Khilafat Movement

About: -
The Khilafat movement (1919–22) was a political campaign launched
by Indian Muslims in British India over British policy against Turkey and
the planned dismemberment of the Ottoman Empire after World War
I by Allied forces.
a pan-Islamic, political protest campaign launched by Muslims in British
India to influence the British Government and to protect the Ottoman
empire during the aftermath of First World War.

Leaders participating in movement: -

Leaders participating in the movement included Shaukat Ali,
Maulana Mohammad Ali Jauhar, Hakim Ajmal Khan, and Abul Kalam
Azad who organized the movement to redress the grievances of Turkey.
Mahatma Gandhi had supported the movement as part of his
opposition to the British Empire, Vallabhbhai Patel, Bal Gangadhar
Tilak and other Hindu and Congress figures also supported the
movement.
(source Wikipedia)

The causes of the Khilafat movement are as follows:

1. World War I had ended in a defeat for Ottoman Turkey, dealing a
fatal blow to the centuries-old Ottoman Empire

2. There were rumours and speculation that a harsh treaty was

imposed on the Ottoman caliph by the victorious allies that would
limit the powers of the leader of the Islamic world.
 3. Thus to protect the powers of the Caliph a committee was formed
in 1919 that would spearhead a movement to restore the
Ottoman Caliphate.

(source BJYU’S)

The Khilafat Movement was launched by Muhammad Ali and Shaukat

Ali. The Khilafat movement was a movement launched by the Muslims
of the Indian subcontinent to restore the Ottoman caliph who was
considered the leader of the Muslims, as an effective political authority.
The Khilafat movement coincided with the Non-cooperation movement
led by Mahatma Gandhi
. .
What was the role of Muhammad Ali Johar in the Khilafat movement?
Khilafat movement in India

He represented the Muslim League delegation that travelled to England

in 1919 to convince the British government to influence the Turkish
nationalist Mustafa Kemal not to depose the Sultan of Turkey, who was
the Caliph of Islam and the presumed leader of all the Islamic nations of
that time.

The main Aim of Movement: -

Its purpose was to pressure the British government to preserve the
authority of the Ottoman Sultan as Caliph of Islam following the
breakup of the Ottoman Empire at the end of the war.
The Khilafat Movement had the following stated objectives to achieve:

1. Firstly, to maintain the institution of the Caliph, an extremely

important emotional and religious institution for Muslims. The
Muslims were afraid that the Western powers were going to
‘Vaticanize’ the institution of the Caliph.

2. Secondly, they wanted to keep places considered holy by

Muslims in the hands of Muslims.

3. Thirdly, to maintain the integrity of the Ottoman Empire.

Why did the Movement fail?

The failure of the Khilafat Movement had little to do with its leadership.
The Khilafat Movement failed simply because it was a very unrealistic
movement to begin with. This movement was never a well-planned
protest that had any real method of achieving its goals. It was a
movement based on emotions. Not reason. This doomed the Khilafat
Movement from the get-go, as the sentiment in favor of the movement
would eventually fizzle out. This was noted even by some Indian
politicians at the time.
“the weapon will not destroy the British empire… it is neither logical nor
is it politically sound or wise, nor practically capable of being put in
execution.”
-Muhammad Ali Jinnah on the Khilafat Movement
Let’s just view the reason behind the movement to see why it was so
unrealistic. The Khilafat Movement began following the defeat of the
Ottoman Empire in the First World War. Many Indian Muslims feared
that the Ottoman Empire would be broken apart and the Caliph would
lose all powers. The Khilafat Movement was supposed to be a political
form of protest against British Empire, so as to protect the Ottoman
Empire and Caliph.
This was the first problem with the movement. It was a Pan-Islamist
movement by Indian Muslims in favor of the Ottoman Empire. The
leaders of this movement (and their supporters) never really even
understood the situation within the Ottoman Empire. They were
applying their own ideals onto a world they did not understand. So it
came as quite a shock to them when the Turks themselves, under the
leadership of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, abolished the Caliphate.

Conclusion:
As said at the beginning, the failure of the Khilafat Movement had little
to do with its leadership. The movement would have eventually failed
even if it had better leadership.
The Khilafat Movement was simply a very unrealistic movement to
begin with. It made no real political sense. Add to this the fact that this
was a very poorly planned movement with no clear way of achieving its
objectives. Not to mention the alliance with the Indian nationalists,
who had no interest in the fate of the Ottoman Empire or Caliph to
begin with.