Thiruvananthapuram became a hub for international scholarship as the Vakkom Moulavi
Foundation Trust (VMFT) hosted a landmark global conference from January 8–10, 2025 at the
Department of Islamic and West Asian Studies of the University of Kerala. Titled “Tradition,
Dialogue, and Dissent in the Princely States: Vakkom Moulavi and His Contemporaries,”
the event brought together scholars from India and across the world to explore the life and legacy
of one of Kerala’s pioneering social reformers and his connections to princely state reforms and
global Islamic currents.

The conference also emphasized the role of past reformers in shaping
progressive policies, highlighting how their contributions can serve as a guide to addressing
contemporary social concerns through a secular approach.
VMFT is committed to creating knowledge systems that contribute to policy discussions by
critically examining Kerala’s past reform movements. While the focus of the conference was on
Vakkom Moulavi, his ideas were explored in the larger context of Kerala’s diverse reform
movements and the reformist currents in the princely states—an area often overlooked in
mainstream Indian history. The foundation believes that Kerala’s early reformers laid the
groundwork for the state’s progressive transformation, and their ideas continue to offer valuable
lessons for contemporary social change. Kerala has increasingly become a center of interest for
international scholars, and VMFT has played a crucial role in facilitating this engagement. By
bringing together thought leaders from across the globe, VMFT has positioned itself at the
forefront of intellectual debates on what we can learn from Kerala’s rich history of social reform
movements and how these insights can shape future policies.