HISTORICAL BACKGROUND
1914, when World War I started, the Turks resolved to speak with the Germans against Britain. The Muslims of India wanted to help Britain but not at the cost of Ottoman Khilafat and the Holy places in Turkey. In his various public utterances, British Prime Minister Lloyd George assured the Muslims that the Ottoman Khilafat in Turkey would be restored to the Turks at the war’s end, and their places would be protected.
INTRODUCTION
The Khilafat Movement was a political movement launched by the Muslims of British India for the retention of the Ottoman caliphate and for not handing over the control of Muslim holy places to non-Muslims.
AIMS/GOALS OF KHILAFAT MOVEMENT
- To preserve the territorial Solidarity
- Ottoman Khilafat should be kept intact
- Control of holy places should not be given to non-Muslims
PROTESTS IN INDIA
In the protest, major political parties joined hands to insult the injustice in the Muslim community. These steps were announced:
- No participation in the viceroy celebration
- Boycott of British goods
- Non-cooperation with the government.
ROWLETT ACT, 1919
Rowlett Act was a black law that was introduced in India. In this law, the government got the authority to persecute any Indian. In the protest, Jinnah resigned from the legislature.
KHILAFAT COMMITTEE
Maulana Muhammad Ali and six other prominent leaders started the Khilafat movement. As a result, the Khilafat conference was created in several countries.
MUSLIM SENTIMENTS
The government of India urged Muslim Ulema and Scholars to grant a fatwa to the effect that sympathy with Turkey was unlawful as per Shariah.
ALL INDIA KHILAFAT COMMITTEE
Before this, in 1919, Majlis-e-khilafat had already been set up by some trailers in Bombay. Maulana Abdul Gari Frangi Mehli thought the Moylis should be a countrywide organization. So, the organization was formed in November 1919 in Lucknow.
OBJECTIVES OF THE MOVEMENT
The Muslims of India demanded that
- Turkey should not be divided into parts
- The caliphate should not be abolished
- Muslim sacred places should not be harmed.
INVITATION FROM THE BRITISH GOVERNMENT
George Lloyd, Prime Minister of Britain, invited Seth Chhotani, the president of the Khilafat committee, to visit London to discuss the issue. But this delegation returned unsuccessfully.
NON-COOPERATION MOVEMENT
On 8 May 1920, the Khilafat committee met in Bombay and accepted non-cooperation as the only acceptable action. The program of the non-cooperation Movement included the following.
- The titles awarded by the British government would be given up, and the education institution of the government boycotted
- All government servants would put up resignations except the police or military.
- The payment of taxes would be refused.
JINNAH’S ROLE
He never favoured the non-cooperation Movement, and when it was adopted in protest in December 1920 at the Nagpur session of Congress.
MOPLAH UPRISING
Another incident was the Moplah uprising. In the mid of August 1921, rural riots broke out in Nilambur. The Moplah peasants rebelled against the Hindu Landlord’s oppressive policies in compliance with the British regiment, and Moplahs resulted in the killing of Several Europeans.
DOWNFALL OF THE MOVEMENT
Following are the causes of the failure of the Movement
- Hindu-Muslim communal clashes
- Chauri-chaura incident
- Detention of Maulana Muhammad All
1. HINDU-MUSLIM COMMUNAL CLASHES
All the happenings mentioned above were followed by Hindu-Muslim communal clashes, especially in Multan and Bengal in September 1922. The Sanghattan and Shuddi movements were offshoots of these riots.
2. CHAURI CHAURA INCIDENT
In February 1922, an aggressive crowd in Chauri Chaura torched a police station, killing twenty-two police officers. Gandhi’s attempt at mass non-violence ended in a massacre.
3. DETENTION OF MAULANA MUHAMMAD ALI
Because of fiery speeches, the Movement was more successful than expected. This could not be agreeable to the British government. Consequently, Maulana Muhammad Ali Johar and his comrades were arrested for making seditious speeches.
REACTION OF MUSLIMS
The Muslims severely reacted to the unjust proceedings, and the Movement grew more vigorous. Civil disobedience was also started throughout the country.
REVISION OF THE TREATY OF SEVERS
In 1921, Lord Reading took up the Viceroyalty of India. He was soon convinced that the Khilafat Movement was based on genuine grounds.
ACHIEVEMENTS
- It provided a platform for all the religious communities to come closer and jointly oppose foreign rule in a united voice.
- It provided the Nationalist Movement with the impetus and mass support for future agitations and movements.
- The people of the country, who were otherwise scared of the might of the Batish, became fearless and lost their sense of fear against the mighty British.
- The Movement gave tremendous self-confidence to ordinary men and filled them with self-respect and self-esteem.
EFFECTS OF THE KHILAFAT MOVEMENT
- The judges and magistrates sat idle in the courts, and the arbitration boards settled the disputes.
- Students walked out of colleges and universities.
- The foreign cloth was boycotted.
- Government receipts from excise and litigation dropped considerably.
KHILAFAT MOVEMENT CAME TO AN END
The non-cooperation Movement, which was the essence of the Khilafat Movement, was going on very successfully. In a letter to the Viceroy, Mr. Ghandhi threatened to start science nationwide. But in those days, the occurrence of an incident made the whole struggle futile, and the Khilafat Movement ended.
FINAL ANALYSIS
The Khilafat movement was of considerable importance in the history of Muslim India. It served the vital purpose of the mass breaking of the Muslims. The Muslims of India made it clear to the world that the entire Muslim Ummah is one Nation that shares their problems by starting the Khilafat movement from the platform of the Khilafat Committee to protect the office of Khilafat.
REFERENCES
- Pakistan Studies by Waqar Ahmad Cheema
