The Khilafat movement and the Non-Cooperation movement were both mass movements formed in 1919-1922 to oppose British rule in India. Despite their disparate issues, the movements adopted a unified plan of action based on nonviolence and non-cooperation. During this time period, Congress and the Muslim League merged. Many political demonstrations were held as a result of the efforts of both of these parties. In this article, we will discuss the Khilafat and Non-Cooperation Movement (1919-1922) which will be helpful for UPSC exam preparation.

Khilafat and Non-Cooperation Movement - Background

• The growing resentment of British rule prompted the formation of the Khilafat and Non-Cooperation movement.
• In the First World War, Turkey fought against Britain. Turkey, as one of the defeated countries, was subjected to injustice at the hands of Britain.
• In 1919, a movement was formed led by Mohammad Ali and Shaukat Ali (popularly known as the Ali brothers), Abul Kalam Azad, Hasrat Mohani, and others to pressure the British government to correct these injustices.
• The Rowlatt Act, martial law in Punjab, and the Jallianwalla Bagh massacre all revealed the brutal and uncivilised face of foreign rule.
• The Hunter Commission's report on the atrocities in Punjab turned out to be a sham.
• In fact, the House of Lords (the British Parliament) supported General Dyer's action, and the British public showed solidarity with him by assisting The Morning Post in raising 30,000 pounds for him.
• The Montagu-Chelmsford Reforms, with their ill-conceived Dyarchy scheme, failed to meet the Indians' growing demand for self-government.
• The country's economic situation had deteriorated in the post-war years, with rising commodity prices, a decrease in the output of Indian industries, an increase in the burden of taxes and rents, and so on.
• Because of the war, almost every segment of society suffered economic hardship, which fueled anti-British sentiment.

Khilafat Issue

• Muslims all over the world, including India, regarded Turkey's Sultan, Khalifa, as their spiritual leader (Caliph).
• During World War I, Turkey sided with Germany and Austria against the British.
• During the First World War, Indian Muslims supported the government with the understanding that the sacred sites of the Ottoman Empire would be in the hands of Khalifa.
• However, following the war, the Ottoman Empire was divided, Turkey was dismembered, and the Khalifa was deposed.
• This infuriated Muslims, who saw it as an insult to Khalifa. The Khilafat Movement was founded by the Ali brothers, Shoukat Ali and Mohammad Ali, in opposition to the British government.
• Between 1919 and 1924, this movement was active.
• To force the British Government to change its attitude toward Turkey, the Ali Brothers, Maulana Abul Kalam Azad, Ajmal Khan, and Hasrat Mohani formed the All India Khilafat Committee in early 1919.
• As a result, the groundwork for a nationwide uprising was laid.
• In November 1919, an All India Khilafat Conference was held in Delhi, and a call was issued to boycott British goods.

Development of Khilafat Non-Cooperation

• For a time, the Khilafat leaders' actions were limited to meetings, petitions, and deputations in support of the Khilafat.
• Later, however, a militant movement emerged, demanding active agitation such as the cessation of all cooperation with the British.
• As a result, at the All India Khilafat Conference in Delhi in November 1919, a call for a boycott of British goods was issued.
• The Khilafat leaders also stated unequivocally that unless the post-war peace terms were favourable to Turkey, they would cease all cooperation with the government.
• Gandhi, the president of the All India Khilafat Committee at the time, saw the issue as a platform from which mass and united non-cooperation could be declared against the government.

Congress and Muslim League’s Stand on Khilafat Issue

• The Congress's support was critical to the Khilafat movement's success.
• Although Mahatma Gandhi supported Satyagraha and non-cooperation against the government on the Khilafat issue, the Congress was divided on this course of action.
• Later, the Congress felt compelled to lend its support because it represented a golden opportunity to bring Hindus and Muslims together and to increase Muslim participation in such mass movements.
• The Muslim League also decided to fully support the Congress and its political agitation.

Non-Cooperation Khilafat Movement

• A joint Hindu-Muslim deputation was sent to the viceroy in early 1920 to seek redress of grievances on the issue of Khilafat, but the mission was unsuccessful.
• In February 1920, Gandhi declared that the Khilafat issue had overshadowed the issues of Punjab wrongs and constitutional advancement, and that he would soon lead a non-cooperation movement if the terms of the peace treaty did not satisfy Indian Muslims.
• Turkey was completely dismembered by the Treaty of Sevres, which was signed in May 1920.
• An all-party conference in Allahabad approved a boycott of schools, colleges, and law courts, and Gandhi was appointed to lead it.
• The Khilafat Committee began a non-cooperation campaign, and the movement was formally launched.

Special Session in Calcutta

The Congress approved a non-cooperation programme at a special session in Calcutta (September 1920) until the wrongs of the Punjab and Khilafat were righted and swaraj was established. Lala Lajpat Rai presided over the Special Session. The following items were supposed to be included in the programme:

• Boycott of government schools and colleges; boycott of law courts in favour of justice being administered through Panchayats;
• Boycott of Legislative Councils; (there were some differences over this as some leaders like C.R. Das was not willing to include a boycott of councils, but bowed to Congress discipline; these leaders boycotted elections held in November 1920 and the majority of the voters too stayed away).
• Foreign cloth should be boycotted in favour of khadi, and hand-spinning should be practised.
• Renunciation of government honours and titles; the second stage could include mass civil disobedience, such as resignation from government service and nonpayment of taxes.
• During the movement, participants were expected to work for Hindu-Muslim unity and the abolition of untouchability while remaining nonviolent.

*For detailed notes of this topic, check this link Special Session in Calcutta (September 1920)

Nagpur Session

The Nagpur Session was held in December 1920. It was presided over by C. Vijayaraghavachariar. At the Nagpur session of the Indian National Congress:

• The non-cooperation programme was endorsed.
• An important change in Congress creed was made: instead of achieving self-government through constitutional means, the Congress decided to achieve swaraj through peaceful and legitimate means, committing itself to an extra constitutional mass struggle.
• A Congress Working Committee (CWC) of 15 members was formed to lead the Congress from now on.
• Provincial Congress Committees were formed on a linguistic basis; ward committees were formed; and the entry fee was reduced to four annas.
• Gandhi declared that if the non-cooperation programme was fully implemented, swaraj would be implemented within a year.

*For detailed notes of this topic, check this link Nagpur Session of Indian National Congress

Role of Mahatma Gandhi

• Mahatma Gandhi was a key figure in both the Khilafat and the Non-Cooperation Movement.
• He actively participated in disseminating the Non-Cooperation Movement's policies and programmes throughout the country.
• He and other loyalists toured the country to rally public support and mobilise the masses in support of the movement.
• The Khilafat and Non-Cooperation movements were both mass movements formed to oppose British rule in India between 1919 and 1922.
• Despite their disparate issues, the movements agreed on a unified strategy based on nonviolence and non-cooperation.
• Between 1919 and 1920, the emergence of Mahatma Gandhi as the supreme leader of the national movement signalled the beginning of a new era in India's struggle against colonial and exploitative British rule.

*For detailed notes of this topic, check this link Role of Mahatma Gandhi in Khilafat and Non-Cooperation Movement.

Spread of the Movement

• Gandhi went on a nationwide tour with the Ali brothers. Around 90,000 students left government schools and colleges to attend one of the 800 new national schools and colleges that sprang up during this period.
• These educational institutions included Jamia Millia at Aligarh, Kashi Vidyapeeth, Gujarat Vidyapeeth, and Bihar Vidyapeeth and were organised under the leadership of Acharya Narendra Dev, C.R. Das, Lala Lajpat Rai, Zakir Hussain, and Subhash Bose (who became the principal of National College at Calcutta).
• Many lawyers, including Motilal Nehru, Jawaharlal Nehru, C.R. Das, C. Raja Gopalachari, Saifuddin Kitchlew, Vallabhbhai Patel, Asaf Ali, T. Prakasam, and Rajendra Prasad.
• Foreign cloths were publicly burned, and imports were cut in half.
• Picketing was carried out in a number of locations, including shops selling foreign liquor and toddy shops.
• The Tilak Swaraj Fund was oversubscribed, with a total of one crore rupees collected. The parallel police force emerged as a result of the Congress volunteer corps.
• The Ali brothers issued a call to Muslims in July 1921 to resign from the army because it was unreligious. In September, the Ali brothers were arrested for this.
• Gandhi echoed their call and directed local Congress committees to pass similar resolutions.
• Congress directed local Congress bodies to begin civil disobedience if it was determined that the people were prepared for it.
• In Midnapore (Bengal) and Guntur (Andhra Pradesh), there was already a no-tax movement against union board taxes.
• Strikes in tea plantations, steamer services, and Assam-Bengal Railways had been organised in Assam. J.M. Sengupta was a key figure in these strikes.
• The visit of the Prince of Wales to India in November 1921 sparked strikes and protests.
• Many local struggles arose as a result of the spirit of defiance and unrest, including the Awadh Kisan Movement (UP), the Eka Movement (UP), the Mappila Revolt (Malabar), and the Sikh agitation for the removal of mahants in Punjab.

Government Response

• Talks between Gandhi and Viceroy Reading broke down in May 1921 because the government wanted Gandhi to urge the Ali brothers to remove portions of their speeches that suggested violence.
• Gandhi recognised that the government was attempting to divide him from the Khilafat leaders and refused to fall into the trap.
• The government retaliated harshly against the protestors in December.
• Volunteer corps were declared illegal, public meetings were prohibited, the press was silenced, and most leaders, with the exception of Gandhi, were arrested.

Chauri Chaura Incident

• On 5th February, 1922, the day when civil disobedience was to be launched, the Chauri Chaura incident took place and changed the whole scenario.
• At Chauri-Chaura, in Gorakhpur district of Uttar Pradesh, police tried to stop a procession of Congress and Khilafat activists.
• Irritated by this behaviour, some activists attacked them and the police opened fire at them.
• Infuriated, the entire procession attacked the police and when the police took shelter inside the station, the station itself was set on fire, killing all of its occupants.
• Shocked by this incident Gandhiji withdrew the Non-Cooperation Movement.
• The civil disobedience at Bardoli was also postponed. Gandhi stated that without adequate discipline and restraint on the part of the people, the movement had proved to be a ‘Himalayan Blunder’.

*For detailed notes of this topic, check this link Chauri Chaura Incident (1922)

Evaluation of Khilafat and Non-Cooperation Movements

• The movement drew urban Muslims into the national cause.
• Nationalist sentiments reached every nook and cranny of the country, politicising every stratum of the population—artisans, peasants, students, urban poor, women, traders, and so on.
• The politicisation and mobilisation of millions of men and women gave the national movement a revolutionary flavour.
• Two myths underpinned colonial rule, one that such a rule was in Indians' best interests, and second, that it was unbreakable.
• The first myth had been debunked by moderate nationalists' economic critique. Satyagraha had challenged the second myth through mass struggle.
• The masses had lost their previously all-encompassing fear of colonial rule and its powerful repressive organs.

Impact of Non-Cooperation Movement

• The revolt came as a complete surprise to British authorities and provided massive encouragement to millions of Indian nationalists. The country's unity was strengthened, and many Indian schools and colleges were established.
• Swaraj was not achieved in a single year, as Gandhiji had predicted. However, it was a truly mass movement in which lakhs of Indians openly protested the government through peaceful means.
• The British government was taken aback by the magnitude of the movement.
• It drew participation from both Hindus and Muslims, demonstrating the country's communal harmony.
• The Congress Party's popularity among the people was established as a result of this movement.
• People became aware of their political rights as a result of this movement. They had no fear of the government. Throngs of people flocked to jails willingly.
• As a result of the boycott of British goods, Indian merchants and mill owners made a lot of money during this time. Khadi was given a raise.
• During this time, sugar imports from the United Kingdom fell dramatically.
• This movement also established Gandhiji as a populist leader.

*For detailed notes of this topic, check this link Impact of Non-Cooperation Movement

Why Gandhi Withdrew the movement?

• Gandhi believed that people had not fully learned or understood the nonviolent method. Incidents like Chauri-Chaura may cause excitement and fervour, turning the movement violent in general.
• A violent movement could be easily suppressed by the colonial regime, which could use violent incidents as an excuse to use the state's armed might against the protestors.
• The movement was also showing signs of wear and tear. This was natural because it is impossible to sustain any movement at a high pitch for an extended period of time. The government appeared to be uninterested in bargaining.
• The central theme of the agitation, the Khilafat issue, also faded quickly. Turkey's people rose up in November 1922, led by Mustafa Kamal Pasha, and deposed the Sultan of political power. Turkey has been declared a secular state.
• As a result, the Khilafat issue became irrelevant. In Turkey, a European-style legal system was established, and women were granted extensive rights. Education was nationalised, and modern agriculture and industry flourished. The caliphate was abolished in 1924.

Conclusion

The Muslim League and the Hindu Mahasabha, both founded in December 1917, resurfaced. As a result, the growing belief that all people were Indians suffered a setback. The Swarajist Party, led by staunch nationalists Motilal Nehru and Das, was split by communalism. A group known as "responsivists," which included Madan Mohan Malviya, Lala Lajpat Rai, and N. C. Kelkar, offered cooperation to the government in order to protect so-called Hindu interests. Gandhiji went on a 21-day fast at Maulana Mohammed Ali's house in Delhi in September 1924 to atone for the inhumanity revealed in the communal riots. His efforts, however, were in vain.

FAQs

Question: What was the main goal of the Khilafat Movement?

Question: How was the Khilafat Movement linked to the Non-Cooperation Movement?

Question: What were the key demands of the Non-Cooperation Movement?

Question: Why did Mahatma Gandhi withdraw the Non-Cooperation Movement in 1922?

Question: What was the outcome of the Khilafat and Non-Cooperation Movements?

MCQs

1. What was the primary objective of the Khilafat Movement?

a) Independence from British rule

b) Preservation of the Ottoman Caliphate

c) Promotion of Swadeshi goods

d) Boycott of foreign clothes

2. Who led the Khilafat Movement in India?

a) Jawaharlal Nehru

b) B.R. Ambedkar

c) Muhammad Ali and Shaukat Ali

d) Sardar Patel

3. What incident led to the suspension of the Non-Cooperation Movement in 1922?

a) Jallianwala Bagh massacre

b) Rowlatt Act

c) Chauri Chaura incident

d) Simon Commission

4. Which event coincided with the launch of the Non-Cooperation Movement?

a) Jallianwala Bagh massacre

b) Civil Disobedience Movement

c) Rowlatt Act

d) Khilafat Movement

5. Which of the following was NOT a feature of the Non-Cooperation Movement?

a) Boycott of British schools and colleges

b) Refusal to pay taxes

c) Boycott of foreign goods

d) Promotion of Swadeshi

GS Mains Questions and Model Answers

Q1: Analyze the causes and outcomes of the Khilafat and Non-Cooperation Movements in the context of India's freedom struggle.

Answer: The Khilafat and Non-Cooperation Movements were launched in response to British policies that disillusioned both Hindus and Muslims. The Khilafat Movement protested against the dismemberment of the Ottoman Empire and the abolition of the caliphate. The Non-Cooperation Movement was in response to the Jallianwala Bagh massacre and the Rowlatt Act, seeking Swaraj and independence. The movements united Hindus and Muslims on a national scale, leading to mass participation. However, the Chauri Chaura incident led to their premature withdrawal, slowing down the momentum of the freedom struggle.

Q2: Discuss the significance of the Non-Cooperation Movement in mobilizing the masses for the Indian freedom struggle.

Answer: The Non-Cooperation Movement was pivotal in transforming the Indian freedom struggle into a mass movement. Led by Mahatma Gandhi, it encouraged people to boycott British goods, institutions, and services, leading to widespread protests. The movement marked a shift from elitist politics to mass participation, with people from all sections of society, including peasants, students, and workers, joining the struggle. It also promoted Swadeshi, instilling a sense of self-reliance and national pride. Though the movement was withdrawn after the Chauri Chaura incident, it laid the groundwork for future mass movements.

Q3: Evaluate the role of the Khilafat Movement in promoting Hindu-Muslim unity during the Indian independence movement.

Answer: The Khilafat Movement, led by the Ali brothers, aimed at securing Muslim support for the restoration of the Ottoman Caliphate. Mahatma Gandhi saw this as an opportunity to unite Hindus and Muslims in the broader freedom struggle through the Non-Cooperation Movement. The alliance between the Khilafat and Non-Cooperation Movements created a rare moment of Hindu-Muslim unity against British rule. However, this unity was short-lived as the Khilafat Movement lost its relevance after the abolition of the caliphate in 1924, and divisions between the two communities resurfaced in later years.

Previous Year Questions on Khilafat and Non-Cooperation Movement (1919-1922)

1. UPSC CSE Prelims 2018:

Question: Which of the following was a key component of the Non-Cooperation Movement?

A. Demand for dominion status

B. Boycott of British goods and institutions

C. Refusal to pay taxes

D. Armed resistance

Answer: B

Explanation: The Non-Cooperation Movement called for a boycott of British goods, schools, titles, and legislative councils to weaken British control.

2. UPSC CSE Mains 2017 (GS Paper 1):

Question: How did the Non-Cooperation and Khilafat Movements complement each other, and what were their impacts on India's freedom struggle?

Answer: The Non-Cooperation and Khilafat Movements complemented each other by uniting Hindus and Muslims against British colonial rule. Gandhi saw the Khilafat Movement as an opportunity to unite Muslims with the broader nationalist struggle. Both movements involved boycotting British goods, institutions, and government services, promoting Swadeshi, and advocating self-reliance. These movements significantly increased mass participation in the freedom struggle, although their withdrawal following the Chauri Chaura incident temporarily weakened the movement’s momentum.

3. UPSC CSE Prelims 2017:

Question: The Non-Cooperation Movement was withdrawn due to which incident?

A. Jallianwala Bagh massacre

B. Chauri Chaura incident

C. Partition of Bengal

D. Quit India Movement

Answer: B

Explanation: The violent Chauri Chaura incident in 1922, where protestors killed 22 policemen, led Gandhi to withdraw the Non-Cooperation Movement due to its departure from non-violent principles