The fifth Malabar District Political Conference was held at Kalkoni Maidan in Manjeri (erstwhile Madras Presidency), Malappuram district, Kerala on April 28 and 29, 1920. The conference led to an increasing number of middle-class participation in the frontlines of politics in Kerala and decline of jenmies (big landlords) in the same.
The Conference marked the beginning of an extensive propaganda campaign of Khilafat and Non-Cooperation Movements in Malabar. Mappila Muslims (either a descendant of any native convert to Islam or a mixed descendant of any Middle Eastern individual) reacted on the ongoing debates of Turkey and Khilafat during this conference. Komu Menon’s Khilafat Resolution, imploring the State to manage the “Turkish question” (referring to the fate of the caliphate post the decline of the Ottoman Empire), was passed. The resolution encouraged the masses, “to adopt the policy of progressive non-cooperation with the Government”, if they were unable to settle the inquiry. The conference also dealt with the issues of tenancy rights and non-cooperation, which resulted in the boycott of the anti-colonial struggle by a large number of jenmies or landowners.
In various parts of Malabar, local Khilafat Committees were set up. Apart from this, the Conference is noted for passing the resolution for rejecting the proposed Montague-Chelmsford Reforms.
Source: Indian Culture Portal