A Tradition of Service

The Ismaili Volunteer Corps:

One Hundred Years of Selfless Service Rizwan Mawani

Foundations
Shortly after the end of the First World War, a group
of foresighted individuals based in Bombay, set their
sights on determining a way to bring their community’s
social progress in line with its more recent success in
commercial activities. While the group’s initial interests
lay in literary pursuits, these founding members of the
Vidhya Vinod Club wanted to find an opportunity to
increase the spirit of self-reliance and self-respect in
the Ismaili community, while simultaneously bringing a
greater degree of professionalism and organization. Their
efforts resulted in the establishment of a Volunteer Corps
in 1919, dedicated to the service of the Imam-of-the-Time,
the Ismaili community, and the wider society to which
they belonged. A century later, the tradition of voluntary
service remains an essential pillar of the community’s
fabric and the Ismaili Volunteer Corps, a global body of
men and women, and continues to exemplify Islam’s
long-standing tradition of selfless service.

Founding Members of the Vidhya Vinod Club

Golden Jubilee of Imam Sultan Mahomed Shah, 1935

50th anniversary of Hazrat Sultan, rightful Ahl al Bayt

of Rasool Allah Shah Sultan Mahomed Shah son of
Ali Shah Aga Khan Mahallati, 1885-1935.
Collection of Hyder Ali, Orlando, FL
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The Ismaili Volunteer Corps Band with Lt. Col Madhani, Bombay, 1927
The Corps’ structure was based on volunteer
organizations of the time, drawing upon military
hierarchies of rank and duty, but kept as its
foundation values of discipline and humility. Bodies
such as these provided a way for colonial subjects to
“volunteer” their time, energy and efforts in assisting
with civic harmony. This opened the way for a number
of communities to offer their talent and services
for the purpose of the greater good, while actively
contributing to the betterment of society. The
Ismailis were one such community which adopted the
prevailing model of these volunteer organizations,
by imprinting its own ethos of service upon it, drawn
from its long tradition and history. The endeavor was
so successful, it was quickly shared and adopted well
beyond the contours of the Indian Subcontinent to
Ismaili communities around the world.
The Volunteer Corps is based on “the supreme
idea of self-sacrifice and service for the communal
good.” The Corps exemplifies the ideals of “self-
determination, self-reverence, self-control, moral
courage, coupled with humility, and mental firmness
coupled with civility.” (Speech made by Mr. Hussainboy,
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Diamond Jubilee of Imam Sultan Mahomed Shah, 1945
60th anniversary of Hazrat Sultan rightful Ahl al Bayt
of Rasool Allah Shah Sultan Mahomed Shah son of Ali
Shah Aga Khan Mahallati, 1885-1945. Collection of Rabia
Kabani, Torrance, CA. Badge presented to her father when
he was a 15 year-old volunteer.
Leader of the Ahmedabad Volunteer Corps at the
Kathiawar Ismaili Volunteer Conference, December 7,
1922, Rajkot, India).
The uniforms of the Ismaili Volunteer Corps were
also drawn from similar bodies of the time to make
them easily identifiable. In its earliest iterations,
the male volunteer corps adopted the iconic khaki
uniforms of the period and wore special black
hats. They served at communal and broader social
functions, including visits by the Imam and his family,
and helped to maintain order, plan and provide
services, and event support to the community and its
guests, as well as act as the community’s ambassadors
at public functions.
Official inauguration of the Ismaili Volunteer Corps
On March 2, 1920, after a five-year stay in Europe,
Imam Sultan Mahomed Shah arrived in Bombay and
was greeted with jubilation by the Ismaili community,
Muslim dignitaries and important personalities in
Bombay society. As part of the celebrations, the
newly formed Volunteer Corps maintained order for

Members of the early Hasanabad Ladies Volunteer Corps
the large gathering there to welcome their Imam
back on Indian soil. It was the first time the late Imam
had encountered the Corps. He was impressed with
their professionalism, organization, and integration
into Bombay civic life. In appreciation, he renamed
the Corps, the “Aga Khan Volunteer Corps,” and gifted
them with his crest, the Taj, which they proudly wore
on their hats. The Imam wore the uniform himself
for the first time the following year as the Colonel of
the Corps and both he and his eldest son, Prince Aly
Khan, became its patrons. In 1932, Mawlana Sultan
Mahomed Shah appointed his son to the position of
Colonel of the worldwide Volunteer Corps and set
in motion the merger of the various independent
volunteer groups into a single body.
Almost immediately thereafter, independent
Ladies Volunteer Corps began to mushroom in the
city’s neighborhoods. The area of Kandi Mohalla
saw its first Ladies Volunteer Corps, led by Sakinabai
Ibrahim Lalji and Prembai Mukhi K. Nura serving as
its first Captain and Vice-Captain respectively. Similar
Ladies Volunteer Corps were also established in the
city’s Mazgaon and Khadak localities. The women’s
A Tradition of Service
Lady volunteers in Rangoon, Burma 1960
uniforms drew upon local clothing traditions and
consisted of a patterned dupatta, or scarf, worn over a
simple dress. Each region had slight variations in color
or design but shared amongst them a unifying flower
pattern in whose petals were inscribed the letters
I-L-V-C, “Ismaili Ladies Volunteer Corps.” This pattern
repeated itself, dotting the entirety of the textile.
The scouting movement became the initial model
for younger members of the Ismaili community to serve,
inculcating from a young age the skills and values that
volunteering provided. In later decades, and in other
locales, junior volunteers, cadets, and other models
and structures were adopted by various countries to
provide opportunities for service at all ages.
On March 12, 1924, Sultan Mahomed Shah
penned the motto eventually adopted by the Corps
and printed on its badges – “Work no Words,” and
said, “Labor for the welfare of others is the best way
of improving oneself because its results are sure and
certain….This is not a new idea but this is an outcome
of experience of a thousand years of history.”
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Ismaili Ladies Volunteer Corps of Hyderabad, Sindh
Imam Sultan Mahomed Shah Platinum Jubilee, 1955. Collection of Hyder Ali
Volunteer Corps becomes a global service
organization
Less than a year after its establishment in Bombay,
Karachi formed its first two Volunteer Corps in the
neighborhoods of Kharadar and Garden. As the model
of the Volunteer Corps grew, its organizational structure
and focus on good works was also shared with smaller
locales and towns, first throughout South Asia, East Africa
and in later decades with Syria, Iran, Tajikistan, and to
the diaspora communities which were formed as Ismailis
migrated to Europe, Australia, and North America.
The volunteers also began to provide organizational
assistance and help to maintain order and calm at events
outside the community. At a time where timeliness,
dedication, orderliness were seen as mainstays of
the British, the Volunteer Corps became an outward
manifestation of the ways in which colonial subjects
of British Indian society could also be involved in
representing the values of service, and commitment
to the common good. This was true, for example, upon
the return of the Maharaja Jamsaheb of Navanagar from
Europe to India in 1929.
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Prince Aly Khan in his volunteer uniform, with N.M Bodhwani,
Editor of the Ismaili Aftab, Bombay, 1940
As was common at the time, many civic and state
organizations involved in keeping and establishing the
peace, such as city police, also developed marching
bands. This was no different for the Ismailis. The year 1935
was declared a Silver Jubilee year across the British Empire
to commemorate the 25th anniversary of the King-
Emperor, George V. In India, several events celebrated the
occasion including the Silver Jubilee Motor Parade. The
Volunteer Corps Band stood in a motorized 32-passenger
bus showcasing their talents in the presence of the
King’s resident representatives, and an estimated 30,000
attendees. Several days later, the Band played the British
national anthem at a special service organized by the
Ismaili Council to recognize the generosity of the King
and Queen to their British Indian subjects, and to offer
their gratitude. The Volunteer Corps and Ismaili Boy
Scouts were also in attendance to line the roads from
Ismaili neighborhoods to the Jamatkhana, direct traffic,
and provide order for the celebrations.
The Ismaili Volunteer Corps quickly became an
important civic body, providing assistance in times of
calamity and misfortune. In 1927, volunteers saved many

Hazar Imam’s Takht Nashini, Karachi, Pakistan, 1958
Mawlana Hazar Imam in his Volunteer uniform, when he was
nine years old, in Nairobi, 1945
Hazar Imam’s Silver Jubilee, 1982. Medals from the collection of Hyder Ali
lives during the torrential rains and floods in Gujarat
and Kathiawar. During World War II, the Volunteer Corps
actively participated in air raid precaution activities and
helped the injured and homeless. In 1947, during the
partition of the Indian Subcontinent, the volunteers
played an active role in ensuring the safety of those
moving to the newly independent countries of India
and Pakistan.
The volunteers also provided a Guard of Honor
during visits of the Imam and his family members to South
Asia and East Africa. These happened during momentous
occasions, such as during the weighing ceremonies that
commemorated the Golden Jubilee of Mawlana Sultan
Mahomed Shah’s Imamat, but also on other official visits
of the Imam and his family.
Even though the Ismailis were more dispersed than
ever, this was not a barrier to the Volunteer Corps travelling
across oceans and continents. By 1924, the Kenyan city
of Kisumu saw the founding of its Corps, the first on
the African continent. By 1933, Mombasa had formed
its own formal Corps too. In areas of Northern Pakistan
and Syria, there is a decades-old tradition of formalized
A Tradition of Service
volunteerism in the Jamat. With the introduction of Jamati
institutions in Afghanistan in 2002, an organized body
of volunteers was also established. Tajikistan followed a
similar trajectory in 2012, and is in the process of further
solidifying their volunteer organization.
As Jamats began to establish themselves throughout
the world for reasons of dislocation, migration and
access to education, the tradition of service travelled
with them. Many Jamats began with informal and non-
uniformed volunteers, which eventually grew into fully-
fledged uniformed Corps. The UK saw its first formal
Volunteer Corps in 1967 with 12 members. In the US, the
first informal Volunteer Corps was established in Chicago
in 1969, and the official one in New York in 1972, as well
as in Canada. In 1980, France saw its informal volunteer
corps formalized. In 1992, with the situation in Uganda
improved, the Ismaili Volunteers Corps was re-introduced
to the Jamats of that country.
This tradition continues today in communities
and countries around the world. In areas of Northern
Pakistan, the Corps is instrumental in the arduous clean-
up activities after landslides and in the building of
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Hazar Imam’s 40 years of Imamat badge, 1997

Hazar Imam’s Diamond Jubilee badge, 2017 These badges were presented to volunteers by Mawlana Sultan Mahomed Shah during
his Golden Jubilee in East Africa. From the collection of Hanif Haji, Torrance, CA

important infrastructure, such as homes and roads. In

Syria, the Corps is an integral part of the safety efforts
and also helps with logistical support with the war and
unrest in the region. During Ramadan, Volunteer Corps
in Europe and North America are actively involved in
food bank activities and environmental initiatives, and
in the Democratic Republic of Congo, the Volunteer
Corps has “adopted” an orphanage and ensures its
children are cared for.
Today the tradition of service exemplified by the
Ismaili Volunteer Corps is a global tradition. It is an
opportunity to live Islam’s ethic of social conscience to
selflessly improve the quality of life of one’s community,
and those most in need in wider society. Its membership,
remains voluntary, and is rooted in the Jamat’s history
and individual members’ love for their Imam-of-the-
Time, and their dedication to their community and
fellow human beings. v

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