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December 22, 2002
Review: Crucial role of Jinnah
QUAID-I-AZAM Muhammad Ali Jinnah is one of the greatest leaders produced by South Asia. He transformed British India’s Muslim community into a nation by his visionary leadership, brilliant advocacy of their case for a separate identity and nationhood, and an untiring capacity for pursuance of the professed goal.
It is heartening to note that archival material and important documents on the Quaid-i-Azam have now become available from published and unpublished sources, official records and proceedings, private collections, and Muslim League/freedom movement archives. The Quaid’s birth centenary year (1976) may be described as the beginning of a new and spirited phase in the Jinnah studies. Since then, a number of biographical and historical studies of Jinnah’s contribution to the cause of the Muslims of South Asia and the establishment of Pakistan have become available.
Furthermore, several edited volumes have pulled together important documents, archival material and other relevant source material on him. The well-known compilations of Jinnah’s speeches, statements, letters, minutes of the meetings, the Muslim record, interaction with the British Indian government and the Congress Party, and other materials of historical importance have been edited by Sharifuddin Pirzada, Zawar Husain Zaidi, Sharifal Mujahid, Khurshid Ahmad Khan Yusufi, Riaz Ahmad and S.M. Zaman. A “Letters to Quaid-i-Azam” series has been edited by Ansar Zahid Khan and others.
An important contribution to making research material available for the Jinnah Studies is the series entitled “The Nation’s Voice” edited by Dr Waheed Ahmad. Since 1992, six volumes have been published which include Jinnah’s speeches, statements, interviews, advice and related material for the period March 1935 to August 1947. This material has been collected from scattered printed sources, private collections and libraries in Pakistan, the UK and India. Most of this material was not easily accessible to historians and analysts. Pulling together such an important research and reference material in a volume series is a singular contribution to the study of the life and role of Jinnah.
Dr Waheed Ahmad has been in this field for a long time. He first edited a book entitled Jinnah-Irwin correspondence (1969), followed by six other edited works on various aspects of the Pakistan movement and Jinnah. He also served as Director, Quaid-i-Azam Academy, Karachi, 1989-93. The first volume of “The Nation’s Voice” was published in 1992, and the latest (volume 6) was released this year.
Volumes V and VI, under review, cover the crucial 16 months before Independence — May 1946-August 1947. Spread over 1916 pages, the two volumes represent a treasure of information and data not only on Jinnah but also on Muslim politics in British India, 1946-47. The main body of volume 5 includes 202 important speeches, statements, messages, interviews, news reports, and records of interviews by Jinnah. It has 15 detailed appendices covering the resolutions of the Muslims League, the Congress Party and the statements of the British Indian government pertaining to important developments during May 1946-February 1947.
Volume VI, covering the March-August 1947 period, follows the same organizational pattern. The main body includes 133 documents and 16 appendices offer useful support material on the crucial developments in this period. The documents about the partition process, including the integration of the princely states, are particularly noteworthy.
Each volume has a concise introduction at the beginning that places all the documents in the historical context and helps the reader to connect the documents with the developments of the concerned period. Introduction to volume 5 opens with the Cabinet Mission, 1946, and offers useful information on its three members, its arrival in Delhi on March 24, 1946, meetings with Indian leaders, release of its report in May and the announcement of the plans for the interim government in June 1946.
The policies of the Muslim League and the Congress towards the recommendation of the Cabinet Mission Plan, the formation of the interim government in September 1946, and Muslim League decision to join it in October have also been given concise treatment. Important developments in December 1946-February 1947 have also been discussed.
The introduction to Volume VI follows the same pattern. It deals with the March-August 1947 period, covering different aspects of British withdrawal and the establishment of Pakistan. The arrival of Mountbatten in Delhi in March 1947 marked the beginning of the developments that culminated in the establishment of Pakistan. The introduction covers Mountbatten’s role during this critical period, his tilt towards the Congress leadership and the unrealized desire to become the joint Governor General of India and Pakistan. Other important developments discussed briefly include, the June 3 Plan, the partition process, especially the division of assets, demarcation of borders in the Punjab and Bengal and how the British cheated Pakistan with reference to Gurdaspur and Zira tehsil. This volume has a foreword by Lord Listowel, Secretary of State for India (April-August 1947), who says that Jinnah had three “supreme qualities”: single mindedness and strong will; aloofness from personal or family attachments and noninvolvement in intra-Muslim League politics; and a “tactical skill of the brilliant lawyer applied to the process of political bargaining”.
The publication of documents on Jinnah by different scholars poses a challenge to Pakistani researchers to undertake analytical and comparative studies of his role before and after independence. These studies have to go beyond pure and simple narratives and apply theoretical formulations that are now available for studying nationalist movements and the identity formation processes. The application of theories of leadership may also facilitate a better understanding of Jinnah’s role. The researchers can also make use of studies of other world leaders to see how far Jinnah can be studied in a comparative and global context.
Quaid-I-Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah: the nation’s voice
Volume V: deadlock, frustration and riots
Vol VI: achieving the goal
Edited by Waheed Ahmad
Quaid-i-Azam Academy, Karachi
ISBN 969-413-068-9, 969-413-069-7
cix+1184pp. lxxxiv+732pp
Rs1000 & Rs800
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