Muhammad Ali Jinnah - The Great Leader

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Muhammad Ali Jinnah
Did you know?

The New York Times listed Mr. Jinnah as 1946's best-dressed man in the British Empire.
Jinnah dressed himself perfectly, his elegant and magnificent personality gave him respect wherever he went. It is narrated that on visit to London for political meeting he stayed in hotel. In the morning, he descended from his hotel suite into the breakfast hall, using stairs. When the people present in the restaurant noticed him they all rose involuntary and stood up as a gesture of respect to him.

Jinnah was one of the New York Times best dressed men of 1946. Expressing his thoughts on Muhammad Ali Jinnah, Lord Wavell (Viceroy of India, 1943-1947) said, "Mr. Jinnah was one of the handsomest men I have ever seen; he combined the clear cut, almost Grecian features of the West with oriental grace and movement."

A research states that one of the main reasons why Muhammad Ali Jinnah is considered one of the most well dressed men in history has to do with the fact that he was a huge supporter and wearer of the well-tailored suit. Never one to sit back and wear whatever came through the door. It is said that before independence, Jinnah came to own over 200 suits, which he wore with heavily starched shirts with detachable collars. As a barrister, he never wore same silk tie twice. Even on his deathbed, he insisted to be formally dressed saying: "I will not travel in my pajamas."

Jinnah's outfits were always unique; he rarely appeared wearing the same thing more than once. In a time when poverty ran rampant, Jinnah was one of the few who was able to partake in the wondrous ways of fashion. Congratulations to Muhammad Ali Jinnah for being voted the Fifth Best-Dressed World Leader of all-time.

After meeting Jinnah at the Viceroy's dinner in Simla, a British general's wife wrote to her mother in England: "After dinner, I had Mr. Jinnah to talk to. He has a great personality. He talks the most beautiful English. He models his clothes and his manners on Du Maurier..., and his English on Burke's speeches. I have always wanted to meet him and now I had my wish."

His monocle, his double-breasted jackets, and his Craven "A" cigarettes gave his personality a unique style. He was fond of smoking expensive and finest 'Craven A cigarettes. He also smoked a special kind of 'Havana' cigars, and sometimes a pipe.

When Allama Inayatullah Khan Mashriqi, the founder of the Khaksar Movement, was released from a U.P. jail, the Quaid-i-Azam, on the advice of some of his friends, went to see him along with his colleagues. He was accompanied by Liaquat Ali Khan, Sir Abdullah Haroon and Pir Ali Mohammad Rashidi. In Qarul Bagh, Allama Mashriqi was staying in a huge tent in the middle of the Khaksar Camp. An ordinary dari had been spread on the floor inside the camp. There was no chair.

The Quaid-i-Azam was wearing a white suit of China silk. He was not in the habit of sitting on the ground. However, as there was no alternative, he sat down on the floor after shaking hands with Allama Mashriqi. The Quaid then took out his cigarette case and offered a cigarette to him. Allama took the cigarette and tried to give two paisas to the Quaid. The Quaid-i-Azam asked: What is this? Allama said: A Khaksar does not accept any thing without paying its price. On hearing this, the Quaid took back his cigarette from Allama and said: The price of my cigarette is much more than two paisas and I don't think you can afford it.

His monocle was a part of his majestic personality. In a court of law while making arguments, monocle, which Jinnah was using, for reading from his notes slipped from his eye and dropped on the floor. The magistrate mischievously grinned and felt delighted, anticipating that Jinnah would have to bend in his court to pick up the monocle. He was disappointed when Jinnah put his hand in his pocket, brought out another monocle, and applied it to his eye while continuing the arguments.

By the late 1930s, He was mostly seen wearing a 'Karakul' hat, also known as 'Jinnah Cap,' over his western clothing. The moment he became a leader of a Muslim country, he chose to wear a sherwani. He stopped wearing the UP and Delhi style chooridar or tight pyjamas, and preferred a loose fitting 'Shalwar' the Jinnah cap and white or cream colored sherwani become the trend of that time. Meanwhile, he wore suits for his day-to-day office work and on informal occasions.

The Quaid's magnificent personality traits left deep impact to everyone. Patrick Spens, the last Chief Justice of undivided India, paid the following tribute to Jinnah: "The tallness of the man, the immaculate manner in which he turned out, the beauty of his features and the extreme courtesy with which he treated all; no one could have made a more favorable impression than he did. There is no man or woman living who imputes anything against his honor or his honesty. He was the most outright person that I know."

The Quaid usually travelled by train during the pre-independence time. Journalist once confronted Jinnah with a question as to how Congress leadership travelled in third class like the working class while he enjoys the first class journey. Quaid's reply was sharp. He said that he travelled in first class but pays from his own pocket to buy the ticket, while the congress leaders travel in third class without ticket. It made headlines. Dear father of the nation you will be in our memories forever.

P. S: Please bear with me for making you read such a long write up on a person par excellence I have admired the most and adulated & emulated as my leader .. Mr Muhammad Ali Jinnah our Father of the Nation. I assure you his personality couldn't be described in fewer words than these. May his soul rest in peace, Ameen.

 

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Mohammed Ali Jinnah, also called Qaid-i-Azam (Arabic: “Great Leader”),
Born December 25, 1876?, Karachi and died September 11, 1948, Karachi.

Early years

Jinnah was the eldest of seven children of Jinnahbhai Poonja, a prosperous merchant, and his wife, Mithibai. His family was a member of the Khoja caste, Hindus who had converted to Islam centuries earlier and who were followers of the Aga Khan. There is some question about Jinnah’s date of birth: although he maintained that it was December 25, 1876, school records from Karachi (Pakistan) give a date of October 20, 1875.

After being taught at home, Jinnah was sent in 1887 to the Sind Madrasat al-Islam (now Sindh Madressatul Islam University) in Karachi. Later he attended the Christian Missionary Society High School (also in Karachi), where at the age of 16 he passed the matriculation examination of the University of Bombay (now University of Mumbai, in Mumbai, India). On the advice of an English friend, his father decided to send him to England to acquire business experience. Jinnah, however, had made up his mind to become a barrister. In keeping with the custom of the time, his parents arranged for an early marriage for him before he left for England.

In London he joined Lincoln’s Inn, one of the legal societies that prepared students for the bar. In 1895, at the age of 19, he was called to the bar. While in London Jinnah suffered two severe bereavements—the deaths of his wife and his mother. Nevertheless, he completed his formal studies and also made a study of the British political system, frequently visiting the House of Commons. He was greatly influenced by the liberalism of William E. Gladstone, who had become prime minister for the fourth time in 1892, the year of Jinnah’s arrival in London. Jinnah also took a keen interest in the affairs of India and in Indian students.

When the Parsi leader Dadabhai Naoroji, a leading Indian nationalist, ran for the British Parliament, Jinnah and other Indian students worked day and night for him. Their efforts were crowned with success: Naoroji became the first Indian to sit in the House of Commons.When Jinnah returned to Karachi in 1896, he found that his father’s business had suffered losses and that he now had to depend on himself. He decided to start his legal practice in Bombay (now Mumbai), but it took him years of work to establish himself as a lawyer.


It was nearly 10 years later that he turned actively toward politics. A man without hobbies, he divided his interest between law and politics. Nor was he a religious zealot: he was a Muslim in a broad sense and had little to do with sects. His interest in women was also limited, to Rattenbai (Rutti)—the daughter of Sir Dinshaw Petit, a Bombay Parsi millionaire—whom he married in 1918 over tremendous opposition from her parents and others. The couple had one daughter, Dina, but the marriage proved an unhappy one, and Jinnah and Rutti soon separated. It was his sister Fatima who gave him solace and company.

Entry into politics

Jinnah first entered politics by participating in the 1906 session of the Indian National Congress (Congress Party) held at Calcutta (now Kolkata), in which the party began to split between those calling for dominion status and those advocating independence for India. Four years later he was elected to the Imperial Legislative Council—the beginning of a long and distinguished parliamentary career. In Bombay he came to know, among other important Congress Party personalities, Gopal Krishna Gokhale, the eminent Maratha leader. Greatly influenced by those nationalist politicians, Jinnah aspired during the early part of his political life to become “a Muslim Gokhale.” Admiration for British political institutions and an eagerness to raise the status of India in the international community and to develop a sense of Indian nationhood among the peoples of India were the chief elements of his politics. At that time, he still looked upon Muslim interests in the context of Indian nationalism.

But, by the beginning of the 20th century, the conviction had been growing among the Muslims that their interests demanded the preservation of their separate identity rather than amalgamation in the Indian nation that would for all practical purposes be Hindu. Largely to safeguard Muslim interests, the All-India Muslim League was founded in 1906. But Jinnah remained aloof from it. Only in 1913, when authoritatively assured that the league was as devoted as the Congress Party to the political emancipation of India, did Jinnah join the league. When the Indian Home Rule League was formed, he became its chief organizer in Bombay and was elected president of the Bombay branch.

Political unity

Jinnah’s endeavours to bring about the political union of Hindus and Muslims earned him the title of “the best ambassador of Hindu-Muslim unity,” an epithet coined by Gokhale. It was largely through his efforts that the Congress Party and the Muslim League began to hold their annual sessions jointly, to facilitate mutual consultation and participation. In 1915 the two organizations held their meetings in Bombay and in 1916 in Lucknow, where the Lucknow Pact was concluded. Under the terms of the pact, the two organizations put their seal to a scheme of constitutional reform that became their joint demand vis-à-vis the British government. There was a good deal of give and take, but the Muslims obtained one important concession in the shape of separate electorates, already conceded to them by the government in 1909 but hitherto resisted by Congress.

Meanwhile, a new force in Indian politics had appeared in the person of Mohandas (Mahatma) Gandhi. Both the Home Rule League and the Congress Party had come under his sway. Opposed to Gandhi’s noncooperation movement and his essentially Hindu approach to politics, Jinnah left both the league and the Congress Party in 1920. For a few years he kept himself aloof from the main political movements. He continued to be a firm believer in Hindu-Muslim unity and constitutional methods for the achievement of political ends. After his withdrawal from Congress, he used the Muslim League platform for the propagation of his views. But during the 1920s the Muslim League, and with it Jinnah, had been overshadowed by Congress and the religiously oriented Muslim Khilafat movement.

When the failure of the noncooperation movement and the emergence of Hindu revivalist movements led to antagonism and riots between Hindus and Muslims, the Muslim League began to lose strength and cohesion, and provincial Muslim leaders formed their own parties to serve their needs. Thus, Jinnah’s problem during the following years was to convert the Muslim League into an enlightened, unified political body prepared to cooperate with other organizations working for the good of India. In addition, he had to convince the Congress Party, as a prerequisite for political progress, of the necessity of settling the Hindu-Muslim conflict.

To bring about such a rapprochement was Jinnah’s chief purpose during the late 1920s and early 1930s. He worked toward this end within the legislative assembly, at the Round Table Conference in London (1930–32), and through his “14 points,” which included proposals for a federal form of government, greater rights for minorities, one-third representation for Muslims in the central legislature, separation of the predominantly Muslim Sindh region from the rest of the Bombay province, and introduction of reforms in the North-West Frontier Province.

His failure to bring about even minor amendments in the Nehru Committee proposals (1928) over the question of separate electorates and reservation of seats for Muslims in the legislatures frustrated him. He found himself in a peculiar position at that time: many Muslims thought that he was too nationalistic in his policy and that Muslim interests were not safe in his hands, while the Congress Party would not even meet the moderate Muslim demands halfway. Indeed, the Muslim League was a house divided against itself.

The Punjab Muslim League repudiated Jinnah’s leadership and organized itself separately. In disgust, Jinnah decided to settle in England. From 1930 to 1935 he remained in London, devoting himself to practice before the Privy Council. But when constitutional changes were in the offing, he was persuaded to return home to head a reconstituted Muslim League.

Soon preparations started for the elections under the Government of India Act of 1935. Jinnah was still thinking in terms of cooperation between the Muslim League and the Hindu-controlled Congress Party and with coalition governments in the provinces. But the elections of 1937 proved to be a turning point in the relations between the two organizations. Congress obtained an absolute majority in six provinces, and the league did not do particularly well.

The Congress Party decided not to include the league in the formation of provincial governments, and exclusive all-Congress governments were the result. Relations between Hindus and Muslims started to deteriorate, and soon Muslim discontent became boundless.

 

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Creator of Pakistan

Jinnah had originally been dubious about the practicability of Pakistan, an idea that the poet and philosopher Sir Muhammad Iqbal had propounded to the Muslim League conference of 1930, but before long he became convinced that a Muslim homeland on the Indian subcontinent was the only way of safeguarding Muslim interests and the Muslim way of life. It was not religious persecution that he feared so much as the future exclusion of Muslims from all prospects of advancement within India, as soon as power became vested in the close-knit structure of Hindu social organization. To guard against that danger, he carried out a nationwide campaign to warn his coreligionists of the perils of their position, and he converted the Muslim League into a powerful instrument for unifying the Muslims into a nation.





At that point, Jinnah emerged as the leader of a renascent Muslim nation. Events began to move fast. On March 22–23, 1940, in Lahore, the league adopted a resolution to form a separate Muslim state, Pakistan. The Pakistan idea was at first ridiculed and then tenaciously opposed by the Congress Party. But it captured the imagination of the Muslims. Pitted against Jinnah were many influential Hindus, including Gandhi and Jawaharlal Nehru. And the British government seemed to be intent on maintaining the political unity of the Indian subcontinent. But Jinnah led his movement with such skill and tenacity that ultimately both the Congress Party and the British government had no option but to agree to the partitioning of India. Pakistan thus emerged as an independent state in 1947.


Jinnah became the first head of the new state. Faced with the serious problems of a young country, he tackled Pakistan’s problems with authority. He was not regarded as merely the governor-general. He was revered as the father of the nation. He worked hard until overpowered by age and disease in Karachi, the place of his birth, in 1948.

Mohammed Ali Jinnah | Biography, Accomplishments, Religion, Significance, & Facts​

Mohammed Ali Jinnah, Indian Muslim politician, who was the founder and first governor-general (1947–48) of Pakistan.

www.britannica.com
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Stanley Wolpert, giving a speech in honour of Jinnah in 1998, deemed him Pakistan's greatest leader.

“Few individuals significantly alter the course of the history. Fewer still modify the map of the world. Hardly anyone can be credited with creating a nation-state. Muhammad Ali Jinnah did all three.”

(Stanley Wolpert)

 

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Founder and the Governer-General of Pakistan Muhammad Ali Jinnah addressing at the opening ceremony of the State Bank of Pakistan.
Date: July 01 1948

Zahid Hussain first Governor State Bank of Pakistan addressing at the occasion

 

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Fatima Jinnah (31 July 1893– 9 July 1967) widely known “Mather-e-Millat” was the youngest among the seven brothers and sisters.

In appearance, Fatima resembled her eldest brother, Mohammad Ali Jinnah. In 1902, she was sent to Bandra Convent in Bombay where she remained in the hostels as her parents had died. In 1919, she enrolled in Dr Ahmed’s Dental College at Calcutta. On graduating in 1923, she became the first female dentist of undivided India. She opened her dental clinic in Bombay but with the passage of time, she became a close associate and an adviser to her older brother. She was a strong critic of the British Raj and emerged as a strong advocate of the two-nation theory and a leading member of the All-India Muslim League.

Fatima Jinnah died in Karachi on 9 July 1967. The official cause of death was heart failure, but rumours persist that she was murdered at her house by the same group who killed Liaquat Ali Khan. She is buried next to other national dignitaries, at Mazar-e-Quaid, Karachi.

Fatima Jinnah in her youth.
Date c. 1920s

 

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Personality is defined as a person’s characteristic features and qualities. It is a combination of one’s body, mind, character and conduct. Quality of each of these defines your personality.

Time tested traits like integrity, honesty, courage, loyalty and fortitude defines good character which is exhibited through words and actions.

Leadership is about inspiring people to do things they never thought they could have.

Selfless, dedicated, charismatic, competent, honest, professional and unimpeachable in his integrity; these are just some of the words that have been used to describe the personality of the founder of Pakistan Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah.

 

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Governor General Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah, accompanied by his sister, Miss Fatima Jinnah, arrived in Kurmitola, Dhaka, East Pakistan (now Bangladesh).
Year: 1948.

 

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PAF Risalpur .

 

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https://twitter.com/x/status/1737887381427195946

 

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Dec 25, 2023

 

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Learning from Jinnah​

Ambreen Arshad
December 23, 2023

Illustration by Ziauddin

In a world where many nations and people long for peace, human rights, freedom and good governance, we, as Pakistanis, are fortunate enough to enjoy most of these most of the time. And while we cannot claim to be the reason for the freedom we have as a nation, it is unfortunate that we are behind all that we lack today.

A free nation was handed over to us by the struggles of our freedom fighters, especially Mohammad Ali Jinnah, but all that was done to turn that promising free country into a state that is still struggling is our fault. We have not been able to bring prosperity and progress to our country because we could not follow the examples of the leaders who made this nation. We had such lofty personalities, possessing great integrity, discipline and selfless dedication, whose teachings and footsteps we simply had to follow to prosper. But we failed them. We failed ourselves and our country.

I know it sounds very pessimistic, but this is the reality, and one can only progress through accepting the reality, owning one’s mistakes and learning from failures. We need to look into what we are doing wrong today. This can be best done by looking at what our great leaders did right and what personality traits they possessed that made them follow the right path and do the right things. And who better do we have than our great Quaid-i-Azam, Mohammad Ali Jinnah, who was admired and respected by both his friends and rivals for the great personality traits that he possessed. Even those who did not agree with him politically, did admire him as a person and vouched for his character.

Let us look into some of the personality traits that made him such a charismatic and influential leader who left a great mark in history. While we are doing so, let us also ask ourselves if we possess any of these noble qualities, and do our leaders today reflect any of the admirable character traits of Jinnah?

A selfless leader

As a statesman, leader and the driving force behind the creation of Pakistan, Mohammad Ali Jinnah was a selfless visionary who always acted for the greater good rather than for personal gains. He, like most of the leaders with him and others who supported the newly-created nation of Pakistan, gave up and contributed so much personally and financially.

Not caring for his health, wealth, or personal life, Jinnah worked tirelessly till the end to make sure the Muslims of the Subcontinent had a free country of their own and the people of the nascent nation enjoyed liberty, justice and peace.

Alas, today we first think of what we can gain from any act before taking even a single step. And if we have little to gain but others will benefit more from it, we step back because we have stopped caring for our fellow countrymen, for the greater good. We have become selfish and self-engrossed — unconcerned about what is happening around us until it starts to affect us.

We need to realise that until everyone around us progresses, until our nation as a whole progresses, our progress is meaningless. Until everyone gets their rights, we cannot hope to get our rights too.

A man of character

One of the first impressions that come to mind on hearing the name Muhammad Ali Jinnah, is that of a man of integrity, principles, incorruptibility and honour, among many other such noble characteristics.

He maintained a high standard of personal and political ethics that earned him admirers not just among his friends, supporters and fellow leaders, but his integrity too was never questioned by even his opponents.

British economist and editor, H.V. Hudson writes about Quaid’s character in his book The Great Divide: “Not even his political enemies ever accused Jinnah of corruption or self-seeking. He could be bought by no one, and for no price. Nor was he in the least degree weathercock, swinging in the wind of popularity or changing the times. He was a steadfast idealist as well as a man of scrupulous honour.”

Today, there are few, if not none, among us who is free from corruption or self-seeking acts that undermine the progress of our nation.

A pillar of courage and resilience

Like all nations who gained independence, Pakistan too faced many challenges in its creation. It was Jinnah’s courage, determination and resilience that made him face all opposition during the struggle for Pakistan’s creation.

When his political journey witnessed many ups and downs, when his values and principles were a target of criticism and opposition from different communities, it was his courage and resilience that made him face it all without deviating from his goal.

I believe we do have resilience as a nation, since we manage to rise and survive despite the many problems we face, both from internal and external forces. If we combine our reliance with the courage to stand up for our rights and what is right, we too can rise above our circumstances and prosper.

Commitment to equality

Equality and social justice were the cornerstones of all that Jinnah worked for. He envisioned not just a free land for the Muslims of the Subcontinent to live, but a nation where all citizens, regardless of their religious or ethnic backgrounds, would have equal rights and opportunities.

It is a pity that this vision of our dear Quaid remains unfulfilled. But by realising that until each one of us gets all the rights they deserve, we too will not be able to get all the rights we should have. So we must ensure to raise our voice for the rights of others, so that our rights too are ensured.

A visionary and steadfast leader

Jinnah’s clear vision for the creation of a separate nation for Muslims in the Indian subcontinent was what led him to be undeterred in the pursuit for the establishment of Pakistan in 1947.

As a visionary leader with lofty aims he was able to inspire others to give their best and stand strong in the face of opposition, since he remained steadfast in his mission. He led by example, but slowly, with the passage of time, we are losing sight of the examples he set for us to follow. Individually, we do have the characteristics that are needed in the citizens of any great country, but we fail to come together as a nation due to the absence of a leader who can unite and lead us out of the mess we are in.

But the good part is that our condition today, as citizens of an independent country, is not as bad as of the oppressed Muslims under colonial rule who followed Jinnah. What is missing is a leader who can inspire and unite us, make us think beyond our personal interests to work for the betterment of Pakistan.

Our leaders today are simply a reflection of our own selves, they rise from us and so they represent us. What they lack is what we lack. So what they need to possess is what we need to possess too. So let us cultivate the qualities that our Quaid embodied, let us follow his footsteps and take our nation out of the problems we are in today.

Learning from Jinnah

In a world where many nations and people long for peace, human rights, freedom and good governance, we, as...

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[Proud Thamizhan]

Muhammad Ali Jinnah
Did you know?

The New York Times listed Mr. Jinnah as 1946's best-dressed man in the British Empire.
Jinnah dressed himself perfectly, his elegant and magnificent personality gave him respect wherever he went. It is narrated that on visit to London for political meeting he stayed in hotel. In the morning, he descended from his hotel suite into the breakfast hall, using stairs. When the people present in the restaurant noticed him they all rose involuntary and stood up as a gesture of respect to him.

Jinnah was one of the New York Times best dressed men of 1946. Expressing his thoughts on Muhammad Ali Jinnah, Lord Wavell (Viceroy of India, 1943-1947) said, "Mr. Jinnah was one of the handsomest men I have ever seen; he combined the clear cut, almost Grecian features of the West with oriental grace and movement."

A research states that one of the main reasons why Muhammad Ali Jinnah is considered one of the most well dressed men in history has to do with the fact that he was a huge supporter and wearer of the well-tailored suit. Never one to sit back and wear whatever came through the door. It is said that before independence, Jinnah came to own over 200 suits, which he wore with heavily starched shirts with detachable collars. As a barrister, he never wore same silk tie twice. Even on his deathbed, he insisted to be formally dressed saying: "I will not travel in my pajamas."

Jinnah's outfits were always unique; he rarely appeared wearing the same thing more than once. In a time when poverty ran rampant, Jinnah was one of the few who was able to partake in the wondrous ways of fashion. Congratulations to Muhammad Ali Jinnah for being voted the Fifth Best-Dressed World Leader of all-time.

After meeting Jinnah at the Viceroy's dinner in Simla, a British general's wife wrote to her mother in England: "After dinner, I had Mr. Jinnah to talk to. He has a great personality. He talks the most beautiful English. He models his clothes and his manners on Du Maurier..., and his English on Burke's speeches. I have always wanted to meet him and now I had my wish."

His monocle, his double-breasted jackets, and his Craven "A" cigarettes gave his personality a unique style. He was fond of smoking expensive and finest 'Craven A cigarettes. He also smoked a special kind of 'Havana' cigars, and sometimes a pipe.

When Allama Inayatullah Khan Mashriqi, the founder of the Khaksar Movement, was released from a U.P. jail, the Quaid-i-Azam, on the advice of some of his friends, went to see him along with his colleagues. He was accompanied by Liaquat Ali Khan, Sir Abdullah Haroon and Pir Ali Mohammad Rashidi. In Qarul Bagh, Allama Mashriqi was staying in a huge tent in the middle of the Khaksar Camp. An ordinary dari had been spread on the floor inside the camp. There was no chair.

The Quaid-i-Azam was wearing a white suit of China silk. He was not in the habit of sitting on the ground. However, as there was no alternative, he sat down on the floor after shaking hands with Allama Mashriqi. The Quaid then took out his cigarette case and offered a cigarette to him. Allama took the cigarette and tried to give two paisas to the Quaid. The Quaid-i-Azam asked: What is this? Allama said: A Khaksar does not accept any thing without paying its price. On hearing this, the Quaid took back his cigarette from Allama and said: The price of my cigarette is much more than two paisas and I don't think you can afford it.

His monocle was a part of his majestic personality. In a court of law while making arguments, monocle, which Jinnah was using, for reading from his notes slipped from his eye and dropped on the floor. The magistrate mischievously grinned and felt delighted, anticipating that Jinnah would have to bend in his court to pick up the monocle. He was disappointed when Jinnah put his hand in his pocket, brought out another monocle, and applied it to his eye while continuing the arguments.

By the late 1930s, He was mostly seen wearing a 'Karakul' hat, also known as 'Jinnah Cap,' over his western clothing. The moment he became a leader of a Muslim country, he chose to wear a sherwani. He stopped wearing the UP and Delhi style chooridar or tight pyjamas, and preferred a loose fitting 'Shalwar' the Jinnah cap and white or cream colored sherwani become the trend of that time. Meanwhile, he wore suits for his day-to-day office work and on informal occasions.

The Quaid's magnificent personality traits left deep impact to everyone. Patrick Spens, the last Chief Justice of undivided India, paid the following tribute to Jinnah: "The tallness of the man, the immaculate manner in which he turned out, the beauty of his features and the extreme courtesy with which he treated all; no one could have made a more favorable impression than he did. There is no man or woman living who imputes anything against his honor or his honesty. He was the most outright person that I know."

The Quaid usually travelled by train during the pre-independence time. Journalist once confronted Jinnah with a question as to how Congress leadership travelled in third class like the working class while he enjoys the first class journey. Quaid's reply was sharp. He said that he travelled in first class but pays from his own pocket to buy the ticket, while the congress leaders travel in third class without ticket. It made headlines. Dear father of the nation you will be in our memories forever.

P. S: Please bear with me for making you read such a long write up on a person par excellence I have admired the most and adulated & emulated as my leader .. Mr Muhammad Ali Jinnah our Father of the Nation. I assure you his personality couldn't be described in fewer words than these. May his soul rest in peace, Ameen.

this doesn't really speak to any real leadership qualities but rather paints the picture of a vainglorious arrogant person trying to out-brit his colonial masters! you should find better stuff on him

 

[RescueRanger]

Excerpt from Hector Bolitho's Creator of Pakistan:

His name was Nanji Jafar. He came in, sat in the rocking-chair and said that, as far as he knew, he was in his eighties. Though he had been at school with Jinnah, all he could recall was, “I played marbles with him in the street…” When I asked, “Can you remember anything he said to you?” he looked from beneath his thick brows and repeated, “I played marbles in the street with him.”

I asked him to close his eyes and to see, once more, the coloured glass marbles in the dust. Nanji Jafar closed his eyes and deeper into his memory: then he told his only anecdote of Jinnah’s boyhood. One morning, when Nanji Jafar was playing in the street, Jinnah, then aged about fourteen, came up to him and said, “Don’t play marbles in the dust; it spoils your clothes and dirties your hands. We must stand up and play cricket.”

The boys in Newnham Road were obedient: they gave up playing marbles and allowed Jinnah to lead them from the dusty street to a bright field where he brought his bat and stumps for them to use. When he sailed for England at the age of sixteen, he gave Nanji Jafar his bat and said, “You will go on teaching the boys to play cricket while I am away.”

All Jinnah’s story is in the boyhood dictum – “Stand up from the dust so that your clothes are unspoiled and your hands clean for the tasks that fall to them….
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Many writers have described Jinnah as a man of principle but a man of pride. Stanley Wolpert defended Jinnah thus: “… right to the extent of saying Jinnah was proud, but there is national pride and there is personal pride. Jinnah was not personally proud”. In defence, Wolpert quotes the following passage attributed to Jinnah having said, “I was considered a plague and shunned. But I thrust myself and forced my way through and went from place to place uninvited and unwanted. But now the situation was different”.[1]

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Sarojini Naidu Indian Poet and former govoner of United Provinces labelled Jinnah as the ‘ambassador of Hindu-Muslim unity’ [2]

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Kuldeep Nayyar fromer Indian High Commisisoner to the United Kingdom and eminent columnist remembers his interaction with Jinnah during Jinnah's visit to Law College in Lahore in 1945 'To my question, what would be the stand of Pakistan if a third power attacked India, he said straightaway that the Pakistani soldiers would fight by the side of Indian soldiers to defeat the enemy.'[3]

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Commenting on his precision of judgement, Saadat Hasan Manto says, “As in billiards, he would examine the situation from every angle and only move where he was sure he would get it right the first time.”

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Jinnah was driven by a selfless desire that to many of us seems somehow superhuman, No personal grief, like the death of Ruttie, no personal disappointment, like the marriage of his only daughter Dina against his wishes, or ill-health derailed him from his passion for getting a Muslim homeland.

Jinnah refused to accept gifts. He was frugal. He spent no state money upon himself, there is the story of how when leaving his chambers in London for the last time to return to India his partner enquired about the furnishings and books in his office, and the Quaid simply replied, these are chattle I make for a greater cause, I hope you may make good use of them.

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Thank you Baba-e-qaum, today, tomorrow and forever.

1. Wolpert, S. (1985). Jinnah of Pakistan. New York Oxford University Press.
2. Nayar, K. (2019). On Leaders And Icons From Jinnah To Modi. Speaking Tiger.
3. https://www.thedailystar.net/opinion/between-the-lines/relevance-jinnah-1574623