why did Mahatma gandhi decide to join khilafat movement?Describe its association with the Non cooperation Movement and its importance. 5
Answers
Explanation:
Gandhiji wanted to make his ‘Satyagraha’ movement more broad-based. He realised that this could be possible only if Hindus and Muslims came closer and joined it. He found the Khilafat issue as one that could bring about this unity. The First World War had given a death blow to the Ottoman Empire of Turkey. The British had promised a generous treatment to the Khalifa, but they did not keep up the promise. The Khalifa was considered the spiritual head of the Muslims and a protector of their holy places. By 1920, the British had totally dismembered the Turkish Empire.
To defend the Khalifa’s powers, a Khilafat Committee was organised in Bombay under the Ali brothers — Muhammad Ali and Shaukat Ali — in March 1919. Gandhiji was invited by the Ali brothers to join them. At the Calcutta session of the Congress in 1920, Gandhiji convinced other leaders to support the Khilafat Movement and start a Non-Cooperation Movement for Swaraj. Along with the Ali brothers he toured India and gathered support for the movement.Inspired by them, about 30,000 people courted arrest. All Congress Committees adopted the Khilafat resolutions in 1921, and supported its four-point programme.
The Khilafat Movement ended when Turkey came under Kamal Pasha and he brought in a lot of reforms.
The importance of Khilafat Movement is that it brought Hindus and Muslims under one cause.The Muslims also became a part of the National Movement and made it more broad-based.