September 8, 2002

Quaid-i-Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah is one of the greatest leaders of the Muslim world. His vision and leadership transformed a community into a nation and brought into being Pakistan against very heavy odds. Stanley Wolpert has very correctly remarked that “few individuals significantly alter the course of history. Fewer still modify the map of the world. Hardly anyone can be credited with creating a nation-state. Mohammad Ali Jinnah did all the three.”

There was a time when Hector Bolitho’s Jinnah: creator of Pakistan was considered to be the major biography of the Quaid-i-Azam. Other biographical narratives were by G. Allana, M.A.H. Ispahani and M.H. Saiyid. It was not until the Quaid’s birth centenary year (1976) and in the following years that some outstanding works on him were produced. The national committee for birth centenary celebrations not only held an international conference on the Quaid-i-Azam but also published the major papers presented there.

The Quaid-i-Azam Academy, the National Commission on Historical and Cultural Research, and the Quaid-i-Azam Papers Cell of the federal government have produced useful historical and analytical studies and documents on the Quaid. Shariful Mujahid, Stanley Wolpert and Ayesha Jalal have published outstanding books on Jinnah, although they diverge in their approaches and perspectives.

Noteworthy work on Jinnah has also been done by Waheed Ahmad, Rizwan Ahmad, Riaz Ahmad, Saeed Ahmad and Z.H. Zaidi who have shed light on important archival material, which would help scholars to study the Quaid’s role and contributions indetail.

Qutubuddin Aziz’s book Jinnah and Pakistan is a concise statement on the life and contributions of Mohammad Ali Jinnah, which is a welcome addition to the existing literature on the Quaid.

Divided into 18 brief chapters, 10 annexures, a chronology and a bibliography, the book presents a biographical sketch of Jinnah from his childhood to his death in September 1948. His was a rich political career in which he achieved much. His role in politics and his views on important political issues and developments shaped the course of history in India. Some of the political issues discussed in the book have contemporary relevance. These include Jinnah’s views on Muslim separatism; his motto of Faith, Unity and Discipline; good governance; human rights and civil liberties; the armed forces; Muslim women and youths; and foreign policy.

Jinnah had great respect for Allama Muhammad Iqbal. Similarly, his relationship with his daughter, Dina (pp.89-90), was interesting. His fatherly love for Dina was punctuated with some restraint after her marriage. The author deals with this difficult relationship in one sentence: “Dina Wadia and Jinnah did telephone each other in Bombay but Jinnah avoided calling her to his home.” After Jinnah’s death, Prime Minister Liaquat Ali Khan informed Dina of her father’s death and sent a special aircraft to Bombay to bring her to Karachi for attending the Quaid’s funeral.

Aziz describes Jinnah as a “liberal and progressive Muslim who possessed a thorough knowledge of Islam and Islamic jurisprudence” (p.91). He also highlights his view on civil and political freedoms, human rights and justice. Quoting some of his statements, especially the August 11, 1947 address to the Constituent Assembly (the text is given as an annexure), the author underlines Jinnah’s notion of equality of all citizens before law and religious freedom and tolerance.

Highlighting Jinnah’s views on different aspects of political and social life is important. However, not many, including the author of the book under review, are willing to evaluate the current political drift in Pakistan in the light of the Quaid’s vision of Pakistan. It is easy to say that Jinnah was a progressive Muslim and that he believed in the equality of all citizens irrespective of religious beliefs, but how many of us are prepared to admit that a number of legal and political measures adopted by the military regime of General Ziaul Haq and the growing religious and cultural intolerance in Pakistan today are a negation of what the father of the nation stood for?

Written in a lucid and readable style, the book puts together good data on Jinnah. The people who do not have the time and the inclination to read thick volumes will find this book especially useful. It also includes photographs of historical importance.

Jinnah and Pakistan
By Qutubuddin Aziz
Islamic Media Corporations, 9/4 Rafiq Centre, Abdullah Haroon Road, Karachi-74400. Distributed in Pakistan by Royal Book Company BG-5, Rex Centre Basement, Zaibunnisa Street, Karachi-74400 Tel: 021-568 4244 
Email: royalbook@hotmail.com
196pp. Rs100. 5

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