New Delhi, September 9, 2026 (Yes Punjab News)
Prince Rahim Aga Khan V, the 50th hereditary Imam of the Shia Ismaili Muslims and Chair of the Aga Khan Development Network (AKDN), begins his seven-day visit to India on Wednesday at the invitation of Vice President C.P. Radhakrishnan.
According to the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), Prince Rahim will be in India until September 15 and is scheduled to call on President Droupadi Murmu and Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi. He will also meet Union Home Minister Amit Shah and External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar.
As part of the visit, Prince Rahim is scheduled to travel to Ahmedabad, Mumbai and Hyderabad, where the Aga Khan Development Network has undertaken various development and community initiatives.
The visit marks Prince Rahim’s first trip to India since he became the 50th hereditary Imam of the Ismaili community.
He was named the spiritual leader of the Shia Imami Ismaili Muslims in February 2025 following the death of his father, Prince Karim Al-Hussaini Aga Khan IV, in accordance with the community’s historical tradition of hereditary Imams.
The Ismaili community, which has followed a living hereditary Imam for nearly 1,400 years, has a presence in more than 35 countries and is estimated to number between 12 million and 15 million people.
Prince Rahim also serves on the boards of several agencies within the AKDN and has closely followed the work of the Institute of Ismaili Studies and the community’s social governance institutions.
His India visit comes against the backdrop of longstanding cooperation between the Aga Khan Foundation and India, particularly in areas of social development.
Prince Karim Aga Khan IV, who founded and chaired the AKDN, died in Lisbon on February 4, 2025, aged 88. Prime Minister Modi had condoled his death, describing him as a visionary who devoted his life to service and spirituality.
During his 2015 visit to India, Aga Khan IV was conferred the Padma Vibhushan for his contribution to social development. Modi had also praised the Aga Khan Foundation’s work in rural development and sanitation, areas he said he had witnessed first-hand during his tenure as Gujarat Chief Minister.
FOLLOW NOW
