WASHINGTON: Author Stanley Wolpert, popular in Pakis­tan for his books on Quaid-i-Azam Mohammed Ali Jinnah and Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, died in California last month. He was 91.

In his long career as an author, teacher and political commentator, Prof Wolpert published 15 books, including four novels, but the one that made him a must read in Pakistan is Jinnah of Pakistan, published in 1982. It is among the best biographies of the Quaid.

“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 three,” wrote Prof. Wolpert while introducing Mr. Jinnah.

Mr Wolpert was born on Dec 23, 1927, in Brooklyn, New York and died peacefully on Feb 19 at his son Adam’s home in California.

The son of Nathan and Frances Wolpert, he grew up in Brooklyn. He attended Brooklyn Technical High School, the New York State Maritime Academy, the City College of New York, and the University of Pennsylvania where he pursued South Asia studies.

He was recognised across the globe as a major expert on South Asian studies.

He is survived by Dorothy, his wife of 65 years, sons Daniel and Adam and daughters-in-law Debra and Katy, and his grandchildren Sam, Max and Sabine.

Jinnah of Pakistan

Mr Wolpert argues in the book that Mr Jinnah was for Pakistan what Mahatma Gandhi and Jawaharlal Nehru combined were for modern India — inspirational father and first head of state.

He noted that Mr. Jinnah began his career as the Indian National Congress’s ‘Ambassador of Hindu-Muslim Unity’, but ended it 40 years later as the architect of the partition that split Pakistan away from India.

Gandhi’s Passion, published in 2001:

Gandhi’s Passion is a biography of Mahatma Gandhi. Delhi University historian Shahid Amin in his review for the Outlook, called it an “empathetic and meticulous biography”.

Shameful Flight

Published in 2006, Shameful Flight is a chronological study of the last days of the British Empire in India from the fall of Singapore in 1942 to the Jammu and Kashmir war of 1947-48.

Published in Dawn, March 7th, 2019