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The Khilafat movement:

During the 1st world war, turkey had joined the axis power. When the war ended, the victorious Allied powers took a stern altitude towards Turkey and decided to remove the sultan. It was in violation of the earlier pledge given by British Prime Minister Lloyd George. The Muslims felt that the position of the sultan who was also regarded by many as the religious head of the Muslims should not be undermined .As a result a Sir Khilafat Committee was formed under the leadership of Ali brothers-Mohammad Ali and Shaukat Ali, Abdul Kalam Azad, Hakim Azmal Khan and Hasrat Mohammad were the other prominent member. The objectives of the Khilafat movement were to stop the disruption of the Turkish Empire, to prevent the imposition of severe peace term on Turkey and to preserve Khilafat. The all India Khilafat conference held at Delhi in Nov 1919 decided to withdraw all cooperation from the govt. if there demands were not met. The program consisted of boycott of legislative council, foreign goods, govt. schools and colleges etc. in April 1920, Shaukat Ali warned the British govt. “we would start a joint Hindu-Muslim movement of non-cooperation “. Gandhiji looked up on the Khilafat agitation as an opportunity of uniting Hindu & Muslim as would not arise in a hundred years. He extended full support of the congress to the Khilafat movement. Early in 1920, he declared the Khilafat question overshadowed that of the constitutional overshadowed that of the constitutional reform and the Punjab wrongs and announced that we would lead a movement of non-cooperation if the Indian Muslim. In fact, very soon Gandhi became one of the leaders of the Khilafat movement. Meanwhile, the govt. had refused to withdraw the Rowlatt Act, make mends for the atrocities in the Punjab or satisfy the nationalist urge for self-govt. In June 1920, an all party conference met an Allahabad and approved a programme of boycott of schools, colleges and law courts. The Khilafat committee launched a non-Co-operation movement on 31st August 1920. Hartals and protest meetings were held in different places. Unprecedented scenes of Hindu –Muslim unity was witnessed in different parts of the country. The Ali brothers were arrested and failed in Sep 1921. However, the Khilafat movement soon lost its vigor when Mustafa Kamal Pasha dethroned the Turkish Sultan and declared Turkey a secular republic. The Khilafat movement had made important contributions to the Non-Co operation Movement. It had brought urban Muslims into the nationalist movement and had been, thus, responsible in past for the feeling of nationalist enthusiasm that prevailed in the Country in those days.

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