The study of the Khilafat movement has undergone a number of metamophoses. Khilafat movement was started by the with research for a master’s thesis, during which I became intrigued by a number of problems not adequately covered by the available sources in English. It progressed through years of research and writing to emerge as a doctoral dissertation for the Department of South Asia Regional Studies at the University of Pennsylvania. Subsequent years of teaching, rethinking, and rewriting have led to the book in its present form. The standard interpretation of the Khilafat movement emphasizes its international aspect, focusing on the Indian Muslims’ pan-Islamic sympathies for the Ottoman sultan-caliph following the defeat of Turkey in World War I.