July
13, 2007
“Jinnah & Pakistan”
– A Worthwhile Book
The latest work of Qutubuddin Aziz, a veteran journalist,
media manager and diplomat, makes a valuable addition
to the plethora of literature on the Quaid-I-Azam,
Mohammad Ali Jinnah. This 150-page book carries
some material dug up by the author, particularly
during his 7-year stint with Pakistan embassy in
London as a senior diplomatic representative of
his country. (He is on a visit to California these
days.)
It sheds light on certain interesting aspects of
the Quaid’s life. It also counters convincingly
some rumors set afloat by quarters inimical to the
great leader to disparage his impeccable personal
conduct particularly as a Muslim. Such rumors have,
unfortunately, crept into the works of distinguished
biographers such as Prof. Stanley Wolpert. Without
naming anyone, Mr. Aziz has negated the incorrect
reports, as could be seen in the following extracts
from his chapter on ‘Jinnah & Islam’.
“Jinnah’s chauffeur during his London
years (1930-35), Bradbury, told me in London in
1984 that Jinnah went to a mosque in East London
for Eid prayers and many Muslims visited him in
his Hampstead home to greet him on Eid. He asked
his sister, Fatima, to teach her niece, Dina (Jinnah’s
only daughter) about Islam and the holy Quran. …
According to Bradbury, pork and ham were not served
in the Jinnah home in Hampstead.”
“Jinnah was prim and proper in his personal
behavior and did not fall for any English damsel.
He politely refused a suggestion from his landlady’s
daughter in London that he could kiss her under
the mistletoe on Christmas night in line with an
English custom, saying that such intimacy with a
female was contrary to his upbringing and morals.
There is no doubt that Jinnah avoided pork and ham
and alcoholic drinks, preferring fruit juices.”
Mr. Aziz has dilated on the rumors and baseless
allegations in his preface to the book and has briefly
pointed out the fallacies of these. He has countered
them, directly or indirectly, in the text of his
book by mentioning the well-known facts or introducing
the evidence found through his own research.
For instance, Sardar Shaukat Hayat, a prominent
political figure of Pakistan, had contended that
if Mountbatten had been accepted as the Joint Governor
General of both India and Pakistan. as was his deep
desire, Pakistan would have probably received a
better treatment from him.
Mr. Aziz exposes the fallacy of this argument by
mentioning the assurance given by Mountbatten to
Prime Minister Attlee that he would run the two
Dominions in such a way that in a reasonably short
time Pakistan would merge with India. Mr. Jinnah
could not entrust his creation, the infant state
of Pakistan, to Mountbatten for infanticide, points
out the author.
An entire chapter has been allotted in the book
to the description of the pressure of Mountbatten
on the Quaid to give up the demand of Pakistan.
A mention has been made of the maneuvers of Gandhi
and Nehru to have Lord Wavell replaced by Mounbatten
as Viceroy since the latter was found to be more
pliable for the Congress.
British authors are quoted to mention the love affair
between Nehru and Edwina, wife of Mountbaten. The
pressures exercised by Edwina over the Viceroy in
favor of Nehru are also mentioned in this very context.
Indian writers often contend that Pakistan was a
reward of the British to Mr. Jinnah for the role
he played in the British game of divide and rule.
The book is replete with descriptions of events
portraying the anxiety of the British to leave behind
India as a sold entity. The British defense department’s
strategic interest in an undivided defense command
in India has also been dealt with in the book. Then,
the British distaste for Mr. Jinnah and for his
party’s demand of Pakistan are narrated, with
documentation wherever possible, to expose the fallacy
of this argument.
In this context, the antipathy of Lord Willington,
Governor of Bombay who later on became the Viceroy
of India, towards Mr. Jinnah are dealt with in some
detail. The author has researched through the papers
of Lord Willington to follow the course of this
animosity, lasting for a decade, that was more political
than personal. He has quoted extensively from the
secret despatches of Willington to London that document
this animus.
In the 150 pages of the book, Mr. Aziz has tried
to pack a whole lot of material portraying the greatness
of Mr. Jinnah and the aspersions on his private
and public life cast by his rivals to derogate his
greatness and their miserable failure in such efforts.
A lie does not last long.
The book is dedicated to the overseas Pakistanis
who “have maintained strong ties with the
mother country –Pakistan- and support it most
devotedly.” Perhaps Mr. Aziz had them in mind
while composing the script. The book is therefore
concise (I finished it from page to page in two
sittings) and it makes piquant reading. It arms
the Pakistanis abroad with the requisite material
to counter malicious allegations against their leader
and country by quarters inimical to him and his
achievement. In the words of Stanley Wolpert in
his monumental work Jinnah of Pakistan: “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 the three.”
I found the 40 pages of annexes very valuable particularly
for a Pakistani living abroad. He can in the shortest
possible time reach the information that he may
be looking for.
Annexure 5 “A Synopsis of Pakistan’s
History, 1947-2001” is remarkable in that
it covers the salient features of the 54 years in
just five pages. At the end of the book is give
a 12-page chronology of the life of the Quaid which
is highly useful for laymen and researchers for
locating the relevant development and chapter in
the life of the Quaid.
The book is priced at $6 and has been published
by Islamic Media Corporation, 9/4 Rafiq Centre,
Abdullah Haroon Rd., Karachi 74400, Pakistan. -
Arifhussaini@hotmail.com
