WHAT is the legacy which Jinnah left behind has been a topic of discussion in recent days and questions are frequently raised on this issue.

The legacy is reflected in the principles, ideals and vision Jinnah so carefully enunciated and they are a part of our history and are well documented.

On a more personal view, the legacy is certainly not the Jinnah House in Bombay, which is now the subject-matter of a legal dispute between his daughter and the Indian government.

Forming part of Jinnah’s legacy is his passion for education of the Muslims and this is reflected in his will in which he made bequests in favour of Sindh Madressah, Islamia College, Peshawar, Aligarh Muslim University, Anjuman Islam and Bombay University for which he left large sums of money.

From the funds earmarked in his will, the income earned on this amount has funded 6,665 scholarships, which have been granted to deserving students in Pakistan on merit for graduate and post-graduate studies.

This task is being carried on by the Trustees of the Quaid-i-Azam Aligarh Education Trust appointed by the Sindh High Court, which also earlier ordered creation of this Trust.

The number of Jinnah scholars will continue to grow as this is a Trust which will function in perpetuity and keep Jinnah’s legacy alive.

The other legacy are the publications which propagate Jinnah’s principles, ideals and vision and these include the three editions of The Jinnah Anthology, Quotes from the Quaid, Quaid-e-Azam Nay Farmaya, M. A. Jinnah CD Rom and other publications which will come out in future under the auspices of The Jinnah Society.

It is necessary to get all this across to the people of Pakistan as a nation building exercise.

Liaquat H. Merchant

Karachi

Published in Dawn November 19th, 2016