Page 23 - Pakistan Link - January 29, 2020

COMMENTARY JANUARY 29, 2021 – PAKISTAN LINK – P23

n By Dr Asif Javed Miss Fatima Jinnah
Williamsport, PA tion, there were indications that there was a
void in QA’s personal life: he longed for mari-
s one thinks of Miss Fatima Jinnah tal happiness that that had eluded him. “I wish
(FJ), Vijay Lakshmi Pandit’s name that I had a son,” he said once. On another oc-
Acomes to mind. Th ere is a tempta- casion, when asked to consider remarriage by
tion to compare the two. There were several Liaquat Ali Khan, he said, “Yes, I might have

similarities: both were sisters of the leading married again, if I could have found another
political figures in India; both were edu- Raana.” One can discern the lack of intimacy

cated and close to their brothers; and both inQA’s life that only a loving spouse could
brothers - Nehru and Quaid - had troubled provide. The following paragraph from Jin-

personal lives. nah of Pakistan by Wolpert is also revealing:
While Quaid’s wife had died sev- In London, the only round table left to

eral years before partition following a him was one at which he and Fatima dined
painful separation, Nehru’s wife too had en- alone, rarely speaking to one another and

dured a difficult marriage for years before suc- never smiling. Most evenings, except in those

cumbing to TB in 1936. Both sisters outlived scarce interludes when a beautiful begum ap-
their brothers. Both had a niece but neither peared, the house lights at Hampstead Heath
aunt was close to her. In Vijay Lakshmi’s case, Road remained dim.
there was positive hostility between her and According to Wolpert, there was no love
Indira Gandhi. lost between FJ and Raana Liaquat. Raana told
The similarities end there. After parti- him, “She (Fatima) hated any woman he ever

tion, as Nehru became the prime minister liked. Oh, how she hated Ruttie! I think she
of the country, he chose his sister for impor- must have been jealous of us all! We used to
tant diplomatic assignments. QA did no such call her the wicked-witch!” Marital discord is
thing. While his beloved sister Fati lived with sometime potentiated, and occasionally ini-
him, she essentially remained a private citi- tiated by a third family member. Did FJ, the

zen. There is yet another difference between devoted omnipresent sister become too pos-

the two sisters: Vijay Lakshmi was involved in sessive, and contributed to the rift between

an affair with Dr Syed Husain. Nehru sought QA and Ruttie? Was she the reason QA never
Gandhi’s help and poor Vijay Lakshmi was remarried? One begins to wonder!
forced in to a marriage with a co-religionist. FJ Years ago, in one of his columns, late
never married, and there was never a whiff of Ardsher Cowasji narrated an incident: QA’s

scandal about her. Like her esteemed brother, Mausoleum was being planned. Several art-

FJ’s character remained impeccable. ists had submitted their designs. The commit-
FJ continues to be revered in Pakistan tee, appointed by the Govt. approved one. As
for a reason. While QA, a frail, sick man was a courtesy, perhaps, the selected design was
fighting a lonely battle for Pakistan, his sister, sent to FJ. She refused to give her approval.

often at his side, was a pillar of strength for The second-best design, therefore, had to be

him. “My sister was like a bright ray of light chosen. That is the one that stands today on

and hope,” he once said. It seems that she just QA’s - and her own - final abode.
lived for him. And for this, Madar-e-Millat, A controversy that refuses to go away is
as FJ was affectionately called, has deservedly about PM Liaquat’s visit to QA at Ziarat. Be-

earned our gratitude. fore proceeding further, it is worthwhile to
FJ led a quiet life after QA’s death. That remember what Jamsheed Marker writes of

is until she was asked to be the opposition Edwina Mountbatten tried to befriend sister, Fatima, from Karachi., and send her to Liaquat:
candidate against FM Ayub Khan in 1965. De- Fatima, inviting her to tea and seeking to ‘steer the Bandra convent school…Bombay was a In his profound and absolute love for
spite her age and frailty, she surprised many the conversation’ on such occasions away maze of caste and religious distinction, and Pakistan, he had abandoned vast agricultural
by her vigor and resilience. Recently deceased from politics, but Fatima always returned to it was therefore a brave innovation to send a lands in Karnal and many urban properties

politician, Sardar Sherbaz Mazari, has given her favorite subject ‘and made violent attacks young Muslim girl to a Catholic convent…the elsewhere in India. Above all, he gifted to the
some interesting details in his book A Jour- on Congress and the Hindu community as a people of her community could not be recon- Govt. of Pakistan his splendid New Delhi resi-
ney to Disillusionment. She was reluctant to whole…she is obviously convinced that the ciled to the idea. The dovecots of orthodoxy dence for use as Pakistan’s High Commission

stand despite pleas from several politicians. Hindu intends to subjugate and dominate the went up in flames. The innocent young Fatima in India. It may be mentioned here that, be-

What made her change her mind was that wily Muslim completely,’ Lady Mountbatten re- fore leaving for Pakistan, Mr Jinnah sold his
Maulana Bhashani from East Pakistan. “He ported. The material struggle was over. equally splendid bungalow to Ramkarishna

pleaded with her that East Pakistan looked To her surprise, the Vicereine found FJ a Dalmia, the Marwari multimillionaire. Born
upon her as the symbol of democracy, and that tough nut to crack. Now, he (QA) earned enough and bred in the luxury of ancestral nobility,
she should not let down the people who had Behind a stern exterior, FJ did have a kind money to buy a carriage, to Liaquat died a virtual pauper.
placed such high hopes in her,” writes Mazari. and generous heart. Late KH Khurshid had move to a better apartment, What follows is Wolpert’s description
Mazari who actively supported FJ went to see the singular distinction of being QA’s personal of that controversy: “FJ, who had never re-
her in Karachi after the election and reports: secretary before partition. The future presi- and to bring his sister, Fatima, ally liked either Liaquat or his Begum, subse-

She was a direct and forceful lady, us- dent of Azad Kashmir lacked the financial from Karachi., and send her to quently reported that after Liaquat left, Jinnah
ing words sparingly. As we began discussing resources to study abroad. After QA’s death, it the Bandra convent school… told her with trembling voice, ‘Do you know

the election, I soon realized that she had little was FJ who encouraged him to go to UK for why he has come? He wants to know how seri-
concept of the govt. machinery that had been Bar-at-Law. She was the one who paid for his Bombay was a maze of caste and ous my illness is, how long I will last.’”
unleashed against her. Having led a sheltered education abroad, and, on his return, allowed religious distinction, and it was Wolpert then goes on to give his own ra-
life, she was unaware of the hold that the bu- him to stay at Flagstaff House, her residence. therefore a brave innovation to tional for Liaquat’s visit.

reaucracy and police had over the rural areas. Khurshid stayed there for years, even after he send a young Muslim girl to a It was doubtless true, yet hardly as op-

Nor did she understand the nature of the feu- was married. The following paragraph is from probrious as Fatima considered it, under the

dal system…She seemed quite bitter and was his book Memories of Jinnah: Catholic convent…the people circumstances. There was, after all, still a na-
of the opinion that the leading politicians had Hector Bolithos’s book, Jinnah: Creator of of her community could not tion to be run—millions of displaced persons
let her down. Pakistan, is out. We were talking about it the be reconciled to the idea. The to be fed and cared for, an undeclared war

There was a rumor that Bhashani had other day. Miss Jinnah is still in the process in Kashmir to be fought, a constitution to be
been bribed by Ayub through Bhutto. “I con- of reading it. Her attitude is one of contempt dovecots of orthodoxy went up drafted, dissident Bengalis, Pathans, Punjabis,

fronted Bhashani with the accusation,” writes for the author and once or twice she has ex- in flames. The innocent young Baluchis, and Sindhis somehow to be satisfied.
Mazari. “He did not deny it. He said that the pressed the idea that if there are material mis- Fatima became the target for To Liaquat, a displaced Nawabzada from UP
money (Rs 500,000) had been donated to help statements and falsehoods in the book, she and Oxford, it must have seemed odd to be
run his madrassas.” will consider ways of taking action against the wagging tongues…Miss Jinnah’s there in Ziarat, still a mere ‘courtier’ to that
FJ did lose the election but it turned out author and the Govt. of Pakistan, the book’s brother was at her side, ‘to give imperious regal couple, though he was almost

to be a hollow victory for Ayub. He resigned sponsors...I personally feel, and have told her all the courage that she needed to fifty-three.
less than four years later although FJ did not so, that an action or suit would be unneces- stand up to the opposition…he Did FJ allow her personal dislike of PM
live to see that day. Late Jamsheed Markar, a sary. A mere statement from her would be Liaquat and his wife to color her judgement?
senior diplomat, writes the following in Cover quite enough to destroy the purported authen- used to visit her every Sunday… A remark made by QA, a very sick man, who
Point: ticity of the work. the relationship between brother was struggling to breathe, and probably hy-
There were four elements that I perceived Bolitho spent two years writing his book and sister endured through the poxic (low oxygen in blood) might have been

at the time to be responsible for Ayub Khan’s and interviewed no less than 200 people, in- misunderstood or blown out of proportion.

downfall. The first of these was the presiden- cluding KH Khurshid, Begum Raana Liaquat vicissitude of half a century But it did malign a loyal lieutenant of QA
tial election in Pakistan, during the course of among others. Conspicuously absent from which was most unfortunate.
which the formidable Miss FJ, combining in a that long list is the name of FJ. Did he forget became the target for wagging tongues…Miss Chou Enlai was once asked of the legacy
vigorous campaigning style her personal mag- to see her? Highly unlikely. Did she refuse to Jinnah’s brother was at her side, ‘to give all the of French Revolution. “Too soon”, said the sa-
netism with the prevalent countrywide fatigue see him and if so, why? One can only specu- courage that she needed to stand up to the op- gacious Chinese PM. Half a century after her

and discontent, achieved a close-run result. late. This is Bolitho’s narrative of FJ’s time in position…he used to visit her every Sunday… passing, it may not be too soon, perhaps, for

FJ did possess some of the steely resolve Bombay: the relationship between brother and sister objective historians to reassess FJ’s legacy for

of her brother. Stanley Wolpert reports a The material struggle was over. Now, he endured through the vicissitude of half a cen- posterity. (The writer is a physician in Wil-

meeting between FJ and Lady Mountbatten in (QA) earned enough money to buy a carriage, tury. liamsport, PA and may be reached at asifja-
Jinnah of Pakistan: to move to a better apartment, and to bring his While FJ’s devotion to QA is hard to ques- ved@comcast.net)
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