The Khilafat Movement
After the first World War - in which India had aided the British with the men and the material - the people of the Subcontinent expected an initiation to be undertaken to meet their demands by way of home rule or a reasonable share in the Government. However, these expectations were not subjected to fulfilment. Instead, they were greeted with atrocities in Punjab with the notorious “Crawling Order”.
In this movement - which is an important landmark in the freedom struggle - Nawab M. Ismail Khan played a very active part. He toured a large portion of the country preaching the Khilafat viewpoint to the masses of people. During these tours, he never claimed or desired any special privileges and worked akin to an ordinary worker. Albeit, such was his reputation and popularity with the people that any facility would have been his merely for the asking.
During the movement, he was working in close contact with Congress leaders, but never for once did he feel enamoured of the so-called nationalist creed; his passion for freedom was there to be paralleled. Whenever there arose the question of Muslim interest or the nationalist interest, his discerning eyes always saw through it and he supported only the cause which served the disdained Muslims best.
Read more about this topic: Mohammad Ismail Khan (Indian Politician)
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