Muhammad Ali Jinnah :
Man of great vision in South Asia
Birth anniversary on December 25:
“We have, undoubtedly, achieved Pakistan and that too without war and
practically by moral and intellectual force and with the power of pen
which is no less mighty than the sword and so our righteous cause has
triumphed.” These are the words of Quaid-i-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah the
founder of Pakistan and Father of the Nation broadcast from Lahore on
October 30, 1947 after the creation of Pakistan.
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Muhammad
Ali Jinnah |
These words not only sum up the entire history of the Pakistan
Movement, but are also an indicator to the personality and finding
philosophy of the ‘Great Leader’ without whom this new sovereign state
would not have come into being on August 14, 1947.
Great Leader
The Quaid-i-Azam or the ‘Great Leader’, as the nation called him to
show their reverence and gratitude, transformed politics into
statesmanship by bringing into play the elements of sincerity of
purpose, truthfulness and indomitable courage in standing by the high
principles of moral integrity and a wisdom which is granted only to
those whom destiny makes immoral.
His mind and heart were clean and therefore he never adopted devious
means even in the face of treacherously dicey situations or while
dealing with difficult and slippery adversaries wherein persons with
lesser faith in their principles and a weaker commitment to their cause
would have been tempted to ‘stoop to conquer’.
Quaid-i-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah was not the one who could be
tempted, persuaded or pressurized to deviate from his righteous path. He
was a selfless leader. His people knew fully well that worldly gains or
personal benefits had no place in his scheme of things. After all, he
was the man who, in his will, gave over his entire poverty in India to a
Bombay school and to a hospital.
On becoming the first Governor General of Pakistan, he made it known
to one and all that he wanted to build Pakistan into a modern, forward
looking democratic state based on the concept of equality, fraternity
and social justice. He unfortunately did not live long to guide the
Pakistani nation and to shape the destiny of the newly born state in
accordance with his own ideals and dreams.
Strenuous struggle
Already tired, exhausted and sick, he, much against the advice of his
doctors, was unwilling to take rest or minimize his responsibilities. He
knew that his people and country needed his guidance and he was ready to
lay down his life in their service. The long and strenuous struggle for
the creation of Pakistan had drained out his entire energy and it was
only his strong will which was carrying him through.
The author of the book ‘Freedom at Midnight’ says, he made an effort,
whatsoever , to follow his doctor’s advice. He was not going to let his
rendezvous with death cheat him of his other rendezvous with history.
With extraordinary courage, with an intense and consuming zeal that sent
his life’s candle puttering out in a last harsh burst of flame, Jinnah
longed for his life’s goal. The great leader departed on September 11,
1948 after fulfilling his mission of creation of Pakistan.
Born in Karachi merchant family on December 25, 1876, he received his
early education in the city of his birth. Later, he joined the Lincoln’s
Inn to become the youngest Indian barrister to be called to the bar.
Quickly he rose to a position of great prominence and became an
outstanding lawyer.
Believing firmly in freedom and independence, he joined the Indian
Congress, a political party professing to struggle against the alien
rule. Later, getting disillusioned with its unjust policies towards
Muslim, he left the Congress, joined Muslim League, in 1916, and became
president of the All India Muslim League, a political party dedicated to
the independence of India and the welfare of Muslims.
Initially, he endeavoured to bring the Congress and Muslim League
together to ensure Hindu-Muslim unity and was instrumental in signing of
Congress-League Pact in 1916, a joint scheme for post-war reforms.
For a long time, he considered a Hindu-Muslim settlement as a
precondition for Indian freedom. To achieve this he participated in
several unity conferences, formulated the famous ‘Fourteen Points’ in
1929 as minimum Muslim conditions for any constitutional settlement and
attended two Round Table Conferences called by the British Government in
1930 and 1931 to devise a new constitution for India.
Ups and downs
The decade from 1920 to 1930 was a decade during which Quaid-i-Azam
Muhammad Ali Jinnah saw many ups and downs. Faced with chronic Muslim
disunity, Ali Jinnah was despaired and thought of quitting politics.
He went into self exile in 1931 in London only to return three years
later at the persuasion of Indian Muslims to take command of the
reunited Muslim League. From then onwards there was no going back for
him.
Mass support
During the next few years he organized the Muslims of the
sub-continent, brought them on one political platform and broadened his
mass support base. Gradually Muslims of India became a power to be
reckoned with and by 1939 he had become their sole spokesman.
In 1940, he spelled out the concept of Muslim nationhood, asserting
that: “We are a nation, with our own distinctive culture and
civilization, language and literature, art and architecture, names and
nomenclature, sense of value and proportion, legal laws and moral code,
customs and calendar, history and traditions, aptitudes and ambitions,
in short, we have distinctive outlook on and of life.
By all canons of international law we are a nation.” And on that
basis he demanded the setting up of an independent Muslim homeland in
the predominantly Muslim northwestern and eastern India.
Despite the vehement opposition of the Congress and the antipathy of
the British to his demand, Ali Jinnah organized his movement so adroitly
that the Pakistan Movement continued together momentum. Within seven
years of the demand, Pakistan was established as a sovereign independent
state and Quaid-i-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah, then 70, became its first
Governor General on August 14, 1947.
His last message to the nation on August 15, 1948, on completion of
the first year of his Governor Generalship was - ‘Nature’ has given you
Everything. You have got unlimited resources.
The foundation of your state have been laid and it is now for you to
build as quickly and well as you can. So, go ahead and I wish you
God-speed.
Courtesy: Pakistan High Commission
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