records of only 229 Mopla freedom fighters, who were sent to Andaman. We want a proper documentation and recognition of all those brave warriors,'' A P Mohammed, a senior member of Mopla community, told UNI today. Mr Mohammed, a senior journalist, has recently come out with a booklet, that mentions the contributions of those 299 heroes.

The community has written several letters to the Andaman and Nicobar Administration to initiate steps to gather information about these forgotten freedom fighters.

He also informed that the Kerala government has the names of all those freedom fighters brought to Andaman from 1922 onwards.

UNI