This thesis is concerned with tracing the rise and spread of that section of the Nizari Ismaili Da'wa which eventually gave rise to what has come to be known as Satpanth Ismailism. The spread in turn involves studying the activities and identifying the various da'is or pirs who came to India and spread the Satpanth doctrine. It is fundamental to the study of movements like Ismailism, that the historical context in which they spread be understood clearly and it is only in this way that one can hope to understand the intellectual assumptions of the movement, in relation to the technique of propagation adopted by the da'wa. Hence the thesis is also concerned, as far as possible, to set out systematically the historical context within which Satpanth Ismailism spread, in order to establish some sort of an identity for it.

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The Muslims of Pakistan and other countries such as Egypt are groping for ways to change their situation. The phenomenon of Islamic Resurgence in Pakistan is one major expression of this frantic desire of the Muslims to improve their lot through the acquisition of the control of the nation's political machinery. This political concern is something new and volatile. It has affected the life of Pakistan as a whole and that of the various Muslim groups within it. The Khojah Isma$ sp{ rm c}$ili response to the process of Islamization in Pakistan is reflected in their re-thinking of many aspects of religious traditions and beliefs, mainly those related to the concept of religious authority. The transition in the community's self-definition is that from the emphasis on its inherited traditional beliefs concerning the authority of the Imam to a posture more accommodating to the ethos of Pakistani Islam. Tensions have been generated as a consequence of this tradition, as well as social and economic mechanisms to cushion these tensions. The nature of Isma$ sp{ rm c}$ili response to the changing situation can be grasped through the understanding of their religious beliefs.