The History of Jinnah House, Lahore Cantonment

Signalian · Sep 23, 2023

The History of Jinnah House, Lahore Cantonment

My direct affiliation with Jinnah House started in 2018.

Since then, I remained involved in four different tasks related to the Jinnah House, Lahore. I am going to share those before the history of the house briefly. I was Curator of Research in the Army Museum Lahore, and Lieutenant General Aamer Riaz, Commander 4 Corps, desired to prepare a bust of father of the nation for Jinnah House and a brief history of the house. I researched under the supervision of the late Brigadier Khan Ahmed Sufyan, former Director of the Army Museum Lahore.

The second assignment was tasked by Major General Aneeq Malik, GOC 10 Division, to Station Headquarters and Army Museum Lahore. The task was to prepare a brief history of the building and find historical photographs of Quaid-i-Azam and Lahore Cantonment (later, these photographs were displayed on the Jinnah House wall facing Aziz Bhatti Road). The third undertaking was again tasked by General Aneeq Malik, GOC 10 Division, to prepare a study of all the historical buildings and roads of Lahore. I researched under Lieutenant Colonel Sayyam bin Saeed, Deputy Director of the Army Museum Lahore. Headquarters 4 Corps tasked my recent undertaking to carry out detailed research on the history of this building. I carried out research under the supervision of Brigadier Saif Ullah, Director of the Military Heritage Branch. The plaque displayed inside Jinnah House was the first source for tracing its history. Later, Mr. Qaiser, Secretary of Lahore Cantonment Board, gave the Extract from General Land Register and a brief history of Jinnah House.

Jinnah's Lahore house no. 53, street 157, Diagonal Road (later Nagi Road), Afshan Chowk (now Alif Laam Meem) was one of the four major properties bought by the Quaid before partition. He owned similar palatial houses in Karachi.1, Delhi2 and Mumbai3. Shiv Dyal originally held the land of Jinnah House Lahore. As per the Military Estates Office (MEO) record, the site is held on Schedule VII CLA (cantonment land acquisition) Rules 1937. Its lease was executed on February 15, 1939, effective February 1, 1939, at a premium of Rs. 5. Later, it was transferred to Khawaja Nazir Ahmad, who then transferred it as a gift to his wife, Begum Saeeda Nazir. Begum Saeeda Nazir transferred the property in question to Mr. Mohanlal Bhasin.

The plaque displayed inside Jinnah House states that Quaid-i-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah purchased the Jinnah House from Mr. Lala Mohanlal for Rs. 1,62,500. Rs. 2500 were paid on August 10, 1943, whereas the remaining Rs. 1,60,000 were paid on September 9, 1943. In the Extract from the General Land Register of Lahore Cantonment Board, Quaid-i-Azam purchased it for Rs. 1,62,000 vide sale deed on October 12, 1943.

The bungalow was requisitioned under D-1 rules on January 22, 1944, by Deputy Commissioner Lahore for use by the Army. After some temporary modifications, it was converted into Army Officer's Mess. Till independence, it remained the Officer's Mess. Quaid-i-Azam, through his representative Syed Maratib Ali, a contractor of the British Indian Army, and his son Syed Wajid Ali tried to gain possession of the house before partition. However, the British military authorities refused the plea for lack of married accommodation. Son of Mr. Maratib Ali, Mr. Babar Ali is alive and is the founder of Lahore University of Management Sciences (LUMS) and Packages Limited. Brigadier Saif Ullah and I arranged a meeting with him in his office regarding the subject, and he gave some documents regarding the correspondence between Quaid-i-Azam and his brother, Syed Wajid Ali regarding the de-requisitioning of the bungalow. The bungalow was finally de-requisitioned and handed back to Syed Maratib Ali, the representative of Quaid-i-Azam, on January 31, 1948. However, Quaid-i-Azam never took residence in the house, as he always used to stay with Nawab Iftikhar Hussain Khan Mamdot at his residence on Davis Road.

As a special measure, in 1950, the bungalow was taken on lease at a monthly rent of Rs. 500 through the Ministry of Defence vide letter no. 561/28/Q-3, dated February 18, 1950, as a residential accommodation of General Officer Commanding 10 Division. On March 29, 1959, the Government of Pakistan Ministry of Defence purchased this bungalow from Mohtarma Fatima Jinnah, the sister of Pakistan's founder, for a sum of Rs. 3,50,000 vide the sale deed May 11, 1959. In 1966, it was made Corps Commander House, and in 1976, it was named Jinnah House.

The official residence of Commander 4 Corps stands at the junction of Aziz Bhatti and Nagi Road, with a total area of 4.68 acres. The house is styled on "art deco"-architecture that dates back to the early 20s and is manifested in buildings found in countries of colonial background like Malaysia, Thailand, India and Pakistan. The grand structure was not affected much by time; it stands out due to its imposing beauty, imperial outlook and grandeur; however, on a fateful day of May 9 2023, it was destroyed and subsequently burnt down during the violence. After that devastating event, only burnt walls and piles of debris are left as remnants of its previous glory.

The author is a MPhil scholar in Asian Studies (major in Archaeology) from Quaid-i-Azam University, Islamabad. She has served at Army Museum Lahore as Curator of Research and PRO and has remained associated with the museum since its thematic inception and gallery design. She has also served as a Research officer at Military Heritage Branch, HQ 4 Corps.
E-mail: aamnanadeem91.an@gmail.com

References
1 Quaid-i-Azam House Museum (Flagstaff House) in Karachi was purchased by Quaid for Rs. 1,15,000/- with a down payment of Rs. 5,000/-. The sale agreement was made on August 14, 1943, with Mr Sorab Kavasji, a former mayor of Karachi. After his demise, his sister Mohtarma Fatima Jinnah lived in this House until 1964. (Source: Official Website of Sindh Tourism Development Corporation, accessed from: https://stdc.gos.pk/index.php/tours/all-locations/item/71-flag-staff-house-karachi).
2 Jinnah House No. 10 Aurangzeb Road Delhi was bought by Quaid-e-Azam in 1938 by Bisakha Singh. Before migrating to Pakistan after independence, Quaid sold the House to Ramkrishna Dalmia for Rs. 3 lakh, who used it as the head office for his anti-cow-slaughter movement. Later, the Dutch embassy bought it in 1948 for the residence of its ambassadors. (Source: "A Visit to Jinnah House in New Delhi", Business Recorder, accessed from: https://fp.brecorder.com/2016/09/2016092487702/).
3 Jinnah built the Malabar Hill mansion in Mumbai, also known as South Court, in 1936 for Rs. 2 Lakh. The premises were leased to the British High Commission as the residence of the Deputy High Commissioner from 1948 to 1983. The first floor of the building also held the offices of senior Commission officials. It remained vacant until 2003, when a part was given to the Indian Council for Cultural Relations for cultural activities. Pakistan had since 1979 requested that India lease it to its government as a tribute to its founder to convert it into their Consulate. Though P. V. Narasimha Rao, India's Foreign Minister in 1980, agreed in principle to lease Jinnah House as the residence of the local Consulate-General of Pakistan, the plan was never realized. Then Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf, during his visit to India, had suggested to the then Indian Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee that the house be given to Pakistan so that it could be turned into a consulate. Ms. Dina Wadia, the only child of Jinnah, had also filed a claim to the house in 2007, joined by her son, Mr. Nusli Wadia. (accessed from: https://thewire.in/politics/will-government-finally-take-decision-mumbais-jinnah-house).