Malappuram: Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) MLA Kurikkoli Moideen has demanded the bifurcation of Malappuram district and the creation of a new Tirur district, alleging neglect by the state government in fund allocation.
Moideen argued that despite Malappuram’s overpopulation, it does not receive funds in proportion to its population. “The district is being neglected by the government,” he said. The Muslim League is the second-largest partner in the opposition Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF).
Echo of SDPI and PFI
The demand closely mirrors that of the outlawed Popular Front of India (PFI) and its political wing, the Social Democratic Party of India (SDPI). The SDPI had, in April 2023, carried out a rally in Malappuram pressing for the same demand and asking both the ruling CPM-led Left Democratic Front (LDF) and the UDF to clarify their stance. Political observers note that the IUML, which had been contemplating this move for some time, has now taken it up publicly.
The issue of carving out a Muslim-majority region in Kerala has surfaced repeatedly. In June 2024, Sunni Yuvajana Sangham (SYS) leader Mustafa Mundupara created controversy by calling for a ‘Separate Malabar State’, arguing that Malabar residents, who pay the same taxes as southern Kerala, deserve equal facilities.
In 2023, the Youth League, the youth wing of IUML, reportedly demanded a new state comprising seven districts from Thrissur to Kasaragod, along with Mahi and the Nilgiris of Tamil Nadu. The Youth League also called for a new district with its headquarters in Tirur.
Earlier, in February 2021, the Samastha Kerala Sunni Students’ Federation (SKSSF), affiliated to the radical Samstha Kerala Jem-Iyyathul Ulam, had demanded a Muslim-majority ‘Malabar State’.
The developments evoke memories of 1969, when the CPM-led government under E. M. Sankaran Namboodirippad created Malappuram district, yielding to IUML’s demand for a Muslim-majority district. Congress, then undivided, did not oppose the move. The Bharatiya Jana Sangh, precursor to today’s BJP, was the only party to resist, terming the creation “communal”. Jana Sangh leaders including Bhairon Singh Shekhawat, Madanlal Khurana and Major General (Retd) Gurubachan Singh staged satyagraha in Kozhikode and courted arrest. The party had warned that the move would encourage separatist demands and foster anti-national activities, even predicting a future partition.
Observers also recall the 2023 “Cutting South” Media Conclave in Kochi, which was seen as a platform for “Separate South India” propaganda, reportedly backed by anti-Bharat groups in the US and Canada.
With the IUML now officially reviving the demand for the division of Malappuram, political watchers believe the issue has entered the mainstream, and stress that the implications must be viewed with seriousness.
