The British ruled over the greater part of the Indian subcontinent, extending to the borders of Afghanistan, Nepal, and China by 1930. There were large communities of Ismailis in the provinces of Gujarat and Kutch, the Khyber villages of Chitral, Gilgit, and Hunza Valley (now in northern Pakistan), and the cities of Bombay, Poona, and Rangoon (Burma); they spoke different languages and pursued diverse occupations including merchants, civil servants, farmers, and journalists.
The literary activities of the Ismailis included the publication of magazines such as Ismaili Sitara and Bombay Ismaili, written for the community in Gujarati, Sindhi, and English, but widely circulated. These magazines featured articles on various topics including health tips, practical advice, wisdom literature, and stories.
During the early twentieth century, Imam Sir Sultan Mahomed Shah Aga Khan III developed organization structures for all these communities similar to those he had set out for the Ismaili communities in East Africa, emphasizing education and involvement in civic duties.
Imam’s pursuit of his educational vision was not restricted to the Ismaili community; he was instrumental in transforming the Muhammadan Anglo-Oriental College at Aligarh into a leading University. He welcomed the proposal to establish the Hindu University of Benares, and supported the creation of the Gordon Memorial College in Sudan, which later evolved into the University of Khartoum.*
The education of the indigenous non-Ismaili Muslims of Africa was also of deep concern to the Imam. “Their educational backwardness ill prepared them for economic, social, cultural or political progress. In an evocative address to the East African Muslim Conference at Mombasa, Kenya in 1945, he threw down an earnest challenge to the well-to-do non-indigenous Muslims. Outlining a plan of action to avert tragedy, he pledged to contribute a pound for every pound that non-Ismaili Muslims donated.”*
Imam Sultan Mahomed Shah founded the East African Muslim Welfare Society that aimed to improve the living standards of the Muslims in Africa through education and social welfare initiatives including the establishment of Mombasa Institute of Muslim Education (today known as Mombasa Polytechnic), the first post-secondary institution for Muslims in coastal East Africa. “By the time of his death in July 1957, the East African Muslim Welfare Society had built many scores of schools, mosques, health clinics and a higher education polytechnic in East Africa largely as a result of his generosity and continuing advice.”*
In 1951, Imam made his first and only visit to Persia (now Iran), his ancestral home, and met the Jamat in Mahallat. The strengthening of the Ismaili communities in terms of religious and social well-being remained the prime focus of Imam’s work in his final years. In 1952, he called a conference of councillors from East Africa at Evian in France, to discuss their future needs, resulting in the revised constitution of 1954. In the same year, he published his autobiography, Memoirs of Aga Khan: World Enough and Time (London, 1954).
Having guided the Ismaili community in spiritual matters, and having worked tirelessly to modernize the community with high standards of education, health, social well-being, as well as improving the educational and social needs of other communities, Imam Sultan Mahomed Shah passed away on July 11, 1957 at his villa near Geneva. He was buried in a permanent mausoleum at Aswan, overlooking the Nile in Egypt, the seat of the Fatimid Caliph-Imams. He stipulated in his will that owing to the changing conditions of the world the Ismailis would be better served if their next Imam were a person brought up and educated in more recent times. He designated his grandson as his successor to the Imamat.
References:
*The Ismaili Imamat: Contemporary Period, The Institute of Ismaili Studies (Accessed August 2015)
Farhad Daftary, Zulfikar Hirji, The Ismailis An Illustrated History, Azimuth Editions in association with The Institute of Ismaili Studies (Accessed August 2015)
Compiled by Nimira Dewji
Ismailimail 