Khilafat Movement: Difference between revisions

{{Short description|Pan-Islamist protest movement in India (1919–1924)}}

The '''Khilafat movement''' or the '''Caliphate movement''', also known as the '''Indian Muslim movement''' (1919–24), was a [[Pan-Islamism|pan-Islamist]] political protest campaign launched by Muslims of [[British Raj|British India]] led by [[Shaukat Ali (politician)|Shaukat Ali]], Maulana [[Mohammad Ali Jauhar]], [[Hakim Ajmal Khan]],<ref>{{Cite book|title=Ajmal e Azam|last=Hussain|first=Intezaar}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|title=Hakim Ajmal Khan|last=Andrews|first=C.F}}</ref> and [[Abul Kalam Azad]]<ref>[https://www.britannica.com/event/Khilafat-movement Khilafat movement | Indian Muslim movement | Britannica.com]</ref> to restore the [[List of caliphs#Ottoman Caliphate (1517 – 3 March 1924)|caliph]] of the [[Ottoman Caliphate]], who was considered the leader of the Muslims, as an effective political authority. It was a protest against the sanctions placed on the caliph and the [[Ottoman Empire]] after the [[First World War]] by the [[Treaty of Sèvres]].<ref>http://www.goyalbrothers.com {{web archive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180329044342/http://goyalbrothers.com/#home|date=March 29, 2018}}{{failed verification|date=September 2020}}</ref><ref>http://www.nationalgeographic.com {{full citation needed|date=September 2020}}</ref>

The movement collapsed by late 1922 when Turkey gained a more favourable diplomatic position and moved towards Nationalism. By 1924 Turkey simply abolished the role of caliph.<!--The role of sultan was abolished in 1922.--><ref>Gail Minault, ''The Khilafat Movement: Religious Symbolism and Political Mobilization in India'' (1982).</ref>

Ottoman sultan [[Abdul Hamid II]] (1842–1918) launched his [[Pan-Islamism|pan-Islamist]] program in a bid to protect the Ottoman Empire from Western attack and dismemberment, and to crush the democratic opposition at home. He sent an emissary, [[Jamaluddin Afghani]], to India in the late 19th century.<ref name=":1">{{cite web|url=http://en.banglapedia.org/index.php?title=Khilafat_Movement|title=Khilafat Movement|website=[[Banglapedia]]|publisher=Bangladesh Asiatic Society|last1=Ahmed|first1=Sufia|access-date=7 February 2017}}</ref> The cause of the Ottoman monarch evoked religious passion and sympathy amongst Indian Muslims. Being the caliph, the Ottoman sultan was nominally the supreme religious and political leader of all Sunni Muslims across the world. However, this authority was never actually used.

[[Abdul Hamid II]] was forced to restore the [[constitutional monarchy]] marking the start of the [[Second Constitutional Era]] by the [[Young Turk Revolution]]. He was succeeded by his brother [[Mehmed V]] (1844–1918) but following the revolution, the real power in the Ottoman Empire lay with the nationalists. The movement was a topic in [[Conference of London (February 1920)]]; however, nationalist Arabs saw it as threat of continuation of Islamic dominance of Arab lands.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=5l0BPnxN1h8C&pg=PA125|title=Mahatma Gandhi|publisher=Allied Publishers|year=1991|pages=124–26|author=Sankar Ghose}}</ref>

The [[Ottoman Empire]], having sided with the [[Central Powers]] during [[World War I]], suffered a major military defeat. The [[Treaty of Versailles]] (1919) reduced its territorial extent and diminished its political influence but the victorious [[Europe]]an powers promised to protect the Ottoman sultan's status as the caliph. However, under the [[Treaty of Sèvres]] (1920), territories such as [[Palestine (region)|Palestine]], [[Syria]], [[Lebanon]], and [[Iraq]] were severed from the empire.

Within Turkey, a progressive, secular nationalist movement arose, known as the [[Turkish national movement]]. During the [[Turkish War of Independence]] (1919–1923), the [[Turkish revolutionaries]], led by [[Mustafa Kemal Atatürk]], abolished the [[Treaty of Sèvres]] with the [[Treaty of Lausanne]] (1923). Pursuant to [[Atatürk's Reforms]], the [[Republic of Turkey]] abolished the position of caliphate in 1924. Atatürk offered the caliphate to [[Ahmed Sharif as-Senussi]], on the condition that he reside outside Turkey; Senussi declined the offer and confirmed his support for [[Abdulmejid II|Abdulmejid]].{{sfn|Özoğlu|2011|p=5; Özoğlu quotes 867.00/1801: [[Mark Lambert Bristol]] on 19 August 1924}} The title was then [[Sharifian Caliphate|claimed]] by [[Hussein bin Ali, Sharif of Mecca]] and [[Hejaz]], leader of the [[Arab Revolt]], but his kingdom was defeated and annexed by [[ibn Saud]] in 1925.

==Khilafat Movement in South Asia==

Although political activities and popular outcry on behalf of the caliphate emerged across the Muslim world, the most prominent activities took place in India. A prominent Oxford educated Muslim journalist, [[Maulana Muhammad Ali Johar]] had spent four years in prison for advocating resistance to the colonial government and support for the caliphate. At the onset of the [[Turkish War of Independence]], Muslim religious leaders feared for the caliphate, which the European powers were reluctant to protect. To some of the Muslims of India, the prospect of being [[conscripted]] to fight against fellow Muslims in Turkey was anathema.<ref>However, at the same time, note must also be made that in the North Punjab and part of the NWFP, a huge number of Muslims did actively volunteer to serve in the British Indian Army in World War I</ref> To its founders and followers, the Khilafat was not a religious movement but rather a show of solidarity with their fellow Muslims in Turkey.<ref>{{cite book|author=A. C. Niemeijer|title=The Khilafat movement in India, 1919–1924|url=https://archive.org/details/khilafatmovement0000niem|url-access=registration|year=1972|publisher=Nijhoff|page=[https://archive.org/details/khilafatmovement0000niem/page/84 84]}}</ref>

Mohammad Ali and his brother [[Maulana Shaukat Ali]] joined with other Muslim leaders such as Pir Ghulam Mujaddid Sarhandi, Sheikh Shaukat Ali Siddiqui, Dr. [[Mukhtar Ahmed Ansari]], [[Raees-Ul-Muhajireen Barrister Jan Muhammad Junejo]], [[Hasrat Mohani]], [[Syed Ata Ullah Shah Bukhari]], [[Mohammad Farooq Chishti]], [[Maulana Abul Kalam Azad]] and Dr. [[Hakim Ajmal Khan]] to form the All India Khilafat Committee. The organisation was based in Lucknow, India at Hathe Shaukat Ali, the compound of Landlord Shaukat Ali Siddiqui. They aimed to build political unity amongst Muslims and use their influence to protect the caliphate. In 1920, they published the Khilafat Manifesto, which called upon the British to protect the caliphate and for Indian Muslims to unite and hold the British accountable for this purpose.<ref>Gail Minault, ''The Khilafat movement'', p. 92</ref> The Khilafat Committee in Bengal included [[Mohammad Akram Khan|Mohmmad Akram Khan]], [[Maniruzzaman Islamabadi|Manruzzaman Islamabadi]], [[Mujibur Rahman Khan]] and [[Chittaranjan Das]].<ref name=":0">{{cite web|url=http://en.banglapedia.org/index.php?title=Khan,_Mohammad_Akram|title=Khan, Mohammad Akram|website=[[Banglapedia]]|publisher=Bangladesh Asiatic Society|last1=Razzaq|first1=Rana|access-date=16 July 2016}}</ref>

In 1920 an alliance was made between Khilafat leaders and the [[Indian National Congress]], the largest political party in India and of the nationalist movement. Congress leader [[Mohandas Gandhi]] and the Khilafat leaders promised to work and fight together for the causes of Khilafat and ''[[Swaraj]]''. Seeking to increase pressure on the colonial government, the Khilafatists became a major part of the [[non-cooperation movement]] — a nationwide campaign of mass, peaceful [[civil disobedience]]. Some also engaged in a [[protest emigration]] from [[North-West Frontier Province]] to Afghanistan under [[Amanullah Khan]].<ref>{{Cite book|last=Clements|first=Frank|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=bv4hzxpo424C&pg=PA109|title=Conflict in Afghanistan: A Historical Encyclopedia|last2=Adamec|first2=Ludwig W.|date=2003|publisher=ABC-CLIO|isbn=978-1-85109-402-8|language=en}}</ref> Khilafat leaders such as Dr. Ansari, Maulana Azad and Hakim Ajmal Khan also grew personally close to Gandhi. These leaders founded the [[Jamia Millia Islamia]] in 1920 to promote independent education and social rejuvenation for Muslims.<ref>Gail Minault, ''The Khilafat movement'', p. 69</ref>

The final blow came with the victory of [[Mustafa Kemal Atatürk|Mustafa Kemal Pasha]]'s forces, who overthrew the Ottoman rule to establish a progressive, secular republic in independent Turkey. He abolished the role of caliph and sought no help from Indians.<ref>Gail Minault, ''The Khilafat movement'', p. 205</ref>

The Khilafat leadership fragmented on different political lines. [[Syed Ata Ullah Shah Bukhari]] created [[Majlis-e-Ahrar-e-Islam]] with the support of [[Chaudhry Afzal Haq]]. Leaders such as Dr. Ansari, [[Maulana Azad]] and [[Hakim Ajmal Khan]] remained strong supporters of Gandhi and the Congress. The Ali brothers joined Muslim League. They would play a major role in the growth of the League's popular appeal and the subsequent [[Pakistan movement]]. There was, however, a caliphate conference in Jerusalem in 1931 following Turkey's abolition of the Khilafat, to determine what should be done about the caliphate.<ref>Vali Nasr, ''The Shia Revival,'' Norton, (2006), p. 106</ref>

The Khilafat movement evokes controversy and strong opinions. By critics, it is regarded as one of the political agitation based on a pan-Islamist, fundamentalist platform and being largely indifferent to the cause of Indian independence. Critics of the Khilafat see its alliance with the Congress as a marriage of convenience. Proponents of the Khilafat see it as the spark that led to the non-cooperation movement in India and a major milestone in improving Hindu-Muslim relations, while advocates of [[Pakistan]] and Muslim separatism see it as a major step towards establishing the separate Muslim state. The Ali brothers are regarded as founding-fathers of Pakistan, while Azad, Dr. Ansari and Hakim Ajmal Khan are widely celebrated as national heroes in India.

Critics also argue that the movement was associated with large scale killings of Hindus such as the [[Malabar rebellion|Moplah massacre]].

* {{cite book|author=Rehmat Farrukhabadi|author-link=Rehmat Farrukhabadi|title=Muhammad Ali Jauhar and the Mutiny Trial (محمد علی جوہر ۱ور مقدمہِ بغاوت) in Urdu|url=http://global.oup.com/academic/product/muhammad-ali-jauhar-and-the-mutiny-trial-9780195978940?cc=pk&lang=en&&pg=PA69|year=2005|publisher=Oxford University Press}}

* {{cite book|author=Minault, Gail |title=The Khilafat Movement: Religious Symbolism and Political Mobilization in India|url=https://archive.org/details/khilafatmovement0000mina|url-access=registration |page=[https://archive.org/details/khilafatmovement0000mina/page/69 69] |year=1982|publisher=Columbia University Press}}

* {{cite book|author=Qureshi, M. Naeem|title=Pan-Islam in British Indian politics: a study of the Khilafat Movement, 1918–1924|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=czKYZPyoyx0C&pg=PA104|year=1999|publisher=BRILL}}