{"id":27145,"date":"2026-10-29T11:27:46","date_gmt":"2026-10-29T05:57:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/vajiramias.com\/upsc\/?p=27145"},"modified":"2026-10-29T11:27:46","modified_gmt":"2026-10-29T05:57:46","slug":"khilafat-movement","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/vajiramias.com\/upsc\/khilafat-movement\/","title":{"rendered":"Khilafat Movement 1919, Origin, Causes, Timeline, Leaders"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">The <\/span><b>Khilafat Movement <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">was a political campaign launched by Indian Muslims in 1919 to protect the Ottoman Caliphate after the First World War. It developed into a broader anti British struggle when Mahatma Gandhi linked it with the Non Cooperation Movement. The movement strengthened mass participation in India's freedom struggle and encouraged Hindu-Muslim cooperation, but its influence declined following the withdrawal of non cooperation and the abolition of the Caliphate in 1924.<\/span><\/p>\r\n<h2><b>What is Khilafat Movement?<\/b><\/h2>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">The <\/span><b>Khilafat Movement <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">emerged in British India to defend the Ottoman Caliph's authority and oppose the post war settlement imposed on Turkey.<\/span><\/p>\r\n<ul>\r\n\t<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><b>Origin: <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Indian Muslim leaders launched the agitation after the First World War, fearing that the victorious Allied powers would weaken the Caliphate.<\/span><\/li>\r\n\t<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><b>Khilafat Committee: <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Established in Bombay in March 1919, the committee organised meetings and coordinated efforts to defend the Caliph's position.<\/span><\/li>\r\n\t<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><b>Nationalist association: <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Mahatma Gandhi and the Indian National Congress supported the cause, connecting it with the struggle against British colonial rule.<\/span><\/li>\r\n\t<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><b>Non Cooperation Movement: <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">From 1920, the two movements worked together through peaceful protests and the boycott of British institutions and foreign goods.<\/span><\/li>\r\n\t<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><b>Duration: <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">The movement remained active from 1919 to 1924, ending after the Turkish government abolished the Caliphate.<\/span><\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<h2><b>Khilafat Movement Causes<\/b><\/h2>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">The <\/span><b>Khilafat Movement <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">arose from religious concerns, post war political developments and growing dissatisfaction with British rule among Indians.<\/span><\/p>\r\n<ul>\r\n\t<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><b>Defeat of the Ottoman Empire: <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">The Ottoman Empire's defeat in the <a href=\"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/upsc-exam\/world-war-1\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><strong>First World War<\/strong><\/a> raised fears that the Allied powers would dismantle it and reduce the Caliph's authority.<\/span><\/li>\r\n\t<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><b>Threat to the Caliphate: <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Many Indian Muslims viewed the Ottoman Sultan as a symbol of unity for Muslims worldwide and opposed measures threatening his position.<\/span><\/li>\r\n\t<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><b>Treaty of S\u00e8vres 1920: <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">The treaty imposed severe conditions on Turkey, dividing its territories and intensifying opposition among Indian Muslims.<\/span><\/li>\r\n\t<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><b>Economic hardship: <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Wartime inflation, rising rents and taxes and declining industrial production increased public dissatisfaction with British administration.<\/span><\/li>\r\n\t<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><b>Repressive colonial policies: <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">The Rowlatt Act, <a href=\"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/upsc-exam\/jallianwala-bagh-massacre\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><strong>Jallianwala Bagh Massacre<\/strong><\/a> and dissatisfaction with the Government of India Act 1919, strengthened anti British sentiment.<\/span><\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<h2><b>Khilafat Movement Events and Timeline<\/b><\/h2>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">The <\/span><b>Khilafat Movement <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">progressed through organised political action, cooperation with Congress and major developments in India and Turkey.<\/span><\/p>\r\n<ul>\r\n\t<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><b>March 1919: <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">The Khilafat Committee was formed in Bombay to organise protests and build support for protecting the Ottoman Caliphate.<\/span><\/li>\r\n\t<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><b>November 1919: <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">At the All India Khilafat Conference in Delhi, Gandhi supported non cooperation, while Hasrat Mohani advocated boycotting British goods.<\/span><\/li>\r\n\t<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><b>1920: <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">The Treaty of S\u00e8vres intensified opposition and Khilafat leaders joined Gandhi's campaign against British rule through non cooperation.<\/span><\/li>\r\n\t<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><b>1920-1921: <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">The combined movement mobilised students, traders, peasants and other sections through boycotts and peaceful political participation.<\/span><\/li>\r\n\t<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><b>1921: <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">The Malabar rebellion and the migration of Muslim peasants to Afghanistan weakened the movement's wider appeal.<\/span><\/li>\r\n\t<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><b>1922: <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Gandhi suspended the Non Cooperation Movement following the <a href=\"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/upsc-exam\/chauri-chaura-incident\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><strong>Chauri Chaura incident<\/strong><\/a>, reducing the Khilafat agitation's political strength.<\/span><\/li>\r\n\t<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><b>1922: <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Mustafa Kemal Atat\u00fcrk's government removed Sultan Mehmed VI, further weakening the original objective of the movement.<\/span><\/li>\r\n\t<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><b>1924: <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Atat\u00fcrk abolished the Caliphate, removing the movement's central demand and bringing its organised campaign to an end.<\/span><\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<h2><b>Khilafat Movement Impacts<\/b><\/h2>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Despite its eventual decline, the <\/span><b>Khilafat Movement <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">influenced Indian nationalism, political participation and relations between different religious communities.<\/span><\/p>\r\n<ul>\r\n\t<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><b>Mass political participation: <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">The movement brought more Muslims into organised anti colonial politics and widened participation in India's freedom struggle.<\/span><\/li>\r\n\t<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><b>Hindu-Muslim cooperation: <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Joint participation with Congress created opportunities for cooperation between communities against British colonial rule.<\/span><\/li>\r\n\t<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><b>Growth of nationalism: <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Boycotts, demonstrations and non cooperation strengthened public involvement in political activities and resistance to colonial authority.<\/span><\/li>\r\n\t<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><b>Expansion of mobilisation: <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Students, traders, peasants, artisans, women and urban workers participated in the wider campaign, extending nationalism beyond established political circles.<\/span><\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<h2><b>Khilafat Movement Leaders<\/b><\/h2>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Several religious scholars and nationalist leaders organised the agitation, mobilised supporters and connected <\/span><b>Khilafat Movement <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">with India's broader freedom struggle.<\/span><\/p>\r\n<ul>\r\n\t<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><b>Maulana Mohammad Ali Jauhar: <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">One of the principal Khilafat Movement Leaders, he helped organise the campaign and mobilise Indian Muslims against the post war treatment of Turkey.<\/span><\/li>\r\n\t<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><b>Maulana Shaukat Ali: <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Mohammad Ali's brother, he played a major role in organising the agitation and promoting cooperation with the national movement.<\/span><\/li>\r\n\t<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><b>Maulana Abul Kalam Azad: <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">A scholar and nationalist, he supported the Khilafat cause and encouraged political mobilisation through his writings and public influence.<\/span><\/li>\r\n\t<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><b><a href=\"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/mahatma-gandhi\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Mahatma Gandhi<\/a>: <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">He connected the Khilafat issue with non cooperation, seeking to strengthen Hindu-Muslim unity and resistance to British rule.<\/span><\/li>\r\n\t<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><b>Hasrat Mohani: <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">He supported the movement and advocated boycotting British goods as a means of opposing colonial authority.<\/span><\/li>\r\n\t<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><b>Hakim Ajmal Khan and Dr. Mukhtar Ahmed Ansari: <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Both contributed to organising the movement and supported nationalist cooperation, including efforts to bring Muslim participation into wider political activities.<\/span><\/li>\r\n<\/ul>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Khilafat Movement was launched by Indian Muslims in 1919. Learn about its causes, key leaders, events, link with Non Cooperation Movement and impact on Indian nationalism.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":40,"featured_media":27093,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1787],"tags":[1871,257],"class_list":{"0":"post-27145","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-current-affairs","8":"tag-khilafat-andolan","9":"tag-khilafat-movement"},"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramias.com\/upsc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27145","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramias.com\/upsc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramias.com\/upsc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramias.com\/upsc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/40"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramias.com\/upsc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=27145"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramias.com\/upsc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27145\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":27158,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramias.com\/upsc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27145\/revisions\/27158"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramias.com\/upsc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/27093"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramias.com\/upsc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=27145"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramias.com\/upsc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=27145"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramias.com\/upsc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=27145"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}