Morazha Incident

The K.P.C.C. gave a call to the people of Malabar to observe 15th September , 1940 as Anti-Imperialist Day. The action was disapproved by the Congress High Command, but there were meetings and demonstrations all over Malabar on this day. Kannur District was the centre of this agitation. There were voilent clashes between the people and the police at several places and lathi charge and tiring were resorted to by the police to meet the situation. Two young men were killed in a clash between a mob and a police party at Morazha. In connection with the
latter incident, K.P.R. Gopalan, a prominent communist, was arrested on a charge of murder and later sentenced to death. But, owing to the intervention of several top ranking political leaders including Mahatma Ghandhi, the death penalty was not carried out.

The 'Quit India' Movement of August 1942 also had its echoes in Kannur district. A socialist group among the Congress workers under Dr. K.B. Menon, provided leadership to the movement.

In 1945, at the end of the War, the Congress leaders were released from prison. The Muslim League had by this time become a decisive force in Malabar politics. It supported the demand of the All India Muslim League for the partition of India.