What Mohammad Ali Jinnah was not?

Mowahid Hussain Shah

A Muslim visitor returning from India feels instinctively a sense of gratitude to Jinnah for founding Pakistan, which, with all its warts and imperfections, is a place free from the spectre of Muslims at the receiving end of communal fury.

This is not to denigrate India, a country difficult to match in the range of its cultural diversity. But no honest Indian would contend that India is a safe haven for Muslims. But no lofty claims are made here for a secular order. Yet, some Pakistanis would still like to reassess the utility of the creation of Pakistan and the wisdom behind the founding. The debate would be conclusively answered by asking the single question: Are the Muslims of India better off than the Muslims of Pakistan?

By some accounts, India has more Muslims than Pakistan. But that fact, apart from tokenism, is not reflected at the helm of affairs. Sikhs, for all the agitation, were (and still are) far better represented than Muslims despite their significantly smaller size. Secularism is intellectually attractive but, in effect, fraudulent. The obvious needs to be restated. But for Pakistan, there would not have been too many generals, business moguls, sport superstars and bureaucrats of the Islamic faith. Having said that, it does not necessarily follow that the experiment of a Muslim homeland has been an unqualified success.

The picture on the wall

By Mahreen Khan

It is the faded, framed print on the wall, sometimes hanging slightly lopsided, the paper mottled by a combination of humidity and apathy. Flanked by newer, glossier, airbrushed portraits of less worthy incumbents, most passersby scarcely notice the iconic image of a leader who altered the course of world history and put Pakistan on the map. Quaid- i-Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah, has been confined within the plastic portrait that adorns every government institution, his life seldom examined, its wisdom untapped and the principles of his politics unapplied.

Perhaps this is due to the depersonalised, unimaginative way in which youngsters are taught the history of this nation. My own knowledge of Quaid-i-Azam centred on the respectful epithet “father of the nation”— a routine fact of general knowledge, devoid of any personal resonance or understanding until Stanley Wolpert’s Jinnah of Pakistan captured my attention. Ironically, it took an American professor to first pen such an authoritative, captivating and incisively written biography which, for me and millions of others, transformed a distant, dutiful respect for the “portrait Quaid” into genuinely heartfelt admiration for the real life Mohammad Ali Jinnah.

Quaid-e-Azam’s 134th Birth Anniversary (25th December 2010)

Great people celebrate birthdays or observe death anniversaries of the Fathers of their nations not merely by pompous display of festivities but by strictly following the precepts and guidelines left by their founding fathers in letter and spirit.

Quaid-e-Azam cutting his Birthday cake on 25 December,1947 in Karachi

25 Dec. 1947: Quaid reading about the felicitations on his birthday in the 'Dawn'. The headline says '71 today'

The Nation will celebrate the 134th birth anniversary of Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah on Saturday, renewing the pledge to follow his guiding principle of Unity, Faith and Disciple, thus promoting prosperity, peace and harmony and consolidating democratic process in the country.





Quaid e Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah whose word was law for his followers. But he never acted like a dictator. He derived his power from the people to whom he always considered himself accountable. At a time he was offered life presidentship of the All India Muslim League. He refused by saying that he would like to come before the Muslim League Council every year and get himself elected its president on the strength of his performance.

Prof Stanley Wolpret in his book ‘Jinnah of Pakistan’ says:

‘Few individuals significantly alter the course of history. Fewer still modify the map of the world. Hardly anyone can be credited with creating a nation-state. Mohammad Ali Jinnah did all three.’

Jinnah had a firm faith in the democratic system of Government and throughout his life he continued to adhere scrupulousy to the democratic norms. Muslim League activist had assembled at a Muslim League General Council meeting under his presidentship. He invited participants to express their views. The councillors said “You are our leaders, you order and we-will follow.” The Quaid said what was fun of assembling people from every nook and comer of the country. If he was to order, he would have issued a statement in the press.

An extract from Col Illahi Bakhsh's Memoirs

A Measure of The Quaid's Achievement