Khilafat Movement O Level Pakistan Studies (2059) Notes

Khilafat Movement? If it is what made you come here, then be confident that you are at the right place. 

This movement was not started immediately. It has a background which is necessary to understand the movement. So let’s start from the very beginning.

 

What was the khilafat movement? 

 

It was the movement started by the people of the subcontinent to protect Turkey and the head of the Islamic state, the Khalifa as he was of immense importance to the Muslim world. 

 

Turkey had supported Germany and Austria in the first world war against Britain and thus after the decisive victory of Britain, Prime Minister Llyod George was ready to punish Turkey and Khalifa.

 

Muslims who had been promised a good fate of Turkey before the war were not happy by this decision and thus came up with the Khilafat Movement to achieve their goals, to protect Turkey. 

 

Who was the Khalifa at the time of the Khilafat Movement? 

 

It was Muhammad V| also known as Mehmet V|, Mehmed Vahdattin and Mehmed Vahideddin. He came to the throne of 4 July 1918 (just a few days before the end of WW|). He succeeded Muhammad V and thus was the last Sultan of the Ottoman empire.

 

He was very unpopular among the Turkish people because, after World War |, his representatives accepted the Treaty of Sevres which aimed at dismantling the Turkish empire. 

The conditions at the end of 1922 became worse such that the Khalifa wrote to the British to provide him shelter in Britain. Though he was unable to attain this he went into exile in Turkey. 

Why did the Khilafat Movement Started (Reasons for the beginning of the Khilafat Movement):

• Firstly, there were some so-called ‘deep-seated Muslim fears’. To elaborate, it should be known that at that time there were negotiations going on between Russia and Britain on how to govern Persia and Afghanistan (both Muslims states). 

However, the views of the local people were not given any sort of effect and thus their views were undermined. Therefore, the Khilafat movement aimed to crush these fears as-well by taking a firm stance on these issues.

• Similarly, the prominent Muslim leaders of that time such as Maulana Abdul Kalam Azad were to the point that the British were trying to instil a fear of Hindus among Muslims so that they come closer to British and were forced to work with them. 

Therefore, these Muslim leaders considered cooperation with the British as a Satanic act and thus declared the slogan of Khilafat to achieve their own aims! 

• Moreover, the Indian Muslims were reluctant to fight against their fellow Muslim brothers of Turkey in World War |. However, the British needed the support of Muslims to win the war and thus could not fortify all their Muslims troops that formed a majority of the British army.
  
  Therefore, the British promised the Indian Muslims that the Turkish empire would not be harshly treated and Muslim association with Turkey would be kept in mind before further actions against Turkey.
  
  However, when the British won the war, they were to the point that Turkey should also be punished as Germany and Austria were. 

This viewpoint was against the promise of British made with Muslims and thus the movement was started to prevent the ideas of the British from coming into action. 

• Lastly, the Caliph was of immense respect for Muslims throughout the world. He was the leader of Makkah, Madinah and Jerusalem that were some of the most important sites for Muslims. 

That is why the Muslims were not ready to see the Caliph being deprived of power. In the same way, the Muslims were strongly resented to the massive imprisonment of Muslims during the 1920’s. 

Now, it is to note that despite all the efforts, the Khilafat movement failed. But why? 

Reasons for the Failure of the Khilafat Movement?

1. The Hijrat movement was one of the reasons which morally disillusioned the Muslims. During the 1920’s, Muslim leaders such as Maulana Abdul Kalam Azad and Maulana Abdul Bari declared India as Darul-Harb (land under non-Muslim war, likely to lead to future war).

Therefore on the command, 18,000 Muslims from all over India migrated to Afghanistan as a comfortable lifestyle was promised.

Initially, the number was welcomed by the Afghan government but the surging number was asked by the Afghan government to return back. 

When the Muslims returned, they found their lands equipped and jobs lost. This made Muslims lose heart who was not willing to support the movement anymore.

2. Another reason for the failure of the khilafat movement was the leadership vacuum. Well, what does this mean? 

This means that at the time of khilafat movement, certain prominent figures that supported the movement were jailed. Due to this, there was no one to lead the Muslims at this crucial stage. 

This created disunity among the Muslims which was fully exploited by the British. 

3. Mustafa Kemal Ataturk abolished the khilafat in Turkey. When there was no khilafat, there was no reason to continue the khilafat movement. Therefore, the khilafat movement came to an end. 

Apart, the Muslim league and congress supported each other for their own advantage. When the congress saw that their support to khilafat movement was no longer useful for them, Gandhi simply decided to withdraw his support from the movement. 

Similarly, the violence (such as chauri chaura incident) also forced Gandhi to withdraw his support form the movement. 

4. The Mophlas were those Muslims that were present in the Northern India. They managed to kill a number of British and the Hindus. 

This attitude of the Mophlas disturbed British and the Hindus therefore, the British punished them brutally. The Hindus also withdrew their support for the khilafat movement due to this.

Conclusion: 

With this, Khilafat Movement Pakistan Studies (2059) Notes have come to an end. 

Thank You very much for reading.