Quaid-e-Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah

The Quaid-e-Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah thanked the National Conference leadership for the right royal reception given to him but at the same time said that it was not a reception for his person, but to the All India Muslim League, the party of ten crore Muslims of India of which he was President. This annoyed the Hindu leader so much that he left the stage in distress. According to Mr. Justice Yusuf Saraf, author of “Kashmiris Fight for Freedom” the Quaid-e-Azam and his wife seemed to have had visited Kashmir for the first time before 1929. Though this visit was private in nature, yet as a great Muslim leader he felt concerned at the appalling conditions of the Kashmiris at that time too. The second visit of the Quaid-e-Azam was in 1936 during which he hinted to his first visit, saying that he had visited Kashmir ten years earlier too. In 1936 the Quaid-e-Azam addressed a meeting held in connection with Milad-un-Nabi, the birthday of the Holy Prophet (SAW) at the Mujahid Manzil, Srinag

The founding of Pakistan by Quaid-i-Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah so greatly dominates his political life and career that his other roles are bound to be ignored. One important role which Jinnah played in the politics of India was for the achievement of unity between the Hindus and Muslims by bringing about some understanding between the Indian National Congress and the All India Muslim League. In fact, for more than two decades Jinnah was known more for this role than for any other. It will be recalled that Gopal Krishna Gokhale expressed the view that Jinnah “has true stuff in him and that freedom from all sectarian prejudice which will make him the best ambassador of Hindu-Muslim unity.”1 Mrs. Sarojini Naidu, who compiled Jinnah’s speeches and writings in 1918 gave the volume the sub-title An Ambassador of Unity and wrote that Jinnah stood “approved and confirmed by his countrymen not merely as an ambassador, but as an embodied symbol of Hindu-Muslim unity.”2 Similarly, Jawahar Lal Nehru

  Quaid-e-Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah with representatives of minorities The role of Quaid-i-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah in the annals of Indo-Pakistan has variously been interpreted implying a variety of perspectives which have earned him a good deal of prestigious titles like the Ambassador of Hindu-Muslim unity, as a strategist, etc. A survey of literature, however, reveals that Jinnah’s vision regarding minority rights and his struggle and strategies to safeguard their interests perhaps is the most ignored perspective. Jinnah’s vision about minority’s place in the institutional frame of the Imperial Government in British India and later in the Sovereign State of Pakistan rather becomes more important in the context of growing discontent among religious minorities of Pakistan. 1 This situation has earned a scientific inquiry of Jinnah’s vision in this regard since his whole political career seems to be a struggle for minority rights, especially the Muslims. The Muslim community in th

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!قائد کا فیصلہ

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

M.A Jinnah differed with Gandhi on the means of achieving self-rule. The League session reassembled at Lahore under Jinnah’s presidency and was attended by a number of Congressmen and leaders of the Khilafat movement. The Quaid, despite his differences with Mahatma Gandhi and the Khilafatists, still enjoyed the trust and admiration of the Muslims of Bombay which can be seen from the fact that he won the Bombay Muslim seat for the Legislative Assembly that he had resigned in protest against the Rowlatt Act. The Congress had boycotted the first elections under the Act of 1919, which were held in 1920 and so had Jinnah. A group of twenty-four people along with Jinnah formed a group by the name of Independents. In February 1924, The Quaid introduced an important resolution in the National Assembly that went to the heart of India’s struggle for economic independence. According to this resolution, tenders would be invited in India in rupees, which would be an advantage to the businessmen a

The government of India Act of 1919 fell short of the expectations of the Indian political parties. It introduced diarchy in the provinces, which meant subjects were to be divided into reserved and transferred. The reserved were to be administered by nominated Ministers and then transferred by the elected ones. While at the center, the British Governor General remained sole authority. The people could not accept this after the imposition of unsatisfactory Rowlatt Act and the atrocities inflicted on the people of Punjab. The Muslims were also perturbed over the unfair treatment given to Turkey by the victorious allied powers. During the war, the Muslims had shown concern about the developments in Turkey and the institution of the Khilafat. Lloyd George,the British Prime Minister to pacify the Muslims all over the world, had assured the world that the Allies had no intention to dismember Turkey and after the war Turkish possessions would be made over to Turkey. He said, “nor are we fig

Edwin Montagu, Secretary of State for India visited India in November to review the situation under Lord Chelmsford’s Government. After an interview with Jinnah, Montagu expressed his opinion and found Jinnah. “…Perfectly mannered, impressive looking, armed to the teeth with the dialects… Chelmsford tried to argue with him, and was tied up into knots. Jinnah is a very clever man and it is of course an outrage that such a man should have no chance of running the affairs of his own country.” The act of 1919 came into force on January 1, 1921. The reforms introduced in the act were based mainly on the proposals of the Montagu-Chelmsford report published on July 8, 1918. The act substituted the Central Legislative Council by a legislature of two houses, which were the Indian Legislative Assembly and the Council of States. The onus of the power rested with the Governor General who could legislate and impose taxes under his power to certify the bills. The Governor General’s Executive Coun

The Muslim League and the Congress held their meetings at Lucknow in the end of December 1916. They accepted unanimously agreed reforms scheme presented by their respective committees. The Congress-League scheme popularly known as the Lucknow Pact pointed out the steps that needed to be taken to gain self government for India. Jinnah supported the coming together of the two parties to coerce the government to grant India self-rule. The most significant achievement of this pact for the Muslims was that for the first time the Congress had recognized the Muslim League as a representative body of the Muslims of the sub-continent and they were granted separate electorates in the provincial as well as in Imperial Legislative Council. The central government was generally to avoid undue intervention in the working of the provincial governments. The Muslims who feared losing Islamic and cultural identity were assured that: No bill, nor any clause thereof, nor a resolution introduced by a non-

The Muslims at that point were divided into two groups. Firstly, there were the Idealists who believed that the Hindus and the Muslims could still work together to achieve their goals. These Idealists joined the Congress. The other group was that of the Realists who were convinced that the Congress was a biased platform which protected only the interests of the Hindus, whichn will ultimately lead to the Hindus ruling the Muslims. Jinnah attended the annual session of the Congress at Calcutta in 1906 along with other similar minded Muslims, Hindus, Parsis and the Christians.This meeting was presided over by Dadabhai Naoroji and M.A Jinnah acted as his secretary. Dadabhai claimed that by partitioning Bengal, the British had made a grave mistake, which must be remedied for the sake of the people of the subcontinent. Talking about the issue of the mounting distance between the Hindu and the Muslim communities, he said, “Once self-government is attained, then there will be prosperity enou

The partition of Bengal shook India in 1905. Lord Curzon, one of the most powerful British rulers gave affect to the partition. With a population of over 80 million, it was difficult to administer the province so a line was drawn between the Hindu dominated West Bengal and the Muslim dominated East Bengal. Dacca became the capital of the new Muslim majority province comprising Eastern Bengal and Assam. West Bengal with Hindu majority was administered from Calcutta. The birth of the “Eastern Bengal and Assam” province was considered as a blessing and a moment of relief for the Muslims whereas it was an eyesore for the Hindus. The Hindu community was aghast at the creation of the Muslim majority province and even a movement was launched against the partition. Calcutta’s Bengali Hindu elite protested vehemently against this partition. Large rallies and protests on the streets were carried out frequently all over the country and the British goods were also boycotted. The impassioned an

Message sent to the Refugees on the occasion of tour of the not affected areas in Karachi on 9th January, 1948 I quite understand the feeling of the Muslim refugees and those who have suffered, and they have my fullest sympathy, but they must restrain themselves and act as responsible men, and not abuse the hospitality that has been extended to them and forget all that is being done for them to make their lot happier. I once more want to impress upon all Muslims that they should fully co-operate with the Government and the officials in protecting their Hindu neighbor against these lawless elements, fifth columnists and the cliques who are responsible for creating these disturbances, and restore trust and confidence amongst all the communities. Pakistan must be governed through the properly constituted Government, and not by cliques, or fifth-columnists or a mob, and the Pakistan Government are going to take the severest possible measures against the offenders, and they shall be dealt