Personalities of leaders

Lecture Notes

1. Mohammed Ali Jinnah (1876-1948)

2. Allama Iqbal (1870s-1938)
3. Chaudhary Rahmat Ali (1900s-1951)

1st topic of discussion would be M.A. Jinnah, which is further divided into:
● Jinnah in the Pre partition era (early 1900s-1947)
● Quaid e Azam in the Post partition era (1947-48) (only yr as he passes away in Sept. 48)

● Jinnah in Pre partition era (early 1900s-1947):

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[This is the summary of section B (chap. 6 early 1900s- chap. 9 till 1947). Uptil now ALL the
topics that we have done from 1909 to 1947 in the preceding chapters have talked about the
situation of INDIA and Communities, walking us through different EVENTS to understand how we
reached upto partition. Now it is time to revisit ALL those events but discuss ONLY Jiinnah’s role
in them.
SPOILER: this also means that events where Jinnah did not participate shall NOT be
catered/mentioned.]
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1876- Birth of Jinnah in Karachi

Late 1800s- Early education in India. From his pre teen years only, he showed visible qualities of
a leader. He did not like to play in the dirt (with marbles) like most teenage boys did at that time,
in fact he preferred to read poetry comfortably in his balcony in recreational hours. Sources from
his biography relate that he had requested his father ( a relatively well-to-do businessman) to
arrange a carriage/tonga so he wouldn’t have to walk to school. His habits depicted a liking for a
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better lifestyle contrary to the typical Indian Muslim household he was brought up in. Went to
England for professional studies (to master accounting initially so that his father could have a son
to assist in the business) but decided to opt for Law School (political interest spiked when he
attended debates held in the House of Commons). Then he returned to India and began
practicing law, very quickly gaining a reputation as a respectable and acclaimed barrister. At one
time he was the highest paid barrister in India. Known for his wit and sharp mindedness in the
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courtroom, he almost always won and hence became very well versed in british law. This trait
proved desirable in the latter years when most of his political moves were within the law and
hence he NEVER got arrested in his decades long career.

1909- Became a member of the Imperial Legislative Council (It was a legislature for British India
from 1861 to 1947. It was succeeded by Parliament of India, by 1950)
1909-1913- Joined Indian National Congress
1913- Joined All India Muslim League

1916- He was called Ambassador of Hindu-Muslim Unity at that point of time, as he enabled the
signing of the Lucknow Pact to bridge the gap between Congress and League to opportunise
British necessity during WWI (1914-18)

1919- i) Jinnah was neither an active member nor was he evidently participative in the Khilafat
Movement (to restore the Turkey Caliphate) owing to his very practical political approach. Some
historians have also criticised him of being unsympathetic to the Caliphate’s dissolution but he
stood with his debate about being not too keen to join forces with Congress for satyagraha
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(passive resistance) against the British. (notice how he stays within the b law and does not wish
to openly unnecessarily challenge at any point so early in 1900s)
ii) Jinnah was very disappointed with the version of self rule that British believed they had
provided (to the subcontinent as a result of their support in WWI), known as the Montague
Chelmsford Reforms (Montford Report).
iii) Jinnah severely condemned the passing of the Rowlatt Act also as he believed they
were entirely against principles of British justice. In doing so he resigned from the Imperial
Legislative Council (but did NOT launch a hartal like Gandhi to avoid riots or bloodshed)
iv) The Amritsar Massacre shocked Jinnah to the core as hundreds of innocents died in
the tragic event and General Dyer got away unscathed.

1920- Jinnah did not believe in triggering mass anti British movements or protests and so he did
not support neither Gandhi’s Non cooperation nor ulama’s Hijrat Movement.
1921- events of the Khilafat Movement dawned the reality and possibility of distrust developing
between Hindus and Muslims. Jinnah being the sharp observer he was, decided to leave
Congress to devote himself completely to League’s/Muslims’ cause as he felt he could no longer
show enthusiasm for Gandhi’s objectives as he felt they rejected Muslim rights and advocated

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Hindu rights more (in short, he felt that Congress had become Hindu oriented.)

1927- i) Jinnah summoned Muslim leaders in Delhi to discuss and protect the Muslim political
future in India and concluded on demands known as Delhi Proposals.
ii) Jinnah as a leader of the League openly boycotted the Simon Commission that came
under Sir John Simon to consider the political situation in India for the next set of reforms due.
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1928- In opposition to Simon Commission, The Nehru report was issued which was also deemed
to be asking too much compromise from the League and hence was rejected under the
leadership of Jinnah.
1929- Jinnah introduced his draft of 14 Points to secure the Muslim political future and this
became the basis of any further negotiations with League in the following years.

1930- Jinnah attended the 1st RTC at London and was successful in gaining some ground with
the British.
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1931- Jinnah attended the 2nd RTC at London but was immensely disappointed when Gandhi
took a hardline in talks and failed to recognize the problems of the minorities.

1932-34- Jinnah had suffered personal loss (Death of wife Ruttie Bai in India) and the League
had also become too divided amongst itself, leaving him in despair and disillusioned about the
fate of Muslims in India. Hence he went into voluntary political exile, at his place in London. He
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was persuaded to return by the newly wedded Mr. and Mrs. (Begum Rana) Liaquat Ali Khan (who
frequently visited him) and the constant exchange of letters with Allama Iqbal, who was in India at
that time.

1935- Jinnah returned eventually to subcontinent and actively led the Muslim League (sworn in as
Permanent President) in condemning The Government of India Act passed by the British (which
went on to become the last set of reforms to govern over India before partition in 1947)

1936- Jinnah decided to enter League into the elections for the 1st time and began widespread
campaign of self rule from British and provincial autonomy of Muslims, targeting potential Muslim
voters, addressing mass gatherings and making public appearances to bond with them.

1937- Elections resulted in a drastic defeat of the League in which they secured merely 109 out of
492 seats reserved for them. Yet Jinnah did NOT give up on hope and he highlighted the silver
lining to this loss and the phase of congress tyranny (1937-9) stressing on Muslims to open their
eyes to the true colours of Congress and NOT repeat the same mistake again in the next
elections.
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1939- i) WWII declared in Sept. and Lord Linlithgow expected Congress and League to show
support to British cause as they had done before in WWI. Neither Jinnah nor the League showed
any support to British but he was, however, against fascism and nazism.
ii) When Viceroy Linlithgow announced Indian support in WWII without Nehru’s (leader of
ruling party Congress) consent, all previously won members of Congress resigned in protest from
the seats in different councils. As a result, ended the Congress phase of tyranny (1937-9) upon
which Jinnah urged the Muslims to come out and openly celebrate their relief and the end of
Congress rule on Day of Deliverance (22nd Dec. 1939), which greatly offended Nehru.

1940- i) Pakistan Resolution was passed (by maulvi faz ul Haq) on 23rd March 1940 by Muslim
League under the staunchly firm leadership of Quaid e Azam Mohammed Ali Jinnah and set a
clear path for Muslims to settle for nothing but a separate homeland/ state (Pakistan) where
Muslims would be free from Hindu or British domination. This struggle later became known as
Pakistan Movement. (He made speeches on that day, in english which the huge crowd could
barely understand but the presence and his leadership made it so important that they all listened
to him in deafening silence.)
ii) in August, the British wanted to raise support for their cause in WWI within the Muslims

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so they made the August Offer to Muslim League but it was rejected by Quaid e Azam as he felt
that he could not trust the British to fulfill any promises until after the WWII. (this showed that he
had learnt from the lessons of broken promises from WWI)

1942- Quaid e Azam rejected Mr. Stafford’s Cripps Mission/ Proposal in March, as it did NOT
have any mention of Pakistan.This relates that he was staunchly devoted to his idea of pakistan
and let nothing hinder it. He also did not participate (and forbade League too) in the Quit India
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Movement in August as he said it was plainly blackmailing the British at a time when they were
already troubled due to the war (depicts his genuinity and statesmanship)

1944- Quaid e Azam remained very firm yet polite in the event of Gandhi-Jinnah Talks in Sept. He
agreed to discuss the future of post British India but certainly did not deter from the cause of
Muslims or Pakistan Movement. Hence, the talks failed but it was a victory for Jinnah and
Muslims.
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1945- i) Simla Conference in the summer was a clear depiction how Jinnah then staunchly
advocated the idea of Pakistan and did not settle for anything that hindered the realization of its
dream or harmed the Muslim interests. This is one of the reasons that this conference was
unfruitful as the leaders couldn’t agree as to who should be on the Executive Council suggested
to be formed by Lord Wavell.
ii) Jinnah’s unmatched attributes coupled with the enthusiasm of his Muslim accomplices
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boosted the Muslim voters tremendously in the 1945-6 elections and the turnout proved
immensely favourable for League. It won 446 out of the 492 seats reserved for Muslims which
blared the fact that majority of the Muslims of India wanted partition and the separate state of
Pakistan to exist.

1946- i) Jinnah gathered the 500 League members who were victorious in the election to stress
on their objectives and not be complacent to any plan for future of India unless it includes the
formation of Pakistan, in Delhi , in early April, called as the Delhi Resolution.
ii) Jinnah urged the Muslims of India to take to streets and show unity, fearlessness and
solidarity with the idea of formation of Pakistan and against Congress and British on a designated
date in August, also called the Direct Action Day. Originally intended to be a peaceful
demonstration, it became violent in Calcutta leading to 4000 deaths in the tragic Great Calcutta
Killing.

1947- i) Quaid e Azam fully agreed to the 3rd June Plan put forward by Lord Mountbatten as it
acknowledged the formation of s separate state, Pakistan for Indian Muslims.

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 ii) The Indian Independence Act on 15th July 1947 further put into reality and brought
Jinnah ever more closer to the fruit of their years’ long struggle for formation of Pakistan.
iii) On 14th August 1947, the separate state of Pakistan was declared officially. Jinnah
became its 1st Governor General (NOT president because we initially followed the amended version of
Govt. of India Act 1935)

● Quaid e Azam in the Post partition era (1947-48):

Quaid-e-Azam was suffering from tuberculosis since a while before partition but he chose to keep
it concealed lest his opponents decided to take advantage of the short duration of the life he had.
This is the reason why he lived upto only 13 months after partition and then passed away leaving
the whole nation shell shocked and his opponents in disbelief about his tight lippedness.
However, in the little time he worked as the Governor General, he contributed stupendously to the
development of the governmental structure of Pakistan right from the scratch, just as was

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expected from an executive.
[This part will focus on JINNAH’s ROLE in the problems of chap. 11]

Some of his vital contributions are listed below:

1. Despite holding a merely ceremonial/figurehead position, he worked like a Chief Executive in the
new government.
2. Chaired Cabinet meetings and presided over the Constituent Assembly (whose task was to draft
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a new constitution tailor made for a Muslim independent land and reduce dependency on the
modified version of Govt. of India Act 1935)
3. He visited the refugee camps especially those at Karachi, Lahore and Dhaka frequently,
sometimes with Ms. Fatima Jinnah, in order to boost the morale of the arriving Muslims (refugees)
urging them to have faith and not give up for the sake of their lost loved ones. He also quickly set
up a Relief Fund to have them rehabilitated in which many philanthropists (esp. Parsi members)
of Pakistan society contributed whole heartedly.
4. He also tried to visit different communities of Pakistan to socially integrate them and raise
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awareness that only unity with each other would make them stronger in the face of an enemy, that
they were all Muslims and Pakistanis and united by one national language Urdu (despite some
criticism he received on official language). (Chap. 5)
5. The Quaid called himself ‘Protector-General’ for all the minorities that were left behind in Pakistan
and could/did not migrate to India. He promised them complete protection of their rights as an
equal Pakistani citizen in the Constitution of Pakistan as this was to be a land of tolerance.
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(Hence the white portion of the flag of pak.)

6. To emphasise Pakistan’s role and acknowledgement by the world community, Quaid quickly took
Pakistan to UNO on 30th Sept. 1947, so in the hour of need (which came pretty soon against
India), the powerful nations could support Pakistan and form alliances. (chap. 16)
7. He appointed his close associate and a man of great calibre, Mr. Liaquat Ali Khan , as Prime
Minister of the Country and other spearhead League members as his Cabinet (closely knit group
of ministers whose task is to guide the PM and advice him on matters of urgency) (members of
this cabinet become PMs also late in chap. 12)
8. He set up Pakistan Civil Services, devising rules also for it, for smooth running and effective
assistance to administration. (united india= ICS)
9. He reminded these officers that they were servants of the people and thereby for a long time the
PCS worked with megre provisions and often without proper stationery or building.
10. With the few experienced politicians he had at hand, he arranged for their speedy and safe travel
from India to Pakistan in mid 1947 on special trains and flights. This was known as Operation
Karachi (Karachi was made the capital, where they were brought) as there was fear that these
civil officials might be attacked on the way (to hinder or delay the process of establishing the

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 administrative and political structure of the new Pakistan). He also signed a contract/agreement
with TATA AIR to transport some officials via air with their families to Pakistan.
11. With the little financial funds that came to Pakistan’s share from the Reserves Bank (750 m out of
the 4 Bn-Chap. 11), Jinnah quickly passed the Industrial Policy Statement in 1948 and
established the State Bank of Pakistan on 1st July 1948, so that the process of establishing new
factories (we had the raw material-jute but all factories went to india with calcutta), trade and
industries may be undergone and Pakistan could strengthen its economy with its agricultural
output (because the finished good can be sold at a higher price than raw material).
12. Despite receiving rusted equipment and worn out military assets, Jinnah did not haste to ask 500
British officers to stay back and train his army and he also put them into action when the time
arrived to safeguard Kashmiri Muslims in Jan. 1948. However, with the democratic views he held,
Jinnah was known to have wanted to make the army a cause to serve the people and NOT wish
to see Pakistan under military dictatorship. (martial laws from chap. 12) advocated/supported a
democratic state NOT a dictatorship.
13. He greatly sympathized with the Muslims of Junagadh, Hyderabad Deccan and Kashmir, but
could not do much in his lifetime for them.

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Jinnah became extremely fragile and weak in his last days. Very few people had knowledge of his ailing
condition, his trusted butler, a Parsi doctor and his sister. He was a man known to work diligently and
fiercely for the idea that he believed in, and it is said that it was almost as if he knew that he had very
little time on his hands and wanted to do maximum in it. He was taken to his home in Ziarat Quetta as
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the weather of Karachi was wearing him down, but in the hours before his death day, he started losing
strength considerably, so much that his sister urged he should be taken to an equipped hospital in
Karachi. As he set out from his Quetta mansion, he was dressed in crisp white sherwani and complained
when his butler forgot one of his accessories (either the hat or handkerchief). Such was the aura that the
man did not, even for once, wanted to show his vulnerability to his opponents. He was so weak that he
had to be carried (a man of his height) to the car. Sadly he could not make it till the hospital alive and his
ambulance broke down on the way. Quaid-e-Azam M.Ali Jinnah- Father of Pakistan, left a whole nation
orphaned and in shock on 11th sept. 1948. His funeral was attended by masses of grief stricken
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Pakistanis and international leaders as well. He was buried in Karachi, and later in 1960s, President
Ayub Khan built a white marble mausoleum on it to mark the final resting place of Jinnah.

[Fun (sarcasm intended) fact]: India took advantage of the mournful nation and attacked Hyderabad
Deccan’s Nizam, forcefully acceding it to india on 17th Sept. 1948- merely 6 days after Jinnah’s demise)
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Jinnah was an honest and straightforward man who loved to surround himself with youngsters,
particularly students of all ages and groups, he said they gave him new life and in nurturing them he felt
that he was contributing for the future of Pakistan. Jinnah held immense respect for women in his
personal and professional lives. His sister and wife both contributed to the Pakistan Movement and he
viewed them as his peers and not as dependants. He used to discuss politics and poetry with them, and
later with his daughter too. He was heard on countless events referring and emphasizing on the roles
that muslim women could play in the nuturing of the next generation and the spread of awareness for
Pakistan movement. He believed that no nation could achieve success without the part of their women
that played well. He had a liking for Victorian furniture and his houses had been beautifully decorated
with tall windows and such curtains which boasted of his expensive taste and his attire, both British and
Muslim, was impeccable and stylish. The man NEVER repeated a tie, smoked cigars, petted dogs,
seldom fasted or prayed, did not grow a beard, but what he never adhered from, was his faith in God
and his love for humanity and Muslims of India. He was hailed as a legend even during his lifetime.

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Allama Iqbal: (1870s-1938)

Education: lahore college and then Ph. D- Doctorate in philosophy from munich Germany
Profession: Lawyer
Political Profile: joined the Muslim League branch in Punjab and due to his educational background,
intelligence and poetic contribution (Bang-e-dara, Bal-e-Jibraeel and Zarb-e-Kaleem, Shikwa and
Jawab-e-Shikwa) to the muslim community was recognized and invited to chair a session of muslim
league in 1930 at Allahabad.
He also knew that the kind of leadership that muslim community needed in the 1930s was one that
solely Mr. Jinnah could provide. They were close associates and comrades and enjoyed each other’s
intelligent company and dark humour that is evident from the letters exchanged between the two in the
early 1930s when Mr. Jinnah had become disillusioned and decided to give up and went into voluntary
exile to London. He persuaded him to return to India and showed immense confidence in his abilities.

Famous event: Iqbal presided over the Allahabad session of M/L in 1930 and after the session gave his
speech, famously known as Iqbal’s allahabad address in which is suggested/hinted at the best possible
future for Muslim minority problems was to aim to make a separate state combined of the muslim

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majority states in north west of india. He did not name such a state but merely gestured at a possible
solution for the every present problem of the muslims to have always been overlooked by the hindu
majority. He was suggesting to combine the muslim states in the north west of india, to make a loose
federation where muslims could have more power than they do as a minority in india.
Interesting fact: he never mentioned Kashmir nor Bengal as part of it. (this suggests his possible far
sightedness and intuition)
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Death: despite his efforts and goodwill, Iqbal could not live to see Pakistan become a reality in 1947. He
passed away due to illness in 1938 and is buried at the Badshahi Masjid Lahore.

Commemoration: Jinnah and other pakistan movement leaders called Iqbal as the national poet and he
was also famously known as poet of the east.
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CHAUDHARY REHMAT ALI:

Education: Lahore-Punjab

Profession: Lawyer- student of Cambridge University in the 1930s when Muslim League was present in
London for the RTCs
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Political Profile: member of Muslim League Student Wing. He also founded the Pakistan National
Movement in 1946. He was persistent that Mr. Jinnah took up the idea of Partitioning the subcontinent in
the 1930s after Iqbal’s Allahabad Address. This was one of the reasons for the fact that him and Mr.
Jinnah did not see eye to eye with one another on political matters. Jinnah felt that Rahmat ali was more
emotionally driven whereas he was very practical in his approach.

Famous event: Chaudhary rehmat Ali published the Now or Never pamphlet alongwith two of his
roomates at cambridge in june 1933 which further clarified the idea earlier presented in 1930 by Iqbal to
solve the persistent Muslim minority problem. He went further and gave a name to the North West
Frontier Muslim State- PAKISTAN- an acronym, using the intials of all the Muslim lands in south and
central asia. He dreamt of making a union of all Muslim nations into one.

Death: C.R.Ali was dissatisfied severely with the Radcliffe award, but because he was unable to do
anything about it, he left the country soon afterwards and passed away in 1951. He is buried at
Cambridge UK