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Aga Khan,
Pronunciation: [ä´gä khän]
the title of the religious leader and imam of the Ismaili
Nizari sect of Islam, originally bestowed by the Persian shah Fath
Ali on Hasan Ali Shah (1800–81), the 46th Ismaili imam, in 1818. The
first Aga Khan was also appointed as the governor of the province of
Kirman, a position he lost as a result of political intrigues
following Fath Ali's death. In 1839, he moved to India where he
aided the British during the first Anglo-Afghan war (1839–42) and in
the conquest of Sind (1842–43). He was succeeded by his eldest son
Ali Shah, Aga Khan II, who died in 1885. In turn, his son, Sultan
Muhammad (1877–1957), assumed the title of Aga Khan III, and played
an instrumental role in attempting to secure Muslim support for the
British rule of India. A founder of the All-India Muslim League
(later the Muslim
League), he served as its president between 1909 and 1914. His
visibility in international circles increased when he served as the
chairman of the British Indian delegation to the imperial conference
in London in 1930–31. He also represented India at the Geneva
disarmament conference (1932) and in the League of Nations (1932,
1934–37), where he was president of the General Assembly (1937).
Later he played a significant role in the movement to establish the
Muslim state of Pakistan. He was succeded by his grandson, Prince
Karim (1937–), who assumed the title Aga Khan IV and devoted a
substantial part of the wealth of the Ismaili community to
development projects in countries with a significant Ismaili
population. His uncle, Prince Sadruddin, was UN High Commissioner
for Refugees (1965–77), and has been active in other international
humanitarian causes.
Bibliography:
See The Collected Works of Aga Khan
III (1991); Willi Frischauer, The Aga Khans (1970).