The Aga Khan III paid his first visit to East African countries in 1317/1899, where the Sultan of Zanzibar granted him the title of Brilliant Star of Zanzibar. On his second visit to Europe in 1900, the Aga Khan III held a meeting with Muzaffaruddin Shah Qajar (1313-1324/1896-1907) of Iran in Paris, who awarded him the title of Shamsul Hamayun or Star of Persia. He had also a meeting with Turkish Sultan Abdul Hamid II in Istanbul, who granted him the title of Star of Turkey. The German emperor Kaiser William II also awarded the title of First Class Prussian Order of the Royal Crown at Potsdam.
On January 22, 1901, the Queen Victoria expired, therefore, the Aga Khan III attended the funeral at London on February 2, 1901. He was the personal guest of emperor Edward VII at his coronation in August 2, 1902, who promoted the Aga Khan from the rank of Knight (K.C.I.E.) to that of Grand Commander of the Order of Indian Empire (G.C.I.E.). He returned to India in November, 1902. The viceroy of India, Lord Curzon appointed him to a seat of his Legislative Council of India.

In 1316/1898, the Aga Khan III set out from Bombay on his first journey to Europe, and visited France and Britain, where he had an audience with Queen Victoria at Windsor Palace. In the state banquet at Windsor Palace, he was sitting next to the Queen on her right side. No ruling prince from India who held great temporal power would have been treated with greater honour and respect like the Aga Khan. He was invested the honourable title of Knight Commander of the Indian Empire (K.C.I.E.). He also met the future king Edward VII. The 'Saint Gazette' (London, dated July 22, 1898) published the following report to this effect:-
'Her Majesty Queen Victoria had held a Levy, which was attended by Consuls of all countries, and His Highness the Aga Khan was also invited at the occasion. When the Aga Khan went there, the Queen herself went to receive him at the door and welcomed him with great respects and made him sit on the Throne of their Pope. As soon as the Aga Khan sat on the Throne, the Queen said to all the Consuls, 'What is the reason of your surprise, and what you all are thinking of?' The Consuls replied, 'Upto now, many Indian Kings have come to Europe, but you have given more honours to Aga Khan, and even made him sit on the Throne of our Pope; what is the reason of this?' The Queen in reply said, 'You are all wise, prudent and learned, and you know better than I the reason of this. In short, I must tell you that we have never seen our religious leader Jesus Christ, and without doubt, the Aga Khan is our same leader, and considering this, I have made him sit on our Pope's Throne.' On hearing this, all Consuls were greatly surprised, and wired to their respective countries about the above fact. Consequently, the Rulers of France, Germany, Italy, Belgium etc. sent telegrams to Aga Khan from all over, requesting him to give them honour of visiting their countries, which the Aga Khan accepted.'

Shamsul Mulk, the daughter of Mirza Ali Muhammad Nizam ad-Dawla, the grandson of Muhammad Hussain Khan Ispahani, the Prime Minister of Shah Fateh Ali Qajar (d. 1250/1834) of Iran; was born in Ispahan. Khurshid Kulah, the mother of Shamsul Mulk was the daughter of Shah Fateh Ali through one of his queens, Taj ad-Dawla Ispahani by name. Lady Ali Shah was thus related to the Iranian royal family through her mother. Queen Taj ad-Dawla was educated under the care of Motamid ad-Dawla Abdul Wahab Khan Nishat Ispahani, an eminent scholar of her time and her daughter and grand-daughter were equally recipients of a select and high education.The Aga Khan II had married Shamsul Mulk in 1867, who became known as Lady Ali Shah. Soon afterwards, they came to Karachi, where their son, Aga Khan III was born in 1877. She used to give names to the newly born babies in the Jamatkhana mostly in Karachi. It is worthwhile to illustrate that on December 25, 1876 a child was born in Karachi in Poonja family. The parent took him to Lady Ali Shah, who held court in the Kharadhar Jamatkhana. In keeping with Ismaili norms, Lady Ali Shah blessed the newly born child with the name of Mahomed Ali by alphabetizing the two words in English in the anglicised form. He was Mahomed Ali Jinnah, the founder of Pakistan, who, throughout his lifetime, adopted the same spelling of his name that was on the record of the Jamatkhana. Lady Ali Shah had been in Bombay in 1881 with her son on the death of the Aga Khan I, and then made her residency at Poona.

Lady Ali Shah took the reins of the Ismaili community affairs during the time his son ascended as 48th Imam, and she administered the affairs efficiently through a Council, consisting of the prominent members of Kutchh, Kathiawar, Gujrat and Sind, until the Aga Khan III attained puberty in 1893.

Lady Ali Shah was indeed a benevolent woman, and famous for her charity and generosity, and her fame reached the fringes of the Muslim lands. In 1880, she had established a school in Karbala for the education and welfare of poor orphans of Sayed families. She also donated a land of 3000 square meters and constructed a building for the Iranian residents at Kazamain. In 1905, she had gone on pilgrimage to Mecca, and on that occasion, she was lavishly charitable that the people forgot all that they had heard of the charities of persons of high rank.

Lady Ali Shah gave a historical evidence in the Bombay High Court during the proceeding of Haji Bibi Case of 1908 before Justice Louis Pitman Russell, who was greatly struck by her evidence. As he observed in his judgement, she displayed an extraordinary memory.

While the Aga Khan III was away from India during the World War (1914-1919), Lady Ali Shah was tremendously active in his stead. Reference has already been made to her command and ability for organization; she now developed this to the fullest extent by adding to her work of keeping in touch with the Ismaili community. She also placed her services at the disposal of Lord and Lady Willingdon and under her direction, the Ismaili and Iranian ladies rendered great services to the wounded soldiers brought to Bombay from Iraq during the first World War. Under her inspired leadership, the community was able to collect large funds and procured necessary supplies. She kept in constant correspondence with the ruler of Hunza and the influential Iranians, advising them to help the Britain during War. Her nephews and relatives fought on the side of the Allies in Iraq, and one of them notably was Aga Hamid Khan, who was ranked C.I.E.

In 1917, His Majesty, the King was graciously pleased to grant Lady Willingdon the Order of the Crown of India. On that occasion, the historic house of the Aga Khan at Nesbit Road, Bombay was the scene of a very influential and picturesque gathering of the Muslim ladies, when an address of congratulation was presented to Lady Willingdon under the leadership of Lady Ali Shah. It was a unique gathering when she read the address to Lady Willingdon in Persian. She also had a nice meeting with Lady Wilson on February 9, 1924.

On the recommendation of Lord Willingdon, the honour of the Imperial Order of the Crown of India was conferred upon Lady Ali Shah in 1932. She visited Beirut in the same year for treatment, where she was well received by the Syrians. She had also gone to Palestine, Damascus and other holy cities, and returned to Bombay on October 3, 1930. On November 30, 1930, she inaugurated the conference being presided by Lady Ghulam Hussain Hidayatullah at Poona, being attended by the Muslim ladies of Bombay and Sind.

Being an ardent Iranian scholar and well grounded in oriental history, Lady Ali Shah was a woman of great piety. She was universally respected through the Muslim world. In 1934, she visited Syria with her grandson, Prince Aly S. Khan. When she had visited Iran, Reza Shah Pahlavi was the vizir and commander-in-chief. By his order, she was accorded warm welcome befitting a grand-daughter of Shah Fateh Ali. He presented her two Iranian carpets, which she gifted to His Highness of Dharampur.

Lady Ali Shah encouraged the Ismaili girls to take education and it was through her influence that the social reforms were introduced in the community. So profound was her wisdom and so great the confidence in the soundness of her opinion that several Indian princes sought her advices. The Begum of Bhopal was an intimate friend of Lady Ali Shah. She also came in close contact with Lord Reay and other governors and their wives, and also with the Earl of Dufferin and the Countess of Dufferin, who entertained a very high opinion of her. In 1934, she intended to visit Iran after meeting with Lord and Lady Willingdon at Karachi, but her sudden illness prevented her to make tour, and under medical advice, she made a second visit to Europe. Despite her impairing health, she continued to serve the community. She had an honour to inaugurate the All India Golden Jubilee Committee on October 16, 1935 at Bombay.

Lady Aly Shah was taken seriously ill in November, 1937. The Aga Khan III hurried to India by air and landed at Jodhpur, and after greeting His Highness Maharaja Umedsinhji, he left for Bombay by train. As doctor had anticipated, his presence acted as a tonic on Lady Ali Shah and she recovered from the serious illness. She left for Iraq in January, 1938. She proceeded to Baghdad via Karachi and Basra by S.S. Vasna which sailed from Bombay on January 27, 1938. She, realizing that her end was near, told to Kamadia Khan Bahadur: 'Send my love to all the members of the Ismaili community. I may not return to India, but wherever my spirit be I will eternally watch their peaceful progress and prosperity, as I have done all my life.' The Aga Khan III had made every arrangement for his mother's comfort at Baghdad, and for that reason, he took with him Kamadia Khan Bahadur's son, Hussain Ali, by air to Basra, where, under Aga Khan's instructions, he made all possible arrangements for a quiet landing. A saloon car was ready to convey Lady Ali Shah from Basra to Baghdad, where a bungalow, belonging to her nephew, Aga Hamid Khan, was placed at her disposal. She arrived at Baghdad on February 4, 1938 at 1 pm. True indeed it is, that the Aga Khan III's association with the West increased, causing his longer stay away from India. His mother had felt the pangs of this separation, and once she said to her son: 'Death is inevitable, but if it comes to me in your absence, it will be unendurable.' The Aga Khan's reply brought her great solace, who said: 'Do not worry. You will breathe your last with your head in my lap.' Consequently, the Aga Khan III and his wife reached Baghdad by air from Cairo on February 5, 1938 at 3 pm., and Lady Ali Shah passed away at 5.15 pm on the same day, breathing her last in the lap of her son. She was buried on the evening of February 6, 1938 at Najaf next to the tomb of her husband as per her will in presence of thousands of people. Her death occasioned deep grief not only among the Muslims, but in all other communities in India among whom she was very popular. Reference to her death was made at the meeting of Bombay Municipal Corporation on Monday, the February 7, 1938 and as a mark of respect to her memory, the House adjourned without transacting any business.

In the course of an intimate sketch of her life, the 'Daily Mail' of London published the following description of her, only a few days before her death.

'For all her burden of years, she is still one of the most vital personalities in India; clear thinking, forth-right, imperious - a strict warden of the past, who sees little that is worthy or desirable in the fruits of the present.'

'I do not mingle with the world of today, but I am not ignorant of it,' she has often said.

'Her physical vitality has been as remarkable as her strength of mind. In her home she wears always the silken trousers and soft draperies such as the women of Persia wore centuries ago. And although that home is a palace famed for its splendour, her way of life has been as simple as that of the humblest of the Prophet's followers. Her fare is frugal, her drink water. She fasts.'

The Aga Khan III was deeply affected by the death of his dear mother. 'In this difficult and saddest moment of my life', wrote the Aga Khan to a friend, 'the consolation I have is that the sadness and sorrow is tempered by the fact that she lived to be, at least 90 years of age. She had a large and happy family and very happy grand-children whom she always wanted. She died where she wanted to die. She had the satisfaction of seeing her grand- children happy and prosperous in day when prosperity is getting rare. But all this does not reconcile me to losing her. She had been to me more than father and mother combined, since I lost my father at the age of 8. No loss, not even that of my son who died in infancy which was a terrible blow to me as a father, has been quite so terrible as this.' Such was the deep affection between the Aga Khan and his mother. To mark his devotion, he had heretofore dedicated his book 'India in Transition' to his beloved mother in 1918.

The body of the Aga Khan II was brought to Bombay by train and shipped for interment in Najaf. Mukhi Kassim Musa (d. 1314/1896), the then estate agent, was entrusted its responsibilities from Bombay to Najaf. He left behind a very important description of 25 days' journey, and his manuscript was copied by Itmadi Hussain Ali Kassim Ali Javeri of Surat. The narrator describes that the ship Mobalo of the Persian Navigation Co. carrying the coffin of the Aga Khan, sailed from Bombay on October 28, 1885 with 50 persons belonging to Aga Khan's family headed by Mukhi Kassim Musa and Nur Muhammad Ratansi. The ship anchored at Karachi, Gwadar, Port Abbas, Linga, Bushire and Basra. The caravan proceeded from Basra to Kazamain by a steamboat. The Turkish authority issued a special order that the bier must be accorded royal salute and honour at the port of Kazamain, and accordingly, about 500 soldiers paid tribute with musket shootings. Tajmah, the Aga Khan's sister had also come at the port with her people. The Iranian ambassador of Baghdad also attended with his staff. The processional crowd of over 15 thousand people trudged with the bier, and pursued the road leading to Karbala. A huge multitude of people flocked from the opposite side and joined the procession at a distance of five miles from Karbala. The narrator writes that the bier began to sail as if a vessel on the heads of the people. Prince Amyn, the nephew of the Aga Khan also joined with his sons in Karbala. The narrator describes that he had seen a school in Karbala, conducted with the funds of the Aga Khan for the education of the poor Sayed children, who got free scholarship and provision. The students and other people of Iraq also joined the procession. They alighted at Karbala for seven days, and the bier was placed in the shrine of Hazrat Abbas, then of Imam Hussain and finally it was carried to the courtyard of the tomb of Aga Khan's son, Aga Nur Shah, where the funeral service was offered. Thence, the caravan proceeded for Najaf, accompanied by a thousand people and 300 Turkish soldiers. Tajmah, the father-in-law of Pir Shihabuddin Shah, the people of Sayed Jawad Mutawali and Aga Mustapha Khan also joined the caravan. When they alighted at the vicinity of Najaf, a huge crowd dashed all of a sudden to receive the bier alongwith the guardians and Mujtahid of Najaf. The funeral rites were offered at the outskirts of Najaf. The narrator mentions that the whole business and transaction in Najaf were totally closed, where the multitude was more than that of Karbala. The bier was placed in the vault of Pir Shihabuddin Shah's shrine, and afterwards was buried with great honour. Writing about the shirne of the Aga Khan, the narrator adds that it had been built in advance. It was walled by the Chinese moulds with golden grating and a dome. The local cupolas and chandelier were hung in the middle, and the floor was fully matted with the Iranian carpets. It resembled the shrine of Imam Hussain and surmounted by an elegant workmanship. The narrator also describes the shrine of Hazrat Ali and its workmanship. He also describes a list of the graves of Aga Khan's relatives, such as Bibi Sarcar Mata Salamat, Shah Abul Hasan Shah, Imam Shah Khalilullah Ali, Aga Shuja, the brother of the Aga Khan, Pir Shihabuddin Shah and his mother and Sardar Aga Abul Hasan Shah etc. Mukhi Kassim Musa concludes his travel-account in these words: 'We tarried for 25 days in Najaf and made secret charity of the bags of gold and silver coins in the name of Aga Ali Shah. About 30,000 townsfolk were repasted on the last day. Rs.70,000 incurred from Bombay to Najaf, and we returned after a voyage of 25 days.'

He died on August 17, 1885 of pneumonia contracted in a day's hunting near Poona. Writing the causes of the death of the Aga Khan II, his son and successor states in 'The Memoirs of the Aga Khan' (London, 1954, p. 11) that, 'My father's death was occasioned not by any mishap when he was out after tiger, but by a long day's water-fowling near Poona in August 1885. There were several hours' heavy rain, the going underfoot was heavy and wet, and my father was soaked to the skin. He caught a severe chill which turned swiftly and fatally to pneumonia. He was dead eight days later.'

It seems that the British Parliament almost lost the interest in Indian education between 1854 and 1902, and as a result, the education could not secure liberal and ever-increasing grant. In 1882, however, the Indian Education Commission was appointed by the orders of the Central Government, but it procured no sound result. The population of British India was about 200 million in 1882, in which at 15% the number of school-going children was hardly 300 lacs. It is also remarkable that in 1882, only 1.17% of funds were used by the Municipalities of Bombay from its income. Thus, the Aga Khan II came forward to open The Khoja Ismaili School for the first time at Bombay and elsewhere in 1882. It was perhaps a veritable beginning of a renaissance in Indian Ismaili community, whose tradition is continued upto now in the world.
The Aga Khan II also generated his close contact with the Ismaili communities in Upper Oxus districts, Badakhshan, Samarkand, Burma and East Africa. The growing prosperity of the Ismailis and his own towering position, earned his prestige among the Muslim population of India. He promoted educational and philanthropic institutions for the Indian Muslims with the cooperation of a certain Rahimtullah Muhammad Sayani, a most enlightened member of the community. He spared no pains in raising the social status of his followers. Destitute members of the community received generous help from time to time at his hands.

It must be remembered on this juncture that Abdul Hadi bin Abdul Attash (1320-1383), whose kunya was Jamiyal Shah with the titles, Aqa and Datar, known as Aqa Jamiyal Shah Datar, was an eminent Sufi saint in India. He mostly preached the Hindus in Girnar at Junagadh. He is said to have retired in the mountain of Girnar, known as the 'Mount Datar' (datar'no pahad). He converted a large number of the Hindus of the Aghori tribe. His shrine is located in Junagadh, which is visited by the Muslims and Hindus. It is said that a group of the Ismailis also venerated the saint and visited his shrine. During his visit to Junagadh in 1882 after assuming the Imamate, the Aga Khan II had warned his followers not to visit the shrine of Jamiyal Shah, saying that there was no Aqa (Lord) and Datar (Bestower) on earth except the Imam of the Age. Since then, the Aga Khan II is also called as Aqa Ali Shah Datar (Lord Ali Shah, the Bestower) in the Ismaili orbits.

The Aga Khan II used to visit interior Sind, notably in district Thatta. He liked the climate of Karachi, where he lived in Honeymoon Lodge, lying on the hill near the railway workshop, called Honeymoon Hall. It was bought by the British India in 1859 on the account of the Kolahpur State as a residence for Cheema Saheb, the former Raja of Kolahpur. The government sold it to Mr. Noonan in 1860, and he afterwards sold it to the Aga Khan I, who used it as his residence, known as tekari (hill). After his marriage with Lady Ali Shah in 1867, the Aga Khan II moved to Karachi most probably in 1871-72, where his son and successor was born in 1877. The Aga Khan also built a palace for his another residence at Karachi in garden zone, known as pir'ji wadi (the fertile tract of the pir), which was converted to Aga Khan Gymkhana in 1940 by the Aga Khan III. The palace faced the park, then known as Government Garden, and later it came to be known as Mahatama Gandhi Garden. He sought permission from Heavy Napier Bruce Erskine, the Commissioner in Sind (1879 to 1887) to build a gate of the park in 1882. The Aga Khan II bore its cost, where an existing plate indicates the donation of the space for the gate by him.

Like his father, the Aga Khan II was closely associated with the Nimatullahi Sufi order. Before going to India, he had generated close ties with Rahmat Ali Shah, the head of the Nimatullahis, who had been the guest of the Aga Khan I in Mahallat in 1249/1833. Subsequently, the Aga Khan II maintained his relation with Rehmat Ali Shah (d. 1278/1861). He also maintained relations with Munawwar Ali Shah (d. 1301/1884), the uncle and the successor of Rehmat Ali Shah. The Aga Khan II also entertained several notable Iranian Nimatullahis in Bombay, including Rehmat Ali's son, Muhammad Masum Shirazi, Naib al-Sadr (d. 1344/1926), the author of the 'Tara'iq al-Haqa'iq', who visited Bombay in 1298/1881 and stayed with the Aga Khan for one year. Safi Ali Shah (d. 1316/1898), an eminent Nimatullahi also enjoyed the Aga Khan's hospitality in 1280/1863.

The Aga Khan II had wedded with Marium Sultana in Iraq, who died at Bombay after leaving behind two sons, Pir Shihabuddin Shah (1268-1302/1851-1885) and Aga Nur Shah (1272-1302/1855-1885). These two sons had been brought up in Hasanabad at Bombay. Aga Nur Shah, aged 30 years, was a good sportsman. He once fell down from his horse while riding, and sustained serious injuries, which proved fatal, and his death took place three months before the death of his elder brother. The Aga Khan II had appointed his elder son, Pir Shihabuddin Shah as a pir on 1299/1882. He was a learned scholar, a good philosopher, and is best known for his piety. He died at the age of 33 years on December 15, 1885 due to chest disease at Poona, and was buried at Karbala. 'On the day he heard of the death of my elder half-brother, Aga Shihabuddin Shah,' says the Aga Khan III while recollecting his memory of childhood, 'my father was terribly shaken and , though he tried to hold his own, as a man in his position would do, so great was his grief that I think it led to his early death a few weeks later. I honestly believe that it was the death of my two half-brothers that brought about my father's end when he was apparently in good health.' For his further biography, the readers may refer 'Pir Shahabu'd-Din Shah al-Husayni' (cf. 'The Great Ismaili Heroes', Karachi, 1973, pp. 100-1) by Mumtaz Ali Tajddin Sadik Ali.

The second wife of the Aga Khan II belonged to a Shirazi family, and after her death, the third marriage was solemnised with Shamsul Mulk Lady Ali Shah, the mother of the Aga Khan III.

The Aga Khan II was a skillful rider and great sportsman. He was very fond of hunting, but never made use of shelters in the hunting field for big game. Standing exposed to danger he took a sure and steady aim at wild animals. In this way he had bagged no less than forty tigers.

The Aga Khan I had to face periodical troubles from certain dissident members of his community. In 1243/1827, while the Aga Khan was in Iran, a group led by Habib Ibrahim in Bombay refused to pay tithe and forced others to do so. The leaders of the Bombay jamat made a report to the Aga Khan in Iran about it at the end of 1244/1828. The Aga Khan, in order to overcome this opposition, sent to Bombay as his agent, Mirza Abul Kassim, who was accompanied by the Aga Khan's mother, Bibi Sarcar Mata Salamat (1744-1832) in 1245/1829. It was in the course of these proceedings that Mirza Abul Kassim filed a suit on behalf of the Aga Khan against the dissidents in Bombay High Court. The suit, however, was not processed and withdrawn on July 22, 1830. The recusants were summoned in the jamatkhana, which proved no responsive, and as such, Habib Ibrahim and eleven other persons had been outcast from the community in 1246/1830, who were then known as Bar Bhai (twelve brethren). After five years, in 1251/1835, they were re-admitted conditionally, who had however laid a root of a dissident group.
The Aga Khan arrived in Bombay on December 16, 1845. He had to leave Bombay for Calcutta, and returned to Bombay on December 26, 1848. Consequently, the Aga Khan's absence for 18 months emboldened the dissident gang to engineer propaganda against him. When the Aga Khan was yet in Calcutta, a fresh litigatiion, known as Sajan Mehr Ali Case was carried in 1263/1847, in which the question of the rights of female inheritance among the Ismailis was brought before the Supreme Court of Bombay. Sir Erskine Perry (1821-1893), the Chief Justice presided over the Khoja Inheritance Case of a certain Hirbai and Sonabai. In this case, the Aga Khan was represented by his brother, Muhammad Bakir Khan (d. 1296/1879), who endeavoured to uphold the rule of inheritance according to the Holy Koran. The dissident group, Bar Bhai was active in supporting the argument of the defendant. This case led to fresh feuds among the community. The Bar Bhai group began to broadcast aggressive propaganda against the Aga Khan, and in view of their unwillingness to acknowledge the Aga Khan's spiritual authority, they had been ex-communicated in 1264/1848. Henceforward, the basic issue of the tithe originated in 1243/1827 became submerged by the petty quibbles. The other issues challenged the Aga Khan's authority, and claimed themselves as the Sunni Khojas, stressing that the Ismaili Khojas had been Sunnis since their conversion to Islam by Pir Sadruddin. They also built their own separate prayer-hall and grave-yard in 1266/1850.

On November 13, 1850, a tragic event arose between the Ismailis and the Sunni Khojas in the prayer-hall in Bombay. On the last day of the commemoration of Muharram, four Sunni Khojas were killed, 19 of the Ismailis were tried in the criminal court and four were hanged on December 18, 1850.

On October 20, 1861, when the dissenting Khojas publicly joined the Sunni fold, the Aga Khan issued a decree in which he expressed his desire to bring the Ismailis to conform to the practices of the Shia Imami Ismaili creed of his holy ancestors, regarding marriage ceremonies, ablutions, funeral rites etc. The decree ended thus, 'He who may be willing to obey my orders shall write his name in this book that I may know him.' Copies of the decree were kept at the house of the Aga Khan's son in Bombay for signatures and were circulated in Sind, Kathiawar, Kutchh and Zanzibar. Except for a handful persons in Bombay and Kathiawar, an almost unanimous acceptance was received from the Ismailis. The loyalty of the Ismailis for their Imam can be gauged from the reaction of the Bhuj jamat at Kutchh, who sent a letter dated January 2, 1862 in reply to the communication sent by the plaintiffs as illustrated by E.I. Howard to the Hon'ble Court. It reads: 'We are upon the right side, but should His Lordship Aga Khan ask for the signatures, we are ready to give thousand times a day. Whatever order comes from him, we are bound to obey.' Observing the above letter, Justice Sir Joseph Arnold (1814-1886) remarked: 'This is a very decided letter; at any rate, there can be no mistake about that.' (cf. 'The Shia School of Islam and its Branches', Bombay, 1906, p. 93).

In the meantime, Mukhi Alarakhia Sumar and Kamadia Khaki Padamsi (d.1877) called a meeting in Bombay Jamatkhana on August 16, 1862. Habib Ibrahim and his son Ahmad Ibrahim and few others were also summoned, but none of them attended the meeting. Thus, a notice of 21 days was served to them, effective from August 23, 1862 but of no avail. At length, they all had been expelled from the Khoja Ismaili community for ever.

The seceders formed a group, called The Reformers' Society, who refused to acknowledge the Aga Khan as their religious head and tried to withhold from his properties dedicated to him by his followers, and finally filed a suit in April, 1866 against the Aga Khan in the Bombay High Court. This case, generally known as The Aga Khan Case or The Khoja Case was heard by Sir Joseph Arnold (1814-1886). The Plaintiff of the case were Daya Mahomad, Mahomad Saya, Peer Mahomad Kassim and Fazal Ghulam Hussain with H.M's Advocate General as nominal complainant. The Defendants were the Aga Khan I, Mukhi Alarakhia Sumar, Kamadia Khaki Padamsi, Mahomad Peer Bhai, Nur Mahomad Rajpal, Ali Bhai Jan, Habib Ibrahim, Muraj Premji, Dharamsi Punja, Aasu Gangji, Dossa Ladak, Nanji Alloo and Mahomad Yousuf Murgay, Qadi of the Mahomadans of the Town and island of Bombay. The court's proceedings lasted for 25 days after which the Judge settled down to examine and study the mountain of evidences and seek enlightenment in history. Sir Joseph Arnold had indeed a hard task sifting the evidence, separating facts from a lot of legal chaff. On November 21, 1866, Justice Arnold rendered a detailed verdict against the plaintiffs. The result was a lengthy and well argued judgment which decided, once for all, that the Khoja community 'is a sect of people whose ancestors were Hindu in original, which was converted to, and has throughout abided in, the faith of the Shia Imami Ismailis, which has always been and still is bound by ties of spiritual allegiance to the hereditary Imams of Ismailis.' This judgement unequivocally confirmed the Aga Khan as the spiritual head of the Khoja Ismaili community and legally established the Islamic root and identity of the Shia Ismaili Muslims.

During the Aga Khan case at Bombay, some eminent Ismailis had rendered valuable services to the community in all affairs, the most prominent among them were Ismail Kherraj, Sharif Gangji, Mukhi Alarakhia Sumar, Kamadia Khaki Padamsi etc. The Aga Khan I recognised them as Ismaili fidais and Ismaili soldiers. They were known as the Panje Bhai (one who shakes hand) to distinguish them from the Bar Bhai (twelve brethren) and originated the tradition of Panje Bhai Club in the community.

The Aga Khan I seems to have left behind his memoirs in Persian, entitled 'Ibrat-i Afza', relating to the events of the youth and his encounters with the Qajarid regime in Iran, also covering his migration to Afghanistan and then to India down to the period of 12th Safar, 1262/January 29, 1846. According to W.Ivanow (1886-1970), it was actually written on behalf of the Aga Khan I by Mirza Ahmad Wiqar Shirazi (1820-1881), the son of the famous poet Visal (d. 1262/1846), who stayed briefly with the Aga Khan in Bombay in 1266/1850. It was lithographed in Bombay in 1278/1862, and reprinted with the numerous typographical errors by Bawa Nazar Ali Karimdad, who got its translation into Urdu, and made its Gujrati translation in 1281/1865. The unedited Persian text was published by Hussain Kuhi Kirmani at Tehran on 1325/1946, and was also published in 'Aga Khan Mahallati wa firqa'i Ismailia'by M. Sa'i in Tehran in 1329/1950. Hence, the originality of the book seems to have been completely lost due to the alterations made by the partisans of Nimatullahi order, and the accessible printed copies attributed of being a genuine work of the Aga Khan I is the remotest.

The fact that the Aga Khan I had a large following outside India was brought to light by Sir Thomas Douglas Forsyth (1827-1886) in 'Report on a Mission to Yarkand, Calcutta, 1875', who in the time of Lord Richard Southwell Bourke Mayo (1822-1872), had led a deputation from Lahore to Yarkand in 1869, and he was also sent to the mission of Kashgar in 1873. The members of Sir Douglas Forsyth's mission ascertained that these Ismailis formed the whole of the sparse population in many of the valleys leading down from the Pamir, the elevated 'roof of the world', on the banks of the higher Oxus, and its affuents - in Chitral, Gilgit, and in remote valleys between Kafristan and Badakhshan.

The Aga Khan I spent his final years peacefully in Bombay, with seasonal stay in Poona, and sometime in Banglore. While on visits to Banglore, he had formed a friendship with the then ruler of Travancore, and subsequently represented that important state in Bombay. He used to visit the Indian communities all over India. He invariably attended the Jamatkhana every morning at Bombay and lectured on the moral and religious precepts they should follow. He used to recite some passages of the Holy Koran in Arabic and then explain them in Persian. Next to him would stand a man who understood Persian but also knew Sindhi, who would translate the Imam's words into Sindhi. With a taste for oriental splendour, he established an imposing residence on Malabar Hill overlooking the sea and installed his family in equally sumptuous houses around him. The affairs of the community were conducted from Aga Hall, a magnificent palace with separate library and staff quarters, set in fine parkland and enclosed by a high wall.

Apart from his three wives, four sons and six daughters, the Aga Khan I also looked after a thousand or more relatives and retainers who had come with him from Iran. His elder son was Aqa Ali Shah, who succeeded him. The second son was Aga Jhangi Shah (d. 1314/1896), whose sons were Zayn al-Abidin Shah, Shamsuddin Shah and Shah Abbas; and Haji Bibi and Shahzadi Begum were his daughters. The third son of the Aga Khan I was Aga Jalal Shah (d. 1288/1871), who had two sons, viz. Muchul Shah and Kuchuk Shah, and two daughters, Shah Bibi and Malek Taj Begum. Akbar Shah (d. 1322/1905) was the fourth son, whose two sons were Shah Rukh Shah and Furukh Shah.

The Aga Khan I died in the night of April 12, 1881. He was buried at Hasanabad on Mount Road, Mazagon, on the site of the Eden Hall, where a splendid mausoleum was built at the cost of rupees three lacs. His funeral was attended by thousands of the Indians and Europeans, and all the communities, including the Consuls for Iran and Turkey and high officials of the government. The Aga Khan I was succeeded by his son, Aqa Ali Shah, the Aga Khan II.

His wife Sarv-i Jahan Begum, the daughter of Shah Fateh Ali also died in the following year at Bombay.

Bibi Tahira, commonly known as Sayeda Imam Begum was the last known member of the Kadiwal family during the period under review in India. She was born most probably on 1199/1785 in Kera, Kutchh. She made her first public appearance when Bibi Sarcar Mata Salamat (1744-1832) visited India in 1245/1829 and is reported to have joined her from Karachi to Jerruk and Bombay. Sayeda Imam Begum at length chose to settle in Bombay in 1246/1830. She used to organise the gathering of the Ismaili women in the jamatkhanas to discuss on the ginans. She also visited Kutchh and Sind around 1253/1837 and resided at Karachi. She is also reported to have visited Bombay in 1257/1841 and had an audience of the Aga Khan I in 1261/1845. It is recounted that she again came to Karachi in 1276/1860, where she died in 1282/1866. Sayeda Imam Begum was famous for her piety and learning and composed many ginans, and was the last among the ginan composers in India. For further detail, vide 'Sayyida Bibi Imam Begum' ('Hidayat', Karachi, July, 1989, pp. 16-21) by Mumtaz Ali Tajddin S. Ali.

On arriving in Bombay, the British made a fresh effort to win permission for his return to Iran, while the Aga Khan had also written a letter about it to the new Iranian king, Nasiruddin Shah's chief minister, Amir Kabir, who proved less responsive than his predecessor, insisting that the Aga Khan would be arrested at the borders as a fugitive. After the execution of Amir Kabir in 1268/1852, the Aga Khan made a final plea to return to his homeland, and sent Nasiruddin Shah an elephant and a giraffe as gifts. He also sent gifts to Amir Kabir's successor, Mirza Aqa Khan Nuri, who was a personal friend of the Aga Khan. Some of the Aga Khan's family estates in Iran were then restored to the control of his relative, but the new minister was unable to arrange for his return. Meanwhile, the Bombay Government approached the Aga Khan to get a definite answer regarding his stay. On September, 1850, the deputy Secretary in the Iranian Department of Bombay personally asked the Aga Khan, who stated that he was willing to stay in Bombay. The members of the India Board also approved it on January 22, 1851. In April 17, 1851, the Bombay Government apprized the Aga Khan of the decision of the court directors. The Aga Khan on April 18, 1851 wrote a letter to Bombay Government, expressing his gratitude.
In India, the Aga Khan retained his close relation with the British empire. On a rare occasion, the Aga Khan was visited in his Bombay home, the Aga Hall, by the Duke of Edinburgh, the future king Edward VII (1901-1910), as Prince of Wales, during a state visit to India, and held a long talk with him. The two sat in front of a portrait of Shah Fateh Ali, the emperor of Iran, whose daughter the Aga Khan had married. The Prince of Wales inspected the Aga Khan's cups won on the Indian turf and his son's trophies of the Indian chase, and talked over some of the events of a life as varied and adventurous as that of the Aga Khan's ancestor, who seven centuries ago wrote to Leopold, Duke of Austria, urging the release of Richard Coeur de Lion, then a prisoner in the hands of Leopold at the time of the Crusades. In sum, it was an honour which, with the exception of the leading ruling princes, was accorded to no other nobleman and was acknowledged of his princely birth and the admirable services he had rendered to the British government. Writing on the historic visit, Sir Bartle Frere said, 'There can be little doubt that the visit has been described and discussed in many a meeting of the Aga Khan's followers in India, Persia and Arabia - on the remote shores of Eastern Africa, and in still more inaccessible valleys of Central Asia, and it will doubtless find a place in the annals of this singular sect for many centuries to come.'

The Aga Khan thus received government protection in British India as the spiritual head of the Shia Ismaili Muslims, which solidified his position and helped him in the exercise of his authority. During three decades of residency in Bombay, he exerted a great deal of direct control over the Ismaili community, and organised the community more progressive under the network of leaders and officers.

Kutchh in the meantime, reported to have gripped in a dust bowl, followed by a terrible famine, and as a result, a retinue of ten thousand Ismailis tracked down in Sind. On the instructions of Governor General, Sir Charles Napier granted them permission to settle down at Mullah Khatiar (Matli), and most of the Ismailis also migrated to Karachi.

In the meantime, Amir Ismail bin Ahmad of Kadmus, the local Ismaili leader in Syria, had been permitted by the Ottoman authorities to settle permanently with his people in an area east of the Orontes river. These arrangements were evidently confirmed by a decree of Sultan Abdul Majid I (1255-1277/1839-1861), dated Shaban, 1265/July, 1849. Amir Ismail bin Muhammad chose the ruins of Salamia as the site of his new Ismaili settlement. In 1266/1850, the Ottomans granted a further favour to the Ismaili settlers and exempted them from military conscription and taxation. An increasing number of Ismailis from the western mountains gradually joined the original settlers in Salamia, attracted by the prospect of receiving free land in a district where they would furthermore be neither taxed nor conscripted. By 1277/1861, it had become a large village.