Countdown to Diamond Jubilee – Snapshots of Imamat – 1978 to 1982

1978 to 1982
Mawlana Hazar Imam
established

• the joint Aga Khan Programme for Islamic Architecture at Harvard and Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) (1979).
• Aga Khan Planning and Building Services, Pakistan (1980).
• Aga Khan Foundation Bangladesh (1980).
• Aga Khan Foundation Canada (1980).
• Industrial Promotion and Development Company Ltd of Bangladesh (IPDC) (1981)
• the IPS project, Societe Ivoirienne de Prefabriques et D’accessories Industriels (SIPACCA) in Abidjan, Cote D’Ivoire (1982).
• Aga Khan Rural Support Programme in Northern Pakistan (1982).

presided over

• the first seminar of the Aga Khan Award for Architecture at Aiglemont (1978).
• the foundation stone ceremony of the Ismaili Centre, London performed by Lord Soames (1979).
• the first M.I.S. meeting held in Aiglemont (1979).
• the presentation of the first awards of the Aga Khan Award for Architecture at Shalimar Gardens, Lahore, Pakistan (1980). Speech at AKDN.
• fifth international seminar of the Aga Khan Award for Architecture in Amman, Jordan (1980), the sixth seminar  in Beijing, China (1981), and the seventh seminar in Dakar, Senegal (1982).
• the inauguration of the Aga Khan School of Nursing in Karachi by President Zia ul-Haq (1981).
• the unveiling of the plaque to launch the expansion of the programmes and services at Aga Khan Hospital Dar-es Salaam – a Silver Jubilee project (1982). Speech at AKDN.
• the foundation ceremony of the Ismaili Centre Burnaby, Canada (1982), the first purpose-built, permanent Jamatkhana in North America, a Silver Jubilee project.
• foundation ceremony for the extension of the Aga Khan Medical Centre, Kisumu, Kenya (1982), a Silver Jubilee Project.

addressed

• the Asia Society in New York on The Physical Structure of Islam (1979). Speech at AKDN.
• delegates at the United Nations Development Programme in New York on a special presentation of the Aga Khan Award for Architecture (1980).
• the 30^th General Assembly of the International Press Institute in Nairobi (1981). Speech at AKDN.
• the opening session (keynote address) of the AKF/WHO conference in Islamabad, Pakistan on The Role of Hospitals in Primary Health Care (1981). Speech at AKDN.
• the inaugural session of the Enabling Environment Conference, Nairobi, Kenya (1982). Speech at AKDN.
• Kenyan social institutions in national development. Speech at AKDN.
• guests at several events organised to commemorate Imam’s Silver Jubilee in Kenya, Tanzania, India, and Pakistan. 

   

  signed

• an agreement between Aga Khan University and McMaster University in Hamilton, Canada, establishing a four-year programme for nurses to teach at the Aga Khan School of Nursing, Karachi (1979).
• a contract for the construction of the main complex of the Aga Khan Hospital and Medical University, Karachi (1980).
• a contract with Allied Medical Group of the United Kingdom for equipment for the Aga Khan Hospital and Medical College, Karachi (1981).
• a Memorandum of Agreement between the Aga Khan Foundation and Harvard University to mutually co-operate in the health and medical education initiatives of the developing countries (1981).
• an agreement in Aiglemont between Diamond Trust of Kenya Ltd, the International Finance Corporation (an affiliate of the World Bank), and Samuel Montagu – a leading merchant bank in London, UK – for the expansion of activities of the Diamond Trust of Kenya Ltd (1982).

visited

• India, stopping at various academic institutions (1978).
• China, with Prince Amyn, for a ten-day tour (1981).
• Pakistan to review the construction of the Aga Khan Hospital and Medical College (1981).
• Bangladesh, meeting with several government officials (1983).

visited Jamat in

• Canada (1978), Australia and New Zealand (1979) for the first time.
• Bangladesh (1979), Ivory Coast (1979).
• Pakistan (1981).

Global leaders of Ismaili institutions paid homage at Aiglemont on the Silver Jubilee of Mawlana Hazar Imam’s ascension to the Imamat.

Silver Jubilee visits with Jamat

• Kenya, Tanzania, USA

Other Events
Mawlana Hazar Imam

• was interviewed by The Globe & Mail and CTV network in Toronto, Canada (1978).
• pledged $1 million to the Institute of Islamic Studies, McGill University, Montreal, Canada (1980).
• met with President Milton Obote  in Kampala to discuss the Expropriated Properties Bill, which provided the legal framework for the return of properties expropriated in 1972 when Asian were expelled by Idi Amin (1982). UPI
• met with Muslim leaders in Mombasa, Kenya, to discuss their request for Imam’s assistance with their children’s education (1982).

For titles and honours bestowed upon Mawlana Hazar Imam, visit AKDN or view the matrix.

Working aboard a plane. Photo: 25 Years in Pictures

With President Zia-ul-Haq, Pakistan, 1980. Photo: 25 Years in Pictures

With Prime Minister Indira Gandhi and Vice President Hidayatullah, India, 1980. Photo: 25 years in Pictures

With President Daniel Arap Moi, Kenya, 1981. Photo: 25 Years in Pictures

With Vice Premier Gu Mu, China, 1981. Photo: 25 Years in Pictures

With the Imam of the X’ian Mosque, China, 1981. Photo: 25 Years in Pictures

Selected World Events: 1978 to 1982

• First “test-tube baby” was born in Great Britain, through the in-vitro fertilisation procedure (1978).
• Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol (TCP/IP) was designed (1978) and in 1983 it became the standard for communicating between computers over the Internet.
• Sony marketed the Walkman, the first portable stereo (1979).
• The first commercially automated cellular network (the 1G generation) was launched in Japan by NTT (1979).
• AIDS was recognised as a disease (1981). The virus was isolated in 1983 and was ultimately named the Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV).
• The second launch of 1G networks was the simultaneous launch of the Nordic Mobile Telephone (NMT) system in Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden (1981). NMT was the first mobile phone network featuring international roaming.
• Compact disc(CD) was introduced (1982).
• The noise-free compacts discs was introduced (1982).

Sources:
The Ismaili Canada, various issues
Ilm, Vol. 6, No. 3
Hikmat, December 1986
25 Years in Pictures

Compiled by Nimira Dewji

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