Question

what was the after month of the Jallianwala Bagh massciare? why was the Khilafat movement supported by Gandhiji and what was his main aim

Answer 1

The Jalianwalla Bagh incident had stirred the entire country to its depth and now the Muslims under two brothers Muhammad Ali and Shaukat Ali, and Maulana Azad, organized a mass movement of the Indian Muslims known as the Khilafat move­ment. Gandhiji saw his opportunity and in a manifesto issued on March 10, 1920 recommended that the only course to be followed by the Khilafatists, if their demands were not fulfilled, was non-cooperation with the British government. Gandhiji’s ideas were adopted by the Khilafat Conference on April 17, 1920 and recommended renun­ciation of posts and titles and membership of Councils, giving up of posts under the government giving up of appointments in the police and the military and non-payment of taxes. The Khilafat movement brought before Gandhiji an opportunity to unite the Hindus and the Muslims “as would not arise in a hundred years”.

He whole heartedly espoused the Khilafat cause and there was an unpreceden­ted fraternisation between the Hindus and the Muslims. He canalised the powerful currents which took the shape of united non-violent non-co-operation movement. The Congress held at Calcutta in 1920 endorsed Gandhiji’s policy subsequently reaffirmed by the annual session of the Congress at Nagpur.

The movement evoked a hearty response all throughout the country. A large number of students left schools and colleges, among many lawyers who had left the court C. R. Das was the most prominent. Government imprisoned 30,000 participants in the movement and imprisonment by the British govern­ment became a badge of honour. In 1921 the Prince of Wales came to visit India with a view to rousing the traditional feeling of loyalty to the British, but there was a general hartal as the Prince landed in Bombay