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Remembering good leaders
Sir Sultan
Mahomed Shah Aga Khan III
By Khwaja Hussain Bux
His Royal Highness Sir Sultan Mahomed Shah Aga Khan III was one
of those Muslim stalwarts who believed in Islam as a global
religion and who worked ceaselessly for its triumph and glory
throughout their lives. He had always been passionately
interested in promoting unity and understanding among Muslims
all over the world and contributed immensely to the social,
cultural, political, economic and educational development of the
ummah. In studying his services to Islam and the Muslims in
general and that of the Indo-Pak subcontinent
in particular, one would find that the most remarkable and
distinguished aspect of his work is his untiring efforts to
unite the Muslim community, irrespective of their geographical,
political, sectarian or denominational differences and
affiliations.
HRH Sir Sultan Mahomed Shah Aga Khan III (1877-1957) was born in
Karachi on November 2, 1877 and became the 48th Imam and
spiritual leader of the Ismaili community at the young age of
eight years (in 1885), after the sad demise of his father Aga
Ali Shah. The title of His Highness had been bestowed upon him
at the age of nine years. It was a clear pointer to the fact
that he was held in high esteem by both the government and the
people of the country.
Under the guidance of his wise mother, His Highness Aga Khan
received careful educational training and within a few years he
was able to read and write with perfect ease in the languages he
was learning. He made remarkable progress in both Eastern and
Western literature and in the knowledge of ancient and modern
history. The languages specially studied by him included
Persian, Arabic, English and French. He also acquired
proficiency on philosophy and theology.
In 1898, at the age of 21, Prince Aga Khan made his first trip
to the West. He was received in London with great honour by the
prime minister, the secretary of state and other elite leaders
in the British Kingdom. Queen Victoria invited him to dine with
her and stay at the Windsor Castle. During her coronation
ceremony, she made Prince Aga Khan to sit to her right, on the
seat reserved for the highest religious personality in the
British Kingdom.
After the demise of Sir Syed Ahmed and Nawab Mohsinul Mulk, the
mantle of leadership of the Muslims of India fell upon the
shoulders of Prince Aga Khan and it was his selfless service,
which built upon the unorganised Muslim community in the
sub-continent into a powerful force in the political life of the
country. His great influence and prestige among the British
proved a very helpful asset in the cause of Muslim standpoint
being understood and appreciated by the foreign rulers.
Prince Aga Khan laid the foundation of separate nationhood of
the Indian Muslims as early as 1906. It was mainly due to his
efforts that the All-India Muslim League came into existence in
1906. He was voted permanent president of the Muslim League and
occupied this post for seven years from 1906 to 1913.
Sir Sultan Mahomed Shah Aga Khan III played a pivotal role in
making the Pakistan Movement a success by inculcating political
awareness among the Muslims of the sub-continent. He strived
hard for cultural renaissance, social regeneration and political
rehabilitation of the Muslims. He rendered invaluable services
and worked in league with other Muslim leaders to further the
cause of Muslim identity by constitutional means.
Aga Khan soon realised that the main cause of the political
backwardness of the Muslims was due to lack of education, and to
spread education among Muslims became the most important part of
his life’s mission. Sir Syed Ahmed Khan had started the great
Aligarh Movement, and in it, Aga Khan believed, laid the
salvation of the future of Muslims. In 1902, because of devoted
services to the cause of Muslim education, Sir Sultan Mahomed
Shah became a member of the Imperial Legislative Council and he
was asked to preside over the Mohammadan Education Conference
held in Delhi.
In 1911, the Aga Khan took upon himself the task of collecting
funds to start the Aligarh University. A year earlier in reply
to an address of welcome by the trustee of the Mohammadan Anglo
Oriental College (MAO), he said he would undertake the
responsibility to “build a mighty university worthy of Islam in
India”. He increased the annual grant that he had been giving to
the college for the last many years, and promised to contribute
a substantial amount to the university funds. He donated money
in cash for scholarships to the most deserving students for
foreign studies, which the trustees named “Aga Khan Foreign
Scholarship”.
At the Round Table Conference, the Muslim leadership was
entrusted to His Highness, the Aga Khan. He performed his duty
remarkably well, and with his suavity of manners and tact, and
general attitude of helpfulness kept the Muslim team solidly
together – which was an invisible contrast to the many and
discordant voices, which spoke from the other camp. (Makers of
Pakistan: Al Biruni p207)
The congress sent MK Gandhi as their sole representative to the
Second Round Table Conference. During all these protracted
deliberations, the Aga Khan rose to great heights as a political
leader of consummate skill, a patient and skillful negotiator, a
gifted and foresighted statesman. Commenting on his works as the
leader of the Muslims at the Round Table Conference, Dr Shafat
Ahmed Khan wrote in 1932, “The Aga Khan is the greatest Muslim
leader in Asia.”
On December 15, 1932, the National League held a meeting in
London in Committee Room No 10 of the Parliament building. In
this meeting Allama Iqbal, speaking on the Aga Khan at the Round
Table Conference, said, “We have placed these demands before the
conference under the guidance of His Highness the Aga Khan, that
worthy of statesman whom we all admire and whom the Muslims of
India love for the blood that runs through his veins.” (Letters
and writings of Iqbal: BA Dar, Iqbal Academy, Karachi 1967, p72)
In short, the Aga Khan had championed the cause of Muslims of
the world throughout his life. He was totally dedicated to Islam
– in mind, body and soul. This extraordinary personality of the
Muslim world passed his last days in his Villa Barkat, at the
Varsoix on the lake of Geneva and breathed his last on July 11,
1957 and was laid to eternal rest at Aswan in Egypt. We can pay
real tribute to the memory of this great leader of the Muslim
world by making Pakistan stronger and prosperous. In one of his
messages he had identified Pakistan as “the rising star of
Islam” and wished the future of the country as bright. He had
invoked the young nation to forge closer unity and eschew
internal violence. Let us live up to his ideals and convert
Pakistan into a fortress of Islam. This we can ensure only by
defending the ideological frontiers of this country and evolving
as a truly Islamic welfare state free from hunger, poverty and
disease.
--Daily Times, 02 Nov 10.
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