Jinnah's plaque

A memorial plaque was unveiled on Wednesday 22 June 2005 at No. 35 Russell Road, Kensington, west London, to mark the residence there, in February 1895, of Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah, founder and first Govenor-General of Pakistan. The Pakistan High Commissioner, Mr Mohammed Ikramullah, unveiled the plaque on behalf of the London County Council.

Mr Jinnah had come to London to study Law at Lincon's Inn between 1892 and 1896. A register of readers at the British Museum gave the information that in February 1895 he had been living there, and that this had been confirmed by Jinnah's sister, Miss Fatima Jinnah, on 17 September 1953.

Quaid-e-Azam meeting supporters at Quetta Railway Station in 1945

originally uploaded by Doc Kazi.

Perhaps the first 'Train March' in our history

Subhas Chandra Bose with Mr. Jinnah

originally uploaded by Doc Kazi.

An ICS officer from Bengal, S C Bose (1897-1945) resigned from service and was twice elected president of the Congress but had to quit due to ideological differences with Gandhi and Nehru. He later became President of the Indian National Army during World War II. He travelled to Germany but disillusioned with Hitler, he moved to Japan and fought for the independence of India from British rule. Here he is seen in a meeting with Mr Jinnah. Bose commonly known as Netaji in India is believed to have died in an air crash on 18 August 1945 over Taiwan but his death is shrouded in mystery. He may have died as a Russian PoW in Siberia.

A rose between two thorns

originally uploaded by Doc Kazi.

Mr Jinnah's first meeting with the new viceroy Lord Mountbatten was a disaster. "It took most of the interview trying to unfreeze him" remarked Mountbatten afterwards. But at the end of the meeting things got better because a group photograph had to be taken and assuming that Edwina Mountbatten would be in the center Mr Jinnah planned that we would remark 'a rose between two thorns'. Apparently Mr Jinnah was placed in the center but he passed the remark anyway causing some laughter. The relations of the two men never improved significantly though. All the rest is history!

Mr. Jinnah talking to Louis Fischer of Time magazine in 1945

Click on the image to enlarge

Mr. Jinnah with friends

originally uploaded by Doc Kazi.

I got this rare photgraph from Mahmood on Victoria Road. He could not identify the others although the man in the center resembles the Nawab of Jungadh. The British General is Douglas Gracey. Mr Jinnah seems in a relaxed mood ostensibly with his favorite 'Craven A' cigarettes, which finally got him.

A Nation is orphaned

Mr Jinnah's daughter and sisters mourn his death on his funeral
A nation is orphaned, originally uploaded by Doc Kazi.

Quaid-e-Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah on the cover of Time Magazine in 1946

Mohamed Ali Jinnah on the cover of Time Magazine in 1946, originally uploaded by Doc Kazi.

Reorganization of All India Muslim League

While in England, the Quaid had been watching the events that were happening in India and was saddened to see how Muslim interests were being sacrificed by the chaotic situation within the Muslim League. The Muslim League was in the hands of rich landlords or some middle class intellectuals with limited horizons, while the All India Congress was emerging as the leading party for Indian independence.

In 1933, the "Now or Never" pamphlet by Choudhry Rehmat Ali was published in which the concept of a separate Muslim state was not only highlighted but the name "Pakistan" was also proposed for it. This motivated the young intellectuals of Aligarh and other universities to accelerate the growth of Muslim political consciousness throughout India.

Jinnah realized that organizing the Muslims of India into one powerful and dynamic organization was badly needed and that he would face enormous difficulties in that task.

On March 4, 1934, in a combined meeting of various factions of the Muslim League, Delhi, the formation of one Muslim League was decided and Jinnah was elected as president of that Muslim League. He was given an enthusiastic welcome on his arrival in Delhi in April 1934.

He called a meeting of the All India Muslim League Council in Delhi in October 1934 and decisions were taken to prepare grounds for the radical transformation of the Muslim League into a mass party representative of all sections of the Muslim community. After two trips to England in that year, Jinnah finally returned for good in December 1934. This was the start of a new era in India's struggle for independence. The All India Congress was not willing to acknowledge the Muslim cause and insisted on portraying only two parties in this regard, the Congress and the British. Jinnah emphasized the fact that the Congress could not win the battle of freedom until it gained the support of all the communities and assurance was not given to the minorities about their rights and protection of interest in an independent India.

On February 5, 1935 at a meeting of the Muslim Union at Aligarh, Jinnah said, "I am convinced and you will agree with me that the Congress policy is to divide the Muslims among themselves. It is the same old tactics of the British Government. They follow the policy of their masters. Don't fall into the trap. This is a moment of life and death for the Muslims…The Muslim League is determined to win freedom, but it should be a freedom not only for the strong and the dominant but equally for the weak and the suppressed."

He performed two important tasks after his return from England; the first was to unite and activate the Muslim League as the sole representative body of the Muslims of India. The second was to continue the struggle for freedom of India on constitutional lines.

The reorganization of the Muslim League was a difficult task and he was faced with enormous difficulties including opposition from petty politicians with local interests, the propaganda of the Congress-paid nationalist Muslims and open hostility of leaders from different provinces of Muslim majority. He set an example of political and moral rectitude that was unparalleled in India. He meant what he said and was extremely honest in his dealings with friends and foes alike. He followed certain well-defined principles and nothing could persuade him to deviate from this path. He exercised his powers as president with due regard to democratic principles, acted according to the constitution of the Muslim League and never exceeded his powers as president.

London 1931

In January 1931, the Quaid called for his daughter and sister Fatima in London and took up residence there. He was disappointed by the attitude of the British and the Hindus at the Round Table Conferences. He wrote in a letter to his friend Abdul Matin Choudary:

‘I have come to the conclusion that I can be more useful here at any rate for the present. The centre of gravity is here and for the next two or three years London will be the most important scene of the Indian drama of constitutional reforms.’

The Quaid addressing the students of the Muslim University Union said:

“I received the shock of my life at the Round Table conference…. I began to feel that neither could I help India, nor change the Hindu mentality, nor make the Mussalmans realize their precarious position. I felt so disappointed and so depressed that I decided to settle down in London. Not that I did not love India; but I felt utterly helpless. I kept in touch with India. At the end of four years I found that the Mussalmans were in the greatest danger. I made up my mind to come back to India, as I could not do any good from London.”

When the Indians delegates at the Round Table conference had been unable to agree upon any suitable reforms especially concerning the communal issue, the job was left to the British once again. The British Prime Minister announced the Communal Award on the 16th of April 1932, in which he introduced reforms on the lines of Lucknow Pact, which was the only juncture in history when the Muslims and Hindus had agreed uopn any issue. With the introduction of the Award however, the Muslims lost their majority in important provinces like Bengal and Punjab which was a set back for them. The understanding that had been reached between Gandhi and Irwin had been nullified as Nehru was arrested before Gandhi got back from London after the Round Table Conference. Gandhi officially resigned from the Congress in October 1934 but still was a supporter of the Congress.

Round Table Conferences (1930-33)

Lord Irwin took over as Viceroy in the beginning of April 1926. His efforts towards the prosperity of India were sincere. It was his integrity and earnestness because of which the Quaid soon developed a strong bond of friendship and respect with him. Lord Irwin made a monumental declaration on the 31st of October 1929, after returning from England from a four-month visit. His declaration made two major points. Firstly, that it was implicit in the declaration of 1917 that the natural issue of India’s constitutional progress, as there contemplated, was the attainment of Dominion Status.

And secondly in response to the Indians outrage over the Simon Commission, he said that the representatives of different parties would discuss any further reforms that would be introduced in the subcontinent in the Round Table conferences.

The Quaid was satisfied by the declaration made by Lord Irwin but Jawaharlal Nehru in his presidential address on the 31st of October 1929 was not as convinced. He said that he appreciated the Viceroy’s good intention but did not trust the British, as they were wary of them. Gandhi passed a resolution stating that he did not expect anything constructive to be achieved by the Round Table conferences; the Congress would therefore boycott them. The All-India Congress Committee also decided to launch a civil-disobedience movement under the leadership of Gandhi.

The King inaugurated the first Round Table conference in the Royal Gallery of the House of Lords on the 12th of November 1930. The total number of members attending this conference was eighty-nine, which included sixteen representatives of the three political parties of Britain and sixteen from the Princely States of India. The remaining fifty-seven were from the political parties of India. The conference was attended by prominent Muslim leaders like Jinnah, Shafi, Aga Khan and Muhammad Ali along with Hindu liberals such as Sastri, Sapru and Jayakar.The Sikhs, the depressed classes, the Anglo-Indians and the Christians were all represented. All except the Congress were present, but the absence of the Congress representatives created a major obstacle in the way of any substantial progress that could have been made by the conference, as it was the largest and most active party operating in the sub-continent.

The Quaid persuaded Lord Irwin to attend the conference but he was unable to do so due to his hectic schedule in India. It was confirmed in the conference that the system of government in the Center would be federal. However, the demand of the Indians to give India Dominion status as soon as possible got a somewhat luke-warm response from the British.

Ramsay MacDonald, the Prime Minister of Britain in his concluding statement said:

‘It is the duty of the communities to come to an agreement’

And also,

‘Those engaged at present in civil disobedience’ should also try and cooperate with the government. Jinnah complained about the delay being made in giving India self-rule to which the British responded saying that all the parties in India must be consulted, implying the Congress, which was not present. Jinnah was exasperated by this and said that as far as this issue was concerned the Congress was in agreement with all the other parties of India. He said:

‘Seventy million of Muslims-all, barring a few individuals here and there- have kept aloof from the non-cooperation movement. Thirty-five or forty millions of depressed classes have set their face against the non-cooperation movement. Sikhs and Christians have not joined it. Do you want every one of the parties who have still maintained that their proper place is to go to this Conference, and across the table to negotiate and come to a settlement which will satisfy the aspirations of India, to go back and join the rest?’

Before the second Round Table conference, Lord Irwin released Gandhi unconditionally from prison. Gandhi had been arrested in connection with his non-cooperation movement. Gandhi and Irwin held talks and reached the Gandhi-Irwin Agreement on the 5th of March 1931.In, which it was, decided that the civil disobedience movement would be ended, and the Congress would attend the second round Table Conference. Gandhi was chosen to represent the Congress in the Conference. The Quaid maintained that without resolving the Hindu-Muslim issue, there was nothing to be achieved by the second Round Table Conference. Lord Willingdon meanwhile succeeded Lord Irwin as the Viceroy. Gandhi claimed at the Conference that the Congress was the only party really representing the whole of India and power over India should be handed over to it. He said that the Congress would solve the minority issue after sovereignty was handed over to it. The Second Round Table Conference was productive for the Muslims for two reasons. Firstly because it was decided that Sind would be separated from Bombay if it could sustain itself financially and secondly, the NWFP was made a Governor’s Province.

The third Round Table Conference had no substantial results. The Quaid and Allama Iqbal were not invited to it. The Congress and most of the Princely States did not participate in it either. Only forty-six delegates attended this Conference.

Life in London

Jinnah left for England in January 1893, landed at Southampton, catching the boat train to Victoria Station. “During the first few months I found a strange country and unfamiliar surroundings,” he recalled. “I did not know a soul and the fogs and winter in London upset me a great deal”. He worked at Graham’s for a while surrounded by stacks of account books he was expected to copy and balance. His father had deposited enough money in his account in a British bank to last for three years of his stay in London. He took a room as houseguest in a modest three-story house at 35 Russell Road in Kensington.

He arrived in London in February 1893 and after two months he left Graham’s on April 25 of that year to join Lincoln’s Inn, one of the oldest and well reputed legal societies that prepared students for the Bar. On June 25, 1893, he embarked on his study of the law at Lincoln’s Inn. His quest for general books especially on politics and biographies led him to apply to the British Museum Library and he became a subscriber of the Museum Library. The two years of “reading” apprenticeship that he spent in barrister’s chambers was the most important element in Jinnah’s legal education.

Entrance to Lincoln’s Inn, London

He used to follow his master’s professional footsteps outside the chambers as well.
When Jinnah landed at Southampton, it was the peak of British power and influence in the world. The Victorian era was about to end and a new economic order was struggling to be born. Young Jinnah was greatly affected by the life in what was then called, “the greatest capital of the world”, where people had more freedom to pursue what they believed in. Apart from his upbringing according to the traditions and ethics of a religious family, the Victorian moral code not only colored his social behavior but also greatly affected his professional conduct as a practicing lawyer. Jinnah’s political beliefs and personal demeanor as a public man in India for four decades clearly indicate that his training, education and life in London profoundly influenced his way of life. It was that influence and training that helped him a great deal in presenting the most important case of his life and eventually led him to win that case a free country for the Muslims of the subcontinent.

In London, he received the tragic news of the death of his mother and first wife.
Nevertheless, he completed his formal studies and also made a study of the British political system by frequently visiting the House of Commons. He was the youngest student ever to be called to the Bar.

“It was in London that he acquired love of personal freedom and national independence. Inspired by the British democratic principles and fired by a new faith in supremacy of law, liberalism and constitutionalism became twin tools of Jinnah’s political creed which he daringly but discreetly used during the rest of his life.” Aziz Beg, Jinnah and his Times.

He was greatly influenced by the liberalism of William E. Gladstone, who had become prime minister for the fourth time in 1892.

Jinnah also took keen interest in the political affairs of India. He was extremely conscious of the lack of a strong voice from India in the British Parliament. So, when the Parsi leader Dadabhai Naoroji, a leading Indian nationalist, ran for the British Parliament, it created a wave of enthusiasm among Indian students in London. Naoroji became the first Indian to sit in the House of Commons. Naoroji’s victory acted as a stimulus for Jinnah to lay the foundation of the “political career” that he had in his mind.

Jinnah was a marvelous speaker and was recognised as a balanced and reasoned debater. His power of speech had an ability to mesmerise the audience. Frank Moraes, an eminent Indian journalist, painted Jinnah’s skills and attributes, “…watch him in the courtroom as he argues a case. Few lawyers command a more attentive audience…No man is more adroit in presenting his case. If to achieve the maximum results with the minimum effort is the hallmark of artistry, Mr. Jinnah is an artist in his craft…The drab courtroom acquires an atmosphere as he speaks. Juniors crane their necks forward to follow every movement of the tall, well-groomed figure, senior counsels listen closely, the judge is all attention”.
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The Theater and The Shakespearean Actor

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.’ It is unclear when his passion for theatre was unfurlled, perhaps it occurred while watching the performances of barristers, ‘the greatest of whom were often spell-binding thespians’. This was no passing phase in life, but an obsession which continued even in his later years. Fatima reminiscences, ” Even in the days of his most active political life, when he returned home tired and late, he would read Shakespeare, his voice…resonant.”

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. My father wrote a long letter to me strongly disapproving of my project; but there was one sentence in his letter that touched me most and which influenced a change in my decision: “Do not be a traitor to the family.” I went to my employers and conveyed to them that I no longer looked forward to a stage career. 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?”‘

The signed contract is proof that how important the stage career was for Jinnah at that time, it was possibly his first love. His father’s letter had dissuaded him for the time being, disheartened and dejected, he had consented to his wish. But it was probably the last time he changed his mind after seriously devoting it to something.