the islamic prism 73the focal point of Indian discourses on Palestine, in the initial years its
support for Arabs was wrapped in explicit Islamic claims and rationales.
The long- term consequences of the INC’s involvement in the Khilafat
struggle were not very favorable. The Hindu- Muslim alliance proved to
be as elusive as ever. In the words of the historian B. R. Nanda, the sup-
port for the Khilafat issue “really stemmed from the Congress leaders’
eagerness to appease Muslim opinion, and somehow to wean the Muslim
from unquestioning loyalty to the Raj.”^16 Nirad C. Chaudhuri off ered a
much stronger indictment: “By allying itself with the Khilafat movement
the Congress had encouraged the most retrograde form of Islamic group-
consciousness.”^17 Instead of forging an anti- British nationalist alliance
with the Muslims, the Congress Party ended up borrowing Islamic ter-
minology, goals, and demands. As we shall see, even though it could not be
outright communal, as was the Muslim League, it could not divorce itself
from Islamic infl uence. Gradually, it began to perceive and present events
in the Middle East through an Islamic prism— but it couched its views in
secular and nationalistic terms.
The Khilafat episode had some negative repercussions for the Ma-
hatma on a personal level, as well. For a person who later on demanded
active Jewish nonviolence even against Hitler, the Khilafat phase was a
major aberration. His nonviolent model of defending Khilafat was not
shared by many Muslims. Some were uncomfortable with a non- Muslim
directing and dictating their religious duty. Even leaders such as
Mohammed Ali had reservations over the Mahatma’s ethical stand on
nonviolence. A tactical and symbolic commitment to Gandhi’s nonvio-
lent demands was all that the Khilafat leaders were prepared to give in
return for the support of the Congress Party and Hindu masses. Those
who viewed the Khilafat struggle as the moment of Hindu- Muslim unity
won the day. However, the rapid turn of events in republican Turkey re-
moved the rationale for the Khilafat struggle, and the Hindu- Muslim
unity disappeared along with it. Before long, the leaders of the Khilafat
struggle parted ways and spearheaded a Muslim nationalist movement
based on separatism. This eventually culminated in the partition of the
Indian subcontinent and the formation of Pakistan in August 1947.
Before long, the Palestine question became an Islamic agenda item
in subcontinental politics and a bone of contention between the Con-
gress Party and the Muslim League. This confi rmed the worst fears of the
Zionists.