However, under the Modi government, the Indian Council of Historical Research considered removing the names of Haji and 386 others from the Dictionary of Martyrs of India's Freedom Struggle for being associated with the Khilafat Movement. His name is listed in the fifth volume of ‘The Dictionary of Martyrs, India’s Freedom Struggle from 1857 to 1947’ He said he was fighting for the Independence of India. With his long-term mentor, Ali Musliyar, Kunjahammed Haji seized large areas of the then Eranad and Valluvanad taluks, now part of Kerala state in India, from British control. He established a parallel government in the Malabar District of Madras Presidency in open defiance of the British Raj, which lasted for a short period of six months.

Hitchcock, who took part in the fight against the rebellion, ' Khilafat to him (Variyankunnath Kunjahammad Haji) was a Turkish matter, not Indian.' Variyankunnath Kunjahammad Haji was just a member of the Khilafat Movement. He was an Indian freedom fighter, opposer of the Jenmi system, and an ordinary member of the Khilafat movement. Variyankunnath Kunjahammad Haji sometimes called Variyamkunnan (1875-1877 – 20 January 1922) was the most prominent leader of the war in Malabar against the British during the Malabar rebellion and founder of a parallel government, in Malabar.

The first part of his name Variyan Kunnath ( Malayalam : വാരിയൻ കുന്നത്ത്) has been written differently in different sources such as Variamkunnath or Variyamkunnath or Variyankunnath or Variyan Kunnathu and the second part Kunjahammad ( Malayalam : കുഞ്ഞഹമ്മദ്) as Kunhamad ( Malayalam : കുഞ്ഞമ്മദ്) or Kunhahamed ( Malayalam : കുഞ്ഞഹമ്മദ്)

The murder on malabar hill