Mumbai, September 10, 2026: A 120-bed multi-speciality hospital is set to come up at Khilafat House in Byculla, but the redevelopment has raised concerns among some members of the Muslim community over the future of the historic site and a grave inside the compound believed by some to be that of Begum Maulana Mohamed Ali Johar.
The All India Khilafat Committee (AIKC), which owns the property, has denied any move to remove the grave. However, its chairperson, Sarfaraz Arzu, said the committee was seeking religious guidance on how the grave should be dealt with as part of the redevelopment.
Khilafat Movement History
The Khilafat Movement was a political movement launched by Indian Muslims between 1919 and 1924 to protect the Ottoman Caliphate, which was then regarded by many Muslims as the centre of the Islamic world. Mahatma Gandhi supported the movement and sought to integrate it with the wider struggle for India's independence.
Senior journalist Saeed Hameed alleged that the proposed redevelopment would erase the memory of one of the founders of the Khilafat Movement. “The first trustees of the Khilafat Committee decided to bury her in the compound of the headquarters and obtained special permission from the municipal corporation for that. The current members of the trust have not followed the will left by the founder trustees,” he said.
Shuaib Khatib, a former trustee of Jama Masjid, also expressed reservations about the project.
Committee Seeks Religious Guidance
Arzu said the proposed hospital would be owned by the AIKC and operated by GHC Hospitals. He said the committee had been seeking fatwas from religious scholars on the treatment of the grave.
“We have several options, either to shift the grave or inter the remains deeper in the ground and erect a block over it. Anyway, after the setback for the road to the municipal corporation, the grave will be on the roadside. We cannot leave it on the footpath. We are in the process of getting a fatwa from the Jama Masjid on the religious requirements for the grave,” Arzu said.
Arzu also disputed the claim that the grave belonged to Begum Maulana Mohamed Ali Johar. “There is no authentic record about the burial, but the grave is secure,” he said.
Hospital Plans And Heritage Concerns
Dr Zainulabedin Hamdulay, chairman and director of GHC Hospitals, said the Khilafat Committee already runs a teacher-training college on the premises. He also denied that a historic building had been demolished to make way for the hospital.
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“Most of the buildings inside the compound are new. The old printing press run by the Khilafat Committee is not there anymore. The hospital will be useful for training medical personnel and the local community will benefit from the facility,” Hamdulay said.
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