Khilafat Prasthanam
The Khilafat Movement (1919–24) is one of the important movements in India’s freedom struggle. The main objective of the movement was to put pressure on the British government to change its attitude towards the Ottoman Empire of Turkey and restore the powers of Khalifa.
Background
The monarch of the Ottoman empire of Turkey was regarded as a religious authority by Muslims around the world. He was called Khalifa. The Arabic word Khalifa means representative. During World War I, the Ottoman Empire of Turkey joined in alliance with Germany. However, Turkey lost the war and a pact known as Istanbul Accord was concluded on 3rd November 1918. According to the Pact, the territories of then Turkey had to be divided among the countries France, Greece and Britain. Also, the ruler of Turkey lost many of his powers including control over the holy sites of Islam. The defeat of Turkey and the division of its territories caused concerns among Muslims in India over the Khalifa’s leadership and guardianship of the Holy places of Islam. Consequently, the Khilafat Movement started in India on September 1919 to protect the Turkish Khalifa and save the empire from dismemberment by Great Britain and other European powers. The Movement started in India under the leadership of leaders such as Shaukat Ali, Muhammad Ali and Maulana Abul Kalam Azad. In 1920, the Indian National Congress supported the Khilafat movement under the leadership of Mahatma Gandhi. Thus, the Khilafat Movement turned into a huge non-cooperation movement against the British. In 1920, a letter signed by 90 Muslims from different parts of India known as ‘the Khilafat message’ was sent to the Viceroy. The letter requested the Viceroy to strive to bring relaxation in the pact between Britain and Turkey. The letter also declared a non-cooperation with the British government if they did not attempt by all means for it. Gandhi also wrote a letter to the Viceroy with a similar caution about non-cooperation. However, no move from the British happened in this regard. Due to this, 1 August 1920 was commemorated as a ‘Day of distress for the Khilafat movement’. Further, to mobilize the people for non-cooperation, M.K Gandhi and Shoukath Ali travelled to different parts of India to propagate the ideas of non-cooperation with the British.