In pictures: The enigmatic Mr Jinnah

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This article was originally published on December 23, 2017.

On Quaid-i-Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah’s death anniversary, we look back at a rare collection of photographs that attempt to reveal the various facets of his personality.

BOMBAY’S BOY BARRISTER: After becoming the youngest ‘Indian’ student to be called to the Bar on April 29, 1896, at Lincoln’s Inn (London), Mr Jinnah moved to Bombay and began working as a lawyer. Within a few years, he became one of the leading lawyers in the subcontinent.

FLOWERS IN EXILE: Mr Jinnah on the grounds of his Hampstead home in the early 1930s. He moved to London with his daughter Dina and sister Miss Fatima Jinnah after the Second Round Table Conference ended in failure. During the four years of this self-imposed exile, Mr Jinnah had a thriving practice as a Privy Council lawyer. In 1934, he returned to India to assume the presidency of the All-India Muslim League.

AN ENDURING FRIENDSHIP: Mr Jinnah smiling broadly by his standards while standing next to his friend and political ally, Mohammad Amir Ahmed Khan, the Raja Sahib of Mehmoodabad.

RARE RELAXATION: Mr Jinnah seen relaxing at the famous Cecil’s Hotel in Simla.

APPROACHING INDEPENDENCE: Mr Jinnah and Miss Fatima Jinnah arrived in Karachi on August 7, 1947. A week later, Pakistan came into being after years of struggle on August 14, 1947.| Photo: PID.

AUTOMOTIVE ELEGANCE: Mr Jinnah seated next to his old-time friend, Pestonjee H. J. Rustomjee, in Bombay in the early 1900s. At the back is Pestonjee’s daughter, Homi. Incidentally, Pestonjee H. J. Rustomjee was the maternal uncle of Ardeshir Cowasjee, the esteemed Dawn columnist.

STREAMS IN THE VALLEY: Mr Jinnah relaxing by a stream, donning a solar hat, in Mussoorie, a hill station.

SETTING A PRECEDENCE: Mr Jinnah wearing, during a picnic, what was soon going to be termed the ‘Jinnah cap’.

RESPONDING TO LORD MOUNTBATTEN: Mr Jinnah is about to record his response to Lord Mountbatten’s June 3 Plan about the partition of India into two dominions.

THE LAST VISIT: Mr Jinnah was welcomed by Khawaja Nazimuddin (left) when he arrived at the Governor-General House in Dhaka. This was Mr Jinnah’s first visit to East Pakistan as Governor-General, which turned out to be his last as well.

This story is part of a special feature on Jinnah on his 141st birthday. Read the report here, or visit the archive for a series of special reports under the banner of '70 years of Pakistan and Dawn.

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