KARACHi  -   November 2 marks 147th Birth Anniversary of Sir Sultan Muhammad Shah Aga Khan, an active Muslim leader during the pre-independence era who played a crucial role in the independence movement.

His unparalleled affiliation with Sir Syed Ahmed Khan inspired him to work for the betterment of the Muslims of the Subcontinent and he joined the politics of subcontinent at a very young age. The dynamic Muslim leader Sir Sultan Muhammad Shah Aga Khan was born on 2 November 1877 to Aga Shah Ali Shah an eminent religious figure of the Subcontinent and 47th Spiritual leader of Shia Imami Ismaili Muslims. After the death of his father he succeeded him as the 49th spiritual leader of the Ismaili sect at a young age of 7 years. Sir Aga Khan, with his vast experience and personality of international stature, proved to be a responsible and productive mediator between the western world and the leaders of the subcontinent.

At the age of 25 he was appointed as a member of the Imperial Legislative Council. As an advocate of Muslims’ rights at the global level, he worked to improve the quality of life of Muslims in the subcontinent. He brought political awareness among Muslims by leading the Simla deputation and later on being instrumental in forming the All India Muslim League and was unanimously appointed its first president. As a farsighted and devoted leader he was able to detect the key reasons of Hindu dominance in the subcontinent and downfall of Muslims. He believed as a leader that education and unity would change the fate of Muslims of the subcontinent and for that he took resolute efforts to establish Aligarh Muslim University and was unanimously appointed its first Chancellor. Addressing the annual session of the Muslims Educational Conference in 1904 in Bombay, he said: “The far-sighted among the Muslims of India desire a university where the standard of learning should be the highest and where alongside scientific training there shall be moral education, that serves as the constant reminder of the eternal difference between right and wrong, which is the soul of education. I earnestly beg of you that the cause of University should not be forgotten in the shouts of the marketplace that daily rise among us.”  In 1911, the Aga Khan was nominated as the Chairman of the Funds Collection Committee and he took upon himself the task of collecting funds to establish the University. He announced a personal donation of Rs 100,000, and the committee headed by him visited many cities of India, collecting funds for the University. His abilities as a political figure were also recognised in the western world and he was admired by noted leaders of the world. Keeping in view his vast political experience he was elected President of the leagues of Nation. Sir Sultan Muhammad Shah vividly advocated voting rights of Muslim women and campaigned for their education. During the 20th century he noted a sizable amount of money for opening the department of Islamic studies and research in various western Universities.  After independence when the language crisis was sprouting he proposed that Arabic should be made the national language of Pakistan because it would strengthen our ties with Muslim countries and the issue of Language would be resolved once for all. In the initial days, Pakistan was under an acute crisis, but at that time Sir Sultan Mohammad Shah paid a sizable amount of money to the Pakistan Government for procuring Gwadar port that Oman was going to sell to India in case of Pakistan’s denial to purchase it. He passed away on 11th July 1957. Decades after his death his Grandson Prince Karim Aga Khan and his family continues to serve Muslim countries including Pakistan, Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Indonesia.