Jinnah: The Man of the Hour

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Jinnah: The Man of the Hour​

Much has been written about our Quaid, Muhammad Ali Jinnah, about the amazing leadership qualities that he possessed and the determination and strength with which he fought for the attainment of an independent State for the Muslims of the subcontinent. His personality and his grace won the admiration of friends and foes alike.

However, there is a section of Pakistani society that deems Jinnah irrelevant to the present day Pakistan and does not miss any opportunity to belittle the impact that this great man had on humanity. There is a reason for this charade; Jinnah is a threat to the self-proclaimed ‘democratically elected’ leaders of Pakistan who are steeped in corruption and nepotism. In the Pakistan of today, we see political parties loyal to ‘Quaid-e-Awams’, each focusing on their own particular mantra or slogan, each waving their own flag. The one leader who united us, who taught us the meaning of dignity and courage, is missing not only from the walls of the President House, but also from the hearts and minds of the sheeple who blindly follow these so called leaders. This particular section of society seems to think that Pakistan was created for the elite. The concern that Jinnah had for the Muslim Ummah, the very community that Pakistan was created for, has been set aside and the poor and downtrodden who in the words of Allama Iqbal were encouraged by Angels to ‘shake the foundations of society’ , have been forgotten. While the Pakistani elite continue to grow stronger through political alliances and inter-marriages, common Pakistanis are struggling to break away from this stranglehold.

Some of us still remember the not-so-distant past when Quaid’s dream for Pakistan to become one of the most progressive nations on earth was within our reach. In the 1960’s, Pakistan was set to become the model for developing nations. Today however, things seem entirely different. As Pakistan faces many crises, both internal and external, the entire nation is in search for ‘Salahuddin’; someone who has the moral fibre, the courage and the dignity to restore this nation’s honour, someone who is not afraid to say ’No’ to the Imperialist forces exploiting our weaknesses, someone who stands firm in the face of adversity and leads by example, someone who is self-sacrificing in every aspect of his life, someone who is not intimidated by men of power and fortune. Today, almost six decades after his passing, Pakistan is sorely missing Jinnah. This one man has left us with a legacy unmatched by any other in the history of the Modern World.

Still, there is a side to this man that his nation is not fully aware of, an aspect of his personality that is still hidden from the majority of Pakistanis, and that is his utmost love and respect for the Holy Prophet (SAW). In Jinnah’s own words:

“I thought of seeing the various Inns in London and meeting students studying there in order to make up my mind in advance. My inquiries and discussions made me decide for another Inn than Lincoln’s. But then I had seen the name of our great Prophet engraved on the main entrance of Lincoln’s Inn among the greatest law-givers of the world. So I made a sort of ‘Minnat’ or vow that I would join the Lincoln’s Inn”

This is the level of devotion that he had for Rasul Allah (SAW). How could such a man not be relevant to the present day Pakistan; a country that was created in the name of Allah and his Beloved (SAW). Jinnah, the spiritual man, was a gift to this Ummah, a gift that we need to be thankful for in every way we can, and the best way to do that is to benefit from his wisdom and incorporate in us, the principles that he strongly adhered to.

Today, as our nation struggles to understand and recapture its place among the nations of the world, Jinnah’s words are as relevant as they were all those years ago. Giving hope to the Muslims of the sub-continent in their darkest hour, he said:

‘Only one thing can save the Musalmans and energise them to regain their lost ground. They must first recapture their own soul and stand by their lofty position and principles which form the basis of their unity, and which bind them in one body-politic.’

In the above lines is the wisdom behind the creation of Pakistan which was for the Muslims to find their own selves, to envision themselves as a powerful and strong nation and then to re-group and re-emerge, in the words of Iqbal ‘to form a living family of nations’.

Pakistanis as a nation, as a collective entity know that the time is now and we have to re-organize ourselves and focus on the challenges that we face today. There was nothing co-incidental about the creation of this Land and the amazing gift that was given to the Muslim Ummah in the form of Jinnah. He is the man for this century and the man of the hour.

 

[deathfromabove]

A Leader of Men​

Malaika Khalid

The poetic dream of Allama Iqbal caught the imagination of the Muslims of Sub Continent under the dynamic leadership of Quaid e Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah who embarked upon the task of giving it a concrete shape of ideals and dreams. He structured and organized the comprehensive campaign for Pakistan, his audacious, adventurous, creativeness crystallized Dr. Muhammad Iqbal’s inspiration of Pakistan. The imagination and thought provoking message of Allama Iqbal was interpreted into realization when Baba-e-Quam Muhammad Ali Jinnah said:

“We are a nation, with our own distinctive culture and civilization, language and literature, art and architecture, names and nomenclature, sense of value and proportion, legal laws and moral code, customs and calendar, history and traditions, aptitudes and ambitions, in short, we have distinctive outlook on and of life”.

Mr. Jinnah determined and toiled, aimed and struggled. He attained the aims and accomplished the goal he had set before him. He was a man of strong will power, determination as well as had a lofty character. He worked day and night and never bent down even to the greatest temptation. His friends and adversaries both appreciated and respected him. It was he who shaped the Pakistan Movement in tough resistance by Hindus as well as British, and therefore got a separate homeland for the Muslims of the Sub Continent.

Mohammad Ali Jinnah was a lawyer by profession with a long and distinguished record of public service who believed in peaceful and legitimate methods of achieving self-government. He was against violence, bloodshed or any other revolutionary means for obtaining his goals.

Mr. Jinnah was a great nationalist with a burning desire for the liberation of his motherland from the foreign yoke that’s why he joined Indian National Congress. He had expounding ideas for Hindu Muslim unity all his life, but could see no alternative option to partition because the narrow mindedness of Congress leadership towards Muslims proved that Congress can’t lead Muslims of India, this influenced Mohammad Ali Jinnah to part his ways with Congress. 1916’s Lucknow pact is an eloquent evidence of Quaid e Azam’s untiring efforts to bridge a gap between Hindus and Muslims. He candidly stated that the Sub Continent could not carry on undivided and yet remain tranquil. Some influential leaders attempted to avert the division, but Muslims demand for a separate state was uncontrollable.

He wasn’t a man of illusions, when he decided to join Muslim League; he took a vigorous active part to make it effective and triumphant. In 1928, Nehru Report was presented which demanded dominion status for India and the separate election was declined. The reservation of the seats for Muslims of Bengal and Punjab was discarded in it. Muslims were astonished and bewildered at this report. At this time of despair, despondency and denial Quaid e Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah came forward to safe guard the rights and interests of Muslims by presenting his Famous 14 points. Although Congress rejected these points but they became a milestone in the struggle of Muslims.

Quaid e Azam altered politics into statesmanship. He knew that like all other line of works, politics also needs intelligence, devotion, wisdom, prudence, belief in one’s ideology and persistent bravery to stand for one’s point of view. He set out to actualize his vision and possibilities. His sophisticated manner and taste carved politics into a fine art —– an art which was gigantic, enlightening, invigorating.

After the elections of 1937, the Congress leaders became arrogant superiors. Mr.Jinnah permitted the Muslim League to collaborate with them as much as possible, respecting those elections, particularly in the united provinces. The elections ended, drunk with power — the Congress was on cloud nine, declined to do any constitutional dealings with the Muslim League except it merged with Congress and stressed that there are only two major forces in India today — one is British Imperialism and the other is Indian nationalism acknowledged by Congress.

At this decisive juncture, Quaid e Azam Mr. Mohammad Ali Jinnah zealously observed the political situation and strongly claimed:

“NO, there is a third party —- namely the Muslims. We are not going to be dictated to by anybody ——– We are not going to be camp followers of any party”.

It was his belief and determination that reorganized the Muslim League who on 22 December 1939 celebrated the “Day of Deliverance” declared by Mr.Jinnah upon the resignation of Congress Provisional Government.

On the 23rd March 1940, the Muslim League under the presidentship of Quaid e Azam laid claim to a separate homeland that is Pakistan for the Muslims at the historic Lahore session of the Muslim league. When challenged by Mr. Gandhi on this point, Mohammad Ali Jinnah said,

“We maintain and hold that the Muslims and Hindus are two major nations by any definition or test of a nation. We are a nation of 100 million and what is more, we are a nation with our own distinct culture and civilization ———— by all canons of international law, we are a nation”.

On this strong foundation he demanded an independent Muslim state in the predominantly Muslim area of northwestern and eastern India. On July 26, 1943, Quaid-e-Azam escaped an attempted assassination by a Khaksar fanatic who attacked and wounded him by a knife. It was a shocking incident for the Muslims of Sub Continent but Mr.Jinnah remained dedicated to his aim and to his people’s welfare.

Mohammad Ali Jinnah defeated the mighty Congress in Ghandi’s lifetime; he defeated Mountbatten who always reacted to Muslim struggle by saying “Mad Pakistan”. Although failed in his mission “to try and keep India a united country”, arrogant Mountbatten uttered his hopelessness in these words:

“But there was one man who absolutely prevented this and that was Mr. Mohammad Ali Jinnah, the president of Muslim League, who absolutely said ‘NO’ from the very beginning and there was nothing I could do to make him change his mind”.

In the words of the Quaid e Azam Paksitan was the Will of God and it was going to be fulfilled. He didn’t move an inch from his goal, the achievement of Pakistan, and the world saw the will of God fulfilled inspite of all the threats, bitter criticism, conspiracies, antipathy and evil machinations of both the Hindus and British.

Within the seven years of Pakistan Resolution’s demand of a separate land for Muslims, Pakistan was recognized as a self-governing sovereign state on August 14, 1947. Quaid-i-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah became the first Governor General and president of its constituent assembly. His leading and predominant position was a source of strength for the newly born state and his death after one year of the independence was a great loss for Pakistan and the nation.

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