Forum Pakistan

Aga Khan
(also: Agha Khan; aga is a Turkic word for elder brother, master; Khan is a Turkic word derived from the Mongolian haqan, hagan meaning ruler, master) A hereditary title for the *Ismaili spiritual leader, the word came to be used in Iran in the first half of the 19th century as a shortened name of the forty-sixth Ismaili imam, Agha Hasan Ali Shah (d. 1881). He served at the court of the Iranian Shah, Fath Ali Shah Qajar (17971834). Aga Khan was married to the shah's daughter and occupied important government posts (such as governor of Qum). In 1838, accompanied by numerous followers, he left Iran to travel through Afghanistan and *Sindh. He settled in Bombay in what was then *British India. After his death, the title of Aga Khan passed on to his son, the forty-seventh imam, Aga Khan II Aga Ali Shah (d. 1885). It was later transferred to his grandson, the forty-eighth imam, * Aga Khan ill Sultan Muhammad Shah (d. 1975), and then on to the forty-ninth imam, * Aga Khan IV Prince Karim Aga (1936-).

BIBLIOGRAPHY: M.D. Naoroji, A Brief History of Aga Khan, Bombay, 1903; A.Sh. Iqbal, The Prince Aga Khan: An Authentic Life Story, London, 1933.

Aga Khan III, Sultan Muhammad Shah, Prince Sir (1877-1957)
Religious Leader. The forty-eighth hereditary spiri tual leader of the Ismailis, he succeeded his father to the *Ismaili Imamate in 1885 and was awarded the title 'His Highness' by the British authorities in 1886. Aga Khan III was a member of the Imperial Legislative Council under the Viceroy Lord Minto (1906), and Prince Sir Sultan Muhammad president of the * All-India Shah.

Muslim League from 1907 to 1912. He became Vice-Chancellor of the Muslim University in Aligarh in 1921 and took part in the *Round Table Conference (1932) in London and the World Conference on Disarmament in Geneva in the same year. He was a member of the British Privy Council in 1934. In 1937, he became president of the League of Nations Assembly.
Among the many honours bestowed upon him are Commander of the Order of the Indian Empire, the Stars of India, Victoria, St Michael, and St George. He had two sons, Prince Ali Khan and Prince Sadruddin Khan.

WORKS: 'India in Transition', London-Bombay, 1918; 'The Memoirs of Aga Khan: World Enough and Time', London,
1954.

Aga Khan IV, Karim Al-Hussaini, Prince (1936-)
Religious Leader. The forty-ninth hereditary spiritual leader of the *Ismailis, he was the son of Prince Ali Khan, the elder son of * Aga Khan ill Sultan Muhammad Shah and the Princess Tajudaullah, daughter of Lord Churston.
Aga Khan IV graduated from Harvard University, USA (1957). On his initiative, the Industrial Promotion Service of Pakistan (1966) and the International Aga Khan Foundation (1983) were founded. The latter institution and its related institutions are responsible for promoting and funding a number of outstanding social, educational and philanthropic projects in Pakistan. He has founded the Aga Khan University and Medical Centre in Karachi as a centre of excellence, as well as health care projects in different parts of the country. His titles include: His Highness, granted by Queen Elizabeth II in 1957; and His Imperial Highness, granted by the Shah of Iran in 1959.