Who is mr jinnah

He had refused a knighthood and even a doctorate from his favourite university:. Not all Muslims looked up to Jinnah. Many criticized him, some because they found him too Westernized, others because he was too straight and uncompromising.

One young man, motivated by religious fervour and belonging to the Khaksars, a religious party, attempted to assassinate him on 26 July Armed with a knife he broke into Jinnah's home in Bombay and succeeded in wounding him before he was overpowered. Jinnah publicly appealed to his followers and friends to 'remain calm and cool' Wolpert The League declared 13 August a day of thanksgiving throughout India. In Jinnah presided over the League meeting in which the Lahore Resolution was moved calling for a separate Muslim homeland.

In the Muslim League triumphed in the general elections. The League was widely recognized as the third force in India along with the Congress and the British. Even Jinnah's opponents now acknowledged him: Gandhi addressed him as Quaid-i-Azam. The Muslim masses throughout India were now with him, seeing in him an Islamic champion. By the time Mountbatten came to India as Viceroy in Jinnah was dying; he would be dead in Neither the British nor the Congress suspected the gravity of Jinnah's illness.

Many years later Mountbatten confessed that had he known he would have delayed matters until Jinnah was dead; there would have been no Pakistan. There were several dramatic twists and turns on the way to Pakistan, with Jinnah trying to negotiate the best possible terms to satisfy the high expectations and emotions of the Muslims.

Pakistan was finally conceded in the summer of , with Jinnah as its Governor-General. It was, in his words, 'moth-eaten' and 'truncated', but still the largest Muslim nation in the world. In Karachi, its capital, as Governor-General Jinnah delivered two seminal speeches to the Constituent Assembly on 11 and 14 August see chapter 7. Suddenly, at the height of his popularity, Jinnah resigned the presidency of the League. Despite his legendary reserve and the seriousness of his position, Jinnah retained his quiet sense of humour.

As Governor-General, when he was almost worshipped in Pakistan, he was told that a certain young lady had said she was in love with his hands Bolitho Shortly afterwards, she was seated near him at a function, and Jinnah mischievously asked her not to keep looking at his hands. The lady was both thrilled and embarrassed at having amused the Quaid-i-Azam. By now his health was seriously impaired.

He was suffering from tuberculosis, and his heavy smoking -- fifty cigarettes a day of his favourite brand, Craven A -- and punishing work schedule had also taken their toll. Jinnah died on 11 September at the age of The nation went into deep mourning see plates 4 and Quite spontaneously, hundreds of thousands of people joined the burial procession -- a million people, it was estimated.

They felt like orphans; their father had died. Dina, on her only visit to Pakistan, recalls 'the tremendous hysteria and grief'. The grief was genuine. Those present at the burial itself or those who heard the news still look back on that occasion as a defining moment in their lives. They felt an indefinable sense of loss, as if the light had gone out of their lives. As a typical example take the case of Sartaj Aziz, a distinguished Pakistani statesman. He remembers the impact that hearing of Jinnah's death had on him.

He had fainting fits for three days. His mother said that he did not respond in the same manner to his own father's death.

A magnificent mausoleum in Karachi was built to honour Jinnah. The closest members of Jinnah's family were his sister Fatima, his wife Ruttie and their daughter, their only child, Dina. Ruttie and Dina are problematic for many Pakistanis, especially for sociological and cultural reasons. For the founder of the nation -- the Islamic Republic of Pakistan -- to have married a Parsee appears inexplicable to most Pakistanis.

Jinnah's orthodox critics taunted him, composing verses about him marrying a kafirah, a female infidel Khairi ; see also G. Dina is seen by many as the daughter who deserted her father by marrying a Christian. Because she did not go to live in Pakistan Dina is regarded as 'disloyal'. Pakistanis have blotted out Ruttie and Dina from their cultural and historical consciousness. Thus Professor Sharif al Mujahid, a conscientious and sympathetic biographer and former director of the Quaid-i-Azam Academy in Karachi, does not mention either woman in his page volume Nor did the archives, pictorial exhibitions and official publications contain more than the odd picture of the two.

Someone appears to have been busy eliminating their photographs. It is almost taboo to discuss Jinnah's personal life in Pakistan; Ruttie and Dina, his beloved wife and daughter, have both been blacked out from history. None the less, it is through a study of his family that we see Jinnah the man and understand him more than at any other point in his life because that is when he exposes his inner feelings to us. The relationship between Jinnah and his sister Fatima see plate 2 is important in helping us to understand Jinnah, the Muslim movement leading to Pakistan and Pakistan history.

Her name of course comes from that of the Prophet's daughter and symbolizes traditional Muslim family life. Born in , Fatima was a constant source of strength to her brother, and after his death she remained the symbol of a democratic Pakistan true to his spirit, a symbol of modern Muslim womanhood. After their father's death in , Jinnah became her guardian, first securing her education as a boarder at a convent when she was nine in and then enrolling her in a dental college in Calcutta in In he helped her set up a clinic in Bombay.

All this was done in the face of opposition at home because Muslim society of the time discouraged Western education and Western professions for its women F.

Jinnah xvii. When Ruttie died, Fatima gave up her career as a dentist at the age of 36 and moved into Jinnah's house to run it and look after Dina; she then accompanied Jinnah on his voluntary exile in London. But in , Jinnah shifted to the opposite view and began supporting separate electorates. Still, overall, he retained the belief that the rights of Muslims could be protected in a united India. At that stage of his political career, Jinnah left Congress and dedicated himself more fully to the Muslim League.

He and his second wife separated. Rutti lived as a recluse at the Taj Mahal Hotel in Bombay for the next year, until she died on her 29th birthday. By Jinnah came to believe in a Muslim homeland on the Indian subcontinent. His former vision of Hindu-Muslim unity no longer seemed realistic to him at this time. During a meeting of the Muslim League at Lahore, Jinnah proposed the partition of India and the creation of Pakistan, in the area where Muslims constitute a majority.

Four years later, Britain sent a cabinet mission to India to outline a constitution for transfer of power to India. India was then divided into three territories. The first was a Hindu majority, which makes up present-day India. The second was a Muslim area in the northwest, to be designated as Pakistan. The third was made up of Bengal and Assam, with a narrow Muslim majority.

After a decade, the provinces would have the choice of opting out on the formation of a new federation. But when the Congress president expressed objections to implementing the plan, Jinnah also voted against it.

He was also made president of Pakistan's constituent assembly shortly before his death. Early life. This reference article is mainly selected from the English Wikipedia with only minor checks and changes see www. See also our Disclaimer. When Ruttie died, Jinnah was in Delhi. On February 22, Jinnah reached Bombay. He broke down and wept like a child. She wrote to him in October while coming back from Paris to India.

I only beseech you that our tragedy, which commenced with love, should also end with it. Jinnah barely sixteen sailed for London in the midst of winter. When he was saying goodbye to his mother her eyes were heavy with tears.

He told her not to cry and said that he will return a great man from England and not only she and the family but the whole country will be proud of him. This was the last time he saw his mother, for she, like his wife, died during his three and a half year stay in England. The youngest passenger on his own, was befriended by a kind Englishman who engaged in conversations with him and gave tips about life in England.

He also gave Jinnah his address in London and later invited to dine with his family as often as he could. His father had deposited enough money in his son's account to last him for the three years of the intended stay. Jinnah used that money wisely and was able to have a small amount left over at the end of his three and a half year tenure. When he arrived in London he rented a modest room in a hotel.

He lived in different places before he moved into the house of Mrs. Page-Drake as a houseguest at 35 Russell Road in Kensington. This house now displays a blue and white ceramic oval saying that the 'founder of Pakistan stayed here in Page- Drake, a widow, took an instant liking to the impeccably dressed well-mannered young man. Her daughter however, had a more keen interest in the handsome Jinnah, who was of the same age of Jinnah. She hinted her intentions but did not get a favorable response.

This was granted to him in April Though he found life in London dreary at first and was unable to accept the cold winters and gray skies, he soon adjusted to those surroundings, quite the opposite of what he was accustomed to in India.

After joining Lincoln's Inn in June , he developed further interest in politics. He thought the world of politics was 'glamorous' and often went to the House of Commons and marveled at the speeches he heard there. Although his father was furious when he learnt of Jinnah's change in plan regarding his career, there was little he could do to alter what his son had made his mind up for.

At that point in life Jinnah was totally alone in his decisions, with no moral support from his father or any help from Sir Frederick. He was left with his chosen course of action without a pillar of support to fall back upon. It would not be the only time in his life when he would be isolated in a difficult position. But without hesitation he set off on his chosen task and managed to succeed.

During his stay in London, Jinnah frequently visited the theatre. He was mesmerized by the acting, especially those of the Shakespearean actors. His dream was to 'play the role of Romeo at the Old Vic. This was no passing phase in life, but an obsession which continued even in his later years.

With a theatrical prop, his monocle, always in place in court, he performed like an actor on stage in front of the judge and jury. With dramatic interrogations and imperious asides, he was regarded as a born actor.

After being enrolled to the Bar he went with his friends to the Manager of a theatrical company who asked him to read out pieces of Shakespeare. On doing so, he was immediately offered a job. He was exultant and wrote to his parents about his newfound passion. He said, 'I wrote to them that law was a lingering profession where success was uncertain; a stage career was much better, and it gave me a good start, and that I would now be independent and not bother them with grants of money at all.

They were surprised, and they tried to persuade me, but my mind was made up. According to the terms of the contract I had signed with them, I was to have given them three months notice before I quitting. But you know, they were Englishmen, and so they said: "Well when you have no interest in the stage, why should we keep you, against your wishes?