Topic 14

KHILAFAT MOVEMENT 1919-1924

The Khilafat movement was a very important event in the political history of India. The Muslims of
India had a great regard for the Khilafat (Caliphate) which was held by the Ottoman Empire. During
World War I, the Ottoman Empire (Turkey) joined the war in favour of Germany. But Turkey and
Germany lost the war and a pact commonly known as Istanbul Accord was concluded between the
Allied Forces on 3rd November 1918. According to this Pact the territories of Turkey were to be
divided among France, Greece and Britain.That resented Muslim a lot and khilafat movement began.

During the war the Indian Muslims were in a very awkward position, because they had a deep-
rooted devotion to the caliphate. They had profound respect for this holy institution. Therefore,
their support to the British Government was subject to the safeguard and protection of the holy
places of Turkey and on the condition that Turkey will not to be deprived of its territories. But the
British Government could not fulfil both of these promises. The Treaty of Savers 1920 was
imposed on Turkey and its territories were distributed among European countries. A wave of anger
swept across the Muslin World and the Indian Muslims rose against the British Government.
Muslim leaders like Maulana Abdul Kalam Azad, Moulana Muhammad Ali Johar, Moulana
Shoukat Ali and others reacted against the British Government policy and were put behind the
bars.

Thus, Muslims organized a mass movement, which came to be known as Khilafat Movement. The
aims of this movement were

(a) To protect the Holy place of Turkey

(b) To restore the Territories of Turkey

(c) To restore the Ottoman Empire.

Besides that congress support also remained very encouraging for Muslims to launch khilafat
movement .In December 1919 both the Khilafat Committee and Congress held their meetings
simultaneously at Amritsar and a delegation was prepared which was sent to England under the
leadership of Maulana Mohammad Ali Johar to see the British Prime Minister and to explain the
Indian point of view regarding the Khilafat. The delegation visited England in 1920. The leaders of
the delegation addressed the House of Commons and saw the British Prime Minister, Lloyd George
who paid no heed to the delegations demand. The delegation stayed at London for eight months and
won many hearts and sympathies of people in Britain delivering speeches. However, the delegation
returned to India unsuccessful in October 1920.

After the unsuccessful visit to England the leaders of Khilafat Movement realized the fact that
British were not in the mood to help them. Therefore, they realized that a new strategy needed to
be adopted. With this aim they decided to launch a movement of Non Co-operation. When the
leaders of Khilafat movement announced the Non Co-operation Movement, the Congress extended
its full support to the Khilafat Movement. The leaders of the two met at Amritsar and resolved to
launch a country wide agitation under the leadership of Mr. Gandhi.

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Khilafat conferences:
 First Khilafat Conference: November 1919 in Delhi.

 Main leaders were Maulana Mohammad Ali Johar, Moulana Shaukat Ali & Moulana Abul
Kalam Azad, and Ghandi.
 Main aim was to persuade British to keep their promises about maintaining the Turkish
Empire.
 Resolution was passed and everyone agreed in sending a delegation to Britain to make sure
that the British were aware of Muslim strength of Muslims support for the Khalifa.
 Muslims also boycotted British goods besides Hindus and adopted a policy of non-
cooperation with them.
 Gandhi was an advocate of policy of passive resistance. He gave this approach the name
Satyagraya , meaning “not meek submission to the will of evil door but the pitting of one’s
whole soul against the will of the tyrant .
 Gandhi urged Muslims to joining Congress in seeking Swaraj (self-rule) for India.

 Second Khilafat Conference: December 1919, Amritsar.

 It was decided that all three organizations (Muslim League, Congress & Khilafat people)
would be working together to oppose plans to dismember the Turkish Empire.
 Maulana Muhammad Ali visited Britain & insisted the Britain not to punish Turkey but the
Prime Minister Lloyd George said Austria has had justice; Germany has had justice-pretty
terrible justice –why should Turkey escape ?

Mehmed VI :

Mehmed VI (14 January 1861 – 16 May 1926) was the 36th and last Sultan of the Ottoman Empire, reigning from 1918 to
1922. His father was Sultan Abdulmecid I .Mehmed was removed from the throne when the Ottoman sultanate was
abolished in 1922.
The First World War was a disaster for the Ottoman Empire. British and allied forces had conquered Baghdad,
Damascus, and Jerusalem during the war and most of the Empire was divided among the European allies. In April 1920
British were granted over Palestine .On 10 August 1920, Mehmed's representatives signed the Treaty of Sevres, which
recognized the mandates and recognized Hejaz as an independent state.
Turkish nationalists rejected the settlement by Sultan. A new government, the Turkish Grand National Assembly, under
the leadership of Mustafa Kemal (Ataturk) was formed on 23 April 1920, in Ankara . The new government denounced the
rule of Mehmed VI and a temporary constitution was drafted. The Turkish Grand National Assembly also abolished the
Sultanate on 1 November 1922, and Mehmed was expelled from Constantinople. He went into exile in Malta. Mehmed
died on 16 May 1926 in Italy, and was buried at Damascus.

MUSTAFA KAMAL ATATURK:

Mustafa Kemal Ataturk 19 May 1881 – 10 November 1938) was a Turkish army officer, reformist statesman, and the
first President of Turkey. He is credited with being the founder of the Republic of Turkey. His surname, Ataturk (meaning
"Father of the Turks"), was granted to him in 1934 and forbidden to any other person by the Turkish parliament.

Ataturk was a military officer during I WW. Ataturk then embarked upon a program of political, economic, and cultural
reforms, seeking to transform the former Ottoman Empire into a modern and secular nation-state. Under his leadership,
thousands of new schools were built, primary education was made free and compulsory, and women were given equal
civil and political rights, while the burden of taxation on peasants was reduced. His government also carried out an
extensive policy of Turkification. The principles of Ataturk's reforms, upon which modern Turkey was established, are
referred to as Kemalism.

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 Expected Questions and Answers
Question No. 1: Was the migration of Afghanistan the most important reason behind the failure of A Khilafat Movement?

14 June 2000. Q. 3 c

Question No. 2: Explain the reasons for the establishment of the Khilafat Movement. 7 November 2001. Q.2 b

Question No. 3: Why was the Khilafat Movement founded? 7 June 2002, Q. 3 b

Question No. 4: Was the withdrawal of Gandhi s support from the Khilafat Movement the most important reason for its
failure? Explain your answer. 14 November 2002. Q.2 c

Question No. 5: Why did the Khilafat Movement fail? 7 November 2003.Q.3 b

Question No. 6: Was the Chaura Chauri incident of 1922 the most important reason for the failure of the Khilafat
movement? Give reasons for your answer. 14 June 2004 Q.2 c

Question No. 7: Was the Khilafat Movement founded because the Muslims feared the break up of Turkey after the 1 st
world war? Explain your answer. 14 June 2005 Q. 2 c

Question No. 8: Explain why the Khilafat movement has failed by 1924. 7 June 2006 Q.3 b

Question No. 9: Was the abolition of the institution of the caliphate in 1924 the main reason for the failure of the Khilafat
Movement? Give reasons for answer. 14 November 2006 Q. 2 c

Question No. 10: The Khilafat movement failed by 1924 because of poor leadership .Do you agree? Give reasons for your
answer. 14 November 2008 Q. 2 c

Question No.11: Explain the reasons for the failure of the K.M. 7 June 2009 Q.4 b

Question No.12: Why was the Khilafat Movement founded? 7 June 2010 Q.2 b

Question No.13: Was the migration of Afghanistan the most important reason why the Khilafat Movement failed? Explain
your answer. 14 Nov. 2010. Q. 3 c

Question No.14: A number of events that happened during the years of the Khilafat Movement led to its failure. During
the years when the Movement was at its strongest, western dress and hair styles became less popular and the idea grew
that disregard of the law of Islam by the British made India a dar-ul-harb(enemy territory). Thus thousands of Muslims
set off on their hijrat.

Describe the hijrat. 4 Nov. 2011 Q.3 a

Question No.15: The Khilafat Movement failed by 9 4 because Gandhi withdrew his support. Do you agree? Give
reasons for your answer. 14 June 2012 Q.2 c

Question No.16: The Khilafat Movement started because of the treatment of Turkey by the British after the First World
War. Turkey was a Muslim country, and its ruler, the Sultan, was considered to be the Khalifa, the head of the worldwide
Islamic community. When the British threatened to take territory away from the Khalifa, the Muslims of India were
outraged and formed the Khilafat Movement to protect the Sultan and their religion. One of the events that took place
during this Movement was the Chauri-Chaura incident.

Describe the Chauri-Chaura incident. 4 Nov. 2012 Q. 3 a

Question No.17: Why did the Khilafat Movement fail by 1924? 7 Nov. 2013 Q.3 b

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 Answer to question No. 9

The abolition of the institution of Caliphate by the Turks themselves remained the most important reason for
the failure of Khilafat Movement. Mustafa Kamal Ataturk ¸the Turkish leader established a modern
democratic government in Turkey with a properly elected parliament. In this set up the caliph & the seat of
Caliphate had no place. The caliph was deposed & exiled in 1924. Muslims in India were perplexed & found
their movement cut at its base. Muslims in India had nothing to fight for & the khilafat Movement ended in
failure in 1924.

Besides that the movement got many other set backs on account of many reasons. In 1920 the congress also
started non-cooperation movement. The congress joined hands with the khiilafat movement because both
were against the British. Khilafat movement got much strength from the support of the congress. Joint protest
meetings & processions of Muslims & Hindus together became a common feature throughout the sub-
continent. In1922 a procession at Chauri Chura(a small town in eastern U.P) was in progress. The mob
became violent & set a police station on fire in which 22 policemen were burnt alive. Mr. Ghandhi suddenly
called off the non-cooperation movement without consulting anyone & without taking the Muslims into
confidence. The Muslims were greatly discouraged at the loss of Congress support. Khilafat Movement was
weakened. Mr Jinaah had opposed the non-cooperation movement saying that it would lead to violence, and
the same happened. Mr. Jinnah resigned from the Congress in 1920.

The movement got other threats as well. The Hijrat Movement (1921), an off shoot of Khilafat Movement
failed badly. Some ulemas had declared that India was Dar-al-Harb & it was better for Muslims to live in an
independent Muslim country. Therefore some 18000 Muslims mostly from NWFP sold their belongings &
sought asylum in Afghanistan .In the beginning the migrants were welcomed but soon later Afghan
government refused to admit them. Many perished & others returned penniless & homeless.

Another tragic event was the Moplah Uprising which remained responsible for the failure of Khilafat
Movement. It also affected Hindu Muslim relationship. In mid of August 1921, agrarian riots broke out in
Nilambur. The Moplah peasants revolted against the Hindu landlord's oppressive policies, which are in
alliance with the British. The Hindu landlords redistributed their lands and the Moplahs, who had been
suffering, rose in revolt. A pitched battle between the British regiment and the Moplahs killed several
Europeans. Four thousand Moplahs were killed in action and tens of thousands were injured. Then there was
the notorious Moplah Train Tragedy. Around a hundred prisoners, confined in a closed and almost airtight
goods van, were transported by rail. When the door was opened, 66 Moplahs were found suffocated to death
and the remaining 34 were on the verge of collapse.

The British government also arrested the leaders of the Khilafat Movement on account of their anti-
government speeches & the movement was deprived of their effective & strong leadership, both Hindu and
Muslim leaders were imprisoned for several years. About 30000 workers all over India were put in jails. The
movement slows down. The movement was unrealistic & was bound to fail. The caliphate & the people of
Turkey had no interest in the politics of India. Therefore agitations & protests in India were to affect the
events in turkey. Far sighted people like Mr. Jinnah & Allama Iqbal didn t support the movement.

But the most important reason for the failure of the Khilafat Movement was the abolition of the institution of
Caliphate by the Turks themselves. Mustafa Kamal Ataturk ¸the Turkish leader established a modern
democratic government in Turkey with a properly elected parliament. In this set up the caliph & the seat of
Caliphate had no place. The caliph was deposed & exiled in 1924. Muslims in India had nothing to fight for &
the khilafat Movement ended in failure in 1924.Therefore the abolition of the institution of caliphate in 1924
was the main reason for the failure of the khilafat Movement.

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