Topic: Khilafat Movement

Submitted by Adeena Farooq

Q1: Explain the reasons for the establishment of the Khilafat Movement?
Ans: The Khilafat Movement was started in 1919 after the First World War had ended. Germany and
Turkey were defeated in the War. The allies put severe penalties on Germany, and it was feared that
Turkey will also be harshly treated by the British. Turkish outside possessions had already been taken
away by Britain and France who were now going to cut up the mainland of Turkey into several parts.
The Muslims of the subcontinent could not tolerate the dismemberment of Turkey and the humiliation of
the Caliphate. The Caliphate had a religious significance and was of great sentimental value for the
Muslims. Khilafat Conference was held in November 1919 with the following objectives; Firstly, turkey
should not be cut up into parts; Secondly, Muslim sacred places should not be harmed; Thirdly, Caliphate
should not be abolished.
Muslims of the subcontinent put these demands to the government. A Khilafat delegation was also sent to
England to meet the British Prime Minister, Lloyd George, the British Prime Minister refused to entertain
their demands and the delegation failed. Therefore, the Khilafat Movement was started. Protest meetings
and marches were held through the country. In the meantime, the Congress started the non-cooperation
movement and joined hands with the Khilafat movement. Both were aimed against the British
government and the demand for self-rule was also added to the demands of the Khilafat Movement. But
the Khilafat Movement failed without achieving anything.
Q2: Why was the Khilafat Movement founded?
Ans: The Khilafat Movement was founded in 1919 and the first meeting of Khilafat Committee was held
in November 1919. The Khilafat Movement was founded to ask British not to give harsh and humiliating
treatment to Turkey which was defeated in World War I because she sided with Germany. The Allied
powers (Britain and France) were going to cut up Turkey into several parts and the institution of
Caliphate was going to be abolished. The seat of the Caliphate had a high religious and sentimental value
for Muslims because it was the symbol of the unity of Muslim Ummah. The Muslims of India made the
following requests to the British: Firstly; the country of Turkey should not be cut into parts; Secondly, the
seat of Caliphate should not be abolished; Thirdly, no harm should be don to Muslim sacred places in the
Middle East.
Since the British did not pay any attention to the wishes of the Muslims of India, they (Muslims) started a
country-wide campaign which was named ‘Khilafat Movement’. Mass meetings and protest processions
were arranged all over the country. The movement was strengthened with the support of non-cooperation
movement started by Mr. Gandhi and Congress. The movement failed and ended in 1924.

The Khilafat Movement:-

Contest

Ans: Khilafat Movement was a religion-political Movement launched by the Muslims of the
British India for the retention of the Ottoman Caliphate or khilafat-e-usmania and for not letting
for the Muslim holy places go under the control of the Non-Muslims. During the 1 st World War
Turkey sided with Germany and as Germany started to lose Turkey also started losing its
territory. By the time 1st World War came to an end in 1918 Turkey had lost most of its territory.
Therefore, the issue at that time was how the allied powers would treat Turkey, the Ottoman
Empire or the Khilafat-e-usmania and most of its territory had been occupied and this Movement
was on its peak from 1919 to 1922, although it went on during the later years.

Being brothers, the Indian Muslims realized their religious duty to help the Muslim country. It
was the extra territorial attachments based on Islam. Another factor same to the first was that the
Indian Muslims considered Ottoman Caliphate a symbol of unity of the Muslim world as
Ummah.

Goals:

the goals of this Movement

 Ottoman Khilafat should be kept intact.

 Territorial solidarity of Turkey should be preserved.
 Control of holy places of the Muslims should not be given to non-Muslims that were
Non-Muslim powers.

Q3: What are the effects of the Khilafat Movement?

Ans: This was the first major political Movement in India which involved the common man.
Since the inception of the ML in 1906, the Muslims had started demanding certain safeguards
from the British. They were also interacting with the other communities and the Congress party.
However, politics during that time from 1906 to 1919 was the elitist politics. That is politics of
educated people and also people who are well off who could spare time who could spare money
were involved in politics.

Khilafat Movement was the 1st movement where ordinary people were involved, or the ordinary
Muslims were involved, people in the streets were involved and therefore politics at that time
came down to the ordinary masses.

Q4: What is Mobilization capacity of Islam?

Ans: Another important aspect of this Movement was that it showed the mobilization capacity of
Islam amongst the Muslims. It showed the extent to which the Muslims of the British India held
Islam and how much Islamic institutions are dear to them. So, it clearly showed that Islam had a
lot of mobilizational capacity and appeal for the ordinary people.

Q5: What are Extra-territorial attachments?

Ans: Another aspect emphasizes the extra-territorial attachments of the Muslims of India based
on Islam. Extra-territorial means that people feel attached to certain institutions and ideological
framework that may be beyond the territorial boundaries of their own countries that is extra-
territorial attachment. Amongst the Muslims extra-territorial attachments are always been very
strong and these extra-territorial attachments are based on Islam. Two concepts of Islam are very
strong force for the Muslims of British India.

Q6: What is the Concept of Ummah?

Ans: The concept of Ummah and this concept of Ummah that the Muslims living all over the
World weather in any country belong to an ideological brotherhood of Islam. It is a community
or sense of community based on principles and teachings of Islam, therefore the concept of
ummah had a lot of pull for the Muslims and that could be seen during the period of the Khilafat
Movement.

Q7: Write about the institution of Khilafat?

Ans: The second aspect which created extra-territorial sentiments amongst the Muslims of this
region was the institution of Khilafat. The Khilafat-e-Usmania whose primary seat was in Turkey
and Khilafat-e-Usmania was seen by the Muslims of the British India as a kind of continuity
from the original institution of Khilafat in Islam. Therefore, they always paid much attention to
the institution of Khilafat. You can go to the earlier periods and you will see that the sentiment of
attachment is based on Islam was very strong.

Q8: Define the Balkan wars?

Ans: For example, if you go back to 1911and1912 you will find the Balkan wars. There was a
war between Turkey and Italy and Italy had also attacked Libya. Therefore, during that time
when Balkan wars were going on the Muslims of British India demonstrated strong sentiments
for the Muslims, for Turkey and a medical delegation was sent to Turkey to provide medical
assistance to people affected by war, and now in 1919 when the same sentiment was emerging
on the bases of Ummah and also on the bases of emotional attachment which the people had with
the institution of Khilafat. Therefore, there were lot of sentiments and lot of support for the
demand that is the retention of Khilafat and for this reason Khilafat Movement becomes
extremely important, if you want to know the political developments of India.

Dimensions:

Ans: During first three decades of 20 th century, there were poets, there were writers who were
focusing on common themes, like the generation and the decline of the Muslims in general and
Muslims of this region in particular because the Muslims of this region were a matter of their
direct interest, so they were focusing on the generation and the decline of the Muslims. The
writings of the Muslim intellectuals provoked the sentiments for the preservation of Khilafat and
retention of the Muslims control of the holy places. The Muslims journalism played a vital role
to steer the direction of the struggle’s theme which you find there was how to revive or how to
regenerate the past glory. For example, in the poetry of Allam Iqbal if you read Baal-e-Jibril, if
you read Shikwa and Jawab-e-Shikwa, you read Masjid-e-Kartaba where all these themes are
very strong that Muslims could regain, recover from their problems if they focus on Islam, if
they develop the genuine spirit of Islam. If you read Musaddas-e-Haali you will find the same
story that how the Muslims were declined and how they come out of their problems which they
were facing. So, these kinds of sentiments were very strong when this Movement started.
Zamindar of Zafar Ali Khan, Comrade and Hamdard of Maulana Muhammad Ali Jauhar, and Al-
Hilal of Maulana Abul Kalam Azad etc. were the prominent newspapers and magazines which
performed their duties to express their resentment. The Allies imposed humiliating terms on
vanquished Turkey. These newspapers were pleading the cause of the Muslims. The 1st

WW ended in 1918 and in 1919 the major peace treaty, Treaty of Versailles was signed, and it
was very obvious the kind of treaty that was that ultimately the Turkey would lose all it had and
then in 1920 conditions of this treaty for Turkey were known and those were very humiliating for
Turkey. It had lost most of its territory even on the Mainland Turkey that is where Turkey stands
today foreign forces were present and it was in this context that the Muslims of this region
started a movement that is described as the Khilafat Movement.

Q9: Write about the Protests in India?

Ans: All India Khilafat Committee was formed at Bombay in July 1919 and this gradually
shaped up of the Muslims point of activity regarding Khilafat and in this Khilafat committee
session they were discussing the issues of Khilafat which held the 1 st Khilafat Conference in
Delhi in November 1919. The first Khilafat Conference at Delhi in November 1919 was
arranged in which the Congress leaders like Gandhi and Nehru participated. Congress also
started to support the Khilafat Movement for the reason that I will discuss later on. In this way,
the major political parties joined hands to assault the injustice with the Muslim community.
These steps were announced:

No participation in victory celebrations was the 1 st important step taken by the participants of this
Conference. The British and the Allies had won the war and they were celebrating even in India
because India being a part of the British Empire was on the side of the British therefore these
people decided to boycott the victory celebration to show displeasure on the state of affairs and
to express their point of view in an effective manner.

Second decision which they made here was that they started boycotting the British goods, in a
way a kind of economic policies which they were adopting that they will not buy the British
good which will ultimately affect their economy.

Non-Cooperation with the Government was the 3 rd important decision which they made at that
time. It meant that not at this stage but at the later stage hey may also launch the Noncooperation
movement.

The second Khilafat Conference (Amritsar) was held in Dec. 1919 and this was very important
occasion. Like the 1st one all the major political parties participated in this conference and the
most significant thing was that Maulana Muhammad Ali and Shaukat Ali who were in British
detention for violating the British law in protest against the British policies were released and
they also joined the session after being released from predominant you can’t discuss the KM
without discussing the contribution of Maulana M.A aJauhar and Maulana S.A.Jauhar and they
were used to be described as the Ali brothers. They played very significant role in mobilizing the
masses, they had formidable appeals at the common level and they also worked with the
Congress party. And both the brothers along with other leaders went to jail for several times,
they would come out demonstrate for Khilafat cause, lead Muslims the British arrest them along
with other leaders but whenever they released, they again come back and plead that cause with
conviction.

After that, the Khilafat conference and the Congress party began to work together because there
were issues in India which were agitating others as well. Those issues were important for
Muslims, but Muslims attention primarily focused on Khilafat.There were other issues which
were agitating the congress and the congress thought that Muslims have a set of grievances
against the British. They are agitating for the retention of the Ottoman Empire then the Congress
also had grievances against the British. So, they thought if they worked together, they cooperate
with each other then they could have a more effective impact rather than the Movements
working separately and the issues which were agitating at that time where one was the issue of
the Rowlett Act,1919.

Q10: Write about Rowlett Act, 1919?

Ans: Rowlett Act was a black law introduced in India. To the law, the government got authority
to persecute any Indian and the arrested had no facility of legal assistance and right to appeal just
as the ‘Letters de Cachet’ in France before the French Revolution. Jinnah resigned from the
central legislature as a protest. This was a law which the British govt passed for arresting,
detaining people who would be involved in what they would describe as the criminal activities
but actually those were political activities. Those people could be punished swearly and without
trial, so this Bill which was ultimately made into a law was protested both by the Muslims as
well as the Hindus. When this issue developed. Quaid-e-Azam was very critical to this Act. He
delivered critical speeches in the legislative council and outside and ultimately, he resigned from
his seat of the assembly in protest against this law, because he thought that this Act is a
humiliating Act, violates basic cannons of justice and fair play

Jallianwala Bagh Incident, April 1919:

Ans: The second issue which was agitating was agitating the person across the divide was the
incident related to the Jallianwala Bagh. Jallianwala Bagh was situated in the city of Amritsar
and against the backdrop of the Rowlett Act a big meeting was held in that Bagh. There were so
many kinds of people and the British govt was so agitated that they dispatched a unit of the
Army that went into the garden blocked all the entrance points and began shooting directly on
the people and several hundred people were killed and seriously wounded which created a major
uproar throughout India. General Dyer opened fire to disperse the throng that cast huge human
casualties (379). It is considered one of the great tragedies in India. It is during this period that
the British imposed martial law in Amritsar and certain other cities of the province of Punjab
including Lahore, Gujranwala and a couple of other cities martial law was imposed. So, in a way
that became the 1st martial law in this region in the 20th century. So, this Jallianwala Bagh
incident also mobilized congress and other groups to move ahead and to pull their resources and
to challenge the authority of the British govt.
Non-Cooperation:

Therefore, the famous Congress session was held at Nagpur in Dec 1920 when the Congress at
the instance of the Congress leaders Mahatma Gandhi adopted his nonviolent and
noncooperation movement. This was the first noncooperation movement which Gandhi was
launching. He launched couple of other movements subsequently and the general agreement was
that the.

 Indians would return all those titles which the British had given to them. For example,
one title which used to given to the Indians for their services was the title of Sir and the
Indians used to use this title of Sir and there were several other titles. So, the decision
was to return these titles.
 Boycott of the courts and the educational institutions.
 Then they would resign their jobs.
 It was also decided that at a later stage they would also resign from the police and
military jobs. It was something which they kept in reserved. This was not really launched
but some thoughts could be implemented later on.
 Then they refused to pay taxes to the British govt.

Khilafat Conference, Karachi, July 1921:

Ans: A Khilafat Conference was held in Karachi in July 1921 and in this session the participants
were predominantly Muslims expressed their loyalty to Khilafat and the Turkish Sultan which by
that time had been disposed by its territory by the allied powers the British and the others and
they had also decided to keep the movement going on. They welcomed Ataturk’s efforts to
dislodge foreign forces from mainland. By that time Ataturk was emerging as a leader and he
was taking steps to expel the foreign forces from Turkey, and it was very early stage but
nevertheless they welcomed the. That and they thought that it is something new that needs to be
encouraged and needs to be endorsed.

Hijrat Movement 1920-21:

Ans: While this movement was going on with total Muslim commitment, with dedication with
full sincerity. The Muslims were making their point of view known their loyalty their attachment
by making all these kinds of sacrifices. Now while all this was happening another movement
started here that was called the Hijrat Movement. That Movement primarily was there between
1920 to 1921.What was the Hijrat Movements Movement was encouraged by the religious
leaders. The Indian ulama (religious leaders) declared India ‘Darul Harab where Muslims are not
safe.’ Darul Harab means the place (country) where Muslims are not allowed to perform their
religious practices. In the said situation, the Muslims should migrate to the nearest safe place.
The ulama issued verdicts that Muslims should move from Dar ul Harb to Darul Islam and in this
case Dar ul Islam was next door country, Afghanistan. So, the religious leaders encouraged
Muslims from India to Afghanistan that is Hijrat. There was another reason due to this, this
Movement was launched. There was an impression that King of Afghanistan would welcome
these people who would go from India to Afghanistan. Therefore, due to the encouragement
which the Islamic leaders gave to the common people and a perception that the Afghanistan
would welcome anybody who will go there, a very large number of people specially belonging to
lower strata of society, the common people the poor people left from India to Afghanistan some
on foot, some on carts because means of transportation were not so developed at that time that
you could easily go to Afghanistan. Some of the people sold their property at very cheap rates;
they disposed of their property, because they were moving from this place to another in the name
of Islam, so the migration took place at large scale. Initially Afghans welcomed them. But as
their number increased the Afghan govt closed the border because Afghanistan was also a poor
country, it had its own problems, and it was not able to cope with the migrants and pushed the
migrants back to the Indian territories. This created a major dilemma for the Muslims who were
migrating to Afghanistan It resulted in loss of lives and money. Many died during this mission.
Some went to Soviet Union from Afghanistan because they had nothing in India now because
they had sold what they had and where should they have gone back. So, in a way this Hijrat
Movement ended on miseries for the Muslims because it was unplanned, and it was based on
emotions not considering the realities in Afghanistan. However, the Hijrat Movement re-enforces
the total commitment and identification to Islam and their ability to make all kinds of sacrifices
for the ideology for the principles and teachings of Islam. I mention one point as a kind of
footnote to the Hijrat Movement; some of the Muslims who were where able to cross over to
Afghanistan gradually moved to Soviet Union and they stayed there and some of them came
back to India subsequently while in the Soviet Union they were inspired by the socialist and the
Marxist philosophy and some of them when they came back were active in socialist and Marxist
movements in India. Overall, the Hijrat Movement did create problems and hardships for the
Muslims of this region

Q11: Write about CHAURA CHAURI INCIDENT?

Ans: The non-cooperation movement was leading to violence and losing its momentum. In Feb.
1922 at Chaura Chauri in a village near UP a trouble erupted between the police and the
demonstrating procession. The hostile mob set fire to the police station where 22policemen were
burnt alive. Gandhi was so upset that he immediately and unilaterally called of non-cooperation
movement doing great deal of damage to the entire Khilafat Movement.

Q12: How does the Movement End?

Ans: The Khilafat Movement that was started by the Muslims of the British India for the
retention of the institution of the Ottoman Empire and for retaining the control of the Muslims
holy places, that movement gradually fizzled out. How that did happen a number of
developments from 1921 to onward contributed to that. The first important development that
adversely affected the movement was the Mopla Revolt on the Malabar area in the Calicut.

The non-violence, non-cooperative movement turned into violence. After the Chaura Chauri
incident in February 1922, Gandhi himself called of the Non-Cooperation movement which
caused a severe blow to the Khilafat Movement.
* Gandhi and other Muslim’s leader of the movement were arrested in 1922 with the arrest of
leaders the movement lost its momentum.\
* Although the Khilafat Movement was the first movement in which Hindus and Muslims
worked
together, their unity was probably always doomed to failure. The Hindu aim for self-rule was not
really an objective of the Muslims and Hindus were prepared to support the Muslims in
protecting their religious right only as long as it helped move India towards the self-rule.
* Hijrat Movement at critical stage was another blow for Muslims. Hijrat to Afghanistan where
the Muslims were shocked by the lack of support from the Afghan government.
* On 3rd March 1924 the final and deadly blow was struck at the Khilafat movement by Mustafa

Moplah Revolt Malabar Coast, near Kalicut

Ans: This incident took place in 1921.Moplahs were the descendants of the Arab Muslims
settled in the Sub-Continent even before the arrival of Muhammad Bin Qassim. In August 1921,
they revolted against Hindu landlords whose treatment was very brutal with them. The issue was
not the religious. The uprising was against the injustice against the suffering which the Moplas
were facing and as they revolted the police took the side of the landlords. The local Hindu unions
began to project to this as the kind of Hindu Muslim issue, there was a lot of propaganda against
the Muslims with reference to this uprising and there were calls from some of the Hindu
organizations to wake up against to face the challenge which was emerging Later this clash
changed as Moplahs versus the Police and Hindu. This embittered the Hindu-Muslim relations.
This uprising had a negative impact on the Hindu Muslim unity that was being demonstrated in
the Khilafat Movement. The Congress party and the Khilafat Committee were very cooperative
and were working together. The Muslim leaders were addressing meetings along with Gandhi
and others, so it was a rare demonstration of Hindu Muslim unity and that cooperative sentiment
was undermined by this incident.

Q13: How the Violence Increase in 1921?

Ans: The 2nd incident that affected this Movement was the increase in violence when in 1920
Non-Cooperation Movement was launched by Gandhi it was argued that this would be a peaceful
Movement, this would be a nonviolent movement, but the Indians would demonstrate against the
British in a peaceful manner even the British will use force on them they will not respond.
However, with the passage of time violence entered this noncooperation there was an increase in
violence day by day and the Chorachori Incident (UP) in February 1922 worsened the situation.
Chora Chori is a small place in Uter Pradesh (UP) and here what happened was the Congress
activist attacked a police station as a part of agitation against the British. The Congress
volunteers set a police station on fire and as a result about 21 policemen were burnt alive. There
were other violence and due to this increase in violence Gandhi suddenly decided to call off the
Non-Cooperation movement.

Gandhi, s decision did affect this movement firstly, it was a sudden and individual decision not
consulting the Khilafat Movement people because they were working together and suddenly the
Non-Cooperation Movement was called off which adversely affected the Movement and created
distrust between the two groups that were operative at that time. So, this was an incident that
weakened the movement, and they began to diverge or move in different directions.

Developments in Turkey:
Ans: 3rd and most significant development relate to Turkey itself; things began to change in
Turkey. In 1922 Ataturk who was in the military service in the Ottoman Empire emerged as a
national leader. He collected his colleagues and undertook the operation against the occupying
foreign forces, and he was able to expel the foreign forces which strengthened his position. In
Nov 1922, the new political developments under Ataturk that had developed there restricted the
powers of the Sultan.Infact Sultan Abdul-Hamid was replaced by another person, then in
October 1922 Ataturk was elected as the head of the state, he was appointed Chief of the state by
Grand National Assembly. Turkey became Republic and in March 1924 the Grand National
Assembly the parliament of Turkey abolished the institution of Khilafat. In March 1924, Khilafat
was abolished. So, in a way the very institution for which the Muslims were fighting had been
replaced by Turkey’s new leadership that emerged, the present-day Turkey that emerged in
1922.This caused a widespread resentment among the Indian Muslims. They sent delegations to
Turkey but failed to achieve their objectives. As the Institution was abolished the movement
became weak and disappeared gradually and this is how Khilafat Movement ended.

Conclusions:

Ans: The Khilafat movement failed to achieve its objective of restoration of Caliphate. Muslims of India
were very discouraged and disappointed on its failure. Yet the Khilafat Movement had some favorable
effects on the Muslims of India in the long run.

The movement gave a general awareness and created self-confidence among the Muslims. It awakened
their sense of political understanding. They started taking parts in the nation politics and also learnt
methods of protesting, arranging, and holding mass meetings and fighting for their rights. Educated
Muslims, students and Ulemas started taking interest in politics. This movement created a number of
political workers who later started taking interest in politics and played an important and active role in the
Pakistan movement. These workers had direct contact with the masses. Now, they were able to boldly
present their demands to the British Government.

The Khilafat Movement gave a boost to Muslim journalism and many important Urdu magazines and
newspapers came out voicing the demands of the Muslims. These newspapers and magazines contributed
a great deal towards political awakening and advocating their demands of Pakistan. Therefore, Khilafat
Movement proved to be the forerunner of the Pakistan movement later on.

Q15: Why Khilafat movement failed and what role did Congress played in its failure?

Ans: Khilafat Movement: The Khilafat or "caliphate" movement of 1919 to 1924 was a political and
religious movement among Muslims in the British colony of India. The goal of the movement was to
preserve the Ottoman caliphate as the spiritual center of Islam despite the defeat of the Ottoman Empire
in World War I. The Ottoman Empire, centered in Turkey, was ruled by a sultan who held both political
power over the empire and spiritual authority as the caliph. Leaders of the Khilafat movement, such as
Shaukat Ali, Muhammad Ali Jinnah, and Abul Kalam Azad, hoped to convince or pressure the British to
allow the defeated sultan to retain his spiritual authority as a symbol for Muslims worldwide. To achieve
this goal, they allied with Hindu nationalist leaders such as Mahatma Gandhi and committed to a strategy
of nonviolent protest in a campaign known as the Non-Cooperation Movement. This alliance between
Indian Muslims and Hindus was initially successful at putting a great deal of pressure on the British
authorities governing India. However, the Khilafat movement ultimately failed for four main reasons.
Reasons of failure: Following are the four main reasons:
First, the Khilafat delegation sent to London in 1920 was interpreted by the British government as an
eccentric expression of pan-Muslim sentiment rather than a serious movement with legitimate goals. In
the 1920 Treaty of Sevres, the victorious allied powers dismembered the Ottoman Empire and took over
many of its territories as "mandates" or colonies, leaving only Turkey itself under Ottoman rule. Second,
the unity of Muslim and Hindu Indians was shaken by several incidents, including the emigration to
Afghanistan of more than 18,000 Muslims as well as the violence of the 1921 Moplah rebellion by Indian
Muslims. Third, the initial successes of the Non-Cooperation Movement provoked an intense crackdown
by British authorities, leading to Gandhi's arrest and suspension of the Noncooperation campaign. Finally,
Turkish nationalists in what was left of the Ottoman Empire did not share the Khilafat movement's goal of
protecting the Muslim caliphate. Turkish leader Mustafa Kemal Atatürk officially abolished the sultanate
in 1922 and then the caliphate itself in 1924, putting an end to the political and spiritual authority of the
Ottoman Empire. Now that there was no longer a caliph in Istanbul, the Khilafat movement lost its reason
for existing. Role of congress in Khilafat movement failure: The Khilafat issue crystallized anti-British
sentiments among Indian Muslims that had increased since the British declaration of war against the
Ottomans in 1914. The Khilafat leaders, most of whom had been imprisoned during the war because of
their pro-Turkish sympathies, were already active in the Indian nationalist movement. Upon their release
in 1919, they espoused the Khilafat cause as a means to achieve pan-Indian Muslim political solidarity in
the anti-British cause. The Khilafat movement also benefited from Hindu-Muslim cooperation in the
nationalist cause that had grown during the war, beginning with the Lucknow Pact of 1916 between the
Indian National Congress and the Muslim League, and culminating in the protest against the Rowlett anti-
Sedition bills in 1919. The National Congress, led by Mahatma Gandhi (1869- 1948), called for non-
violent non-cooperation against the British. Gandhi espoused the Khilafat cause, as he saw in it the
opportunity to rally Muslim support for nationalism. The ‘Ali brothers and their allies, in turn, provided
the non-cooperation movement with some of its most enthusiastic followers. The combined Khilafat Non-
Cooperation movement was the first all-India agitation against British rule. It saw an unprecedented
degree of Hindu-Muslim cooperation and it established Gandhi and his technique of non-violent protest
(satyagraha) at the center of the Indian nationalist movement. Mass mobilization using religious symbols
was remarkably successful, and the British Indian government was shaken. In late 1921, the government
moved to suppress the movement. The leaders were arrested, tried, and imprisoned. Gandhi suspended the
Noncooperation movement in early 1922. Turkish nationalists dealt the final blow to the Khilafat
movement by abolishing the Ottoman sultanate in 1922, and the caliphate in 1924.
Q16: How Khilafat movement proved that Hindus and Muslims were two different nations as they
could not continue the unity, and ultimately paved the way for Pakistan movement?
Ans: The Khilafat movement, also known as the Indian Muslim movement (1919–24), was a panIslamist
political protest campaign launched by Muslims of British India led by Shaukat Ali, Mohammad Ali
Jauhar and Abul Kalam Azad to restore the caliph of the Ottoman Caliphate, who was considered the
leader of Sunni Muslims, as an effective political authority. It was a protest against the humiliating
sanctions placed on the caliph and the Ottoman Empire after the First World War by the Treaty of Sevres.
The movement collapsed by late 1922 when Turkey gained a more favorable diplomatic position and
moved towards secularism. By 1924 Turkey simply abolished the role of caliph. The Ottoman Empire,
having sided with the Central Powers during World War I, suffered a major military defeat. The Treaty of
Versailles (1919) reduced its territorial extent and diminished its political influence, but the victorious
European powers promised to protect the Ottoman sultan's status as the caliph. However, under the Treaty
of Sevres (1920), territories such as Palestine, Syria, Lebanon, Iraq, Egypt were severed from the empire.
Within Turkey, a progressive, secular nationalist movement arose, known as the Turkish national
movement. During the Turkish War of Independence (1919–1923), the Turkish revolutionaries, led by
Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, abolished the Treaty of Sevres with the Treaty of Lausanne (1923). Pursuant to
Atatürk's Reforms, the Republic of Turkey abolished the position of caliphate in 1924 and transferred its
powers within Turkey to the Grand National Assembly of Turkey. In 1920 an alliance was made between
Khilafat leaders and the Indian National Congress, the largest political party in India and of the nationalist
movement. Congress leader Mohandas Gandhi and the Khilafat leaders promised to work and fight
together for the causes of Khilafat and Swaraj. Seeking to increase pressure on the British, the Khalifates
became a major part of the Non-cooperation movement — a nationwide campaign of mass, peaceful civil
disobedience. The support of the Khilafatists helped Gandhi and the Congress ensure Hindu-Muslim
unity during the struggle. Khilafat leaders such as Dr. Ansari, Maulana Azad and Hakim Ajmal Khan also
grew personally close to Gandhi. These leaders founded the Jamia Millia Islamia in 1920 to promote
independent education and social rejuvenation for Muslims. The non-cooperation campaign was at first
successful. The program started with boycott of legislative councils, government schools, colleges, and
foreign goods. Government functions and surrender of titles and distinctions. Massive protests strike and
acts of civil disobedience spread across India. Hindus and Muslims collectively offered resistance, which
was largely peaceful. Gandhi, the Ali brothers, and others were imprisoned by the British. Under the flag
of Tehrik-eKhilafat, a Punjab Khilafat deputation comprising Maulana Manzoor Ahmed and Maulana
Lutfullah Khan Dankauri took a leading role throughout India, with a particular concentration in the
Punjab (Sirsa, Lahore, Haryana etc.). The Khilafat movement evokes controversy and strong opinions. By
critics, it is regarded as a political agitation based on a pan-Islamist, fundamentalist platform and being
largely indifferent to the cause of Indian independence. Critics of the Khilafat see its alliance with the
Congress as a marriage of convenience. Proponents of the Khilafat see it as the spark that led to the
noncooperation movement in India and a major milestone in improving Hindu-Muslim relations, while
advocates of Pakistan and Muslim separatism see it as a major step towards establishing the separate
Muslim state. The Ali brothers are regarded as founding-fathers of Pakistan, while Azad, Dr. Ansari, and
Hakim Ajmal Khan are widely celebrated as national heroes in India. Jats were the only group who were
with the Ali brothers the whole time. Main tribes of Jats included Metlas and Aujla.

Submitted by Adeena Farooq

Class O1R