The Jinnah i never knew

Arts & Culture Culture, Arts, Literature & Linguistics
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When i attended a Pakistani school in Abu Dhabi, all of our school books (except for the Arabic ones which were printed by the Arab presses), contained in their first page a picture of Quaid-e-Azam, usually followed by one of Iqbal. Jinnah’s portrait was everywhere - we studied his speeches, had tests on brief details of his biography. i remember one story we would ALWAYS be told each year, is of him as a 14, 15 year old studying at his desk by candlelight, and his sister Fatima would come in and chide him gently telling him to go to sleep. But he would stay up, reading, constantly reading. The weird part is, it’s only subsequent to coming to Canada, that i have gained a deeper appreciation for this human being. The more i learn about him, the more fascinated i am by his personality and his accomplishments. Whatever his personal failings, and God only knows none of us are perfect, i would place him on a par as truly among one of the greatest historical figures in history.

In light of 23 March approaching, i wanted to discuss what Jinnah means to you personally and what aspects of him are you most proud of. Not just that he ‘gave us a homeland’ - yes we’ve all been hammered that from childhood. But he did far, far more than that, i think… i think he left us a responsibility to follow in his amazing professional footsteps.

i was told by some Guppies to read Stanley Wolpert’s book on Jinnah… and it’s every bit as good as they said it was. There are certain aspects about Jinnah that i was not aware of initially. For example, prior to ~1930, he was one of the foremost ambassadors of Hindu-Muslim unity… infact, i think all proud Indians today owe a debt of gratitude to Jinnah because of his unwavering fight for the rights of ALL Indians, both Hindus and Muslims. In the early 1900s, he fought against diverse British legislative enactments that sought to restrict the participation of Indians in civil service. There is literally too much for me to list here of his accomplishments in this area…

Other aspects of his accomplishments include his personal integrity. At one point, someone had offered to give him the title of “Sir” - which would have placed him in the social elite class in the British Raj. He refused. There is a memorable quote by him in Wolpert’s book where he says something along the lines of, “I am plain Mr. Jinnah and I want to be referred to as Mr. Jinnah”. Even “Sir” Allama Iqbal and “Sir” Syed Ahmad Khan had both accepted these titles…but Jinnah would not.

Until about 1930, he fought tirelessly to bring together the Muslim League and the Congress arguing that without Hindu-Muslim unity, there would be no hopes for an effective transition into independence… infact, at times in some of his speeches, you can almost see him predicting that catastrophe lay in the absence of this unity.

There’s so much more i wanna say about this, but i think before i put y’all (and myself) to sleep, i better stop. :o Does anyone have anything to share about this intriguing historical individual?

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On August 15th, 1947 he addressed a country a few hours old over the radio from Lahore:
*“The creation of the new state has placed a tremendous responsibility on the the citizens of Pakistan. It gives them an opportunity to demonstrate to the world how a nation containing many elements can live in peace and amity and and work for the betterment of all its citizens irrespective of caste or creed. Our object should be peace within, and peace without. We want to live peacefully and maintain cordial friendly relations with our immediate neighbours and with the world at large.” *

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Princess Abida Sultan Interview

*Why was Mountbatten not the right man for the job?

I think he did a very, very prejudiced job. It was a matter that concerned millions and millions of people. It needed proper thinking out. I mean, you couldn’t think out all this within three months. Pakistan was not a reality, Pakistan was a dream.Within a very short period you had to chalk out all the details, but there was not time for it. Mountbatten insisted on take it or leave it. So Mr. Jinnah had to take it. I mean he was given no alternative. They should have allowed some time, instead of causing all that massacre, bloodshed and all that. Lots of territories went unjustly to India, all because of Mountbatten.

What was his personality like?

He was a very good looking, very impressive sort of an officer, but beyond that I didn’t go near enough. I was too proud. In the first place, he was too conceited. In the second place he though that every woman who set eyes on him fell in love with him, and I wasn’t that kind, I wasn’t going to give him that satisfaction, so I just ignored him.

He was vindictive. Jinnah couldn’t stand him. And Mountbatten couldn’t stand Jinnah.

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another very interesting discussion Nadia! :k:

apart from the cliched “he made us our motherland”, our Quaid-e-Azam Jinnah was nothing short of a hero, in every sense of the word hero. to me personally, he represents a symbol of strength; of mind and character. he was no Che Guevara with those rebellious eyes and cap, and that guerrilla warrior stance, but he sure had the ability to achieve what no warrior hero ever has in modern times. he defeated his enemy at his own game, not once allowing them the opportunity to put him behind bars. that represents supernatural mental and analytical abilities. in qualifying the bar exam and passing through London’s Lincoln’s Inn at age 19 he is an out of this world inspiration for me. he devoted his entire life to other people and was so much focused on what he wanted that he stopped caring about his own health or personal life. that may go against him too, for some might say he suffered from OCD and paid no attention to his family. but that’s just a negative view. how many times in our lives we ordinary people want to give something our best but we just cant! we either lack the physical strength, the mental strenght to concentrate and focus, the ability to remain consitent or being patient. when an exam’s near we just cant spend 20 hours studying to pass; he spent that much time studying in his library to prepare speeches and do research. without that much hard work there was no way he could have achieved what he did.
every bit of his life, every period at every age is an extraordinary example for us to follow. as a student he must have been one hell of a brilliant guy to achieve the highest posible qualification of barrister before even turning 20. as a professional he crossed all boundaries of success through his sheer hard work, integrity and personal strengths by the time he was 40. he was a man of principle and acted ypon his preachings. he was one of India’s leading lawyers earning some 50000/ month back in early 1940s. as a politician he was gifted with enormous courage, patience and abilities. he had character. as a father, there is this feeling among some pakistanis that he was a bad father and disowned his daughter Dina for having married a Parsi against his will while he fought for the cause of muslims. it’s wrong. he did oppose to her marrying a parsi man but didnot disown her, but was annoyed at her, for it created a bad impression. I have seen Quaid’s will and he left a portion of his wealth for her. as a brother one may not find a finer example, he left all his property in the hands of his beloved sister Fatima who was very much like him in personal qualities. and in his private romantic life, as a husband, he was an extraordinary example too. he could have remarried after Ruttie Jinnah died; he never could love anyone else. whatever he did, he did with sincerity, passion, devotion and faith that what he was doing was what had to be done. he did nothing he wasnt convinced or sure about. the story of his marriage to Ruttie the daughter of an influential Parsi is a classic love story with him as a perfect glamorous gentleman romantic hero. he was not just a bore, a dry personality. he was everything a man can be. a son, a brother, a lover, a husband, a father, a statesman, and mostly a daring hero who we can look upto and hope to be like. atleast half like him!
everytime i pass by his tomb in Karachi i wish i were in the armed services and wore a uniform so i could stand firm at his grave and salute with all my strength!
May he be blessed.

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Re: The Jinnah i never knew

[QUOTE]
*Originally posted by Nadia_H: *

i was told by some Guppies to read Stanley Wolpert's book on Jinnah... and it's every bit as good as they said it was. There are certain aspects about Jinnah that i was not aware of initially. For example, prior to ~1930, he was one of the foremost ambassadors of Hindu-Muslim unity... infact, i think all proud Indians

[/quote]

I dont think you paid attention in school then, the history books (even in the matriculation system) DO state that he was one of the best ambassadors of Hindu Muslim unity, and the events that changed his views on the two nation theory. All the things that you mentioned are well known about Jinnah. There are, however some other things about him which people do not seem to know. I came accross a BIG book with his pictures in the ministry library, and those pictures too, without words said so much about his personality. I never knew he had two dobermans and was extremely good at snooker. History books do not mention such things, but believe me, such things speak alot about his dynamic personality and class.

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Soical studies again
No way

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Father of the Nation Quaid-i-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah's achievement as the founder of Pakistan, dominates everything else he did in his long and crowded public life spanning some 42 years. Yet, by any standard, his was an eventful life, his personality multidimensional and his achievements in other fields were many, if not equally great. Indeed, several were the roles he had played with distinction: at one time or another, he was one of the greatest legal luminaries India had produced during the first half of the century, an `ambassador of Hindu-Muslim unity, a great constitutionalist, a distinguished parliamentarian, a top-notch politician, an indefatigable freedom-fighter, a dynamic Muslim leader, a political strategist and, above all one of the great nation-builders of modern times. What, however, makes him so remarkable is the fact that while similar other leaders assumed the leadership of traditionally well-defined nations and espoused their cause, or led them to freedom, he created a nation out of an inchoate and down-trodden minority and established a cultural and national home for it. And all that within a decade. For over three decades before the successful culmination in 1947, of the Muslim struggle for freedom in the South-Asian subcontinent, Jinnah had provided political leadership to the Indian Muslims: initially as one of the leaders, but later, since 1947, as the only prominent leader- the Quaid-i-Azam. For over thirty years, he had guided their affairs; he had given expression, coherence and direction to their legitimate aspirations and cherished dreams; he had formulated these into concrete demands; and, above all, he had striven all the while to get them conceded by both the ruling British and the numerous Hindus the dominant segment of India's population. And for over thirty years he had fought, relentlessly and inexorably, for the inherent rights of the Muslims for an honourable existence in the subcontinent. Indeed, his life story constitutes, as it were, the story of the rebirth of the Muslims of the subcontinent and their spectacular rise to nationhood, phoenixlike.

[thumb=E]jinnah19954_4121928.JPG[/thumb]

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Re: The Jinnah i never knew

[QUOTE]
*Originally posted by Nadia_H: *
story we would ALWAYS be told each year, is of him as a 14, 15 year old studying at his desk by candlelight, and his sister Fatima would come in and chide him gently telling him to go to sleep. But he would stay up, reading, constantly reading.

[/QUOTE]

that ws also the one way to put children it habit of reading and studing in order to become a good human and leader

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Re: Re: The Jinnah i never knew

[QUOTE]
Originally posted by Spock: *
**I dont think you paid attention in school then, the history books (even in the matriculation system) DO state that he was one of the best ambassadors of Hindu Muslim unity, and the events that changed his views on the two nation theory. All the things that you mentioned are well known about Jinnah. There are, however some other things about him which people do not seem to know. I came accross a BIG book with his pictures in the ministry library, and those pictures too, without words said so much about his personality. I never knew he had two dobermans and was extremely good at snooker. History books do not mention such things, but believe me, such things speak alot about his dynamic personality and class.
[/QUOTE]
*

Not the history books at my school, at any rate. But i agree there is a great deal that SOME history books tend not to mention.

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**

That’s one of the links i discovered a few days ago, Zakk. Interesting audio samples there, eh. It’s sad, today, to hear him talk about Pakistan living peacefully and maintaining cordial relations when you think about current political turmoil - wonder what he would have made of the Taliban and the entire “war” against Afghanistan. For all the respect that individuals have of him, there is one thing for which i have heard some Pakistanis state they can’t forgive him, although of course in this he is entirely blameless - why he had to pass away so early before Pakistan’s political roots could be implemented in a stable manner. If he had been able to take us through the first decade of the country’s birth, perhaps we would have seen less of the subsequent military coups and entrenched corruption. But that’s all speculation and fanciful thinking.

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[QUOTE]
Originally posted by Haris Zuberi: *
**Jinnah was nothing short of a hero, in every sense of the word hero. to me personally, he represents a symbol of strength; of mind and character. he was no Che Guevara with those rebellious eyes and cap, and that guerrilla warrior stance, but he sure had the ability to achieve what no warrior hero ever has in modern times. he defeated his enemy at his own game, not once allowing them the opportunity to put him behind bars. ...] everytime i pass by his tomb in Karachi i wish i were in the armed services and wore a uniform so i could stand firm at his grave and salute with all my strength! May he be blessed.
[/QUOTE]
*

wow. That's very passionately stated.

i am still halfway through Wolpert's book, at the part prior to Partition itself so have yet to read some of his post-1947 speeches and letters. So far, it's been a complete eye-opener in some respects. Wolpert at one point called him the 'finest barrister' (paraphrasing but it was a description very similar to that) India had ever produced uptil that time. Even the British viceroys he came into contact with, though they talked of his rigidity when holding certain views, had to admit that his mind was very sharp. Unlike some of the others who vacillated and changed their position often, including Congress officials but also Muslim provincial members of Congress, he stuck to his principles once he had given his word. His intelligence is just amazing, isn't it - you can see it in how he would articulate his League's position to different individuals, never giving an inch, always attached to his principles, willing to negotiate on his terms only. i think we will very rarely see an individual of his professional selflessness coupled with dedication and intelligence, again.

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Re: Re: The Jinnah i never knew

[QUOTE]
*Originally posted by Desi$oul: *
that ws also the one way to put children it habit of reading and studing in order to become a good human and leader
[/QUOTE]

heh so true.