Muhammad Ali Jinnah
Muhammad Ali Jinnah was born on 25 December 1876 in Karachi . At home, his family talked in Gujarati language, and the children also came to speak Kutchi and English. Except for Fatima, little is known of his siblings.
Jinnah’s birth name was Mahomedali Jinnahbhai. He later changed it to the much simpler 'Muhammad Ali Jinnah' or M.A. Jinnah. He was born in Jhirk, City of Sindh (Province of Pakistan). The earliest record of his school register gives his date of birth as 20 October 1875, the author of Jinnah’s first biography gives another date of his birth, namely, the 25 December 1876.
His father’s name was Jinnah Poonja (1857- 1901) and his mother’s name was Mithibai. Jinnah was the eldest of the seven children of Jinnah Poonja and Mithibai. His family had migrated to Sindh from the Kathiawar area of Gujarat, India.
Early working years
In 1891(when he was fifteen), Jinnah went to London and worked for few years for a company. Before going to London, he was married to Emibai. She was his distant relative. At the time of her marriage, Emibai was around 14 or 16 years old. But, Emibai died shortly after Jinnah had gone to London. At around the same time, his mother also died.
In 1894, Jinnah quit his job to study law. He joined the course at Lincoln's Inn and graduated in 1896. While still in London, he also started to participate in politics. He greatly admired Indian political leaders. Jinnah to work as a lawyer.
Early years as a politician
Jinnah had already joined the Indian National Congress in 1906. The Congress was the largest political organization in India. Many members and leaders of the Indian National Congress favoured a limited self-government for India. Jinnah also held the same view. At that time.
His marriage life
In 1918, Jinnah married . His second wife was Rattanbai Petit. She was twenty-four years younger than him. She was the daughter of Jinnah’s personal friend Sir Dinshaw Petit who belonged to the Parsi Zoroastrian community. Many Parsis and Muslims did not like marriage between persons of two religions. The Jinnah couple resided in Bombay (now Mumbai) and frequently travelled to Europe. In 1919, his wife bore a daughter who was named Dina.
As a leader of the Muslim League
The leaders of the Muslim League wanted him to take charge of the Muslim League. Jinnah agreed to come back to India. In 1934, he left London and returned to India to reorganize the Muslim league again. But he could not revive the stature of the party until after the elections of 1937 as the Muslim League won only a few seats. However, at this time, the League was helped by the powerful Premier of the Punjab, Sir Sikandar Hayat Khan. On October 1937, he agreed with Jinnah's Muslim League joining his strong government. This was called the Jinnah-Sikandar Pact.
As the founder of Pakistan
After the Second World War, Great Britain started steps to give independence to India. On 16 May 1946, the British announced plan for a united India. One month after, on 16 June 1946, the British announced another plan to partition the British Raj into two countries, one for the Hindus and one for the Muslims.
The Congress Party accepted the plan of the 16 May 1946. The Muslim League under Jinnah’s leadership accepted both the plans. But, on 16 August 1946, Jinnah also announced the Direct Action to achieve independence for Pakistan, a separate country of Muslims of the former British Raj. After several rounds of discussion, the British Raj was partitioned (in August 1947) into two countries, India and Pakistan. In 1971, Bangladesh gained independence from Pakistan.
As the Governor-General
Flag of Governor General of Pakistan
The British Raj of India was partitioned into two countries, namely, India and Pakistan. Jinnah became the first Governor-General of Pakistan, his sister Fatimah Jinnah became the "Mother of the Nation". He also became the president of Pakistan’s constituent assembly. In an address to the constituent assembly on 11 August 1947, Jinnah told about the future of Pakistan as a secular state. He told this in the following words:
You may belong to any religion caste or creed - that has nothing to do with the business of the state. In due course of time, Hindus will cease to be Hindus and Muslims will cease to be Muslims, not in the religious sense, because that is the personal faith of each individual, but in the political sense as citizens of the state
Death
Jinnah had been suffering from tuberculosis since the early 1940s. Only his sister, and very few other persons close to the family knew this. After partition of India and creation of Pakistan, he had become the governor general of Pakistan. His work was increased, but his health was deteriorating. To regain his health, he spent many months at his official rest house. The rest house was located at a place named in Ziarat. Jinnah could not regain his health. He died on 11 September 1948 from tuberculosis and lung cancer.