Question

Where was the session of All India Khilafat Committee held in 1921?
1. Karachi
2. Delhi
3. Lahore
4. Sindh

Answer 1

Correct Answer - Option 1 : Karachi

The Correct answer is Karachi.

• From 1876 to 1909, Abdul Hamid II was the Ottoman emperor. Being a Caliph, the Ottoman emperor was the supreme religious and political leader of all Sunni Muslims across the world. In World War I, the Ottoman Empire had sided with the Central Powers and the result of this war was the defeat of the Central Powers.
• As per the Treaty Versailles (1919), the territorial boundary of the Ottoman Empire got reduced. Meanwhile, in Turkey, a national movement arose under Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, who was a Pro-western nationalist. He, supported by the western powers, abolished the position of the Caliph. Naturally, the Muslims in India became anti-British, as the power and influence of their religious leader were ended.
• Muslims were especially upset about the future of the Islamic places of worship after the allied powers had partitioned the Turkish Empire. In India Maulana Mohammad Ali Jauhar and his brother Maulana Shaukat Ali along with some other Muslim leaders such as Dr. Mukhtar Ahmed Ansari. Raees-ul-Muhajireen Barrister Jan Muhammad Junejo, Hasrat Mohani, Maulana Abul Kalam Azad and Dr Hakim Ajmal Khan joined hands a created an All India Khilafat Committee, at Lucknow.
• It had two main demands, which were never accepted:

1. Caliph Sultan must retain sufficient territories so that he is able to defend the Islamic Faith.
2. The places which are called Jazirat-ul-Arab, including Arabia, Syria, Iraq and Palestine must remain under Muslim suzerainty.

• The Ali brothers were arrested during the course of the war only to be released from jail after the war was over. This movement reached a crescendo in Bengal, North-West Frontier Province and Punjab. October 17, 1919, was observed as Khilafat Day. The Hindus also joined hands with the Muslims and a strike was called for. On November 23 1919, the All India Khilafat Conference was organized at New Delhi and later a Khilafat Manifesto was published which called upon the British to protect the Caliphate.
• The leaders of the Khilafat Movement joined hands with Indian National Congress for the upcoming Non-cooperation Movement. Again March 19 1920 was observed as Khilafat Day and following that there was an all-party conference in June 1920 at Allahabad.
• The agenda of the Non-cooperation Movement was finalized.

1. Boycott of the Titles conferred by the Government
2. Boycott of civil services, army and police and all other Government offices.
3. Non-payment of taxes to the government.

• The conference of the All India Khilafat Committee in 1921 held in Karachi after which the movement lost its grip and started declining.
• The Khilafat movement came and went very quickly. It had lost its relevance when Mustafa Kemal Ataturk had abolished the Caliphate. The last Caliphate was Abdulmecid II, who was expelled from his family and took asylum in Istanbul (Constantinople), where he spent the rest of his life catching butterflies. He died in 1948.