[3] As part of adjudicating the dispute, Arnould undertook an extensive examination of the religious background of the Khoja caste.
[8] In terms of legal and political context, the Aga Khan case came between two important events in the history of British India: the Rebellion of 1857 and the resulting Government of India Act, which led to the codification of the legal systems of the Bengal, Madras, and Bombay presidencies, and the first Indian census in 1871, which saw the formalization of religious and caste identities as categories of classification.
[9] Amid this context, Arnould asserted that the case hung on the question of the “original religion” of the Khojas, as this would determine their identity and thus their rightful leader.
Second, Arnould wrote at length about persecution against the Ismailis; the concept of taqiyya, or concealment of religious opinion and identity; and the history of the Assassins and the relationship of Hasan-i Sabbah and the Aga Khan.
[16] During the long imamate of Aga Khan III (1885 to 1957), the Nizari Ismailis emerged as one of the most prominent Muslim groups in India.
As a member of the All India Muslim League, Aga Khan III played a key role in the Indian independence movement and in the creation of Pakistan.