page_title: Nilgiri Malabar Battalion
section_title: Operations
hierarchical_section_title: Nilgiri Malabar Battalion / Operations
caption_attribution_description: English: 2nd Dorsets to deploy from Baird Barracks, Bangalore to Malabar. On receipt of the request for support, General Burnett-Stuart immediately ordered 2nd Dorsets to deploy from Baird Barracks, Bangalore to Malabar. They were quickly under way, having been on standby since the previous month, in two trains. The Dorsets were followed by a cavalry squadron of the Bays and a section of artillery, and together the force was to move to Podanur where it would concentrate, under the command of Colonel Humphreys. A patrol train, sent out and found the line clear as far as Shoranur. Troop trains were pushed on to that point dropping a few detachments to guard key points en route. Arriving in Malabar, the Dorsets received word that an isolated detachment of the Leinsters was in trouble at Malapuram. The immediate need, however, was to restore railway communication with Calicut, and headquarters were sent on to Kuttipuram, to which point the line had been hastily repaired, to cover the reconstruction.
context_page_description: The Nilgiri Malabar Battalion was an Auxiliary Force of the British Colonial Auxiliary Forces of the British Indian Army, composed of Eurasians/Anglo-Indians. Enrollment in the Auxiliary Force was open to all European British subjects and to persons of European descent. After the Mutiny of 1857, a Volunteer Force was created, whose primary function was to protect British families in India. The Volunteer Force units were later absorbed into the Auxiliary Force India, which was created in 1920 for internal security duties. Its terms of service were similar to the Territorial Army of the UK. The Auxiliary Force India, which provided officers to the Army during World War II, was disbanded in 1947.
context_section_description: The Moplah Rebellion, which remained confined to Ernad, Walluvanad and Ponnani taluks of South Malabar, began in August 1921. Following an incident in Pookhottur village a major rebellion broke out with the government deploying the army to take control of the civil administration. Between August and November there were two major battles between the Moplahs and the armed forces. By the end of December 1921, the Moplah Rebellion was completely suppressed. Four officers along with hundred and eighty four men of The Nilgiri Malabar Battalion were part of the armed forces unit that quelled the Moplah Rebellion of 1921. Members of the Cannanore and Tellicherry detachments of the Nilgiri Malabar Battalion took part in a combined Naval and Military exercise in December 1924 at Cannanore. Lord Goschen, Governor of Madras Presidency (1924–29), inspected the annual camp of exercise of the Nilgiri Malabar Battalion at Podanur in 1925. During the Second World War members of the Auxiliary Force (India) continued to function as part-time soldiers while contributing to the war effort by carrying on their normal occupation. The Nilgiri Malabar Battalion was disbanded together with all Auxiliary Force regiments following partition and India's independence in 1947 .
caption: Second Dorsets deployed at Malabar in 1921 jointly with other Auxiliary Forces India, including the Nilgiri Malabar Battalion, quelled the Moplah Rebellion
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