Thoughts on the eve of 147th birth anniversary of Mohammad Ali Jinnah, the founder of Pakistan
Beyond the normal human equation, a metaphysical question arises as to what could be the mission behind the life and career of Mohammad Ali Jinnah. A former correspondent of the Pakistani daily Dawn who was stationed in Delhi, but now has settled in the UK, says: “Partition saved Hinduism”.
We say that without Jinnah, Partition was unlikely to have been possible. There was no other leader amongst the Muslims who could argue or negotiate with the British Viceroys and officials. Jinnah was the only Muslim who could argue and negotiate with the taller Congress leaders like Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel and Bhulabhai Desai and of course, Jawaharlal Nehru. Nor did any other Muslim Leaguer have an all-India stature. None else had shown to acumen a tactical scheme that could lead to Partition, such as the Direct Action of July-August 1946, which convinced the British as well as the Hindus that an undivided India would be a scabbard with two swords. Little wonder therefore, that Viceroy Mountbatten coming to Delhi was convinced that there was no alternative to Partitioning India before the British departed.
Jinnah was a second-generation Musalman. His grandfather was Poonjabhai Thakkar, a businessman, prominent in Dhoraji, not very far from Rajkot. Yet, as businesses do fluctuate in their fortunes, Poonjabhai’s happened to dip; he diversified into fish trading. This upset his vegetarian Lohana caste. Poonjabhai had no alternative for survival, except to stick to the trading of fish. The friction between the caste and its members led to Poonjabhai’s expulsion from the Lohana fold. On the rebound, Poonjabhai converted to an Ismaili Khoja, a follower of Sir Aga Khan. The post-conversion unease eventually led to the family’s migration to the port city of Karachi. His father Jinahbhai continued in his paternal trade, although he wanted his son to become a chartered accountant from London. Jinnah’s passport read “Mohammad Ali Jinabhai” and began to be known as such among his early acquaintances in London. “Jina” in Gujarati means tiny, and “bhai” means brother. Before long, he realized that accountancy was not his cup of tea. On the suggestion of his ‘dig’ or hostel mates he tried his hand at attending lectures and having dinners at the Lincoln’s Inn of law, which he liked. After he passed the Barrister-at-Law two years later, Jinnah learnt that he was too young to be presented with his certificate. He had to wait till he was 21.
The other activity Jinnah pursued was attending sessions of the House of Commons whenever he could and also assisting politicians. He served as a secretary of Dadabhai Naoroji, who became a Liberal Member of Parliament representing the Finsbury constituency from 1892 to 1895. All in all, Jinnah enjoyed life in London and became a brown Englishman before he returned to India. There is little evidence of his having evinced any interest in religion or matters of spirituality. His legal career dazzled as he progressed at the Bombay High Court. Many of his friends were Hindu, and he particularly enjoyed the company of high class Parsis. His brother Ahmed Ali told his friend and my grandfather Dharamdas Vora that “Culturally we brothers are Parsi. We did not pray nor did we have suitable clothes until Mohammed was made life president of the Muslim League”. Most Muslim Congressmen were members of the League, just as many Hindu Congressmen attended Hindu Mahasabha meetings. Until the Congress’ 1928 plenary session in Calcutta, Jinnah was a secular politician. The manner in which he was booed at the 1928 session left him sour and while leaving Calcutta, he told his friend Dewan Chaman Lal with tears in his eyes, “This is the parting of ways”. From Bombay, Jinnah migrated to London to pursue a fulltime legal practice. He was already the highest paid barrister in all of the British Empire.
While Jinnah led an upper-class life living in his own elegant house at Hampstead, he did miss his politics. In 1934, when Nawabzada Liaquat Ali Khan came visiting London, he had dinner with Jinnah to propose that the Qaid-e-Azam return to India to head the League and pump life into it.
Having ascertained that he was welcome, Jinnah returned to Bombay in 1935. Thereafter, the new president’s mind was focused on what aim and strategy thereof was needed for the League to be able to make its mark. The well known Pakistan Resolution was passed in the open session of the League on March 23, 1940. The resolution said that “The Hindus and Muslims are, opposite communities and cannot coexist in the same country. The answer therefore, was the partition of the country into Hindustan for the Hindus and & Pakistan for Muslims”.
Since Jinnah knew only English and some Gujarati, he addressed mass meetings in English, but yet set out to campaign for Partition. Partition therefore, ended up by becoming an event that was for the name and fame of Jinnah and his place in history as the founder of a nation.
(The writer is a well-known columnist, an author and a former member of the Rajya Sabha. The views expressed are personal.)
