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The Khilafat Movement (1919-1924)
1. Origins and Leadership
- Founders/Initiators: The Ali Brothers—Maulana Muhammad Ali and Shaukat Ali.
- Other Prominent Leaders:
- Maulana Abul Kalam Azad
- Hasrat Mohani
- Hakim Ajmal Khan
- Organization: The All India Khilafat Committee was formed in Lucknow by these leaders.
- Clarification: Haji Shariatullah was not a founder (he started the Faraizi Movement in an earlier century).
2. Objectives and Causes
- Primary Goals:
- To save the Ottoman Empire from being dismantled after World War I.
- To preserve the institution of the Khilafat (Caliphate).
- Anti-British Sentiment: To rouse anti-British feelings among Indian Muslims, as the British had dismembered the Ottoman Empire despite earlier promises.
- Not an Objective: It was not aimed at social reform (e.g., reforming Muslim society) or solely for securing separate electorates.
3. Alliance with Gandhi and the Indian National Congress
- Gandhi’s Role: Mahatma Gandhi was elected President of the All India Khilafat Conference in 1919.
- Gandhi’s Motivation:
- To win the support of Indian Muslims for the broader nationalist struggle.
- He saw it as a golden opportunity to integrate Hindus and Muslims.
- Congress Support: The Indian National Congress supported the movement at its Amritsar Session (1919) to gain Muslim sympathy and for the reinstatement of the Caliph.
- Criticism: Muhammad Ali Jinnah warned Gandhi against encouraging the religious fanaticism of Muslim leaders.
4. Key Allied Movements and Events
- Non-Cooperation Movement (NCM):
- The Khilafat Conference in Allahabad (1920) requested Gandhi to assume the leadership of the Non-Cooperation Movement.
- The two movements were merged, leading to unprecedented Hindu-Muslim unity.
- Moplah Rebellion (1921): An offshoot of the Khilafat Movement. It was a peasant revolt against Hindu landlords and the British that became intertwined with the Khilafat agitation.
5. Significance and Consequences
- Hindu-Muslim Unity: The movement narrowed down Hindu-Muslim differences and created a united front against the British.
- Symbolic Acts: Leaders like Hakim Ajmal Khan renounced their British titles (e.g., ‘Haziq-ul-Mulk’) in protest.
- Public Mobilization: Figures like Swami Shraddhanand gave speeches on Hindu-Muslim unity from the pulpit of Delhi’s Jama Masjid.
- British Perception: A British official (Aitchison) remarked that the government could not “play off the Mohammedans against the Hindus” during this period, highlighting the success of the unity.
6. Opposition and Dissent
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- Pandit Madan Mohan Malviya was a prominent Hindu leader who did not support the Khilafat Movement.
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