The fez is known as the "Rumi Topi", which means "Headdress of Rome" (by virtue of the Ottoman Empire being seen as the successor state of the Eastern Roman Empire). It is worn by some sections of the Muslim aristocracy of South Asia. It was also a symbol of the support for the Ottoman Caliphate against the British Indian Empire during the Khilafat Movement. Later, it became associated with some leaders of the Muslim League, the political party that eventually created the country of Pakistan. The veteran Pakistani politician Nawabzada Nasrullah Khan was one of the few people in Pakistan who wore the fez until his death in 2003.