Separation of Khilafat Leaders at Kakinada Session, 1923

The Separation of Khilafat Leaders at the Kakinada Session of 1923 marked a significant turning point in India’s nationalist movement during the post-Non-Cooperation phase. It symbolised the growing differences between Congress nationalists and Muslim leaders who had been part of the Khilafat Movement, leading to a temporary political divide within the anti-colonial struggle. The event also reflected the shifting priorities of Indian politics in the early 1920s, following the withdrawal of the Non-Cooperation Movement by Mahatma Gandhi in 1922.

Background

The Khilafat Movement (1919–1924) was launched by Indian Muslims to protest against the dismemberment of the Ottoman Empire and the abolition of the Caliphate after the First World War. The Caliph, regarded as the religious and political leader of Sunni Islam, had great symbolic importance for Muslims across the world. Indian Muslim leaders such as Maulana Mohammad Ali, Maulana Shaukat Ali, and Maulana Abul Kalam Azad played a central role in the movement.
To strengthen their cause, the Khilafat leaders allied with the Indian National Congress under Gandhi’s leadership, forming one of the earliest examples of Hindu-Muslim unity in modern Indian politics. This alliance became the foundation of the Non-Cooperation Movement (1920–1922), which mobilised millions across India in a unified struggle against British rule.
However, the Chauri Chaura incident in February 1922, where protesting villagers killed several policemen, led Gandhi to suspend the Non-Cooperation Movement abruptly. This decision deeply disillusioned both Congress and Khilafat supporters. The Khilafat leaders, who had invested their hopes in the movement’s success, began to lose faith in Gandhi’s methods of non-violence and Congress’s political strategy.

The Kakinada Session of the Indian National Congress, 1923

The Kakinada Session (also known as the Cocanada Session) of the Indian National Congress was held in December 1923 in the town of Kakinada, in present-day Andhra Pradesh. It was presided over by Maulana Mohammad Ali, one of the most prominent Khilafat leaders.
By this time, the Congress Party was divided into two main groups:

• The Swarajists, led by C.R. Das and Motilal Nehru, who advocated entering the legislative councils established by the British to obstruct colonial governance from within.
• The No-Changers, led by Mahatma Gandhi and his supporters, who emphasised continuing constructive programmes such as khadi promotion, Hindu-Muslim unity, and the removal of untouchability outside the councils.

Maulana Mohammad Ali, though presiding over the session, faced a complex dilemma. While he personally admired Gandhi, he was deeply disappointed with the Congress’s perceived lack of urgency in pursuing full self-rule and with the failure of the Khilafat objectives in international politics.

Separation of the Khilafat Leaders

At the Kakinada Session, ideological tensions came to the surface. The Khilafat leaders, including Mohammad Ali and Shaukat Ali, were frustrated by both the internal divisions within Congress and the declining enthusiasm for the Khilafat cause, especially after the abolition of the Caliphate by Mustafa Kemal Atatürk in 1924 in Turkey.
During the deliberations, several Khilafat leaders expressed dissatisfaction with the Congress’s stance on council entry and its reluctance to adopt a more assertive programme for national liberation. They accused sections of the Congress leadership of deviating from the spirit of mass struggle that had animated the Non-Cooperation Movement.
As a result, a group of Khilafat leaders distanced themselves from the Congress at the Kakinada Session, marking what came to be known as the Separation of Khilafat Leaders. This separation did not imply complete withdrawal from nationalist politics but indicated a growing divergence of political priorities between Muslim leaders and the Congress mainstream.

Causes of the Split

Several interrelated factors contributed to the separation:

• End of the Caliphate: The international developments in Turkey rendered the Khilafat issue obsolete, depriving the movement of its core purpose.
• Disillusionment with Non-Cooperation’s Withdrawal: Many Khilafat leaders viewed Gandhi’s suspension of the movement as premature and a betrayal of mass momentum.
• Ideological Differences: While the Congress debated constitutional participation through the Swarajist strategy, Khilafat leaders favoured direct confrontation and mass mobilisation.
• Religious vs. Political Priorities: The Khilafat leadership, rooted in religious motivation, increasingly found itself at odds with the Congress’s secular and nationalist agenda.
• Rise of New Leadership Trends: Emerging Muslim political organisations, such as the Jamiat-ul-Ulama and the Muslim League, began to provide alternative platforms for Muslim participation outside the Congress fold.

Consequences and Impact

The separation at Kakinada had both immediate and long-term consequences for the Indian national movement:

• It weakened Hindu-Muslim unity, which had been a hallmark of the Non-Cooperation and Khilafat phase.
• The Congress lost significant Muslim participation, particularly from leaders who had once been enthusiastic allies in mass movements.
• The event reflected the fragmentation of the united front that had emerged between 1919 and 1922, leading to the reassertion of communal and sectarian politics in subsequent years.
• It paved the way for new strategic orientations, such as the rise of the Swaraj Party within the Congress and the emergence of separate Muslim political voices in the 1920s.
• The disillusionment of the Khilafat leaders indirectly contributed to the decline of the Khilafat Movement itself, which faded away after 1924 following the abolition of the Caliphate.