Page 21 - Pakistan Link - November 10, 2017

COMMENTARY NOVEMBER 10, 2017 – PAKISTAN LINK – P21
Quaid’s Daughter Dina Passes away in New York

n By Jawed Naqvi and Masood Haider
New Delhi / New York bied then prime minister Manmohan Singh.
“It is now almost 60 years since my father’s
death and I have been deprived of my house...
ina Wadia, the estranged daughter where I grew up and lived until I married,” she
of Quaid-i-Azam Mohammad Ali wrote in a letter. “I request you return it to
DJinnah, passed away at her home in me.”
New York on Th ursday. She was 98. Challenging Pakistan’s claim on the
She is survived by her son and chairman house, Nusli Wadia said: “Jinnah House has
of the Wadia group Nusli N. Wadia, daughter a b s o l u t e l y nothing to do with Pakistan. It
Diana N. Wadia, and great grandsons Ness was my grandfather’s personal residence and
and Jeh Wadia, a spokesperson for the Wadia one that he loved dearly. Th e Pakistani govern-
group of companies said in a statement. ment is nowhere in the picture.”
Th ere was no offi cial comment in India Backing the Wadia view gleefully was the
on her death although her son Nusli Wadia late Bal Th ackeray. “Today Pakistan is asking
is a close friend of the Nehru-Gandhi family. for Jinnah House. Tomorrow they may want
It is possible that, given the fraught political the Taj Mahal and the day aft er the Qutab
climate, condolences involving Mr Jinnah’s Minar.”
daughter would be passed privately. As Mr Jinnah grew in political stature his
A staunchly independent-minded daugh- personal life suff ered devastating blows. His
ter, Ms Wadia encompassed troublesome con- wife, Rattanbai, a Parsi who converted to Is-
tradictions that stalked her father, personally lam to marry him in 1918, died in 1929 at the
and culturally. age of 29. Aft er her death, Dina, who was born
While Ms Wadia stayed in India aft er par- in London in 1919, was brought up by Jinnah’s
tition, Fatima Jinnah accompanied her brother sister, Fatima.
to Pakistan. Ms Wadia visited Pakistan only In 1938, Dina married Neville Wadia,
twice, in 1948 when Jinnah died, and in 2004. breaking her father’s heart. Muhammad Cur-
Tensions between father and daughter rim Chagla, who was Jinnah’s assistant at the
over her marriage to Neville Wadia deepened time, wrote: “Jinnah, in his usual imperious
their aloofness with each other. manner, told Dina that there were millions of
To spike the cultural brew for the Quaid, Muslim boys in India, and she could have any-
Neville’s father was a Zoroastrian who con- one she chose. But she reminded her father he
verted to Christianity while Neville Wadia had married a non-Muslim, to which Jinnah
converted back to Zoroastrianism, and Dina replied that “she did embrace Islam’.”
stood up against her father’s advice against her Dina’s marriage destroyed her relation-
marriage to him. ship with her father. He turned very formal,
On May 30, 1939, Mr Jinnah bequeathed addressing her as Mrs Wadia in public and in
his Mumbai mansion to the unwed Fatima. private.
To his daughter, he left a monthly income for During her second trip to Karachi in
life from Rs200,000 he deposited in the Habib March 2004, Dina Wadia was accompanied by
Bank. Dina marries Neville Wadia at the All Saints’ Church in Bombay, 1938.—Courtesy Dr Ghulam Nabi Kazi son Nusli and grandsons, Ness and Jehangir.
Aft er partition, India appropriated im- Th ey visited the Quaid’s Mazar and laid
movable and movable property left behind a wreath.
by those who went to Pakistan, designating “Th is has been very sad as well as won-
such assets evacuee property. Ms Wadia, who derful for me. May his (Quaid’s) dream for
moved to New York aft er divorcing her hus- Pakistan come true,” she wrote in the visitors’
band, divided her time between New York, book. Her stay at the mausoleum lasted about
London and Mumbai. She had wanted to an hour.
spend her remaining days in the home her fa- She also visited the hall where personal
ther built. belongings of the Quaid are on display. Th e
She claimed that Mr Jinnah’s will was not Quaid’s daughter showed a liking for three
probated — meaning registered in court — pictures and requested for their blow-ups. One
and was, therefore, not legally binding. Th e of the pictures shows Dina with her parents,
Indian government rejected this, stating that another is that of her mother while the third,
“the late Fatima Jinnah was his rightful legal which she liked the most, shows the Quaid-i-
heir as Jinnah had willed the house to her. Azam dictating a letter to someone.
Only Fatima or her legal heir could have ap- Later she paid her respects at the tomb of
plied for restoration of the property”. Fatima Jinnah, her aunt.
Th e Indian assertion over the house saw Dina Wadia had been at this place only
Mr Jinnah as an “important historical fi gure”, once before — in Sept 1948 aft er the death of
adding that there were “competing claims her father. She had never visited Pakistan in
based on sentiments attached to his legacy, the Quaid’s lifetime.
like that of the Pakistan government. Dina Wadia (extreme left), Quaid-i-Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah’s only daughter, fl ew in from Delhi to Dina Wadia, along with her son and
“While the Indian government respects attend her father’s funeral. Seen on her left are Lady Ghulam Hussain Hidayatullah, Miss Fatima Jin- grandsons, later visited the Flagstaff House
these sentiments, it cannot yield to them and nah, and Lady Nusrat Haroon. All were clearly and understandably unable to hold back their tears as and the Quaid’s birthplace, Wazir Mansion.
has therefore decided to convert the bungalow they grieved Quaid-i-Azam Jinnah’s death She had asked the authorities to treat her
into a South Asian center for arts and culture, Ms Wadia’s lawyers challenged the view. only property in India which she is claiming visit as private and in deference to her wish,
which will foster and nurture the shared cul- “Being the only child of Mr Jinnah, she is the and which is in the possession of the Indian print and electronic media teams were not al-
tural ethos of the South Asian region”, the In- sole heir to his property,” her lawyer Shrikanth government at present.” lowed into the Quaid’s Mazar and the other
dian affi davit said. Doijode has been quoted as saying. “Th is is the When nothing worked, Ms Wadia lob- places. - Dawn
Preity Zinta Remembers Dina as a ‘Spirited’ Personality

ndian actress Preity Zinta, who once “Th e fi rst time I met her, I stared at her her and listen to her.”
dated Quaid-i-Azam Mohammad Ali open mouthed. My goodness, she carries so Wadia is survived by her son and chair-
IJinnah’s great grandson Ness Wadia, much history within her!” Zinta had said in man of the Wadia group Nusli N. Wadia,
condoled the loss of her former beau’s an interview with the Times of India. “Each
grandmother Dina Wadia, who died in time I’m struck by her gentle demeanour, In a tweet, Zinta said she
her New York home on Th ursday. her classic elegance, and yes, her fragility,”
In a tweet, Zinta said she was fortunate the actress had said. was fortunate enough to
enough to have met the “elegant and spirit- “I was also struck by her unmistakable
ed” personality and that she “really admired facial resemblance to her illustrious father have met the “elegant and
her”. (Jinnah). I’ve never seen two people who spirited” personality and
Sorry to hear that the elegant & spir- resemble each other so closely,” she had
ited Dina Wadia is no more. I was fortunate added. that she “really admired
enough to have met her & really admired Preity also told Times of India that
her Dina took an avid interest in Preity’s life: her”
In an unfortunate turn of events, Zinta “Th e last time we met, she wanted to know
and Ness parted ways aft er dating for four all about the IPL matches. She’s so impor- daughter Diana N. Wadia, and grandsons
years in 2009. However, throughout the re- tant to our times as a woman and a fi gure Ness and Jeh Wadia, a spokesperson for the
lationship, the Dil Chahta Hai actress spoke in history and yet conveys so much joie de Wadia group of companies said in a state-
highly of Dina. vivre in her attitude. I just want to sit with Ness Wadia and Preity Zinta ment. - Images
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