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Unit 7: How successful was the KHILAFAT

MOVEMENT in advancing the cause of the
Pakistan Movement?
Written by Samira Afzal Syed

The Khilafat Movement (1919-1924) By Samira Afzal Syed

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What was the Khilafat Movement? (4)

OR
What was the All-India Khilafat Conference? (4)
All India Khilafat Conference was held in Delhi in November 1919, led by Ali brothers who
hoped to persuade the British to keep their promises about maintaining the Turkish Empire.
Maulana Abul Kalam Azad and Gandhi represented Congress. Gandhi hoped to unite Hindus
and Muslims in his non-violent campaign, the non-cooperation movement against the British.
Azad warned the Conference that the British PM, Lloyd George intended to punish Turkey for
fighting against Britain in World War I. The Conference passed a resolution to send a delegation
to Britain, to make them aware about the strength of Muslim support for the Khalifa.
What was the 2nd A Khilafat Conference? (4)
The 2nd Khilafat Conference was held in Amritsar in December 1919. At the same time both
Congress and ML were meeting in the same city. It was agreed that all three organizations (INC,
ML, KM) will work together to oppose plans of the British to dismember the Turkish empire.
Gandhi would take the lead to persuade the British not to punish Turkey. However, Maulana M
Ali Johar already tried to convince the British PM, Lloyd George to have justice and not to harm
Turkey. He listened politely, but didn’t agree to it.
Why did the Khilafat Movement start? (7)
[Protecting the Caliph and Caliphate] The Turkish Ottoman Empire joined World War 1 on the
side of Germany and suffered military defeat against Britain and her allies. After the war was
finished, UK and USA seemed determined to overthrow the Caliph and divide the empire into
different territories. Protecting the Caliph was very important for the Muslims because he was
the symbolic religious and political leader of all Muslims in the world. Similarly, the
disintegration of caliphate would harm the concept of Muslim Ummah. So, the Khilafat
Movement was launched in November 1919 by Maulana Muhammad Ali Jauhar and his brother
in order to protect the caliphate from breakage and save the Caliph from being dethroned.
[Holy Places] The Ottoman Empire contained the Holy places of Arabia including Makkah,
Madina and Jerusalem. The Muslims of India feared that collapse of the Caliphate could result
in fall of the Holy places under the control of non-Muslims. Muslims all over the world have
strong religious attachment with these places and their sanctity is of top most priority to them.
Therefore, the movement was launched to defend Turkey and the sacred places.
[British Actions] During World War I, Indians were supporting the British against Germany.
When Turkish Empire joined the war on the side of Germany, Indian Muslims came in a very
awkward position because it was very difficult for them to fight against their Muslim brothers in
Turkey. The British realized the situation and put a number of prominent Muslim leaders
behind the bars, which obviously offended their feelings. Moreover, the British prime minister

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had given assurances that Turkey would be protected, but later on the allied powers changed
their mind and decided to remove the Caliph. These actions were convincing the Indian
Muslims to launch massive protests against the British Government in the shape of Khilafat
Movement.
Was the Khilafat Movement founded because the Muslims feared the break up of Turkey
after the First World War? Explain your answer. (14)
[Protecting the Caliph and Caliphate] The Turkish Ottoman Empire joined World War 1 on the
side of Germany and suffered military defeat against the Britain and her allies. After the war
was finished, UK and USA seemed determined to overthrow the Caliph and divide the empire
into different territories. Protecting the Caliph was very important for the Muslims because he
was the symbolic religious and political leader of all Muslims in the world. Similarly, the
disintegration of caliphate would harm the concept of Muslim Ummah. So, the Khilafat
Movement was launched in November 1919 by Maulana Muhammad Ali Jauhar and his brother
in order to protect the caliphate from breakage and save the Caliph from being dethroned.
[Holy Places] The Ottoman Empire contained the Holy places of Arabia. The Muslims of India
feared that collapse of the Caliphate could result in fall of the Holy places under the control of
non-Muslims. Muslims all over the world have strong religious attachment with these places
and their sanctity is of top most priority to them. Therefore, the movement was launched to
defend Turkey and the sacred places.
[British Actions] During World War I, Indians were supporting the British against Germany.
When Turkish Empire joined the war on the side of Germany, Indian Muslims came in a very
awkward position because it was very difficult for them to fight against their Muslim brothers.
So, in order to get Muslim support, the British prime minister gave assurance that Turkey would
be protected, but later on the Allied Powers changed their mind and decided to remove the
Caliph. These actions angered the Indian Muslims and they launched massive protests against
the British in the form of Khilafat Movement.
During the WWI the British imprisoned some leading Muslims, such as Maulana Muhammad Ali
Johar and his brother Shaukat Ali, to try to prevent opposition in India. This also angered the
Muslims and they started widespread protest through KM.
[Peace Treaties against the Defeated nations after the WWI] At the end of the WWI, peace
treaties were drawn up against the defeated nations. The Treaty of Versailles was announced
against Germany in which its armed forces were reduced and it was divided by making a new
country ‘Poland’. Similar measures were taken against Austria. These treaties worried the
Muslims of India. The British PM, Llyod George said that Turkey would have the same fate as
Germany and Austria. The Indian Muslims were outraged and they tried to oppose his plan
through the KM.

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[To attain Self Rule] When the Muslims started the KM, the Hindus saw it as an opportunity to
attain Self Rule, so they also joined the Muslims through their Non-cooperation Movement.
Thus, it can be said that one of the declared aims of the KM was to achieve independence.
[Mistrust of the West] There were deep-seated reasons as well for the KM. Afghanistan and
Persia were two Muslim countries and had been subject of rivalry between Russia and Britain
on how these countries were to be run and no attention was paid to the views of the locals.
This angered the Indian Muslims as they thought that the British were anti-Muslims all around
the world. Hence, to stand up for the Muslims, the KM was launched.
Judgement Therefore, the breaking up of Turkey was not the only cause of the KM. The danger
of abolition of Khilafat and destruction of holy places were also important reasons.
Was the withdrawal of Gandhi’s support the most important reason for the decline of the
Khilafat Movement? Explain your answer. (14)
Chauri-Chaura Incident:
Gandhi saw an opportunity for self-rule by joining the Khilafat Movement, the involvement of a
Hindu-majority grouping was welcomed by many Muslims. They started non-cooperation
movement along with the KM. However, this unity was short-lived because of the Chauri-
Chaura incident. Chauri Chaura was a village in the Gorakhpur district where trouble started
between the police and the Indian mob involved in the non-cooperation movement. Twenty-
one policemen were killed by the Indians. Gandhi realized that the Swaraj Movement was
becoming too violent, so he called off the movement and withdrew his support from the KM.
This disappointed the Muslims as they lost a huge Hindu support for the KM which led to its
weakness.
Hijrat Movement to Afghanistan:
However, there were other reasons as well for the decline of the KM. Thousands of Muslims
migrated to Afghanistan during the KM in a religious protest against the British government.
They regarded India as Dar-ul-Harb (enemy territory). The Afghan government refused to allow
all the refugees to settle Afghanistan and returned them back. Many of the refugees who
returned to India died on the journey back or found themselves homeless and penniless. This
was damaging for the KM as many supporters lost their enthusiasm to carry on the movement.
British arrested KM leaders:
In 1921 the third Khilafat Conference was held in which the resolutions stated that no Muslim
would attend British schools, serve in police and army and would start non-cooperation. This
offended the British so much that they imprisoned some of the leaders including Maulana
Muhammad Ali which made the KM less effective because of lack of leadership.
Loss of Political support for the KM: (Anti-British feelings)

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In 1920 both Hindus and Muslims started the Non-Cooperation Movement along with the KM.
The visits of Royal families were greeted with protests and demonstrations. This turned the
Khilafat Movement into an anti-British movement. The British reacted by imprisoning the
trouble-makers and by the end of 1921, there were 30,000 political prisoners in India’s jails.
Hence, there was loss of political support for the KM, leading to its decline.
The loss of Moplah support:
In 1921, there was an uprising in South India by a Muslim tribe, Moplah, against the British and
Hindu landlords. They set a police station on fire. The British reacted harshly and killed about
4000 Moplah. So, KM lost Moplah support leading to its decline.
Lack of Hindu-Muslim Unity (Difference of Objectives of Muslims and Hindus):
The KM was doomed to fail due to lack of Hindu-Muslim unity. The Hindus political objective of
Self-Rule was not the objective of the KM. Hindus hoped that Hindu support to KM would
ensure a reduction in hostility towards Hinduism. However, communal rioting in 1921 and 22
led to decline in this unity. Hence, due to difference of religion and objective the KM declined.
Abolition of the Khilafat by the Turks themselves:
Despite the calling off of the Non-Cooperation Movement, Muslims continued the KM.
However, in 1922, the Sultan was deprived of political power and in 1924 the new leader,
Kamal Ataturk abolished the Khilafat and exiled the Khalifa, Muhammad VI. The Turks
themselves had abolished the Khilafat. Consequently, the Khilafat Movement in India also came
to an end.
In my opinion, Chauri-Chaura incident was one of the reasons for the decline of the KM, but the
major cause of the failure of the KM was the abolishment of Khilafat as there was no point of
continuing the KM.
How successful was the Khilafat Movement? Explain your answer. (14)
OR
“The Khilafat Movement did not achieve anything”. Do you agree? Explain. (14)

The KM had both positive and negativ e consequences. The KM and Non-cooperation
Movement in India drew Muslims and Hindus closer against the British Rule. Both the
nations got common ground and became united. Hence, the KM was successful in
working towards improved Hindu-Muslim relations. It is believed that KM was the first
step on the road that led to independence.
Furthermore, the KM made the Muslims realize that they had political power. They
began to realize that they could easily arrange and organize themselves to demand for
their political rights.

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Also, the Muslims realized that they did not have to rely on the British or Hindus to gain
their rights. They also realized that the British only sided with the Muslims when it did
not go against their own policies, such as punishing Turkey. Thus, the KM helped
Muslims to become self-reliant.
However, the KM also had several negative consequences. Many unfortunate Muslims
had given up their jobs in public service and many students had forsaken their studies as
a part of the non-cooperation movement to put more pressure on the British. Hence,
the KM was unsuccessful as many citizens lost their jobs, leading to economic problems
and poverty.
Moreover, the KM also resulted in the unemployment of several Muslims as th ousands
of Muslims migrated to Afghanistan in a religious protest against the British government. The
Afghan government refused to allow the refugees to settle in Afghanistan and they returned
home to economic misery as they became homeless and penniless.
Another failure was the disunity between Muslims and Hindus. Communal rioting became
common after the calling off of the non-cooperation movement as many Muslims felt betrayed
by the Hindus and hostility increased. These events proved that the Hindus and Muslims could
never live together in peace and harmony. Therefore, the failure of the KM could be seen as an
important step in moving the Muslims nearer to have their own independent state as it
strengthened the Two Nation Theory.
In my opinion, the KM was a failure as its main objective of saving the Khilafat and Khalifa could
not be saved. However, it led to Muslims’ confidence in themselves to organize a movement of
their own such as the Pakistan movement.

What is meant by Satyagaraya? 4

Satyagaraya was a policy of Passive Resistance, and Gandhi was the keen supporter of
this policy. He argued that the tyrant should be resisted through passive means instead
of violent activities. This resistance included sit-ins (dharna), hunger strikes, peaceful
demonstrations. Gandhi urged Muslims to join Congress in seeking Swaraj (Self Rule) for
India through Satyagaraya.

The Khilafat Movement (1919-1924) By Samira Afzal Syed