Khilafat Movement
Outline:
• Background
• Aims And Objectives Of Khilafat Movement
• Demands Of The Khilafat Committee
• Causes Of The Failure Of Khilafat Movement.
• Effects Of Khilafat Movement
i) Credit Side Of Khilafat Movement
ii) Adverse Side Of The Khilafat Movement
• Conclusion
Background:
After the First World War in 1918, British and its allied powers decided to divide Turkey among
themselves. Turkey supported Germany in the First World War. Germany lost the war and Turkey had to
face the music. British and its allies also resolved to dissolve the designation of Khilafat. The designation
of Khilafat always remained holy and sacred in the Muslim history. Khalifa is considered the vicegerent of
Allah on the Earth. Therefore, the Muslims became infuriated on this unholy act of the British
government. Maulana Mohammad Ali Johar and Maulana Shaukat Ali Johar along with other Muslim
leaders started a movement called the Khilafat movement.
Aims And Objectives Of The Khilafat Movement:
The Khilafat Movement aimed at presenting the Ottoman Empire and the continuity of the temporal
power of Khalifa to protect Muslim lands without any mandate. Mohammad Ali put forward the
demands of the Khilafat Movement in a speech delivered at Paris on March 21, 1920 by declaring:
“The Khilafat shall not be dismembered but that the Khalifa
Shall have sufficient temporal power for the defence of the
Faith, that in the Island of Arabia there shall be exclusive,
Muslim control without mandate or protection and that the
Khalifa shall remain as heretofore the warden of the
Holy places.”
Demands Of The Khilafat Movement:
The demands of the Khilafat committee were as under:
i) The Turkish Empire should not be dismembered.
ii) The Holy place should remain in the custody of Turkish Government.
iii) The institution of Caliphate must be retained.
Causes Of The Failure Of Khilafat Movement:
Gandhi also joined Muslims in their Khilafat Movement. In fact, he wants to protect the British
government and needed autonomy of India through this movement. Therefore, he joined the Khilafat
Movement for achieving his coveted plan. Apparently, he was showing that he was sincere to the Muslim
cause.
Quaid-e-Azam admonished the Muslims that this movement should not be started but Muslims were not
listening to him.
Non-cooperation movement, Hijrat movement, Moplah revolt and the Chauri Chaura tragedy did a great
loss to Muslim properties, wealth and lives.
After the tragedy of Chauri Chaura, Gandhi left the Khilafat movement saying that he did not like
violence.
After Hijrat Movement, the Muslims had to come back to the Sub-continent but now they had lost their
hearth and home. They had to face the severe circumstances in the Khilafat movement.
In 1924, Mustafa Kamal Ata Turk assumed power in Turkey and abolished the institution of Khilafat
himself lf. This act of him really disappointed Muslims. Thus the Khilafat Movement came to an end
without achieving its goals.
Effects Of Khilafat Movement:
i) The Credit Side Of Khilafat Movement:
• It trained Muslims for political action and agitation.
• It united the extremists and modernists on one platform.
• They learned that Hindus can never be friends of Muslims. Their differences are too deep-rooted
to weed out.
• The Muslims got acquainted of their political power.
• It made Muslims politically conscious.
• It destroyed the myth of Muslims loyalty to the British.
ii) Adverse Side Of Khilafat Movement:
• Muslims became more interested in national affairs than international one.
• Hijrat movement cost millions of rupees and millions of families.
• Muslim emotionalism gave nothing to them. Khilafat was abolished not by British but by Turks
themselves.
• Religious leaders for the time being vanished from political arena.
Conclusion:
Every movement against the British rule left its good as well as bad effects on the people. After Khilafat
Movement Muslims of the Sub-continent become united, strong and conscious about their separate
identity which led them towards final destination. This was the real credit which Muslims derived from
Khilafat Movement.
