Muhammad Ali Jinnah - Founder of Pakistan
Muhammad Ali Jinnah is an important figure in the recent history of the Indian subcontinent. He was the founder of Pakistan. His full name was Quaid-i-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah. Jinnah was born on December 25, 1876 in Karachi, the capital of Sindh. It is now a part of Pakistan, but was then part of the British Empire. Jinnah's father's name was Jinnah Poonja and he was a hodja of the Ismaili Islamic sect.
Muhammad Ali Jinnah received his early education at the Sindh Madrasah. He also attended a mission school. In 1892 he went to Britain to study. Jinnah qualified for the bar to practice law in 1896. In 1897 he was admitted to the bar.
Jinnah returned to India and in 1906, he attended the Calcutta session of the All India National Congress. He became Private Secretary to the president of the Congress. In 1910 Jinnah was elected to the Imperial Legislative Council. His activities continued and on March 13, 1910, he joined the All-India Muslim League.
Muhammad Ali Jinnah advocated cooperation with the Hindus in the cause to gain independence. The All India Congress and the Muslim League cooperated in terms of the Lucknow Pact. It was a set of reforms adopted at a meeting held at a meeting held in Lucknow.
On April 18, 1918, Jinnah married a lady named Rutanbai. Their daughter Dina was born the following year. Dina was their only child.
Dina continued his efforts to promote Muslim-Hindu unity. The Nehru Report was criticized and Jinnah wished to patch things up. In December of 1928, the All-India Congress met to consider this report. Jinnah left the Congress. In 1929 Jinnah presented his 14 Points in response to the Nehru Report. After going to Britain again, Muhammad Ali Jinnah returned to India and reorganized the Muslim League. He was elected president of it in 1934.
In 1939 World War II broke out. Britain was fighting for its life. Many of the people of countries under colonial rule realized that once the war was over, the British (as well as other Europeans) would grant independence to them. In March of 1940, the Muslim League held a session and demanded that the state of Pakistan be created when British India got its independence.
After World War II ended, everyone, including the British, concurred that independence was forthcoming. The British passed the Indian Independence Act on July 18, 1947. It created two dominions called India and Pakistan.
On midnight of August 15, 1947, independence came. India and Pakistan became separate nations. Fighting occurred along the border and barriers (some made of barbed wire) were created. Jinnah hated the violence, for he had always felt that Muslims and Hindus should not fight each other. The Hindu leader Mahatma Gandhi was also opposed to the violence.
Liaqat Ali Khan became the first prime minister of Pakistan. Muhammad Ali Jinnah was appointed as the first governor general. He worked out an independent currency for Pakistan and established the State Bank of Pakistan. This helped to bring economic stability to the country.
On September 11, 1948, Muhammad Ali Jinnah died in Karachi. He had achieved much within his lifetime.
Neal Robbins
P.S. Muhammad Ali Jinnah had a brother named Ahmad Ali and a sister named Fatimah.
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