During the First World War, Lloyd George, the Prime Minister of Britain, made a solemn promise to Indian Muslims that Turkey would not be deprived of the lands of Asia Minor and Thrace, populated predominantly by people of Turkish stock. This promise was not kept and Turkey was deprived of her homelands in the terms settled for the armistice. Thrace was given to Greece and the Asian portions of the Turkish empire were divided amongst Britain and France as mandated territories. A High Commission was appointed with a view to deprive the Sultan of all his powers. In December, 1919 the All India Khilafat Conference (a body recently formed to protect the status of Turkey and the Khilafat) had passed a resolution asking the Muslims, as a religious duty, to abstain from participation in victory celebrations, to boycott British goods, not to co-operate with the Government; and to send a delegation to Britain to acquaint the British Government with the feelings of Muslims. Still no change was visible in the attitude of the Government.

Muslims in India were enraged by these events and the Ali Brothers, Maulana Muhammad Ali Jauhar and Maulana Shaukat Ali, launched what they called the Khilafat Movement and approached Gandhi for help. Gandhi seized this opportunity to lead the Muslims in India. He threatened to launch a movement of non-cooperation if the peace treaty did not attract the sentiments of the Indain Muslims. The Khilafat Movement came to an end in 1923 when Mustafa Kamal Ataturk seized power in Turkey and expelled the British, French, and Greek from Asia Minor and Thrace. Gandhi called off his non-cooperation movement after the tragic incidents at Chauri Chaura. This betrayal of Gandhi gave severe blow to the cause of Khilafat Movement. Though Khilafat Movement achieved no ostensible success, yet it was of considerable value as an instrument of creating political consciousness in the Muslim masses. It produced a broad-based leadership and taught the techniques of organizing a mass movement to the Muslims. This proved to be a great asset in the later struggle for Pakistan.