# XXXVI: The Khilafat Against Cow Protection? explained — The Story of My Experiments with Truth

> Chapter companion for The Story of My Experiments with Truth by Mahatma Gandhi.

## What happens

Gandhi attends a joint Hindu-Muslim conference in Delhi to discuss the Khilafat question. He argues against linking the Khilafat issue with cow protection, insisting each be considered on its own merits. He also opposes mixing the Punjab question with the Khilafat. At the conference, he introduces the concept of 'noncooperation' for the first time, advocating withholding cooperation from the government if it betrays the Khilafat cause. He debates Maulana Hasrat Mohani over the boycott of British goods, successfully arguing for a broader Swadeshi vow and nonviolence.

## Themes in this chapter

### Religion and Interfaith Dialogue

Gandhi advocates for Hindu-Muslim unity by separating the Khilafat and cow protection issues, urging mutual respect without bargaining.

### Nonviolence and Satyagraha

Gandhi presents his viewpoint of nonviolence at the conference and introduces noncooperation as a form of nonviolent resistance.

### Social Justice and Anti-Colonialism

The chapter addresses the Khilafat betrayal and the broader struggle against British injustice, linking it to the right to withhold cooperation.

## Character check-ins

### Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi

Attends the Delhi conference, argues against mixing Khilafat and cow protection, introduces the term 'noncooperation', and debates boycott strategies.

### Hakim Ajmal Khan

Co-signatory of the invitation to the conference; discussed the Khilafat and cow protection issues with Gandhi.

### Swami Shraddhanandji

Vice-president of the conference; appreciated Gandhi's argument to separate the Khilafat and cow protection questions.

### Maulana Hasrat Mohani

Present at the conference; proposed boycott of British goods and debated with Gandhi; described as a fighter.

### Abdulla Sheth

Not directly mentioned in this chapter; omitted.

## Key lines

> I did not like this reference to the cow question. In my letter in reply to the invitation, therefore, whilst promising to do my best to attend, I suggested that the two questions should not be mixed up together or considered in the spirit of a bargain, but should be decided on their own merits and treated separately.

Gandhi objected to linking the Khilafat and cow protection issues, arguing they should be addressed independently rather than as a trade-off.

_Gandhi's principled stance against bargaining in interfaith matters._

> At last I described it by the word 'noncooperation,' an expression that I used for the first time at this meeting.

Gandhi coined the term 'noncooperation' during this conference to describe withholding support from the government.

_First public use of the term that became central to the independence movement._

> If the Khilafat question had a just and legitimate basis, as I believe it had, and if the Government had really committed a gross injustice, the Hindus were bound to stand by the Mussalmans in their demand for the redress of the Khilafat wrong.

Gandhi argued that Hindus should support Muslims on the Khilafat issue because it was a matter of justice, not as a bargain for cow protection.

_Emphasizes moral support over transactional politics._

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_story_of_my_experiments_with_truth_se/chapters/part-v-xxxvi-the-khilafat-against-cow-protection
- Book: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_story_of_my_experiments_with_truth_se
- All chapters: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_story_of_my_experiments_with_truth_se/chapters