138th birth anniversary: Sir Aga Khan III today 2nd November 2018

2^nd November, 2018: The birth anniversary of Sir Sultan Mahomed Shah, Aga Khan III is being observed today. Sir Aga Khan III was the 48^th hereditary Imam of the Shia Ismaili Muslims. He was born in Karachi in 1877 and dedicated his entire life to the cause of Islam. He will always be remembered as one of the most distinguished and well-reputed leaders and diplomats during Pakistan’s freedom movement. Sir Aga Khan, with his vast experience and personality of an international stature, proved to be a responsible and productive mediator between the western world and the leaders of the subcontinent.

From every platform, he advocated free, universal, practically oriented primary education; improved secondary schools for Muslims, and a generous provision of government and private scholarships to enable talented Muslim students to study abroad. During the 20^th century, he established more than 200 schools in Asia and Africa. The first Aga Khan School was established by Sir Aga Khan in 1905 in Gwadar. Today, there are over 160 Aga Khan Schools all across Pakistan catering to nearly 40,000 students. It was in pursuit of his educational vision, that the Aga Khan successfully dedicated himself to the project of transforming the Muhammadan Anglo-Oriental College at Aligarh into a leading Asian University. He envisaged Aligarh University as “an intellectual and moral capital” for Muslims, a university which would “preach the gospel of free inquiry, of large-hearted toleration and of pure morality”. In recognition of his tireless commitment to the cause of educational development, in 1902 he was, at a young age of 25, unanimously nominated as a member of the Imperial Legislative Council by the viceroy, Lord Curzon.

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. To safeguard the interests of the Indian Muslims, the Aga Khan led a long and successful campaign for separate Muslim representation in the Indian legislature.