Shaukat Ali Khan (1873-1938): Indian freedom fighter and great supporter of Palestine

On Friday, 23 January, 1931, all of the shops in Jerusalem were closed, but the streets were bustling with people. Amidst the crowd, a funeral procession made its solemn way toward Al-Aqsa Mosque. At the front of the procession was a man walking alongside the Grand Mufti of Palestine, Amin Al-Husseini. The man’s name was Shaukat Ali Khan, and he was on his way to bury his younger brother, Mohammad Ali Jauhar.

Shaukat Ali Khan (10 March 1873 – 26 November 1938), known to many as “Big Brother”, was a prominent Indian freedom fighter and one of the most influential leaders of the Muslim world. He founded Anjuman-i Khuddam-i Ka’ba (Association of the Servants of the Ka’ba) in 1913 to protect the sacred monuments of Islam in Makkah, Madinah and Jerusalem, and facilitate pilgrimage from India. At about the same time, due to his younger brother’s ill health, he assumed the managerial responsibilities of the newspapers published by Mohamed Ali: Hamdard (the Urdu daily) and Comrade (the English weekly).

Maulana Shaukat Ali had an immense love for Palestine.

This deep affection led him, after the death of his brother, to dedicate his life to the cause of Palestine’s freedom and the rights of its people. Following Mohammad Ali’s death in London, the people of India wanted his body to be taken back to be buried there. Even Mohammad Ali’s wife wanted him to be laid to rest in Indian soil. However, Shaukat Ali believed that it was more appropriate to honour the invitation of Mufti Amin to bury him in the compound of Al-Aqsa Mosque.

In a letter from London in January 1931, Shaukat Ali explained his reasoning: “Mohammad Ali was buried in Al-Aqsa Mosque to strengthen the ties between the Muslims of India and their Arab brothers.”

Ziauddin Ahmed Barni, who worked alongside Maulana Mohammad Ali on Hamdard, wrote in his book Azmat-E-Rafta: “Maulana Shaukat Ali had a deep affection for the Arabs, particularly the Arabs of Palestine. He was so devoted to this land that he ultimately agreed to have Maulana Muhammad Ali’s body buried there, in this sacred land, to strengthen the bond between the Muslims of united India and Arabs.”

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Shaukat Ali demonstrated his commitment to this cause with a speech delivered from the terrace of the Dome of the Rock within the Noble Sanctuary of Al-Aqsa in Jerusalem after the funeral prayer. Although his speech was in English, the High Commissioner for Palestine remarked “This made a great impression upon the Arab audience.”

A part of Shaukat Ali’s speech was published in the Arabic daily Filistin. “We have a natural inclination to love this holy land and its people,” he said. “And it is for this reason that we have come to bury our dearest [Mohammad Ali], who was among the best of this land and its people, someone deeply loved by all.”

The day after the funeral, Maulana Shaukat Ali met with the High Commissioner for Palestine, British Mandate official J.R. Chancellor. Mufti Amin Al-Husseini was also present at the meeting, which lasted about an hour and a half. During the discussion, Shaukat Ali made it clear what his intentions were moving forward.

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According to a confidential file from the National Archives of India, the Jewish community had attempted to prevent Mohammad Ali’s burial in Jerusalem. In the meeting, Shaukat Ali pointed out: “He [his brother] had sympathy for the Jews as an oppressed race, but he could not tolerate their taking away their country from the Arabs of Palestine. It was quite clear to him that the Jews would not be content with a National Home in Palestine, but that they wanted to make Palestine into a Jewish National State, in which the Arabs would become servants and labourers. The Muslims of India would never consent to the Arabs of Palestine being placed in such a position.”

He added that, “The Muslims of India were now solid in their support of the Arabs of Palestine; Muslim members of the Indian Round Table Conference had informed His Majesty’s Government [in London] of their views on the Palestine question.” India, of course, was part of the British Empire at the time.

Shaukat Ali’s deep love for Palestine is evident from the fact that he had planned to visit the country at the beginning of 1931. According to a report published in the New York Times on 26 December, 1930: “The well-known Indian Muslim leader, Shaukat Ali, who with his brother, Maulana Mohammad Ali, now in London, formed an India Caliphate committee at Bombay six years ago, is reported to be planning to come to Palestine early next year. It is said Shaukat Ali will take a trans-European tour which the Arab press alleges will benefit the Palestine Arab Nationalist cause. It is stated that Jamal Hussein, who is now in London, has arranged Shaukat Ali’s visit to the Holy Land at the request of the Grand Mufti, who intends to use the influence of Indian Muslim leaders for the Palestine Arab cause.”

Maulana Shaukat Ali returned to India after his brother’s burial, but later that same year, he travelled again to raise awareness about the protection of the rights of the Palestinian people and formulate a unified plan of action for Palestine’s liberation. The Grand Mufti invited leaders from Islamic countries around the world to attend a ten-day conference, which was announced to take place at the Ruzta Al-Maarif Hall in Jerusalem. On the Indian Muslim side, Muhammad Iqbal, Maulana Ghulam Rasool Mehr and Maulana Shaukat Ali participated in the conference.

After completing his lecture tour of America in 1933, Shaukat Ali visited London and then travelled to Geneva. On his way back to India in April, he also visited Egypt and Palestine.

Upon his return to India, Grand Mufti Amin Al-Husseini and a delegation followed soon after and visited several cities across the country.

According to a news item in the Times of India on 5 July, 1933, “The Palestine Deputation headed by His Eminence Mohammad Hussain-al-Amin [sic], the Grand Mufti of Jerusalem, arrived in Bombay, on Monday from Agra. The deputation was given a very cordial reception at Victoria Terminus by prominent Muslim leaders of Bombay including Mr Shaukat Ali of the Central Khilafat Committee.”

The Times of India noted on 24 October, 1933, that Shaukat Ali issued an appeal to the Muslims of India, calling upon them to observe 16 November that year as Palestine Day. “We should show our active sympathies with our Arab brethren and collect money under proper control so that we may help the Arabs in the purchase of land, which the Jews want to buy. Protest meetings and processions should be organised throughout India,” he wrote.

This marked the beginning of the tradition of celebrating Palestine Day in India, a practice that continued in the following years. Notably, in 1936, 19 June was the day chosen, and the matter was even discussed in the UK Parliament. In 1937, Palestine Day was celebrated across India on 3 September, and in 1938, it was marked on 28 August.

Maulana Shaukat Ali was one of those who boycotted the Simon Commission in 1928. He attended the first and second Round Conferences in London, and was elected a member of the Central Legislative Assembly in British-ruled India in 1934, serving until 1938. During his tenure, he raised the issue of Palestine numerous times in the assembly. According to a report published in the Times of India on 15 September, 1936, he raised a question in the Legislative Assembly on the day before regarding Palestine.

“Will the Home Member,” he asked, “tell us whether the land there [in Palestine] is capable of accommodating 400,000 Jews instead of the 60,000 Jews who have come in and whether the former High Commissioner and Lord Passfield, when Secretary of State for the Colonies, had to resign on this account because they knew that there was no room for these Jews unless an injustice was done to the Arabs?”

The Home Member, Sir Henry Craik, replied: “Neither of those questions arise out of any answer I have given. Both parts deal with questions for which the Government of India is in no way responsible. They contain inferences.”

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Shaukat Ali asked again: “Is there any chance of law and order being established if the Arabs know that they will be wiped out in the interests of the Jews and that the mandate is being run more in the interests of foreign Jews than in the interests of the original inhabitants of Palestine?” In response, Craik said simply, “That is clearly a hypothetical question.”

Maulana Shaukat Ali remained a steadfast champion of Palestine’s freedom and cause until his death.

His unwavering commitment is evident in numerous letters and documents from that time, which stand as a testament to his relentless efforts, despite many challenges. When he passed away on 26 November, 1938, he left behind a lasting legacy of dedication to Palestine’s liberation.

After his unexpected death, a wave of mourning spread across India. Shops remained closed in Delhi and all major cities across the country. Thousands of people participated in his funeral prayer. Rich tributes were paid to his memory in the Central Assembly and the Uttar Pradesh Assembly, both of which then adjourned without transacting the business on their agenda. Leading persons all over the country, belonging to all shades of opinion, expressed sorrow and grief at Shaukat Ali’s sad demise, and recalled his great qualities as a leader.

“One by one the brave old comrades in our fight for freedom [from British rule] pass away and Maulana Shaukat Ali was one of the bravest of these,” Jawaharlal Nehru told Associated Press. “Together with Maulana Mohammad Ali, he became the emblem of a new spirit for freedom among the Muslims of India and in the great days of non-cooperation, 18 years ago, his towering figure became familiar in every nook and corner of India.”

Maulana Shaukat’s death deeply shocked Mahatma Gandhi as well. While paying tribute to him, he wrote in his newspaper Harijan: “[D]eep down in the Maulana was the same longing for peace for which he used to speak and work eloquently during the Khilafat days.”

The Arab world was also deeply shocked by his death. Egypt’s Allouba Pasha, who was in London at the time to attend a parliamentary conference organised for the defence of Palestine and was leading the Arab delegation, sent a cable to M.A. Jinnah saying, “The Muslim world mourns with India the sad demise of the great fighter, Maulana Shaukat Ali.”

Exactly 47 days before his death, at the All India Muslim Leaders’ meeting, Maulana Shaukat Ali appealed fervently to the Muslims to wake up, and regain what they had lost by disunity among themselves. He urged them to get ready for a fight in defence of Islam, declaring that, if required, he would be the first man to fight on a battlefield to defend his religion and culture.

This was a warning to the Britisher colonial power that he was willing to die for Palestine or Makkah and Madinah.

Maulana Shaukat Ali’s efforts inspired a strong sense of solidarity and passion for the Palestinian cause among the Indian people, particularly Indian Muslims, a sentiment that continues to resonate to this day. He was laid to rest near the Jama Masjid in Delhi, India’s capital, where his memory endures as a symbol of his lifelong commitment to justice and the rights of the Palestinian people.

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Afroz Alam Sahil is an Indian journalist and author. Afshan Khan is a PhD candidate in Political Science and International Relations at Istanbul Sabahattin Zaim University.