What were the causes for launching Khilafat Movement in India?

(i) The First World War ended with the defeat of Ottoman Turkey.

(ii) There were rumours that a harsh peace treaty was going to be imposed on the Ottoman emperor-the spiritual head of the Islamic world-the Khalifa.

(iii) To defend the Khalifa’s temporal powers, a Khilafat Committee was formed in Bombay in March 1919.

(iv) 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.

(v) Gandhiji saw this as an opportunity to bring Muslims under the umbrella of a unified movement called ‘Khilafat and Non-cooperation Movement’.