Mohammad Ali Jinnah

MOHAMMAD ALI JINNAH

Date of Birth: 25^th December, 1876 and Date of Death: 11^th September, 1948

            Mohammad Ali Jinnah, who intellectually and physically influenced modern politics of the Indian Sub Continent, was born on 25^th December, 1876.  His parents were Poonja Jinnahbai and Mithibai Jinnahbai.  He went to England in 1892 for seeking employment, where he studied Law and became a Barrister at the very young age of 19 years.  He met leaders like Dada Bhai Nouroji in England.  Mohammad Ali Jinnah returned to India in 1896 and started practice as an advocate.  He strongly condemned the bias shown towards Indians by the British officials.  He was closely moving with famous leaders like Gopala Krishna Gokhale, Surendranath Benarjee etc.  He joined the Indian National Congress in 1906 rejecting to join the Muslim League.  He got elected to Imperial Legislative Council.  While continuing with the National Congress, he joined the Muslim League in 1913 and became its President in 1916.  The Lucknow pact came into existence due to the efforts of Jinnah to bring out good relations between the Congress and the League.  Jinnah participated in the ‘Home Rule’ Movement started by Anne Besant in 1919.  Later, he distanced himself from the Indian National Congress in 1920.  He got elected to the Central Legislative Assembly in 1923 as a Muslim League Candidate.  He reorganised the Muslim League in 1924 very actively.  He believed that the harmony between the Hindus and Muslims is essential to achieve independence, so that he proposed 14 points plan.  But, the Congress rejected it.  When the first Round Table Conference in 1930 failed, he sulked on the Indian politics and migrated to England, where he started his legal practice.  He returned to India in 1936 at the requests of the leaders like Liyakhat Ali Khan etc., and strengthened the Muslim League.  After seeing the elections results, conducted as per the Indian Government Act 1935, he came to the conclusion that Muslims cannot get their due share in the politics in undivided India.  Though Jinnah initially, rubbished the proposal of ‘Pakistan’ coined by Choudhury Rehamat Ali Khan, later, he himself took steps to form ‘Pakistan’ after the passing of Lahore resolution of Muslim League in 1940.  He started a newspaper ‘Dawn’ in 1941 to propagate the Pakistan National Movement.  Since then, he moved forward towards the formation of Pakistan as his main ambition.  He became the first Governor General of Pakistan after independence.  As the first Governor General, he started the formulation of the Constitution and the formation of the Legislature on 11^th August, 1947.  By that time, his health deteriorated because of TB from which he had been suffering since 1940.  Mohammad Ali Jinnah, who was praised by Mahatma Gandhi as ‘Quaid-e-Azam’ (Great Leader), by Gopala Krishna Gokhale as ‘an ambassador of Hindu-Muslim Unity’ and adored by the people of Pakistan as ‘Baba-i-Qaum’ died on 11^th September, 1948 in Karachi.