History News Desk !!! Muhammad Ali Jinnah (English: Muhammad Ali Jinnah, born- 25 December 1876; died- 11 September 1948) was a prominent leader of British India and also the President of the Muslim League. Jinnah was born in the house of a prosperous businessman of Karachi and was the eldest son.
Muhammad Ali Jinnah later shortened his name to ‘Jinnah’. Jinnah’s father enrolled Jinnah as an apprentice in a merchant company in London. Shortly after reaching London, Muhammad Ali Jinnah left his business and started studying law. Muhammad Ali Jinnah, after completing his law studies, started thinking of trying his luck as a young barrister in Bombay (present-day Mumbai). Later, his barristership in Bombay started doing well. Later, after establishing himself as a lawyer, Jinnah started taking active interest in politics. He entered Indian politics as a follower of moderate Congress leaders like Dadabhai Naoroji and Gopalkrishna Gokhale.
In 1910, he was elected a member of the Central Legislative Council from the Muslim constituency of Bombay, joined the Muslim League in 1913 and became its president in 1916. In this capacity, he presented the joint Congress League plan of constitutional reforms. Under this plan, the Congress League agreement provided for separate constituencies for Muslims and disproportionate representation in the provinces where they were in minority. This agreement is called the ‘Lucknow Agreement’.
Jinnah used to say that if both the communities come together, more pressure can be put on the whites to leave India. Jinnah was a supporter of the Indian National Congress, but he strongly opposed Gandhiji’s non-cooperation movement and he separated from the Congress on this issue. After this, he was haunted by the fear of the establishment of a Hindu state. He had the misconception that Muslims will never get proper representation in Hindu-dominated India. So he became a strong supporter and propagandist of the establishment of a new nation, Pakistan. He said that whenever the British transfer power, they should not hand it over to the Hindus, although they are in majority. By doing so, Indian Muslims will have to live under the subjugation of Hindus. Jinnah now started stressing more on the rights of Muslims rather than the right of Indians to independence. He continued to receive general diplomatic support from the British and as a result, he finally emerged in the country’s politics as the leader of Indian Muslims.
Muhammad Ali Jinnah reorganized the League and became famous as ‘Quaid-e-Azam’ (Great Leader). In 1940, he demanded the partition of India on religious basis and the creation of Pakistan by combining Muslim majority provinces. It was largely due to him that India was partitioned in 1947 and Pakistan was established. By becoming the first Governor-General of Pakistan, he made Pakistan an Islamic nation. The riots in Punjab and the mass migration of people from one state to another happened during his lifetime. He also raised the issue of Kashmir between India and Pakistan. He died on 11 September 1948 in Karachi.
