Citation for His Highness the Aga Khan by Professor Santa Ono

Total Page:16

File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb

Citation for His Highness the Aga Khan by Professor Santa Ono Citation for His Highness the Aga Khan by Professor Santa Ono, President and Vice-Chancellor of the University of British Columbia Vancouver, Canada – 19 October 2018 Your Highness, Your Honour, Premier, Madam Chancellor, And Governors and Senators of UBC and SFU, Friends of our two universities, And of the Ismaili community, I am deeply honoured today, with my esteemed colleague, SFU President Andrew Petter, to welcome and present His Highness the Aga Khan IV, Imam of the world’s Shia Ismaili Muslims. We are gathered today to confer honour upon His Highness. Specifically – and for the first time in our two institutions’ history – we are here to confer honorary degrees from both of our universities. The honorary degree is the highest honour that a university can bestow, one that recognizes the accomplishments and contributions of an exceptional individual. In honouring a candidate of eminence and excellence, we also offer a public illustration of our own values and ambitions. We do so to inspire our graduates and our community. To this end, I can think of no candidate who so deserves this unprecedented joint recognition than His Highness the Aga Khan. Speaking from the perspective of my own university, UBC has defined its purpose as: “Pursuing excellence in research, learning and engagement to foster global citizenship and to advance a sustainable and just society across British Columbia, Canada and the world.” Related to that pursuit, our vision is: “Inspiring people, ideas and actions for a better world.” Who, in that regard, could be a better exemplar than His Highness the Aga Khan? The Aga Khan Development Network – the AKDN – works in more than 30 countries. Operating roughly 1,000 programmes and institutions, it employs more than 80,000 people and invests more than $1 billion, every year, in non-profit development activities. This is a profound example of global citizenship, and one that is inclusive of race and ideology. The AKDN is guided by the ethical principles of Islam, particularly consultation, solidarity with those less fortunate, self-reliance and human dignity. But the Aga Khan’s leadership is not restricted to a particular community, country or region. Rather, the AKDN focuses on the poor and vulnerable – although, as many UBC students and graduates can attest, it also supports programmes in Europe and here in North America. Working with every religion, race, ethnicity and gender, pluralism is a central pillar of the AKDN’s ethical framework. We are all, again, inspired by his example. His Highness Prince Karim Aga Khan is the 49th Imam of the Ismaili Muslims. In that role, he is the spiritual leader of the 15 million Ismailis, a multi-ethnic community dispersed among more than 25 countries, including South and Central Asia, Africa, the Middle East, Western Europe and North America. There are more than 100,000 Ismailis in Canada alone. Renowned for the good works of the AKDN, the Aga Khan has demurred when people call him a philanthropist. He says, rather, that his mandate requires that he use the office of the Ismaili Imamat which he inherited to improve the quality of life for the world’s most vulnerable. He presents his work not as an act of generosity but as the exercise of his responsibility. If we all took the same view in our own lives, it would be such a better world. Born Prince Karim Aga Khan, in Geneva, Switzerland, on December 13, 1936, the Aga Khan is the eldest son of Prince Aly Khan and his first wife, the Princess Tajuddawlah. It is believed that the Aga Khan is a direct descendant of the Prophet Muhammad, through the Prophet’s daughter Fatima az-Zahra and her husband, and Muhammad’s cousin, Ali, who was the first Imam in Shia Islam. The Aga Khan spent his early years in Nairobi, Kenya, where he began his education under private tutelage before returning to Switzerland and boarding school at the Institut le Rosey. He then studied Islamic history at Harvard University, where he graduated 1959 with a Bachelor of Arts and a varsity H for soccer. As an athlete of accomplishment, he also competed on behalf of Iran as a downhill skier in the 1964 Olympics. On July 11, 1957, at just 20 years of age, the young prince was elevated to the role of Imam. The prince’s grandfather, Sir Sultan Mohamed Shah Aga Khan III, who had served as Imam for the previous 72 years, said he was designating his grandson because, and here I quote from the late Imam’s will itself: “I am convinced that it is in the best interest of the Shia Ismaili Muslim Community that I should be succeeded by a young man who has been brought up and developed during recent years and in the midst of the new age and who brings a new outlook on life to his office as Imam.” In more than 60 years of service, His Highness the Aga Khan has proved the wisdom of his grandfather’s choice. I would now like to invite my colleague, SFU President Andrew Petter, to continue the Citation. Read online: https://www.akdn.org/speech/professor-santa-ono/citation-his-highness-aga- khan-professor-santa-ono-president-and-vice .
Recommended publications
  • Longines Turf Winner Notes- Owner, Aga Khan
    H.H. Aga Khan Born: Dec. 13, 1936, Geneva, Switzerland Family: Children, Rahim Aga Khan, Zahra Aga Khan, Aly Muhammad Aga Khan, Hussain Aga Khan Breeders’ Cup Record: 15-2-0-2 | $3,447,400 • Billionaire, philanthropist and spiritual leader, Prince Karim Aga Khan IV is also well known as an owner and breeder of Thoroughbreds. • Has two previous Breeders’ Cup winners – Lashkari (GB), captured the inaugural running of Turf (G1) in 1984 and Kalanisi (IRE) won 2000 edition of race. • This year, is targeting the $4 million Longines Turf with his good European filly Tarnawa (IRE), who was also cross-entered for the $2 million Maker’s Mark Filly & Mare Turf (G1) after earning an automatic entry via the Breeders’ Cup Challenge “Win & You’re In” series upon winning Longines Prix de l’Opera (G1) Oct. 4 at Longchamp. Perfect in three 2020 starts, the homebred also won Prix Vermeille (G1) in September. • Powerhouse on the international racing stage. Has won the Epsom Derby five times, including the record 10-length victory in 1981 by the ill-fated Shergar (GB), who was famously kidnapped and never found. In 2000, Sinndar (IRE) became the first horse to win Epsom Derby, Irish Derby (G1) and Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe (G1) the same season. In 2008, his brilliant unbeaten filly Zarkava (IRE) won the Arc and was named Europe’s Cartier Horse of the Year. • Trainers include Ireland-based Dermot Weld, Michael Halford and beginning in 2021 former Irish champion jockey Johnny Murtagh, who rode Kalanisi to his Breeders’ Cup win, and France-based Alain de Royer-Dupre, Jean-Claude Rouget, Mikel Delzangles and Francis-Henri Graffard • Almost exclusively races homebreds but is ever keen to acquire new bloodlines, evidenced by acquisition of the late Francois Dupre's stock in 1977, the late Marcel Boussac’s in 1978 and Jean-Luc Lagardere’s in 2005.
    [Show full text]
  • Islam in Kenya: the Khoja Ismilis
    INSTITUTE OF CURRENT VJORLD AFFAIRS DER- 31 & 32 November 26, 1954 Islam in Kenya c/o Barclays Bank Introduction Queeusway Nairobi, Kenya Mr. Walter S. Rogers (Delayed fr revl sl Institute of Current World Affairs 522 Fifth Avenue New York 36, New York Dear Mr. Roers: All over the continent of Africa, from Morocco and Egypt to Zanzibar, Cape Town and Nigeria, millions of eople respond each day to a ringing cry heard across half the world for 1300 years. La i.l.aha illa-'llah: Muhmmadun rasulm,'llh, There is no God but Allah and Muhammad is his Prophet By these words, Muslims declare their faith in the teachings of the Arabian Prophet. The religion was born in Arabia and the words of its declaration of faith are in Arabic, but Islam has been accepted by many peoples of various races, natioual- i tie s and religious back- grounds, includiu a diverse number iu Kenya. Iu this colony there are African, Indian, Arab, Somali, Comoriau and other Muslims---even a few Euglishmeu---aud they meet each Frlday for formal worship in mosques iu Nairobi, Mombasa, Lamu and Kisumu, in the African Resewves and across the arid wastes of the northern frontier desert. Considerable attention has been given to the role of Christianity in Kenya and elsewhere iu East Africa, Jamia (Sunni) Mosque, and rightly so. But it Nairobl is sometimes overlooked that another great mouo- theistic religiou is at work as well. Islam arose later iu history than Christianity, but it was firmly planted lu Kenya centuries before the first Christian missionaries stepped ashore at Mombasa.
    [Show full text]
  • The Migration of Indians to Eastern Africa: a Case Study of the Ismaili Community, 1866-1966
    University of Central Florida STARS Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2004-2019 2019 The Migration of Indians to Eastern Africa: A Case Study of the Ismaili Community, 1866-1966 Azizeddin Tejpar University of Central Florida Part of the African History Commons Find similar works at: https://stars.library.ucf.edu/etd University of Central Florida Libraries http://library.ucf.edu This Masters Thesis (Open Access) is brought to you for free and open access by STARS. It has been accepted for inclusion in Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2004-2019 by an authorized administrator of STARS. For more information, please contact [email protected]. STARS Citation Tejpar, Azizeddin, "The Migration of Indians to Eastern Africa: A Case Study of the Ismaili Community, 1866-1966" (2019). Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2004-2019. 6324. https://stars.library.ucf.edu/etd/6324 THE MIGRATION OF INDIANS TO EASTERN AFRICA: A CASE STUDY OF THE ISMAILI COMMUNITY, 1866-1966 by AZIZEDDIN TEJPAR B.A. Binghamton University 1971 A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in the Department of History in the College of Arts and Humanities at the University of Central Florida Orlando, Florida Spring Term 2019 Major Professor: Yovanna Pineda © 2019 Azizeddin Tejpar ii ABSTRACT Much of the Ismaili settlement in Eastern Africa, together with several other immigrant communities of Indian origin, took place in the late nineteenth century and early twentieth centuries. This thesis argues that the primary mover of the migration were the edicts, or Farmans, of the Ismaili spiritual leader. They were instrumental in motivating Ismailis to go to East Africa.
    [Show full text]
  • Islam and the Abolition of Slavery in the Indian Ocean
    Proceedings of the 10th Annual Gilder Lehrman Center International Conference at Yale University Slavery and the Slave Trades in the Indian Ocean and Arab Worlds: Global Connections and Disconnections November 7‐8, 2008 Yale University New Haven, Connecticut Islamic Abolitionism in the Western Indian Ocean from c. 1800 William G. Clarence‐Smith, SOAS, University of London Available online at http://www.yale.edu/glc/indian‐ocean/clarence‐smith.pdf © Do not cite or circulate without the author’s permission For Bernard Lewis, ‘Islamic abolitionism’ is a contradiction in terms, for it was the West that imposed abolition on Islam, through colonial decrees or by exerting pressure on independent states.1 He stands in a long line of weighty scholarship, which stresses the uniquely Western origins of the ending slavery, and the unchallenged legality of slavery in Muslim eyes prior to the advent of modern secularism and socialism. However, there has always been a contrary approach, which recognizes that Islam developed positions hostile to the ‘peculiar institution’ from within its own traditions.2 This paper follows the latter line of thought, exploring Islamic views of slavery in the western Indian Ocean, broadly conceived as stretching from Egypt to India. Islamic abolition was particularly important in turning abolitionist laws into a lived social reality. Muslim rulers were rarely at the forefront of passing abolitionist legislation, 1 Bernard Lewis, Race and slavery in the Middle East, an historical enquiry (New York: Oxford University Press, 1990) pp. 78‐84. Clarence‐Smith 1 and, if they were, they often failed to enforce laws that were ‘for the Englishman to see.’ Legislation was merely the first step, for it proved remarkably difficult to suppress the slave trade, let alone slavery itself, in the western Indian Ocean.3 Only when the majority of Muslims, including slaves themselves, embraced the process of reform did social relations really change on the ground.
    [Show full text]
  • To Defend Nanking; Troops Are Protesting Tight for Inaugural Evacuated from Tientsin Port Police Cordon Voted by House
    Weather Forecast Guide for Readers Occasional rain today and tonight. Mostly Page. Page. cloudy tomorrow. Colder tonight and to- Amusements .A-16 Obituary .A-l# morrow. Lowest tonight about 32, highest to- Comics _B-18-19 Radio _B-19 morrow near 45. (Full report on Page A-2.t Editorial A-8 Society, ClubsB-S Editorial Articles A-9 _A-12-13 Midnight-.49 8 a.m_51 11 a.m.59 Sports Finance A-15 i Where to Go_B-5 2 am_52 8 a.m.50 Noon_58 Lost and Found A-3 I Womans 4 am_51 10 am_59 1 p.m-58 Page-B-12 Late New York Markets, Page A-15. An Associated Press Newspaper City Home Delivery. Pally and Sunday. $1.20 a Month. When ft 8J /'VC’Vrrpcj ★★ UriiilO 97th Year. No. 16. Phone ST. 5000 WASHINGTON, D. C., MONDAY, JANUARY 17, 1949—THIRTY-SIX PAGES. Sundays, SI.30. Nirht Final Edition. S1.30 and fl.40 per Month China Rallies in Hopeless Effort Reds Go on Trial 4-Day Holiday To Defend Nanking; Troops Are Protesting Tight For inaugural Evacuated From Tientsin Port Police Cordon Voted by House i Bill Goes to _ 300 Persons Parade Truman; Ticket Tax 300,000 Red Troops Confesses Treason In Street Outside; Exemption Poised for Entry Into Ex-Flyer Foster Is Absent Also Is Approved Yangtze River Valley On Stand, Receives 25 Years •y th# Associated Press BULLETIN NEW YORK. Jan. 17.—Trial of By a voice vote the House ECA CUTS OFF Wheat and Flour Martin Monti Pleads today passed and sent to the a dozen high Communist leaders! Exports to China.
    [Show full text]
  • Proactive Ismaili Imam: His Highness the Aga Khan Part - 2
    Aga Khan IV Photo Credit: AKDN.org Proactive Ismaili Imam: His Highness the Aga Khan Part - 2 History: a live broadcast of the past, a joy of the present, and a treasure for the future. History has significant past knowledge, culture, and memories of ancestors wrapped in its womb. The historical monuments, art, music, culture, language, food, and traditional clothes educate people about who they are, where they are, and where they belong in the particular era. Furthermore, the deep roots of history help individuals to see the fruitful stems of growth. The growth in the field of economics, science, architecture, education, and the quality of life of people in this period of modernization. Therefore, destroying history from the lives of the people would be the same as cutting the roots of a tree. No matter how healthy species a tree may be from, it won’t be able to survive without its roots. Thus, history builds a path that leads toward the future. Therefore, without the presence of history, the growth of the future would be unknown. Hence, the proactive Ismaili Imam, the Aga Khan, is actively taking every possible step to preserve history by preserving the historical monuments and improving the quality of life of people within the ambit. One of the best examples of the Aga Khan’s work is in Syria, a country known for its Islamic history. Syria and Islamic civilization go a long way back in history. As His Highness the Aga Khan said, “Those of you who know the history of Syria, the history of cities such as Aleppo, you will know how much they have contributed to the civilisations of Islam, to the practices of Islam, to the search for truth not only within Muslim communities, but with Jewish communities, Christian communities.
    [Show full text]
  • Jampudeep'na Sultan
    Jampudeep’na Sultan By Sairab Abu Turabi Bombay, 1983 [ Part II ] [1] The bungalow of Valcashwar in Bombay has become a historical place for Imam Sultan Muhammad Shah from 1885 to 1946. It is situated on the seashore. Before the Imam‟s Diamond Jubilee in 1946, one person hurriedly came in Valcashwar. He came in the tram and ran on the lofty place for five furlongs towards the bungalow. He requested the guards at the main door to allow him to go inside to see the Imam. He was asked its reason, to which he said that it was an important matter, which he could not tell to them. The other volunteers also came and did not let him to enter the bungalow. He said that he would go whatever it might be otherwise he would exclaim to the Imam loudly. In the meantime, the Imam came in the gallery and asked the matter. One among the three volunteers came up before the Imam, who said, “What is the matter? Who is there?” The volunteer briefly told the Imam about that person, who forcibly intended to enter the bungalow to see him. The Imam told to let him come. The person was allowed. With folded hands and tears in eyes, he saw the Imam and recited Salawat. The Imam asked, “What is the matter? Do you come for having a didar?” He said that he has beheld him, now he has one another request. The Imam allowed him to explain it. He said, “Khudavind, what is your today‟s program?” The Imam said that he had to attend one party and also told its address and name of the host.
    [Show full text]
  • The Aga Khans by the Same Author
    THE AGA KHANS BY THE SAME AUTHOR Twilight in Vienna The Nazis at War Goering Himmler The Navy's Here (written with Robert Jackson) 77ie Man Who Came Back European Commuter Grand Hotels of Europe Onassis FRONTISPIECE Taken in the spacious drawing-room of his Paris chateau in the He de la Cit6, overlooking the Seine, this rare photograph shows the Aga Khan with his whole family. Seated from left to right are Princess Andr£e, third wife of the late Aga Khan, Princess Joan Aly Khan, the Aga Khan's mother, Prince Karim, the Aga Khan, Princess Salima, his wife, Princess Mohammed Shah, the fourth and last wife of the late Aga Khan, and Princess Yasmin, daughter of Aly Khan and Rita Hayworth and half-sister to the Aga Khan. Standing, on the left, Prince Sadruddin Aga Khan, High Commissioner for Refugees in the United Nations, son of Princess Andr£e and the late Aga Khan and uncle of Prince Karim, and Prince Amyn, brother of Prince Karim, who works with him in his Geneva headquarters. WILLI FRISCHAUER The Aga Khans THE BODLEY HEAD LONDON SYDNEY TORONTO © Willi Frischauer 1970 ISBN 0 370 O1304 2 Printed and bound in Great Britain for The Bodley Head Ltd, 9 Bow Street, London WC2 by C. Tinling & Co. Ltd, Prescot Set in Monotype Plantin Light First published 1970 CONTENTS List of Illustrations, 7 Acknowledgments, 9 Chapters I - XVII, 13 Genealogy, 273 The Aga Khan Empire, 275 Bibliography, 277 Index, 279 ILLUSTRATIONS Frontispiece: The Aga Khan's family Aga Khan III at his installation, 48 A portrait of the young Aga Khan III, 49 Aly Khan with his mother, Teresa Magliano, 49 Aga Khan III and Begum Andree in 1938, 64 Aga Khan III and Yvette Labrousse in 1945, 64 Teresa Magliano, 65 Aga Khan III and Mile Carron at their wedding in 1929, 65 Aly Khan and the Hon.
    [Show full text]
  • Mohammad N. Miraly Faculty of Religious Studies Mcgill University, Montreal April 2012
    FAITH AND WORLD CONTEMPORARY ISMAILI SOCIAL AND POLITICAL THOUGHT Mohammad N. Miraly Faculty of Religious Studies McGill University, Montreal April 2012 A thesis submitted to McGill University in partial fulfillment of the requirements of the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Religious Studies © 2012 Mohammad N. Miraly TO MY F ATHER AND M OTHER TABLE OF CONTENTS Abstract i Résumé iii Acknowledgements v An Historical Note on Ismailism vii 1 Opening 1 2 The Study 15 Part I: 3 Speaking About Ismailism 24 4 The Contemporary Ismaili Historical Narrative 59 5 Ismaili Approaches to the Qur’an 103 6 The AKDN in Afghanistan: Ethos and Praxis 114 Part II: 7 Democracy, Secularism, and Social Ethics 138 8 Pluralism and Civic Culture 159 9 Knowledge and Learning 185 10 Closing: The Transnational Ismaili in Canada 202 Postscript: Wither Neutrality? 213 Appendix A: Preamble to the Constitution of the Shi`a Imami Ismaili Muslims 216 Appendix B: AKDN Organisation Chart 218 Selected Bibliography 219 ABSTRACT Contemporary Ismaili thought views the Ismaili tradition as connected to a historical past deriving from Qur’anic principles and the teachings of the Prophet Muhammad and his heirs, the Shi`a Imams. Thus, contemporary Ismailism’s focus on liberal values like democracy, pluralism, and education are articulated as contemporary forms of eternal Qur’anic ethical principles. The current and 49th Ismaili Imam, Aga Khan IV – who claims descent from the Prophet through his daughter, Fatima, and son-in-law, `Ali – articulates the principles of liberal democratic pluralism as the best means to realize ethical Islamic living in the present day.
    [Show full text]
  • Partition and Independence of India: 1924 Chair: Usama Bin Shafqat Committee Chair: Person ‘Year Director
    Partition and Independence of India: 1924 Chair: Usama Bin Shafqat Committee Chair: Person ‘year Director: Partition and Independence of India: 1924 PMUNC 2015 Contents Chair’s Letter………………………………………………………...…..3 Short History……………………………………………………………..5 The Brief – 1924…………………………………………………………7 Sources to Consider……………………………………………………...8 Roles……………………………………………………………………..9 Maps……………………………………………………………………12 2 Partition and Independence of India: 1924 PMUNC 2015 Chair’s Letter Dear Delegates, Welcome to one of the most uniquely exciting committees at PMUNC 2015! My name is Usama Bin Shafqat and I will be your chair as we engage in a throwback to the events that continue to define lives for more than a billion people today. I am from Islamabad, Pakistan and will be a sophomore this year—tentatively majoring in Operations Research and Financial Engineering. Model UN has always been my IR indulgence in an otherwise scientific education as I culminated my high school career by serving as the Secretary-General for the largest conference in Islamabad—the Millennial Model UN 2013. I’ve continued Model UN here at Princeton by helping out with both PMUNC and PICSIM last year—in Operations and Crisis, respectively. Outside of Model UN, I’m a major foodie and love cricket. This will be a historical crisis committee where we chart our own path through a subcontinent where the British are fast losing grip over their largest colony. We shall convene in the 1920s as political parties within India begin engaging with the masses and stand up more forcefully against the British Empire. Our emphasis will be on the interplay between the major parties in the discussions—the British, the Indian National Congress and the Muslim League.
    [Show full text]
  • Continuity and Change in a Muslim Community
    A Modern History of the Ismailis The Institute of Ismaili Studies The Institute of Ismaili Studies Ismaili Heritage Series, 13 General Editor: Farhad Daftary _______________________________________________________________________ Previously published titles: 1. Paul E. Walker, Abū Yaʽqūb al-Sijistānī: Intellectual Missionary (1996) 2. Heinz Halm, The Fatimids and their Traditions of Learning (1997) 3. Paul E. Walker, Ḥamīd al-Dīn al-Kirmānī: Ismaili Thought in the Age of al-Ḥākim (1999) 4. Alice C. Hunsberger, Nasir Khusraw, The Ruby of Badakhshan: A Portrait of the Persian Poet, Traveller and Philosopher (2000) 5. Farouk Mitha, Al-Ghazālī and the Ismailis: A Debate on Reason and Authority in Medieval Islam (2001) 6. Ali S. Asani, Ecstasy and Enlightenment: The Ismaili Devotional Literature of South Asia (2002) 7. Paul E. Walker, Exploring an Islamic Empire: Fatimid History and its Sources (2002) 8. Nadia Eboo Jamal, Surviving the Mongols: Nizārī Quhistānī and the Continuity of Ismaili Tradition in Persia (2002) 9. Verena Klemm, Memoirs of a Mission: The Ismaili Scholar, Statesman and Poet al-Muʼayyad fi’l-Dīn al-Shīrāzī (2003) 10. Peter Willey, Eagle’s Nest: Ismaili Castles in Iran and Syria (2005) 11. Sumaiya A. Hamdani, Between Revolution and State: The Path to Fatimid Statehood, Qadi al-Nuʽman and the Construction of Fatimid Legitimacy (2006) 12. Farhad Daftary, Ismailis in Medieval Muslim Societies (2005) The Institute of Ismaili Studies A Modern History of the Ismailis Continuity and Change in a Muslim Community Edited by Farhad Daftary The Institute of Ismaili Studies I.B.Tauris Publishers london • new york in association with The Institute of Ismaili Studies London, 2011 Published in 2011 by I.B.Tauris & Co.
    [Show full text]
  • Conceptions of Political Representation in 19Th and 20Th Century India
    Representation in the Shadow of Colonialism: Conceptions of Political Representation in 19th and 20th Century India by Jaby Mathew A thesis submitted in conformity with the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Department of Political Science University of Toronto © Copyright by Jaby Mathew (2017) Representation in the Shadow of Colonialism: Conceptions of Political Representation in 19th and 20th Century India Jaby Mathew Doctor of Philosophy Department of Political Science University of Toronto 2017 Abstract The starting point of this dissertation is the persistent political underrepresentation of Muslims in Indian legislatures since independence, and how this impugns Indian democracy’s claim to be egalitarian and inclusive. The study argues that specific institutional arrangements for enhancing democratic representation of marginalized groups must be understood in their historical context. Therefore, this dissertation examines the debates over political representation in colonial India, and the terms of settlement in the Constituent Assembly of India, where group representation rights were acknowledged for certain groups but not for religious minorities. Mapping these debates, this work illustrates how the political sociology underlying constituency definition shifted over time and generated the contemporary structure of political exclusion for Muslims. Further, the specific history of political representation in India reveals its use for both non-democratic (representation for ruling or governance) and democratic (representation for self-rule or self-governance) purposes. This dissertation argues that Indian thinkers’ ideas of political representation bear a dual relationship to colonial thinking about representation as a tool for control and governance – a duality that engendered possibilities for an alternative version of liberalism in India.
    [Show full text]