Khilafat Leaders and Mass Mobilisation

The Khilafat Movement relied heavily on dynamic young Muslim intelligentsia and traditional religious scholars. The All India Khilafat Committee was established in March 1919 in Bombay. Seth Chotani served as its first president and Haji Siddick Khatri as secretary. The primary objective was to pressure the British government into maintaining the territorial integrity of the Ottoman Empire and protecting the Caliphate.

Primary Leadership and Key Figures

• The Ali Brothers: Maulana Muhammad Ali Jauhar and Maulana Shaukat Ali were the chief architects and operational strategists of the movement.
• Maulana Abul Kalam Azad: Used his weekly journals Al-Hilal and Al-Balagh to build intellectual and theological support for the pan-Islamic cause.
• Hasrat Mohani: Proposed a complete boycott of British goods at the Delhi Khilafat Conference in November 1919.
• Hakim Ajmal Khan and Dr. M. A. Ansari: Guided the political negotiations and linked the Muslim League, Khilafat Committee, and Congress.
• Ulama Networks: The Jamia-Ulama-i-Hind, founded in November 1919 by Maulana Mahmud Hasan and Swami Shraddhanand, provided the religious ruling (fatwa) for mass participation.

Methods of Mass Mobilisation

The leaders transformed what began as an elite diplomatic protest into an expansive rural and urban mass agitation. They effectively combined modern organizational structures with traditional Islamic symbols and institutional networks.

Religious and Cultural Symbolism

• Public Pledges and Fatwas: Over 500 religious scholars signed a joint decree declaring service in the British Indian military and civil administration to be religiously unlawful (haram).
• Utilization of Mosques: Friday prayers and local religious gatherings (jalsas) were used to broadcast political resolutions, collect funds, and enroll volunteers.
• The Khilafat Volunteer Corps: Thousands of young men wore uniforms and marched in disciplined squads to enforce boycotts and organize public rallies.
• Fundraising: The Central Khilafat Committee raised over one crore rupees through small donations collected across provinces.

Key Milestones and All-India Campaigns

Mass Agitations and Regional Movements

Mass mobilization manifested differently across regions, occasionally developing into independent regional uprisings due to local economic grievances.

Regional Dynamics

• The Hijrat Movement (1920): Around 18,000 Muslims, inspired by religious calls from leaders like Jan Muhammad Junejo, migrated towards Afghanistan. The Afghan government turned them back at the border, leaving the refugees destitute.
• The Malabar Uprising (1921): In Kerala, Moplah Muslim peasants mobilized under local leaders like Ali Musaliar and Variyamkunnath Kunjahammed Haji. Local agrarian distress against Hindu landlords (Janmis) merged with anti-British Khilafat propaganda, turning into a violent rebellion.
• Sindh and Punjab Operations: Leaders like Saifuddin Kitchlew mobilized urban workers and rural peasants in Punjab, creating strong anti-colonial centers.

Fact Sheet

The All India Khilafat Committee was formally established in Bombay on March 20, 1919. Maulana Muhammad Ali edited the English newspaper Comrade and the Urdu paper Hamdard to promote anti-colonial sentiments. The Khilafat Manifesto was published in March 1920, demanding full protection of Islamic holy sites (Jazirat-ul-Arab). Mahatma Gandhi returned his Kaisar-i-Hind medal to the Viceroy on August 1, 1920, marking the joint launch of the Non-Cooperation and Khilafat movements. Following the Karachi Conference resolution in July 1921, British authorities arrested Maulana Muhammad Ali, Maulana Shaukat Ali, Saifuddin Kitchlew, Dr. Kitchlew, and Shankaracharya of Sharada Peeth for inciting disaffection in the military. The movement collapsed after Mustafa Kemal Atatürk established a secular government in Turkey, officially abolishing the Ottoman Sultanate on November 1, 1922, and eliminating the office of the Caliphate on March 3, 1924.