There are two ways in which Mappila Lahala / Mappila rebellion is seen.
1. As religion extremism. Muslim VS Hindu. Obviously, right-wing always speaks about Mappila Lahala from this angle; only.
2. As a result of the revenge against the British revenue policy. It is said that as per the policy tenants didn't have any rights on the land and the sole owner of the land rights belonged to Hindu Janmis.
As part of the protest, government institutions were attacked and in turn, the protest eventually led to the killing of Janmis and the destruction of Hindu temples. So, it can be considered that the tension started with the dislike towards the revenue policy and ended up in a religion vs religion fight.
British fought against this in a strong way and suppressed the revolt by Mappilaas.
Wagon tragedy is one of the incidents that happened during the rebellion. The tragedy happened when the Mappila rebellion prisoners were carried in the train in a packed manner and many prisoners suffocated to death in the train.