khilafat movement Flashcards
intro
Lucknow pact showed how Muslims and Hindus could work together towards a common aim. When the Khilafat movement was formed, it looked like another example of how the two communities could cooperate but as time went on, it became apparent that religious differences made it impossible for the two communities to work together without communal fears continually undermining their supposed harmony
reasons for the formation of the movement
Deep seated Muslim fears
It should not be thought that the Khilafat movement sprang solely from British threat to dismember Turkey
Afghanistan and Persia, both Muslim countries, had been the subject of rivalry bw Russia & Britain. The two powers had agreed on how Afghanistan and Persia was to be run, but little attention was paid to the views of the native Muslim population
Some Muslims in India believed that British policy towards Muslims was to encourage in them a fear of Hindus so that they would cooperate w the British
Though there were many Muslims in the British army fighting against Turkey, there were a large number of desertions by soldiers unwilling to fight their Muslim fellows in Turkey
Concern about British policy towards Muslims was shown in 1918 when president of the Muslim League Maulvi Fazl-ul-Haq stated that “every instance of a collapse of the Muslim powers of the world is bound to have adverse influence on the political importance of our community”. He called on Muslims to begin cooperating w the Hindus
First world war & Turkey
First ww = turks had fought w Germans against Britain
= srs problem for British in India bec they wanted Indian Muslims to fight in the war against Turks but knew that Indian Muslims would not take part in any fighting which led to the Khilafat being overthrown or his empire being dismantled
To solve the problem, the British informed the Indian Muslims that they respect the rights of the Khalifa and that the Turkish empire would be maintained
As a result of this promise, thousands of Muslims joined the british army
During the war the British imprisoned some leading Muslims such as Maulana Muhammad Ali Jauhar and his brother Maulana Shaukat ALi Khan to try to prevent oppositon within India
At the end of the war, peace treaties were drawn up to show how the nations were to be treated
The treaty if versailles set out what would happen to Germany; its armed forces were greatly reduced, its colonies taken away and the country was split in two by the creation of a new country, Poland. Germans were also forced to pay a huge sum to the victorius allies for the damage caused by the fighting. Similar measures were taken against its ally, Austria
These treaties worried the Muslims in India
In view of the punishments imposed upon Germany and Austria, it was difficult to see how Turkey would be treated any differently
British prime minister Lloyd george strongly felt that the Turkish empire should be split in the same way Germany and Austria saw their empires taken away
The Indian Muslims were outraged at this suggestion and began preparing for opposition to the British plan
The khalifa:
Turkey was an Islamic country and its ruler, the Sultan was considered to be the Khalifa of the world wide Islamic community
He ruled over an important empires which included important religious centres such as Makkah, Madinah and Jerusalem and was known as the Khilafat
The sultan was a figure of immense importance in the Muslim world
When the British threatened to take territory away from the Khalifa, the Muslims were outraged and formed the Khilafat movement to protect the Sultan and their religion
establishment of the movement
All India khilafat conference:
In nov 1919 a conference was called in Delhi to try to persuade the British on keeping their promises about maintaining the Turkish empire
Leading figures at the conference: two brothers, Maulana Shaukat Ali Khan, Maulana Muhammad Ali Jauhar and a senior congress member Maulana Abdul Kalam Azad
The conference passed a resolution agreeing to send a delegation to Britain to make sure that the British were aware of the strength of Muslim support for the Khalifa
Gandhi was also present at the conference
By the end of the war he was the unofficial leader of the Congress and his presence showed that the Khilafat movement was one in which religious differences were much less important than Hindus and Muslims uniting in opposition the the British
His influence led to the conference passing resolutions boycotting British goods and adopting a policy of non-cooperation with the British
Gandhi = keen advocate of the policy of passive resistance
He gave this approach the name ‘satyagraha’ which he described a meaning ‘not meek submission to the will of the evil doer, but the pitting of one’s whole soul against the will of the tyrant’
Gandhi urged Muslims to join congress on seeking swaraj (self rule) for India
Most Muslim leaders agreed but Jinnah felt that India was not ready for it
The second conference:
Second Khilafat conference was held in Amritsar in Dec 1919
At the time both congress Muslim league were meeting at the city
It was agreed that all 3 organizations to work tgt to oppose plans to dismember the turkish empire
It was agreed that Gandhi would take the lead in trying to persuade the British to not punish Turkey; this seemed a difficult task
Maulana Muhammad Ali had recently returned from a trip to Britain, where he had impressed upon the British the importance of solving the Turkish problem. They listened politely but were not persuaded
On his insistence that turkey should get justice, Lloyd George replied sarcastically “ Austria has had justice, Germany has had Justice- pretty terrible justice- why should Turkey escape?”
Policy of non-cooperation:
Jan 1920: deputation from the Khilafat movement called on the viceroy to ask for fairness in the treatment of Turkey
Feb: further delegation sent to England to persuade the western powers not to treat Turkey in the same way Germany and Austria has been treated
While the delegation was in England, the terms of the treaty concerning Turkey (Treaty of Sevres) were announced
Treaty said: Ottoman empire was to be split up, Arabia was made independent and Turkey’s other possessions in the Middle East were placed under the League of Nations and allocated to Britain and France. Turkey’s land was to be given to Greece so that turkeys only possession in Europe was a small area surrounding Istanbul. (the Turks later rebelled against this treaty and the treaty of Lausanne replaced this treaty in 1923. Some of the land lost was regained but Turkey never regained control of the Muslim territories in the Middle East)
June 22 1920: The Muslims in India sent a message to the viceroy warning that if the unfair terms of the treaty of sevres were imposed on Turkey, a policy of non cooperation in the country would begin on 1 August
Meanwhile Gandhi began a tour of India to rally support for the Khilafat movement cause
development of the movement
As a general anti- British protest
The Khilafat movement turned into a general anti-British protest and there was a great deal of support across the country
The British were highly embarrassed when visits by British royal princes were greeted with demonstrations and strikes e.g/ when the Prince of wales visited bombay in 1921, there was a nationwide strike & demonstrations in Bombay led to anti british rioting in which 53 people were killed
British reacted by introducing a policy of repression involving widespread arrests
By end of 1921 there were 30,000+ political prisoners in India’s jail
Khilafat movement had attracted Hindus and Muslims alike and for a short while communal rivalry was put aside
To protect & foster Islam – Hijrat
To many Muslims the Khilafat movement was not about opposing the British, it was about protecting & fostering Islam
During the years when the movement was at its strongest, western dress and hairstyles became less popular and the idea grew (particularly in NWF & Sindh) that disregard of the law of Islam by the British made India a dar-ul-harb (enemy territory)
Consequently in AUg 1920, 18000 Muslims set off on Hijrat (migration) to Afghanistan
They sold their land and property and began the long journey with their few remaining possessions in carts and their wives & children walking beside them
Journey = long & difficult
The emigrants were told that the Afghan Govt would welcome them and that fertile fields would be made available for them to plant their crops
The truth was v diff; Afghans did not welcome the idea of such huge numbers suddenly descending upon their country
The emigrants were refused entry and forcibly sent back to what is now a part of Pak
When they got back to their villages more problems awaited them; they had no jobs and wtv property they owned were in the hands of others.
This was damaging to the movement as many supporters lost their enthusiasm to carry on
khilafat movement in difficulty
8 july 1921: all India khilafat movement met for 3rd & last time
Passed series of resolutions which offended British sm that Khilafat leaders were arrested
Resolutions stated that no Muslim should attend British schools, serve in police or army or offer any form of cooperation
British accused Ali brothers of sedition and imprisoned them
British = concerned that the movement was a threat to law and order
Aug 1921: uprising by Moplahs in south India against British and their Hindu landlords
Tirtur: 10k Moplah set police station on fire and took arms & ammunition
British = sent troops to end uprising = 4k Moplahs killed
Most famous incident = Chauri Chaura (Gorakhpur district): Feb 1922: 21 policemen killed after they fired on a political procession
Gandhi’s civil disobedience campaign = disturbances in Madras, Calcutta & Bombay
Decided India wasnt ready for mass campaign and called it off
Decision = many Congress leaders upset
Muslims accused him of retreating j when Indian people were taking up the cause w enthusiasm
British saw how Gandhi’s support began to decline and a few weeks after he called off the campaign he was arrested and sentenced to 6 yrs imprisonment
end of the movement
Decision to call of campaign = weakened Hindu Muslim unity
Muslims = determined to carry on w Khilafat movement
They cared more abt fate of Khalifa than new rulers of Turkey
1922 = Sultan deprived of political power
2 years later, new leader Kemal Attaturk abolished Khilafat and exiled Khalifa, Muhammad VI
It made no difference what Indian Muslims or British politicians wanted as Turkey itself had abolished the Khalifa
Consequently Khilafat movement came to an end
reasons for the failure of the movement
Members more concerned w fate of Khalifa than were Western powers and ppl of Turkey
In the end, new govt of Kemal Attaturk simply abolished Khalifa regardless of what anyone outside Turkey thought
1 historian = wrong ideology
Nowhere is this seen better than Hijrat movement
Though it was first movement in which H and M worked tgt, their unity was probs always doomed to failure
Hindu aim for self rule = not an objective of Muslims
Hindus = prepared to support Muslims in protecting their religious rights as long as it helped India move closer towards self rule
Gandhi stressed that working w Hindus would reduces Muslim hostility towards Hindu religion
Difficulties emerged- inevitable declining unity
Strength of anti british feeling
Movement = based on saving Khilafat but some supporters seized on Gandhi’s policy of non cooperation to demonstrate their opposition to British rule in general
Ensuing violence = campaign called off by Gandhi before Kemal abolished Khilafat
impact of the movement
Good consequences:
Policy of non cooperation against British = H & M unity and showed that Indian ppl were no longer ready to accept British rule. Some historians see this movement as the first step on the road to Independence
Made Muslims realize they had political power. Realized they could organize themselves to demand their political rights and they did not have to rely on neither British nor Hindus for it. British opposition to the movement reinforced the feeling that the British only accepted the needs for Muslims to have rights when doing so did not contravene other policies they were pursuing like punishing Turkey
Negative consequences:
Many unfortunate Muslims had given up their jobs in public service and many students had forsaken their studies as a part of the non cooperation policy established in 1920. Even more unfortunate = Muslims who tried to emigrate to Afghanistan. They returned home to economic misery
Failure of movement & joint efforts of H and M to work towards a common objective drove a wedge bw the two communities. Communal rioting followed the calling off of the non cooperation campaign and hostility & suspicion increased. These events proved that H and M could never live tgt in harmony thus the failure of the movement could be seen as an important step in moving Muslims nearer to having their own independent state
