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The Quaid's rejoinder to Gandhi

Why The Quaid-e-Azam Left Congress

In 1913 the Quaid-i-Azam joined the All India Muslim League without abandoning the membership of the Congress of which he had been an active member for some years. But this membership of the two organizations ended in December 1920. On the occasion of the special session at Nagpur the Congress adopted a new creed which permitted the use of unconstitutional means and decided to resort to non-violent non-co-operation for the attainment of self-government. The new policy and programme in essence envisaged withdrawal of the students from schools and colleges, boycott of law-courts by lawyers and litigants as well as the impending elections to the legislatures under the Government of India act 1919 either as voters or as candidates.1 The new philosophy of the Congress had been shaped almost entirely under the influence of Gandhi who had, by then, emerged as a commanding figure in Congress politics. Although there were many prominent Congressmen such as C.R. Das and Lala Lajpat Rai who did n

Gandhi and Jinnah

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Quaid-e-Azam with Gandhi - 1945

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Why Quaid-e-Azam opposed Gandhi's gospel of Non-Cooperation?

Quaid-e-Azam said: “If we are going to regulate everything in our country by the doctrine of non-violence and non-cooperation, then I am afraid we are forgetting human nature.” Quaid-e-Azam stood for advancing the cause of their people through higher education while Mr. Gandhi in India wanted the boys and girls to give up education and boycott schools.

Quaid-e-Azam with Gandhi in Bombay, 1944

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Jinnah - Hearty Confession 'Dil no ekrar' (Gujaraty Monthly 'Visami Sadi', May, 1916)

. Jinnah's Gujarat connection is quite known. His father Jinnabhai/ઝીણાભાઈ (from whose name Mohammad Ali drew his last name 'Jinnah') belonged to Paneli in Kathiawad, few kms. away from birth place of Gandhi. Though born in Karachi, Mohammad Ali was well versed with his Pitrubhasha/ Fathertongue. Here is the sample of how good he was even at written Gujarati. The page below (from iconic Gujaraty Monthly 'Visami Sadi', May, 1916) depicts answers of some simple questions in Mohammad Ali's own handwritings. Yes, he signed as માહમદ અલી ઝીણા / Mohammad Ali Jinnah in Gujarati. The column is titled 'Dil no ekrar' (Hearty Confession). The page roughly translates as: Admirable virtue of a Man : Independence Admirable Virtue of a Woman : Loyality Success in life, according to you : Securing love from people Favourite recreation : Horse-riding Favourite flower : Lily Favourite writer: Shakespear Favourite book: Monte cresto Motto: Never get disppointed The

Leaving an indelible mark on history

. Mohammad Ali Jinnah deserves credit for carving out a homeland for his countrymen. A tribute to the founding father. One of the most revered historical figures in Pakistan is its founding father, Mohammad Ali Jinnah. Known to his people as Quaid-i-Azam or 'the great leader,' Mohammad Ali Jinnah was a man of indomitable will and dauntless courage. He was considered the unifying force that brought Indian Muslims under the banner of the Muslim League, later carving out a homeland for them despite stiff opposition from the Hindu Congress and the then British government. Born on December 25, 1876, in Karachi to a wealthy merchant, Mohammad Ali Jinnah received his early education at the Sindh Madrasa and later in Karachi at the Mission School. He travelled to England for further studies in 1892 at the age of 16. In 1896 Jinnah qualified for the bar, which he was called to in 1897. Jinnah began his political career in 1906 when he attended the Calcutta session of the All India

Mr Jinnah Vs Gandhi

Mr Mohammad Ali Jinnah was a straight forward person and used to say harsh and to the point things to Gandhi. Followers of Gandhi once asked him, "Mr Jinnah is very outspoken and tell you whatever he likes, why don't you reply him in the same manners"" Gandhi replied " I hear from one ear and take out from another ear" Followers of Mr Jinnah informed him about Gandhi's remarks Mr Jinnah replied " This is only possible when in between the both ears nothing exists" .

Why Mr. Jinnah resigned from the Congress?

At the Nagpur Session of the Congress in 1920, Mr. Gandhi moved a resolution to change the original creed of steady constitutional reforms and national unity to the attainment of independence by all legitimate means” that was to discard constitutional means, and to bypass the need of national unity. Quaid-i-Azam resigned from the Congress and wrote to Gandhi:- “Your methods have already caused split and division in almost every institution that you have approached hitherto, and in the public life of the country, not only amongst Hindus and Muslims but between Hindus and Hindus and Muslims and Muslims and even between fathers and sons; people generally are desperate all over the country and your extreme programme has for the moment struck the imagination mostly of the inexperienced youth and the ignorant and the illiterate. All this means complete disorganization and chaos.” .

Four Stages of Jinnah’s Political Philosophy

By Prof. Dr. S. K. Alqama For many decades now, Quaid-i-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah’s vision of Pakistan has been a point of contention, yet also a great source of inspiration. A careful examination of his long distinguished public service, spanning some 44 years (1904-48), can aid in defining how he perceived the future of Pakistan. The Quaid’s political philosophy evolved in four distinct yet continuous stages. In the first stage of his public life (1904-20), his political credo was influenced by three main factors: 19th century British liberalism, first encountered during his legal studies in England from 1892 to 1896; the metropolitan flavour and mercantile milieu of Mumbai where he worked as a successful and respected member of the legal community; his close professional and personal contact with the Parsis, who taught him how a small religious group could - with the help of an entrepreneurial spirit, hard work and social cohesion - defeat racial prejudice and communal di

Jinnah: The Burden of Leadership

by Lawrence Ziring Muhammad Ali Jinnah’s capacity to overwhelm his staunchest adversaries is observed in the comments of Ved Mehta, a perceptive contemporary writer on the South Asian scene. Mahatama Gandhi, according to Mehta, was presented with his greatest challenge by Muhammad Ali Jinnah. None of the other personalities that sought to test his resolve, whether British, Boer or Indian, either deflected him from his purpose or threatened his will. Jinnah, however, caused Gandhi to search his innermost thoughts, to make himself “potent – physically, mentally and spiritually” so as to be able ‘to vanquish Muhammad Ali Jinnah” and foil his plans for partition and a free Pakistan state.1 Gandhi, of course, failed to either blunt Jinnah’s popularity or dim his determination. Hundreds of millions of human beings would be drawn to Gandhi, tens of millions would dedicate their lives to him, and thousands would die for him, but Jinnah was singularly unimpressed. And Gandhi knew it. Indeed, h

Jinnah's Vision of Pakistan

By Sharif al Mujahid For some years now, Quaid-e-Azam Jinnah's vision of Pakistan has been a source of controversy and conflict. Much of this has however tried to cut Jinnah to fit a predetermined image. A close look at Jinnah's long and chequered public life, encompassing some forty-four years (1904-48), helps determine the core values he was committed to throughout his political career. This paper examines how Jinnah’s politics evolved through main phases, which, though distinct, yet merged into the next, without sudden shifts. It analyses how his liberalism underwent an apparent paradigmatic shift from 1937 onwards, and led to him advocating the charismatic goal of Pakistan, and to elucidate it primarily in Islamic terms. Finally, the Islamic strain in his post independence pronouncements and his 11 August 1947 address is discussed, and an attempt made to reconcile it with his other pronouncements. Jinnah as Liberal In the first phase of his public life (1904-20) th

Quaid-e-Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah: A Man for All Seasons

By Asim Khan Quaid-e-Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah (left) with Lord Mountbatten (right) To achieve your own dreams it takes a lifetime but to achieve the dream of millions, it’s a feat only a few can perform in the history of mankind. And Jinnah was one of them. And to achieve that one has to rise above the fear and display courage. The ability and skills which he manifested in the process of creation of Pakistan and the fight he carried in all quarters, with reason and logic to bring the dream of a lifetime for millions of souls was unsurpassable. We will always remain in debt to this man and those millions of sacrifices. There has been a lot written about him; there is a lot that has been said of him. From Larry Collins, Dominique Lapierre to Stanley Walport- all agreed on one thing: this man, this Jinnah, this leader and founder of Pakistan had resolve of a man unbreakable even by the might of the mightiest, the British Empire, the connivance and huge presence of Hindu pressure an

A Pakistani View

by S.M. Ikram   On the occasion of the All India Muslim League session, 1936 Jinnah was not invited to the later sessions of the Round Table Conference, but he was now residing in England, and had opportunities of meeting the delegates from India. An important contact, which he effectively renewed during this period was with Sir Muhammad Iqbal, who had come as a delegate to the Round Table Conference. Jinnah was the principal speaker at a reception given in honour of the poet by Iqbal Literary Association and thereafter invited him to lunch at his house. Thus began a series of meetings which were to leave a mark on the course of India’s history. Jinnah was not now a delegate to the Round Table Conference, but during the first session, which he attended, he had criticised to conception of the central federation, which other delegates had supported enthusiastically. His objections were partly from the nationalist anglet (sic) – the inclusion of the autocratic princes at the centre woul

Jinnah sees off Gandhi at his Bombay home

"You have mesmerized the Muslims", claimed Gandhi. Jinnah retorted, "You have hypnotized the Hindus".   Mr Jinnah's secretary K H Khurshid can also be seen here.

The Pakistan Concept: Its Background

by P.H.L. Eggermont Introduction In 1936 Pandit Nehru wrote in his Autobiography : “The Muslim nation in India- a nation within a nation, and not even compact, but vague, spread out, indeterminate. Politically the idea is absurd. Economically it is fantastic; it is hardly worth considering….” At the time not only Nehru and his followers but also the greater part of the Western authors, journalists, and political reporters were sceptic, or even opposite to the Pakistan-concept. However, in spite of all these ominous prediction Pakistan became a fact on the 14th August 1947, and, at present, nearly thirty years after, it is manifest that this state has energetically survived wars and calamities, has courageously resisted economic reverse, and has developed into an esteemed member of the United Nations. Which mysterious forces may have caused the blind spot in the eyes of Nehru, and in the eyes of so many prominent Western intellectuals so that they failed to discern the strength

Young Mr. Jinnah