THE late Prince Karim Aga Khan IV, who passed away in Lisbon last month, succeeded his grandfather, Sir Sultan Mahomed Shah Aga Khan 111, as the spiritual leader of the Shia Imami Ismaili Muslims in July 1957, when massive changes were taking place globally.
Having taken a year off from his studies at Harvard University, the Aga Khan IV decided to travel all over the world to gain a first-hand understanding of his followers’ needs and what would be required to ensure quality of life for them and the people among whom they lived, regardless of race, faith, gender or ethnicity.
On a visit to Hunza, on the border of Afghanistan and the People’s Republic of China, he undertook part of the journey on a donkey.
While trying to visualise programmes for the betterment of his followers he also reflected on the wide range of interventions needed to mitigate conflict and also improve the quality of life for people.
In east Africa, the Aga Khan IV upgraded education, health and economic development institutions pioneered by his grandfather under the old colonial system and provided them a meaningful role in nation-building activities as the countries in the region prepared for political independence.
Here, he understood the plight of the indigenous African people and while guiding his own community to prepare for the new reality of independence, he also founded the first African owned newspaper, the Nation Group, that would go on to lay the foundation of a responsible press in east Africa.
This eventually went on to spawn the Graduate School of Media and Communications of the Aga Khan University which he established; today it has faculties in six countries, spanning east Africa, south Asia and the UK.
The Aga Khan IV was involved in a range of activities globally, which included education, healthcare, low cost housing, micro finance, cultural regeneration programmes, energy development, rural support programmes, architecture, industrial development and eco-tourism.
He set up one of the most prestigious prizes in the world, The Aga Khan Award for Architecture, which recognised excellence in the sector, while engaging people from different disciplines. That award led to the setting up of the Aga Khan Trust for Culture, which today is responsible for a number of restoration projects in India, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Egypt, Uzbekistan, Spain as well as Canada.
In the field of rural development, he founded the Aga Khan Rural Support Programme (AKRSP) in northern Pakistan with Shoaib Sultan Khan, a protégé of the world renowned expert, Akhtar Hamid Khan. It became a model of a people-centric process which today is emulated in many parts of the world including the high mountain valleys of central Asia.
The Aga Khan IV’s greatest strength was his ability to listen to the needs of the people at the grassroots level and his readiness to consult. He believed that people were the best agents of their own transformation and was able to tap the talent of some of the best brains in the world.
A man of great humility, he shied away from praise. When asked by a leading Canadian TV journalists, (the late) Roy Bonisteel, how he would be liked to be remembered one day, the Aga Khan’s answer was a very categorical “not by name or by face”. If his programmes to help the people they were meant to serve actually reached them, then his mission in life would have been fulfilled, was his response.
His Highness Prince Rahim Aga Khan V
A pluralist by nature, the Aga Khan had a deep understanding of the pathology of conflict. He set up a Global Centre for Pluralism in partnership with the Canadian government to study conflict and the pre-emptive measures to prevent it.
In every field he was involved in, he aimed for excellence, but always kept in mind that to change society one must engage people and inspire hope in them.
He was known as an institution builder and has been succeeded by his eldest son His Highness Prince Rahim Aga Khan, who spent the past two decades working by his side on the Aga Khan Development Network (AKDN). It is a global umbrella organisation under which all these development activities are conducted.
As the Aga Khan V, Prince Rahim is well poised to continue a legacy that goes back centuries of an Islamic dynasty that founded Cairo and gave the world one of its first universities – the Al Azhar University, over a thousand years ago. We wish Prince Rahim Aga Khan an Imamat in which he continues to serve the cause of humanity as his noble ancestors did through the AKDN and the global Ismaili community of some 15 million settled in over 35 countries of the world.
Anurag Bajpayee's Gradiant: The water company tackling a global crisis
In a world increasingly defined by scarcity, one resource is emerging as the most quietly decisive factor in the future of industry, sustainability, and even geopolitics: water. Yet, while the headlines are dominated by energy transition and climate pledges, few companies working behind the scenes on water issues have attracted much public attention. One of them is Gradiant, a Boston-based firm that has, over the past decade, grown into a key player in the underappreciated but critical sector of industrial water treatment.
A Company Born from MIT, and from Urgency
Founded in 2013 by Anurag Bajpayee and Prakash Govindan, two researchers with strong ties to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Gradiant began as a scrappy start-up with a deceptively simple premise: make water work harder. At a time when discussions about climate change were centred almost exclusively on carbon emissions and renewable energy, the trio saw water scarcity looming in the background.
Their insight was that some of the world’s largest industries—semiconductors, pharmaceuticals, chemicals, food and beverage—were facing acute water-related challenges long before the general public grasped the issue. “Without water, these industries don’t just slow down; they stop,” Bajpayee has often remarked. What Gradiant offered was not just a way to save water, but a way to rethink how it is used, recycled, and valued.
The Engineers Behind the Mission
Anurag Bajpayee, the company’s CEO, whose academic path took him to MIT, where he completed a PhD in Mechanical Engineering focused on water treatment technologies. It was there that he met Govindan, a fellow engineer and now Gradiant's co-founder and COO, whose expertise complemented his in fluid mechanics and process engineering.
Unlike many founders who drift towards the language of venture capital and corporate strategy, Anurag Bajpayee and his team remained grounded in the technical problem: how to make industrial water treatment more efficient, more affordable, and more sustainable. The company still bears the imprint of its founders’ engineering roots. Gradiant is less Silicon Valley startup and more MIT lab, albeit one that has quietly expanded across Asia, the Middle East, Europe and North America.
What Gradiant Actually Does
The company specializes in designing and building bespoke water treatment and reuse systems for industrial clients. Its technologies are aimed at enabling factories and plants to reclaim water that would otherwise be discarded as waste, reducing both the amount of water withdrawn from natural sources and the volume of contaminated water discharged.
At the heart of Gradiant’s portfolio are proprietary technologies such as Counter Flow Reverse Osmosis (CFRO), Carrier Gas Extraction (CGE) and Selective Ion Recovery (SIR), developed from the Gradiant founders’ early research at MIT. Unlike traditional methods like reverse osmosis, these systems are designed to handle highly contaminated or complex wastewater streams, enabling clients to extract clean water even from previously unusable sources.
But Gradiant does not sell “one-size-fits-all” machines. Each project is tailored to the customer’s unique needs. For a semiconductor plant in Singapore, this might mean achieving ultrapure water reuse levels of 98%; for a food and beverage factory in Texas, it might be about safely treating wastewater for discharge while minimising energy consumption. The company's approach—sometimes called "solutioneering" internally—is both its competitive advantage and its raison d'être.
Expansion Without the Usual Hype
Gradiant’s growth has been quietly impressive. From its first commercial project in the oil and gas sector, it has gone on to complete over 500 installations worldwide. The company has raised more than $400 million in funding from a mix of institutional investors and private equity firms, achieving so-called “unicorn” status, with a valuation reportedly over $1 billion.
Unlike many green tech firms, Gradiant’s expansion has not been accompanied by flashy marketing campaigns or grandiose statements. Instead, the company has preferred to build credibility client by client, particularly in Asia, where water-intensive industries and growing environmental pressures make its services indispensable. Anurag Bajpayee, never one to speak in superlatives, frames the company’s expansion as a “response to urgent need” rather than a triumph of business.
Inside Gradiant’s Operations
At its core, Gradiant is still an engineering-first company. Anurag Bajpayee and Govindan, both technically trained and heavily involved in the company’s operations, have instilled a culture where R&D is not just a department but the lifeblood of the business. The firm currently holds more than 250 patents globally, a testament to its ongoing commitment to innovation.
But Gradiant’s success is not just about technology. The company has differentiated itself by offering not just equipment but full-service solutions, including project design, construction, operations, and maintenance. This full-stack approach has been particularly attractive to clients in highly regulated industries, who need water management solutions that work seamlessly and reliably without requiring deep in-house expertise.
Gradiant’s clients include some of the world’s largest manufacturers, including Fortune 500 companies in sectors like microelectronics, pharmaceuticals, and energy. Some, like semiconductor producers, rely on Gradiant to help them meet stringent water reuse targets while maintaining ultra-clean production environments.
Navigating a Changing World
Gradiant operates at the intersection of several converging trends: climate change, regulatory pressure, and industrial decarbonisation. In many regions, water scarcity has become the limiting factor for industrial growth, sometimes more than energy availability or supply chain constraints.
While public attention often focuses on domestic water use, it is industries that consume the lion’s share of freshwater. Gradiant's pitch is straightforward: industries will have to do more with less, and Gradiant offers the tools to make that possible.
Anurag Bajpayee is keenly aware of the paradox that water, despite being vital, is often underpriced and undervalued, especially when compared to energy. “We don’t pay what it’s worth, only what it costs,” he told an audience at a recent conference. Yet, the landscape is shifting. Regulators, investors, and companies themselves are increasingly acknowledging water as both a business risk and a social responsibility.
What's Next for Gradiant?
Looking ahead, Gradiant appears poised to play a central role as industries adapt to water scarcity. Yet, Anurag Bajpayee remains cautious about the hype cycle. "The problem we’re working on isn’t going anywhere," he says. "It’s not a question of innovation alone, but of execution—of making sure these solutions actually reach the places that need them most."
In an era where water risk is increasingly material to business, Gradiant’s quiet, technically grounded approach may prove to be exactly what is needed.
(The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of Eastern Eye. The publication does not endorse or take responsibility for the accuracy of any statements made by the author.)