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FEATURE: Reflections of a great leader
Some are born great,
Some achieve greatness, and
Some have greatness thrust upon ‘em
— William Shakespeare
When one hears of Quaid-i-Azam, the instant picture, an awe inspiring image created in one’s mind, is that of a tall svelte impeccably dressed man — with a slightly tilted astrakhan cap placed on his head — addressing a mammoth gathering, with his left arm holding his back and right arm gesticulating to reinforce his argument. This picture of our great leader is sharply etched in our minds and comes to life with the mention of his name. We know him as a forthright and undeviating statesman who pulled together the scattered Muslims of the subcontinent to make one strong nation. Apart from that, there are other luminous aspects of his magnetic personality that seldom come under discussion. In our effort to discover more about him as a person — as Mohammed Ali Jinnah — we can feel ourselves getting closer to his subliminal self, proud and worthy of being followers of such a dynamic individual.
The Quaid was an uncompromising disciplinarian who himself practiced and also preached others to cultivate the habit in themselves. Quoted here is a testimonial which he issued to one of his servants, dated April 1943, who had to wash his hands of the job for being boisterous, although he had other appreciable traits:
“ The bearer, Mohammed Alam, has been in my service as a motor-car driver for over a year and I found him honest and a very good driver.... The chief reason why I am dispensing with his services is that he cannot get on well with other servants and recently he had a violent quarrel with my khidmatgar. I am therefore obliged to discharge him.”
Found from his collection of correspondences there is one more job termination certificate which the Quaid was compelled to issue to his cook, Mubarak Ali, for the poor cook, although a good one, was an avid drinker, a habit which the Quaid did not approve of.
Before formally coming into politics the Quaid had made his mark as an outstanding barrister in Bombay. His unmatched abilities as a convincing and accomplished speaker had won him an envious position at Bar. It is said that the Quaid was a distinguished lawyer who had his own way of charging his fee, which he determined according to the minutes he spent reading the case file. A client was asked to deposit an amount not less than 10,000 and if the total time spent on his file summed up to more than the given amount he was supposed to pay more and if it summed up less he would get back the remaining amount.
There is one anecdote linked to his professional life, which tells us how fair and principled the Quaid was in his dealings. Once at his chamber, a man came and asked his secretary to let him meet the Quaid as he wanted his help regarding some legal matter. The secretary informed him of the fee and asked for the amount. But the man said that he was not wealthy enough to pay 10,000, but could only give Rs5,000. The secretary was still explaining to him the right procedure, which the man refused to understand, when the Quaid himself came out of his chamber hearing the perturbation and inquired about the matter. When briefed about the situation the Quaid asked his secretary to take Rs5,000 and told the man to come after a week. When he came after a week the Quaid handed him Rs3,000 saying the time I spent reading your file amounted to just two thousand. The event has been narrated by Mr Rizwan Ahmed, a Muslim League worker who joined the Quaid in 1942 while studying at Allahabad University, and the author of a series of columns “Quaid, facts and fiction” besides other writings.
It’s well known that the Quaid loved the company of students and frequently visited universities and other academic institutions to enlighten them about the cause of freedom. Students too admired him beyond all bounds. Just to gauge their love for the Quaid it is worthwhile to write that when the Quaid visited Aligarh in February 1938, the students took out a royal procession to receive him and pulled his carriage themselves over a route of three miles.
The Congress had always made vicious plans to malign the reputation of the Quaid. It had spread this propaganda that the Quaid asks others to contribute to funds but never gives a penny from his own pocket. During that time press fund was being collected, and the Quaid happened to visit Aligarh Muslim University. The students under the influence of the rumours had the guts to ask the Quaid about the matter and it was only due to the liberty they had been given by their beloved leader. To their question the Quaid replied with a touch of humour: “Boys you want to rob away my mind and money both.” It was later known that for the press fund the Muslim League had collected Rs35,000 from the whole subcontinent and the Quaid alone gave one lakh for it. But on that occasion he preferred to tackle the matter light-heartedly than to indulge in self-praise, which he strictly abhorred.
The Quaid laid great stress on strong character and he presented a perfect example in this regard. He often said “Let our motto be, as the Dutch proverb says; Money is lost nothing is lost/ Courage is lost much is lost/ Honour is lost most is lost/ Soul is lost all is lost.” Critics often labelled him as a stiff-necked, proud and arrogant person. But their observations are far from reality as he showed much respect and passion for those around him.
His soft nature can better be illustrated by the way he valued the sincere service of his attendant, Wassant, a Hindu outcaste. He was so respected by the household of Mr Jinnah that on occasions he had the upper hand to take decisions. When he retired, he was given a house in his native village by Quaid-i-Azam.
“He was a man of spartan austerity. One could not imagine him taking things easy. He was an early riser, in spite of the London winter. An old man of 70, he got up before seven and had his morning tea at seven punctually, and by eight he had shaved and bathed, and was at his desk, fully dressed and ready for the day. He opened all his letters himself read every word and dictated most of replies himself. Journalists were not authorized to publish his interviews without showing their drafts to him.” — Dr Mumtaz Hasan. Taken from Tributes to Quaid-i-Azam, edited by Mohammad Hanif Shahid.
Quaid-i-Azam was a man above the imagination of an ordinary mind. He was the epitome of matchless characteristics that make the foundation of the geniuses and distinguish them from the rest. Jamil-uddin Ahmad in his book Glimpses of Quiad-i-Azam pays him rich tribute in glowing words that, in their maximum capacity, combine to describe the greatness, which however, is far more than words could ever capture. He writes: “You were once bewitched by the musical ring of his cultured voice, the beauty of his intonation and the easy flow of his expressions. Words fell from his lips like beautifully formed pearls and rubies and one found it difficult to gather them all in one’s lap. As he got into the stride you were moved by the intensity of his intellectual passion.”
He further writes, “In him you find an extraordinary combination of seemingly opposite traits which have made his personality a fascinating phenomenon of human greatness. He combines richness of human feeling with acuteness of intellect, sternness of discipline with magnanimity of disposition robust optimism with caution and circumspection, unflinching courage with astute strategy and national pride with meekness of spirit, born of true religious faith.”
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