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Question 31 of 66 · Gandhian Era & Struggle for Independence
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During the Khilafat Movement, the first 'Khilafat Day' was observed all over India on:

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Answer: Option C — 17 October 1919

Detailed Solution

The first "Khilafat Day" was observed all over India on 17 October 1919.

How it was observed:

  • People observed a hartal (closing of shops and businesses), fasted and prayed.
  • Meetings were held to protest against the treatment of the Ottoman Sultan (the Khalifa) by Britain and its allies after the First World War.
  • Both Hindus and Muslims took part, showing Hindu-Muslim unity.

Background:

  • After the First World War, the victorious Allies, including Britain, planned to break up the Ottoman Empire.
  • Indian Muslims were angered, because the Sultan of Turkey was also the Khalifa, the spiritual head of the Sunni Muslim world, and the control of the holy places of Islam was at stake.

The Khilafat Movement:

  • It aimed to pressure the British government to preserve the authority of the Khalifa and his control over the holy places.
  • The All-India Khilafat Conference was held in Delhi in November 1919, and was attended by Gandhi, who was elected its President for one session.
  • Gandhi supported the movement as an opportunity to unite Hindus and Muslims against British rule.
  • In June 1920, the Khilafat Committee accepted Gandhi's programme of non-cooperation.

1 August 1920:

  • The Non-Cooperation and Khilafat Movements were launched formally on 1 August 1920.
  • On the same day, Bal Gangadhar Tilak died.

The end of the movement:

  • The Non-Cooperation Movement was withdrawn in 1922.
  • In 1922, the Sultan was deposed, and in 1924, the Caliphate was abolished by Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, who modernised Turkey.
  • This ended the Khilafat issue.

Other leaders of the Khilafat Movement:

Maulana Abul Kalam Azad, Hakim Ajmal Khan, Hasrat Mohani and Dr M. A. Ansari.

NCERT on the movement:

NCERT notes that Gandhiji felt that the Khilafat issue provided an opportunity to bring Muslims under the umbrella of a unified national movement.

Why not the other options?

  • ✗13 April 1919 was the day of the Jallianwala Bagh massacre.
  • ✗1 August 1920 was the start of the Non-Cooperation Movement.
  • ✗26 January 1930 was celebrated as Independence Day.

Quick tip

Remember: first Khilafat Day = 17 October 1919 (hartal, fasting, prayer); Khilafat Conference, Delhi, November 1919; movement launched with Non-Cooperation on 1 August 1920.

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Gandhian Era & Struggle for Independence — Preparation

This question tests your understanding of Gandhian Era & Struggle for Independence, a key topic in the General Knowledge section. The detailed solution above uses a step-by-step approach to show the reasoning, and where available, a shortcut that helps you solve similar questions in under 90 seconds during the actual exam.

This topic covers the freedom struggle from Gandhi's return to India in 1915 to independence in 1947: the Champaran, Kheda and Ahmedabad movements, the Rowlatt Act and Jallianwala Bagh, the Non-Cooperation, Civil Disobedience and Quit India movements, the Round Table Conferences, the Cripps Mission, the Cabinet Mission and the partition of India. Most questions ask about the year, cause or result of a movement, or the event that ended it. For example, the Chauri Chaura incident (1922) led Gandhi to call off the Non-Cooperation Movement, and the Dandi March (1930) started the Civil Disobedience Movement. Learning these events on a timeline is the best way to avoid confusion. Practise the Gandhian era questions below, written in the style of the general awareness sections of exams such as SSC, banking, railways, CUET GAT, MAH CET and CLAT. Each question comes with a detailed explanation that adds related facts, so every question helps you revise more than one point.

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