Who among the following were prominent leaders of the ‘Khilafat Movement’?

Option A is correct. The Khilafat Movement (1919-1924) protested the break-up of the Ottoman Caliphate after the First World War, especially the harsh terms imposed on Turkey through the Treaty of Sèvres. Its two most prominent leaders were the Ali brothers, Maulana Mohammad Ali Jauhar and Shaukat Ali. They built the Central Khilafat Committee and pushed the agitation into a mass movement, which Gandhi then linked to Non-Cooperation.

• Option B: Jinnah was not a Khilafat leader. He was with the Muslim League and opposed the Non-Cooperation route of the agitation.
• Option C: Azad and Kidwai were associated with the cause, but they were not its defining pair. Azad's prominence rests mainly on his Congress and nationalist role.
• Option D: Kidwai was a regional worker in the movement, not a top national leader, so this pairing fails.

Core concept: a pan-Islamic grievance merged with Gandhian mass politics. This is central to the Hindu-Muslim unity and Non-Cooperation theme in Mains GS-1 modern history.

Trap: Aspirants pick C because Azad is a famous name, or pick B because Jinnah is a famous Muslim leader of the period. Check who actually led the Khilafat agitation, not who was prominent in the same decade.