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Quid-e-Azam
Mohammad
Ali
Jinnah
(1876–1948)
On December 25, 1876 a child was born in a
prominent mercantile family of Karachi who was
destined to change the course of history in
South Asia and to carve out a homeland for the
Muslims of India where they could pursue their
destiny according to their faith and ideology.
From his very childhood, young Jinnah developed
the habit of stem independence and
self-reliance. In 1892, he was called to the Bar
at the very early age of 16. He stayed for four
year in England and on his return, started his
practice in Bombay. The early period was spent
in hard and constant labour. However, he soon
came to be looked upon not only as a brilliant
lawyer, but also as a man of great integrity and
character. He was soon elected to the Imperial
Legislative Council where he moved the famous
Muslim Waqf Bill-the first instance of a Bill
passing into legislation on the motion of a
private Member.
A lover of freedom and a great patriot, Mr.
Jinnah began by accommodating the Congress point
of view; and was called the, Ambassador of
Hindu-Muslim Unity' when he brought about a
rapprochement between the Congress and the
Muslim League in 1916. He soon felt, however,
that the Congress was merely a camouflage for
consolidating Hindu India at the expense of
Muslim, and it was at the London Meetings of the
Round Table Conference during 1930-32 that he
received the shock of his life. "In the face of
danger" he said, "the Hindu sentiment, the Hindu
mind, the Hindu attitude led me to the
conclusion that there was no hope of unity".
Mr. Jinnah returned from England in 1934, and
set out to galvanise the Muslim League into a
most dynamic organisation. "We are a Nation" he
asserted, "with our own distinctive culture and
civilisation, language and literature, art and
architecture, names and nomenclature, sense of
value and proportion, legal/ laws and moral
code, custom and calendar, history and
tradition, aptitude and ambitions; in short, we
have our own distinctive outlook on life and of
life. By all canons of international law we are
a Nation."
In subsequent years, Mr. Jinnah, popularly known
by the title 'Quaid-e- Azam' (the Great Leader),
came to symbolise the Muslim aspirations for a
separate independent homeland, and in 1940 the
Muslim League, under his inspiring leadership,
demanded that India should be partitioned and
the Muslim majority areas should constitute the
sovereign, independent State of Pakistan. It was
his ardent advocacy and unbending character, his
unshakable determination and his 'Power of
persuasion that brought about the successful
fruition of the Muslim struggle in the shape of
Pakistan.
The Quaid was seventy-one when Pakistan was
born. He was spared by Almighty only for one
year to set the ship of the new State on its
keel. Even during the brief period of his
Governor Generalship he strove hard to lay down
correct precedents for the growth of a
democratic tradition in Pakistan.
He died on September 11, 1948 deeply mourned by
a grateful Nation but as one of the great
immortals of history |
