Pakistan: a Legacy of the Indian Khilafat Movement

Book excerpt: This book is an interesting study of the Khilafat (Caliphate) movement in early twentieth century India. The abolition of the caliphate institution in Turkey provided food for thought to the Muslim elite in India. They saw it was possible to theologically explore and evolve the caliphate institution from a one man caliph-emperor to a socially elected caliphate state, from an individual caliph to the concept of an Islamic state. After tracing the earlier view of the Caliphate, this study looks at the Karbalas `Ashura tragedy, an event religious scholars and Indian politicians effectively used to galvanize Muslims into demanding from the British government and the Indian National Congress a separate Islamic country they would call it Pakistan. This book is an invaluable source not only for university students of history but also for theologians, politicians, sociologists, general readers and also those interested in the last days of the British empire in India.