(i) In the First World War, Ottoman Turkey was defeated and a harsh peace treaty was imposed on the Ottoman emperor, the spiritual head of the Islamic world (the Khalifa).
(ii) To defend the Khalifa’s temporal powers, a Khilafat Committee was formed in Bombay in March, 1919.
(iii) A young generation of Muslim leaders like the brothers Muhammad Ali and Shaukat Ali, began discussing with Mahatma Gandhi about the possibility of a united mass action on the issue. Gandhiji saw this as an opportunity to bring Muslims under the umbrella of a unified national movement.
(iv) At the Calcutta session of the Congress in 1920 he convinced other leaders of the need to start a non-cooperation movement in support of Khilafat and Swaraj
