Remembering M.A. Jinnah (25th December)
"There’s No Power
On Earth That Can
Undo Pakistan!"
-- M.A. Jinnah
(M. Javed Naseem)
The Christian world remembers 25th of December as the birthday of Jesus Christ while Pakistani nation remembers that as the birthday of their founding father Mohammad Ali Jinnah. M.A. Jinnah was also affectionately called the ‘Quaid-e-Azam’, meaning the ‘great leader’. He was a man of integrity who, with his strong determination and hardwork, despite all odds, succeeded in creating an independent state (Pakistan) for the Muslims of the Indian sub-continent. It was a miraculous achievement indeed as some Muslim groups opposed it.
After studying law, M.A. Jinnah was trained as a Barrister at Lincoln’s Inn, London. In 1895, at the age of 19, he became the youngest Indian to be called to the bar (a lawyer) in England. Although he returned to Karachi, he remained there only a short time before moving to Bombay.
At twenty, Jinnah began his practice in Bombay, the only Muslim barrister in the city. English had become his principal language and would remain so throughout his life. He took his first step towards a brighter career when the acting Advocate General of Bombay, John Molesworth MacPherson, invited Jinnah to work from his chambers.
In
1900, P. H. Dastoor, a Bombay presidency magistrate, left the post
temporarily and Jinnah succeeded in getting the interim position.
After his six-month appointment period, Jinnah was offered a
permanent position at a salary of Rs.1,500 per month. Jinnah politely
declined the offer, stating that he planned to earn Rs.1,500 a day –
a huge sum at that time – which he eventually did. Nevertheless, as
Governor-General of Pakistan, he would refuse to accept a salary. He
fixed his own ‘token’ salary at Rs.1.00 (just one Rupee) per
month.
(M.A. Jinnah with Lord Mountbatten, British Viceroy to India
and Jawahar-lal Nehru)
One of Jinnah's fellow barristers from the Bombay High Court remembered that "Jinnah's faith in himself was incredible". He recalled that once a judge admonished him by saying:"Mr. Jinnah, remember that you are not addressing a third-class magistrate."Jinnah shot back: "My Lord, allow me to warn you that you are not addressing a third-class pleader (solicitor)."
Another of his fellow barristers described him: “He was what God made him, a great pleader. He had a sixth sense; he could see around corners. That is where his talents lay ... He was a very clear thinker ... But he drove his points home – points chosen with exquisite selection – slow delivery, word by word.”
Jinnah was an excellent lawyer, an honest politician and a great fighter for his cause which he proved by becoming the ‘Founder of Pakistan’. He was the leader of All-India Muslim League from 1913 until the independence of Pakistan on 14th August, 1947. The Muslim League, under his leadership, passed the historic Lahore Resolution (or Pakistan Resolution) demanding a separate nation in 1940. He was the first Governor General of Pakistan. Unfortunately, he did not live long enough after the independence of Pakistan to see it strengthened and developed. He died a year later in 1948.
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| (M.A. Jinnah's tomb in Karachi) |
The best way to remember M.A. Jinnah today is to remind Pakistani nation of his thoughts, sayings and declarations derived from his speeches and interviews. Here are some excerpts:
“We are now all Pakistanis – not Baluchis, Pathans, Sindhis, Bengalis, Punjabis and so on – and as Pakistanis we must feel, behave and act; and we should be proud to be known as Pakistanis and nothing else.”
“The great majority of us are Muslims. We follow the teachings of the Prophet Mohammed (may peace be upon him). We are members of the brotherhood of Islam in which all are equal in rights, dignity and self-respect. Consequently, we have a special and a very deep sense of unity. But make no mistake: Pakistan is not a theocracy or anything like it.”
'LEARN YOUR LESSON!'
(Excerpts from Muhammad Ali Jinnah’s Presidential speech to the Muslim League at Lucknow, October 1937).
“The one wholesome lesson that I ask the Musalmans to learn, before it is too late, is that the path before the Musalmans is, therefore, plain. They must realize that the time has come when they should concentrate and devote their energies to self-organization and full development of their power, to the exclusion of every other consideration.”
“I have pointed out before that a section of Musalmans is divided, that there is a group that stands with face turned towards the British. If they have not learnt by now of the bitter consequences, they will never learn. God only helps those who help themselves”
“There is another group which turns towards the Congress, and they do so because they have lost faith in themselves. I want the Musalmans to believe in themselves, and take their destiny in their own hands. We want men of faith and resolution who have the courage and determination, and who would fight single-handed for their convictions, though at the moment the whole world may be against them. We (must) develop power and strength, till the Musalmans are fully organized and have acquired that power and strength which must come from the solidarity and the unity of (the) people.”
Addressing Karachi Bar Association, 1948:
“The Quran is the general code for the Muslims, a religious, social, civil, commercial, military, judicial, criminal and penal code. It regulates every thing, from the ceremonies of religion to those of daily life, from the salvation of the soul to the health of the body, from the rights of all to those of each individual from morality to crime; from punishment here to that in the life to come, and our Holy Prophet Mohammad (Peace by upon Him) has enjoined on us that every Musalman should posses a copy of the Quran and be his own priest. Therefore, Islam is not merely confined to the spiritual tenets and doctrines or ritual and ceremonies. It is a complete code regulating the whole Muslim society, every department of life, collective and individual.”
“I cannot understand the logic of those who have been deliberately and mischievously propagating that the Constitution of Pakistan will not be based on Islamic Shariah. Islamic principles today are as much applicable to life as they were 1300 years ago.”
“With faith, discipline and selfless devotion to duty, there is nothing worthwhile that you cannot achieve.”
“Islam expects every Muslim to do this duty, and if we realize our responsibility, time will come soon when we shall justify ourselves worthy of a glorious past.”
“Pakistan not only means freedom and independence but the Muslim Ideology which has to be preserved, which has come to us as a precious gift and treasure and which, we hope other will share with us.”
“You have to stand guard over the development and maintenance of Islamic democracy, Islamic social justice and the equality of mankind in your own native soil.”
“We should have a State in which we could live and breathe as free men and which we could develop according to our own lights and culture and where principles of Islamic social justice could find free play.”
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