“This agreement between the two major political organisations may be regarded as

the most striking expression of Indian nationalism so far achieved within the
bounds of British India. And it was onl y achieved by major concessions on both
sides. The Congress at last conceded separate Moslem electorates. It even
acquiesced in their introdu ction in the Punjab and the Central Provinces, where
they had not hitherto existed. Seats, moreover, on the Council s were allotted to
those electorates on a generous scale. In Bengal the Moslems were to obtain only
three-quarters of the seats to which they would have been entitled on a purely
numerical basis, and in the Punjab only nine-tenths ; but in both these Provinces
this wa s a great increase on the extent of Moslem repres entation u nder the Morley -
Minto Reforms : in Bengal it was raised from 10 -4 to 40 per cent, in the Punjab
from 25 to 50 per cent.2 And in the other Provinces the Moslems were to obtain
many more seats than they had at present or would have on a population basis : in
the United Provinces and Madras, for example, a 14 and 6 -15 per cent Moslem
population would have a 30 and 15 per cent representation. Moslem strength at the
Centre wa s similarly increased by the allotment of one -third of the elections to the
Council to separate Moslem constituencies. The Moslems, it is true, were to
surrender the additional advantage they had obtained in 1909 of also voting in
general electorates; but by the more conservative or communal -minded among them
this may well have been regarded as no loss, since it emphasised and secured the
distinction between the two communities. A final safeguard and, however it might
work in practice, a notable departure from the pure doctrine of ‘majority rule ' was
provided by the application of the device adopted in the Congress constitution. No
bill or r esolution affecting a community should be proceeded with if three -fourths
of the representatives of that community were opposed to it. ” 14
Dr. M. Moiz Khan
Assistant Professor
Dept. of History, University of Karachi
0322-2391591, moiz200@yahoo.com
Khilafat movement (1919-1924)
Different aspects to be covered in this topic;
1. Why did the Khilafat movement start?
2. The movement was week from the start Dr. M. Moiz Khan
3. Events of Khilafat Movement. Assistant Professor
Dept. of History, University of Karachi
4. The reasons for its failure. 0322-2391591, moiz200@yahoo.com

1 Why did the Khilafat movement start?

It was a political movement launched by the Muslims of sub -continent. There
were two main reasons behind Khilafat Movement i. Protection of Ottoman Empire and
Caliph and ii. To join all the Muslims of the world under single caliph like the early days

14
Coupland Vol I, 47-48

31
of Islam by re-establishing the system of Caliphate.
The First World War started in 1914. Indian Sub-continent was under the rule of
British. The Great War was amongst two groups of countries. First group was led by
England and the second group was led by Germany. In the German group a very
important ally was Turkey. Turkey was the seat of Caliphate of Muslims. “Caliph” means
“successor” or “representative”. British asked Indians to fight along with them in the war
against Germany. The Muslims of India refused t o fight against Turkey which was
supporting Germany. After the reversal of Partition of Bengal in 1911 Muslim League
lost confidence in British and started to build friendly relations with Congress. On behalf
of this friendship Hindus also refused to fight for British. To further convince Indians
British said that their main enemy is not Turkey. They further assured that after the war
Turkey would not be treated harshly. On behalf of this assurance Indians decided to
support British.
The First World War ended in 1918. After the war the victorious countries
started to treat all of the loosing countries harshly through different treaties. The first
treaty which affected Turkey was the “Armistice of Mudros” signed on 30 th October
1918. According to this treaty Turkey accepted defeat in the war and surrender ed Hejaz,
Yemen, Syria, Mesopotamia, Tripolitania, and Cyrenaica. The allies also got control over

Dardanelles and the Bosporus the two traits of Black sea, which lie within the boundaries
of Turkey. Then Treaty of Sevres in 1920 August 10 th further humiliated Turkey. It broke
the Ottoman Empire and reduced the control Turkey to the city of Istanbul and
surrounding territory and to part of Asia Minor.
The Muslims of India felt that they have been cheated by British. In 1919 they
started to raise their voice against this harsh treatment of Turkey. They also reminded
British about their promise in which they said that Turkey would be left alone after the
war. When these early attempts did not work then people like Maulana Muhammad Ali
Jauhar, Maulana Shaukat Ali Jauhar, Abul Kalam Azad etc. started a full fledge
movement to pressurize British.
Another long term or wider goal of the movement was to unite all Mu slims of
the world against anti-Muslim forces such as west.
Dr. M. Moiz Khan
Assistant Professor
Dept. of History, University of Karachi
0322-2391591, moiz200@yahoo.com

2 The movement was weak from the start

The movement was weak from the start. The basic reason behind the movement
was the restoration of Caliphate in Turkey, but on the contrary the people of Turkey
wanted to get rid of Caliphate and make Turkey a republic under the leadership of Kamal
Ataturk. So the claim of restoration from outside by design became week.
Secondly the aim to unite all Muslims of the world under the leadership of one
Caliph was also an idealistic one. The institution of Caliphate was able to run properly
only under the four pious Caliphs. After the takeover of Umayyad’s the institution was

32
lost and it became kingship where the successors were nominated and families ruled. The
Muslim world had many diverse cultures and people during the days of Khilafat
Movement.

3 Events of Khilafat Movement

The movement started with few people but shortly it gained momentum and
mass in India. The first session of Khilafat conference was held 1919 December. Dr.
Mukhtar Ahmed Ansari, Hasrat Mohani, Maulana Abul Kalam Azad and Dr. Hakim
Ajmal Khan along with Shaukat Ali and Muhammad Ali Jauhar established Khilafat
Committee.
30 March Gandhi had given a call of general strike all across Indian, which was later
delay to April 6. However in Delhi strike was conducted on 30 March and violence erupted.
As a result some Hindus and Muslims died. The next day in Namaz e Janaza of Muslims in
Jama Musjid Delhi Hindus emerged to show solidarity with Muslims against British. There
Sawami Shardhanand an Arya Samajh leader arrived and he was asked to take the pulpit to
address the crowd15. It was an unprecedented event when a non-Muslim was given space on
pulpit in such an important mosque. Dr. M. Moiz Khan
Assistant Professor
Dept. of History, University of Karachi
0322-2391591, moiz200@yahoo.com
First Khilafat conference 23 and 24 Nov. 1919 in Delhi
19 Jan. 1920 Khilafat deputation of 35 went to meet viceroy led by Ansari
Khilafat delegation led by Muhammad Ali went to England and met Lloyd George PM
England on 17 March 1920.
Dr. M. Moiz Khan
Assistant Professor
Dept. of History, University of Karachi
0322-2391591, moiz200@yahoo.com
Source: Young India (20 October 1921); writer Gandhi;
“I claim that with us both the Khilafat is the central fact, with Maulana Muhammad Ali
because it is his religion, with me because in laying down my life fir the Khilafat I ensure the
safety of the cow, that is my religion, from the Mussalman knife. Both hold swaraj equally dear
because only swaraj is the safety of our respective faith possible.’

4 The reasons for its failure :

The movement was fragile from the beginning. It did not last long and started to
erode with time. Some main reasons behind the failure of the Khilafat movement are
discussed as under:

a) Hijrat Movement 1920

15
Gail 70.

33
 In 1920 some religious leaders and the leaders of Khilafat movement declared
Indian Sub-continent a “Dar-ul-Harb”. It means a place where Muslims cannot live their
lives according to the teachings and practices of Islam. Around 20000 Muslims from
Sind, Punjab and N.W.F.P migrated to Afghanistan, the nearest “Dar -ul-Islam”. They
sold all of their belongings and other house hold to go to Afghanistan. When they
reached there the government of Afghanistan refused to take them in. They were turned
back forcibly.
Most of them died on the way. The ones who were able to reach back found it
very difficult to start a new life. In other words it was a complete failure and brought
humiliation for the leaders of Khilafat movement. People lost their confidence in the
leadership. Dr. M. Moiz Khan
Assistant Professor
Dept. of History, University of Karachi
b) Chaura Chauri incident 1922 0322-2391591, moiz200@yahoo.com
In 1920, the leaders of Khilafat Movement decided to start Non-Cooperation
movement under the guidance of Gandhi. British arrested these leaders on behalf of this
movement. Through time, the movement grew more violent due to the frustration they
were facing. In 1922, an angry mob torched a police station. 22 police officers also were
killed in this incident.
When Gandhi got this news in the jail, he decided to withdraw his support from
the movement. He said that now the movement has become very violent and he cannot
be a part to any violent movement. He was a strong follower of the theory of “Ahinsa”,
meaning non-violence. With the departure of Gandhi all the Hindus supporting the
movement also left and the movement became weak because now only Muslims were
supporting the cause. Dr. M. Moiz Khan
Assistant Professor
Dept. of History, University of Karachi
c) Proclamation of Republic in Turkey 1924 0322-2391591, moiz200@yahoo.com
Since the end of World War I a movement for democracy in Turkey started.
It aimed the monarchy or Caliphate in Turkey. The last Caliph signed a very humiliating
treaty with the victorious powers and it caused unpopularity for the Caliph. Finally, in
1924 the movement got successful under the leadership of Kamal Ataturk. The people of
Turkey abolished Caliphate and declared Turkey a Republic.
When the people of Turkey themselves abolished Caliphate then the demand to
restore Caliphate from other countries made no sense.

Montague Chelmsford Reforms or Act of India 1919:

Immediately after the Second World War, British brought a new constitution in
India. According to them it gave more opportunity and power to the local people. This
can be said right in theory but in practice it was nothing like what they claimed it was.
In reality all the powers were in the hands of British. Some salient features of these
reforms are as under.

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