Mohammad Ali Jauhar and Khilafat Movement

Mohammad Ali Jauhar was a prominent Indian Muslim leader, journalist, and freedom fighter who stood at the forefront of the Khilafat and Non-Cooperation Movements in the early 20th century. Educated at Aligarh and Oxford, Jauhar mobilized the Indian Muslim community against British colonial rule through his influential publications and anti-imperialist rhetoric. As a co-founder of the All India Muslim League, Jamia Millia Islamia, and the All India Khilafat Committee, his political journey reflected an uncompromising commitment to anti-colonialism, Hindu-Muslim unity, and pan-Islamic solidarity.

Early Life and Mass Journalism

Academic Background and Early Career

• Born on December 10, 1878, in Rampur State, Mohammad Ali Jauhar belonged to a learned family.
• He completed his education at the Muhammadan Anglo-Oriental (MAO) College, Aligarh, before pursuing higher studies at Lincoln College, Oxford University.
• Upon returning to India, he served in the state administrations of Rampur and Baroda before transitioning into full-time journalism and politics.

Nationalist Journalism: Comrade and Hamdard

• In 1911, Jauhar launched the English-language weekly newspaper The Comrade from Calcutta, which became known for its trenchant critique of British policies.
• In 1913, he started the Urdu daily newspaper Hamdard from Delhi to build political awareness among the Urdu-speaking masses.
• His sharp editorial stance against the British stance during the Balkan Wars (1912–1913) and World War I led to repeated censorship, confiscation of press security deposits, and his internment under the Defence of India Rules from 1915 to 1919.

Pan-Islamism and the Khilafat Movement

Origin and Objectives of the Movement

• The Khilafat Movement emerged in 1919 to protect the authority of the Ottoman Caliph (Khalifa) and safeguard holy Islamic sites (Jazirat-ul-Arab) following the defeat of the Ottoman Empire in World War I.
• Mohammad Ali Jauhar, along with his elder brother Shaukat Ali (together known as the Ali Brothers), Maulana Abul Kalam Azad, and Hakim Ajmal Khan, founded the Central Khilafat Committee in Bombay in 1919.
• Jauhar led the Khilafat Delegation to Europe in 1920 to present Indian Muslim demands to the British government, asserting that dismembering the Ottoman Empire would violate Islamic religious duties.

Alliance with Mahatma Gandhi and Non-Cooperation

• Jauhar worked closely with Mahatma Gandhi to integrate the Khilafat cause with the Indian National Congress’s demand for Swaraj.
• The Non-Cooperation Movement, formally launched in August 1920, drew mass participation from Muslims due to the organizational reach of the Khilafat Committee.
• At the Karachi session of the Khilafat Conference in July 1921, Jauhar declared it religiously unlawful (haram) for Muslims to serve in the British Indian Army. This led to his arrest and trial in the famous Karachi Conspiracy Case, resulting in a two-year prison sentence.

Educational Reforms and Institutional Building

Establishment of Jamia Millia Islamia

• In October 1920, during the Non-Cooperation Movement, Jauhar led a walkout of nationalist students and faculty from the British-funded MAO College at Aligarh.
• Along with leaders like Hakim Ajmal Khan, Maulana Abul Kalam Azad, and Dr. Zakir Husain, he co-founded Jamia Millia Islamia (National Muslim University) at Aligarh on October 29, 1920.
• Jauhar served as the university’s first Vice-Chancellor (Shaikh-ul-Jamia), structuring an educational curriculum free from British financial aid and government control.

Political Leadership and Later Career

President of the Indian National Congress (1923)

• Following his release from prison, Jauhar was elected President of the Indian National Congress for its Cocanada (now Kakinada, Andhra Pradesh) session in December 1923.
• His presidential address highlighted the necessity of non-violent agitation, Hindu-Muslim harmony, and educational advancement for national liberation.

Differences and Final Years

• Political relations between Congress and the Khilafat leadership strained after the sudden suspension of the Non-Cooperation Movement following the Chauri Chaura incident in 1922 and the abolition of the Caliphate by Mustafa Kemal Atatürk in Turkey in 1924.
• Jauhar opposed the Motilal Nehru Report of 1928, arguing that its provisions on electorate representation failed to safeguard minority interests.
• Despite failing health, Jauhar traveled to London in 1930 to attend the First Round Table Conference. He famously declared that he would return to India only as a free man or die in a foreign land.
• He passed away in London on January 4, 1931, and was buried in Jerusalem near the Al-Aqsa Mosque.

Key Offices and Major Events

Key Exam Facts

• Mohammad Ali Jauhar and his brother Shaukat Ali were collectively known in Indian national politics as the “Ali Brothers.”
• He wrote the famous motto for The Comrade: “Comrade of all, partisan of none.”
• He served as the editor of both The Comrade (English) and Hamdard (Urdu).
• He was a core founder and the first Vice-Chancellor (Shaikh-ul-Jamia) of Jamia Millia Islamia, established in 1920.
• He presided over the 1923 Cocanada session of the Indian National Congress.
• He was tried in 1921 alongside his brother and other leaders in the Karachi trial for inciting sedition within the British Indian Army.
• He participated in the First Round Table Conference in London in 1930 and passed away there on January 4, 1931.
• His mortal remains are buried within the premises of the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound in Jerusalem.